Osteonecrosis of the knee

[BillP]

Thanks for the update. I'm sorry to hear the DAN doctor's recommendation. Interesting what he said about fibromyalgia and DCS. I had not heard that before. I hope it all works out for you.

Take care,

Bill

 

[Resilient 1]

I apologize for bumping this to the top, it's a old thread..However are there any further updates regarding her situation (positive updates I hope) ?

I too have Osteonecrosis, but of both knees. My knees have reached stage 4 (collapse). Because of my young age, they will not do replacements.

I was very curious as to her progress etc.

R1

 

[artsprite]

Hello Resilient1,

My ON is in stage 3. I had surgery in Dec. to drill holes into the dead area to try to get blood circulation back into it. The cartilage over the area had completely turned loose, and we are hoping that the surgery will cause some fibrocartilage to grow back over it. I did not get ON from diving because it would have started way before I learned to dive. I went to see a pulmonary specialist who is a dive medicine doc, and one that DAN recommended to me. He is the only dive medicine doc where I live. He said it is ok to dive if I am conservative about depth, bottom time, and surface intervals. He could not find any information to prove that diving would make it worse, or that I would be any more likely to get DCS. I go back to my orhtopod in about 1 week for a follow up appt. He thinks that my surgery has been successful. Some of my symptoms are better, but I still have pain, and always will. I fractured that kneecap in 1981, and had to have part of my kneecap removed because it grew back wrong. It destroyed much of the cartilage while it was uneven.

I suppose that you don't dive, if your knees are in collapse. I would be interested to hear about your experience diving with ON. I don't know how old you are, but I do know that ON can progress into the shaft of the tibia or femur or both, and then you might not ever be able to have any replacements. You might want to seek another opinion from an ortho who has a lot of experience with ON. There is a support group in Yahoo groups for Osteonecrosis, and you might benefit from talking to some of the people in the group. There is one woman who's doctor told her to "wait and see" and hers is now all the way from below her knees to her hips. She cannot have replacements because there is not enough bone to support the prostheses. She is now in a wheelchair most of the time, and when she's not, she's on crutches.

I would be interested in hearing more about you if you want to discuss it. You can always e-mail me directly. We'd love for you to join the support group, too. Just go to www.groups.yahoo.com and search for osteonecrosis.

 

[Resilient 1]

Hi Artsprite

I’m glad your doing well! I very much appreciate your advice regarding the ON group. I will look into it. Well, to be sort of brief here lol, my story is coming on to ten years this June (tough to cram into a few sentences) . I too did not get ON as a result of diving..

Anyway, I’m now 28 years old....As a teen and up into college I was very active in many organized sports. I played Junior Ice hockey, was on a competitive swim team, studied martial arts (Ju Jitsu), dabbled in scuba, and also began to peruse natural bodybuilding. All the while going after a degree!! Things were going very well for me up until a few weeks after my 19th birthday when I was diagnosed with leukemia. This lead to 3 years of Chemotherapy. It was during this time that I received a heavy course of cortico-steroids (prednisone & dexamethasone). It was about 1.5 years into the treatment that ON decided to visit me and complicate things a bit (ok, a lot lol). The primary sites are my knees, however I also have minor shoulder and hip problems too.

The battle wasn't only a physical one for me. Although I'm considered cured from the cancer (after the five year mark of remission). I've also had mental battles as I watched each sport that was a big part of me slip away.

The osteonecrosis has ceased in progression but the damage has been done. I've been given mixed answers about diving. Whether it's even worth the risk after everything my body has been through. I'm not really able to kick with any thrust either. A bunch of us went snorkeling in St. Lucia a couple of years ago and I found it tough fighting the current. Actually we visited Tortola, Barbados, St Barts and a couple other places along the way. Some people went diving. I wasn't up to it during that time and decided against it. Still a dream though. It's amazing the things you want once your not sure if you can have/do them.

Saw my orthapod today actually. The last few years haven't been too bad I guess (I'm stubborn and refuse to loose), I wasn't walking with crutches until last month or so. Most of the damage is away from weight baring areas. Looking to have surgery to repair some burs that are playing havoc with my ligaments. The hardest thing is keeping the strength up, I used to have decent size quads, that's probably what's allowed me to get this far ??

Glad things are well with you…I'll be in touch, and thanks for your help.

Sorry everyone, probably not the right place for most of the info in my post. But I still have a love for diving!!

R1

 

[DocVikingo]

Some of you have inquired about diving post knee replacement. You might find this thread from our archives informative----> http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4664&highlight=knee+replacement

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[artsprite]

Hi Resilient,
I know just what you mean about having to give up everything you love to do. I keep trying to find things that can replace the more strenuous stuff, but eveything takes it's toll because of my fibromyalgia. With scuba diving, once I'm in the water I'm fine, but carrying the gear is rough. It wears me out, but my friends are nice enough to carry stuff for me.

I went through all the depression from the loss of lifestyle. I understand that too. It took me about 5 yrs to accept that I have fibro and have to limit my activities, and I still do things that I shouldn't. I used to have good quads too from bicycling. It was the hardest thing for me to give up, but I just can't handle the long distance riding that I did before.

You shouldn't dive in your condition. I just have ON in the one site, and it's pretty small. I probably shouldn't do it just because of the fibro.

You might like the support group. I hope to see you there.