26 year old guy with arthritis

[ArthritisBoy77]

Hello Everyone,

well, its been a year since i was diagnosed with arthritis in the medial region of my right knee. "Shredded Miniscus etc" and about 2 years since i had my injury doing heavy squats. To put it bluntly without going into all the details(which will still be complex) i had an injury in football when i was 13, and tore my mcl supposedly. the doctor did not diagnose me with acl tear due to no anteriro drawer sign. but my knee doesn show much of one in anycase, thats the problem
i learned that it was really a acl tear, my ortho doc said a year ago, and that i had done all my running and weight training on a knee without an acl and now have a shredded medial miniscus in my right knee and arthritis. To put it as he did" you have the knee of a 50 year old. although i do have a lateral miniscus in that knee. anyhow 2 years ago i began ling bouts of cycling. but it took a while for me to get where i could ride due to pains i wasnt used to . but i adapted eventually
i still get pain every few mounths or so. and sometimes a dull pain. earlier this year i did have acl repair and meniscus removed. but now the arthritis is what i must deal with.

i do not run anymore. but for me ive allways loved pushing myself and biking alows me to traverse long distances. but im here looking for others with similar experiences and stories, so i can get a better persective more my situation. i am afraid my knee will give out, and illbe crippled before my time. this scares me. but i would like to here from the other ppl with bum knees and hips. and who knows if i can , maybe help someone else out going throught a similar situation.

If only i could go back to my 18 year old self and tell him to change his habbits.
*sighs* kids these days dont know anything about longevity.

Cheers to you all~

ArthritisBoy77

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Hi, 77![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I'm sorry that you have to go through what you're going through because of a misdiagnosis. The truth is, if most people knew how ill-prepared and ill-educated their doctors really are most of the time, they'd stop going to them! I worked in the medical field for 25 years, and I've worked with good ones and bad ones. [/COLOR][COLOR= #0000ff]You know what you call the doctor who graduated with the lowest grade in his class? You call him Doctor!! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif Because you'll never know that he missed failing med school by the skin of his teeth and couldn't tell the difference between a hemorrhoid and an asteroid -- unless you're one of the brighter ones who goes online and checks out your would-be physician's standings and grades. You can do that fairly easily. But that's for another rant....[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I actually came on here to say that I can sympathize with your problem. I have arthritis in my right knee and left ankle -- which makes for an interesting situation, because I can't walk on EITHER leg without pain, lol. My knee is about 50% bone on bone, the ortho says, and I will eventually need a total knee replacement -- which I am putting off for as long as I can, hoping they continue to improve the technology and skill of those who do that surgery! You can't undo arthritis, unfortunately. But non-weight-bearing exercise helps keep it from spreading/worsening. That rules out nearly all exercises except swimming and biking. Being overweight, I'm not doing the former in public. So biking it is, for me! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif (If you can swim, I would encourage you to do both exercises, alternating every other day or so.) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I started biking on August 11, after having not set bottom on a bike since 1960! Truth be told, I was nervous about whether it would make my knee and ankle hurt, but I started slow and at short distances. (I was so out of shape, I didn't have any choice, lol, but fortunately that's what I should have been doing, anyway, for the arthritis.) To my amazement, the biking didn't hurt my joints -- it made them feel BETTER. It makes them less stiff, and they hurt less on days I bike than on days I don't! I've lost 35 pounds doing the biking and healthy eating, and that helps the arthritis too, because every pound of weight you lose is equal to FOUR pounds of weight off you knee with every step! Didja know that? I didn't, until the ortho explained it to me. I don't know whether you have any kind of weight problem; but even if you're just a little overweight, that 4:1 ratio makes a difference, doesn't it? Because 20 pounds overweight is equal to EIGHTY pounds of excess weight with every step. Something to keep in mind.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I don't have any answers for you, other than my encouragement to you (with your doctor's permission) to keep biking for your joints, and to work hard to keep a positive attitude. Don't let the arthritic process own you. It isn't you, it's only a part of you. I say that because of your signature. You doubtless have many great qualities, but you sign yourself as Arthritis Boy. I'm a breast-cancer survivor, but I wouldn't make my signature Mastectomy Woman, lol. I don't mean to be unkind, just hoping to help you have a brighter outlook. Because you're way too young to let this one problem define you! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]You said, "i am afraid my knee will give out, and I'll be crippled before my time. this scares me." Try not to dwell on the worst that could happen. Your knee may never give out; but if it does, you still won't be 'a cripple.' You can more than likely have a knee replacement at some point. The surgery isn't fun, and the recovery can be painful. But I've known MANY people who had one and are happier with their new knees than they were for years with the old one! Heck, my uncle was hit by a car when he was 12 and lost one leg -- back in the day when his prosthesis was a crude wooden one. But that man rode a bike like nobody's business, and ran circles around his 2-legged brothers. It was all in the attitude.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I'm old enough to be your mother if not your grandmother, and you're right to be concerned with your longevity. You are probably going to live a lot more years, so you need to learn what to do to take care of yourself so that you can get the most out of them. Healthy old people have a whole lot more fun in their lives than unhealthy ones, lol. So start taking care of your body NOW. Learn to eat right. If you're not fat, don't get fat. If you are, use the biking to lose weight. And information is POWER, so learn everything you can from your doctor, from books, from online sites, etc., about your particular arthritis and condition. Use what you learn to take care of yourself and to take control of your life. It'll feel a whole lot better than worrying about what the arthritis might do to you. You'll be so empowered, you'll forget about the arthritis a lot of the time. And you'll be so healthy, it'll be just one tiny problem in a big, healthy, happy life. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I wish you all the success in living with this. I won't say I wish you luck, because luck won't have anything to do with it. Either you'll tackle your problem head on, and handle it -- or it will tackle YOU in the long run. I'd rather be the one tackling than the one being tackled, wouldn't you? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/tongue.gif[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I'll keep an eye out here for your posts, and will be happy to answer any questions you have for me. (Be careful what you wish for, lol.) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Welcome to the forum! [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]SierraSlim << (example of positive attitude; I'm a long way from slim, yet; but I'm gonna get there!!)[/COLOR]