Arthritis Pain vs ITP

My platlet count has been high 50K's to high 60K's for thirty plus years. I found out I have arthritis about seven months ago and had a total hip replacement two months ago. I had prednisone prior to surgery which did not increase my count much. I was then given an IVIG about a week prior to surgery which got me near 100K. After surgery I was given a platelet transfusion. About two weeks later my count was 103K.

Apparently I have had arthritis in my hips and knees for many years but did not experience much pain, probably because I was very physically active. I think the good musscel tone really helped with the pain. Since my surgery I am now experiencing much more pain in my knees and taking about 3900 mg of Tylonol a day since I have to stay away from NSID's.

Is there anything I can take for the inflammation besides ice? Once I get my musscel tone back I think the pain will ease but it's hard to exercise through this pain. I am also afraid I am taking too much Tylonol and would really like to have a glass of wine on occasion.

Some people use Celebrex in your situation. Other than that, there isn't much out there. Of course Prednisone works great too, but will just make things worse in the long run.

Hi! What doctor sent you to the orthopedic surgeon for hip replacement? Are you seeing this doctor about the arthritis in your knees? What does he/she say about your knees? I'd watch that Tylenol intake!

How are you doing with the hip surgery recovery & PT etc?

I'm one who does not like pills so I have no suggestions for you.

Thanks, I will look into Celebrex. I guess I should follow up with my Hematologist and see what he says. I haven't been seeing him on a regular basis because my ITP has been stable for many years. He just has me do a CBC every six months.

Hi, I don't like pills either and prior to the surgery I was not on any medications. During the recovery I was on Vicodin with 500mg of Tylonol mixed in. I am trying to stop the Vicodin completely but it's difficult sleeping at night with the pain.

My recovery is not going nearly as well as I thought it would. My physical therapist tells me my strength is taking longer to return than most. I am only 64 and was running 10K's up until six months before the surgery. When the pain got too bad I went to spinning for a few months but the pain kept getting worse. I finally got X-rays and an MRI and was diagnosed with severe arthritis in both hips. I didn't check out the knees because I didn't have any pain there. I think all the exercise was preventing a lot of my pain and since I had the surgery I lost a lot of leg mussel.

I see the surgeon next Wednesday and plan to talk about my knee pain then. Next Wednesday will be a day over eight weeks since the surgery.

Hello Howard,

You may want to consult with an experienced homeopath, as homeopathy has a good track record with being able to relieve arthritic pains, both osteo and rheumatoid. I also wonder if some of your pains might be from the trauma of surgery? Sometimes that can set up a pattern of pain. This can also be relieved with the right homeopathic remedies.

My son recently had ACL Reconstructive surgery on his knee, due to an old injury and an accident. He had been on crutches for almost a year, so his muscles had deteriorated greatly. His Ortho surgeon said that his was one of the more painful operations, and so he was prescribed a lot of heavy duty pain meds. Because my son has a history of a few Traumatic Brain Injuries, as well as seizures, he is very sensitive to any sort of medications, or even things like coffee, MSG or artificial colorings. So, we chose to use only homeopathic remedies for his recovery, as long as it seemed he wasn't in excessive pain. (I am a homeopath by profession). My son did great, way beyond my expectations. He really only experienced pain for the first two days, and even that was not excruciating (about a 5 for him), and was quite bearable. His doctor and his Physical Therapists have been surprised and pleased to see how he has had almost no swelling or pain, and he's recovering his strength, mobility and range of motion at an exceptional rate.


It would be best to get constitutional treatment, but here is a link to a natural healing site that I've found to have good information on using herbal remedies, biochemic Cell Salts (these I would highly recommend) and he gives some brief descriptions of some of the homeopathic remedies that are commonly used for arthritis, which might give you an idea of how remedies are differentiated (a remedy is chosen on it's overall similarity to your own symptoms).
One of these might even be the one that could help you, though would be best to consult with a knowledgeable professional. Here's the link:
www.daveshealingnotes.com/ailments/osteo-arthritis-natural-remedies.html
(This is for Osteoarthritis. For Rheumatoid, click on the link from this same page.)

Personally, I think this is a safer route to go, and you might be surprised how effective it can be.

April

Some hematologists allow some patients to have NSAIDs for brief periods at certain counts, with close monitoring. You may want to ask, now that you are no longer immediately post-op. Celebrex is the only thing that helps my hands, but I don't know that it would help the "injury" type pain of a post-op hip replacement. It is worth trying. (I don't have ITP, but have an ITP teen. She had to take NSAIDs during a post-infection arthritis, but her counts had been around 100 at that time.) As for regaining your muscle, are you allowed to get into a pool? Perhaps with a therapist? If you have access to one, that weightless exercise may be a good thing. (Not to be hawking a product, but, if you don't have access to a pool near your home, you can buy a decent size grownup kiddie pool from a certain mega retailer's website for not so much money.) Being in a pool for a period of time forces fluid from spaces where it shouldn't be (as in inflammation or water retention), pushes it into the kidneys and encourages excretion. That's why we feel the need to urinate after swimming. I find a soak is helpful to my swollen feet for that reason. My doc recommended it during pregnancy. You may find the soak/float/water walking helps relieve the fluid collecting in those spaces and helps the pain as a result. (Not to mention it's a pretty decent diversion.) I hope your pain is down soon.
Norma