I am wondering if anyone can offer advice. I am a 37 year old female, who has had knee pain since my teens. I have had knee surgery on both my knees. The doctors seem to agree that I have arthritis, and I should just deal with it. Well I have been 'dealing' with pain and not being able to participate in general fun activities such as dancing, climbing stairs, long distance walking etc. I have been going to physical therapy on and off for the past 4 years. I get better, start to live life and then end up back where I started. I have been hearing about cartilage replacement. Has anyone heard of this? Does anyone know of any good doctors in the Chicago area? I just recently moved here from Wisconsin. I am tired of hearing that I am too young for a knee replacement and to deal with it. I want to be able to live the life style of a 30+ person now, not in 15 years when I am eligible for a knee replacement.

i am 39 years old. about 1 year ago i started to get pain in my muscles. because i had mild joint pain i never realized what it was. i was running a busines for 3 years and was exhausted. i sold my shop in may 2005 and sat at home waitng to get better but it never happeded. i had pysio accupuncture and tried to excersize every day but i seemed to be getting worse. then started to get stressed not knowing what it was. then depression set in, noone understood my pain my suffering not even the closest people in my life. i had blood tests done which ruled out arthiritus and other serious conditions which shoud of made me happy but it didnt the not knowing what was wrong with me was getting to me. now i am on anti depressents its my forth day and i feel the pain has slightly eased. i am hyper mobil and feel my suffering is due to my condition. is there anyone out there that has suffered like me.

It took me a couple of years to be okay with not being able to dance or run anymore. I´m still not entirely over being sent home early from an amazing foreign mission because of my floating knee caps. I can absolutely say the emotional pain is far worse than the pysical pain. And while there are still plenty of days that just make me cry (mostly the hard to walk days, and when as a young newlywed, I wonder if I'll be able to chase our future children around very well). I have found some wonderful activities that are somewhat athletic, and don't require much out of my knees. 1) If you live by water try paddling a small boat. I went white water rafting for the first time last year, and had soo much fun, a good work out, and not an ounce of pain in my knees. 2) My absolute favorite thing is motorcycle riding. It's not exactly cardio, but it's an amazing experience, and actually does a lot for muscle toning. It even works that little muscle the physical therapists keeps trying to get me to do leg lifts to strengthen. (just be sure to wear a helmet, and take the safety course) Does anybody have any other ideas? I would love to find a good cardio, or some other ways to still feel active.

I had knee surgery Jan 21, 05...I am still rehabing 3 times a week plus exercises at home....I am sick of this!!!...I was told my knee would "come around'...well it needs to hurry...My husband and I are not doing well due to our finances over me not working...I had also torn my thumb ligements and had thumb operated on also at that time...on top of it all they told me I am a dieabetic...when it rains it pours!I just want to walk again without a limp!

I had knee surgery Jan 21, 05...I am still rehabing 3 times a week plus exercises at home....I am sick of this!!!...I was told my knee would "come around'...well it needs to hurry...My husband and I are not doing well due to our finances over me not working...I had also torn my thumb ligements and had thumb operated on also at that time...on top of it all they told me I am a dieabetic...when it rains it pours!I just want to walk again without a limp!

open my eyes I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light I can't remember how I can't remember why I'm lying here tonight And I can't stand the pain And I can't make it go away No I can't stand the pain Chorus: How could this happen to me I made my mistakes Got no where to run The night goes on As I'm fading away I'm sick of this life I just wanna scream How could this happen to me Everybody's screaming I try to make a sound but no one hears me I'm slipping off the edge I'm hanging by a thread I wanna start this over again So I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered And I can't explain what happened And I can't erase the things that I've done No I can't How could this happen to me I made my mistakes Got no where to run The night goes on As I'm fading away I'm sick of this life I just wanna scream How could this happen to me I made my mistakes Got no where to run The night goes on As I'm fading away I'm sick of this life I just wanna scream How could this happen to me

I fell down on ice with my daughter 12/7/03. I went to the ER and was told I had swelling. Slowly, the more I used my legs to walk to work from train, drive, or carry my daughter... I was unable to function without severe pain. MRI showed Chrondomalacia in Patella and Femoral Areas. I underwent Arthoscope of right leg showed all weightbearing joint to be lacking cartilage. Doctor says we will need a cartilage graft? Just underwent the left arthoscope. This knee shows meniscal tear, ACL tear, cap maltracking, fluid, cartilage damage behind knee cap. I feel I must have been placing all weight on right leg due to left leg injury, causing the weight bearing joint to have no cartilage. In interim, I am STILL IN PAIN. I can hardly walk on right leg. Has anyone had cartilage grafting. What other options, I tried "vitamins" they did not help. I am 29 mother of a 2 year old that needs to get back to work, but legs hurt tooo much. Is Meniscus done for? What about lack of cartilage in right leg??? Jennifer Please email me at home if you have gone through this. I have now had to go to doctor for depression of non-movement. Lifeovreilly@comcast.net

Im an 18 year old who has already been through 2 knee arthoscopic surgeries. I first tore my lateral meniscus playing volleyball for a club team. Of course I had to stop playing to recover, but eventually I was able to get back onto the court. Months after surgery, I still felt no relief with the amount of pain I had been feeling. So after the MRI I had gotten had revealed that I had massive amounts of scar tissue, the doctor agreed to go back in and take the tissue out. This once again took me off the court, unfortunatly for good. After surgery, I felt very good for only a couple of months or so, and then the pain came back once again. Now, i' m a freshman in college and am rowing. I've had to stop winter training for crew because the pain has gotten so bad. I have recently gone to a knee specialist, Dr. Kelly of Uniondale (awesome doctor) and have gotten another MRI. I have now been diagnosed with Hoffa's Disease, which basically means that I have a massive scar tissue built up in my knee which inhibits my motion. Plainly, it sucks how much pain i'm in. I have recieved 3 cortisone shots in order to aviod surgery. And even surgery may not solve the problem, because scar tissue will most likely build up again. The only way that my inhibit the growing of scar tissue is basically sittin on my ass for a few weeks not doing anything. Which means no rowing, no physical activity. The pain has subsided, but my range of motion still sucks. I'm just praying the last cortisone shot will work. This whole situation has put me into a deep depression, it's terrible. If anyone has or has dealt with Hoffa's disease, or a similar situation...please drop me an email! Thanks

I was a very active 55yr old female, until this yr 01/04. Seven months ago and still counting. Went hiking with my Pit Bull, my daughter and her large dog. The trails were deserted, the dogs loose. They were running at full speed and knock me off my feet. I tried getting up and could nt understand why. The accident caused my the dogs broke my tibia plateau and shattered my bones.After 9 days in the hospital, came home with 4 screws a pole and plate. All I can say I am gratefull it was my left leg. The healing process is very slow. I now am able to drive. Still not cleared to go back to work, after 7 months. I just started full weight bearing. I am to wear a brace for one yr or better. I am asking anyone for a word of hope. Just what to walk again without any aids. How much longer???

Hey, im 15 and seriously suffering from depression due to havin a knee recon wen i was 14. I have been getting a lot of support, but everyone can only sympathise, not empathise. I hate even my best friends sometimes. People tease me about being a cripple or about not being able to run, etc and they dont realise how hard the rehab of a recon is, especially mentally. One good friend told me to make a list of +ves and -ves of havin the op and my list was like 2 pos, 20 neg. I find it really hard to stay positive as i cannot do the one thing that i loved more than ever. Sport was my life and without it, i am stuck. If anyone has any advice to dealing with this, i would love to hear from you!!!