Osteoarthritis Q & A

A friend of mine was telling me of a new injection for the knees,,,I have OA….Two years ago I had a series of five hyalagan injections ,and I got pain relief for almost 8 months! It was the next thing to heaven…only the five shots were a little painful…Any way, I was just wondering if there has been any new developments, in the way of visco supplemention? My knees are painful, but replacements are out of the queston for a while.

I have conflicting opinions from orthopedic surgeons on whether two knee replacements should be done at once. I recently heard that Mayo will not do two at once. Is there a policy at John Hopkins? What’s the latest opinion of surgeons there?

My healthcare coverage is reluctent to allow me any more Synvisc injections for my arthritic knees. I have had to date a total of 36 injections, 18 in each knee. Each time I get these shots I gain enormous relief. The Doctor’s tell me about studies that show that the Synvisc does not work repeatedly. I keep telling them to please refer to my own personal study, you know the one that does work repeatedly as experienced by me. Are there any studies that do show repeated Synvisc usage works and works well???

Can you tell me about this disease?

If I have hebron nodes on the joints of my fingers, might the pains in shoulders and knees be arthritis also?

The Dr.s have told me I have osteoarthritis. But it is my understanding that there are certain things that cause it that can be treated. I know I will always have it but would like to know for sure that there is nothing I can do to keep it from getting any worse.I live in West Virginia,could you direct me to someone who could help me.