Had Rheumatoid Factor, Left With A Heart Murmur And Severe Pain. Having Trouble In Sleeping And Taking Treatment For Arthritis. Worried About Pain?

Posted on Tue, 3 Sep 2013

Question: I had RF when I was 6 and afterwards was left with a heart murmur and severe pain in my knees. As a child I had trouble sleeping the pain was so severe. Now, 70 yrs later I am being tx for arthritis and have had the new injections to help. Just recently the pain has changed and its back to terrible pain I remembered as a child. My ortho MD doesn't see the difference. Stairs are imposible for me now. I am a nurse and still working and don't want to give it up just yet. Is there another way to treat the pain. I now feel that there is also fluid build up in the knees. Any help would be appreciated. XXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Divya Agarwal (25 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Osteoarthritis in flare, steroid injections

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
From your symptoms, it mostly seems like you have a condition called osteoarthritis.
I suggest you get an x-ray of you knees AP and lateral in standing position.
As you have suggested that there is fluid buildup in the knees and that is probably the reason that they are so painful.
One of the good ways to treat the problem at present is to get an intra articular injection done for the knees. This will help to remove the extra fluid buildup and depot steroid may be given to reduce the inflammation.
I don’t think this should be a flare of the arthritis you had in child hood as rheumatic fever generally does not recur later.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E