Wondering if anyone has experience with Supartz Injections for osteoarthritis of the knee.
I am age 53 and was diagnosed 9 years ago with severe arthritis of right knee. Had an osteotomy to take the pressure off the inside of the knee where there was no cartilage. Got along well with that but in September suffered a torn meniscus. Had arthroscopic surgery for that a month ago. Lots of pain and stiffness in the knee ever since. Can't do any of the things I normally did before. Anti-inflammatories don't help much. Othopedic surgeon suggests Supartz injections in the knee. My health insurance won't pay so I would have to pay for the 5 injections @$265 each. Big decision to make.
Have always known that "someday" I would need a knee replacement but would like to put off "someday" for as long as possible.
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Supartz Knee Injections (by Art42629 on Nov-06-05)
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Supartz Knee Injections (by Cathy21784 on Nov-06-05)
I am actually getting these injections right now. I am 40 and have been told I have no cartildge left at all. I have had 4 injections in my left knee and will start my right knee after Thanksgiving. I had surgery on my left knee several years ago to remove broken little bits of cartildge. I had lots then. Now it is just about gone.
Fortunaly my insurance covers this and I have only had to pay $24.00 total for all five injections!
I am walking bone on bone and cannot do stairs with out quite a bit of pain. I also have four bone spurs on each knee cap so I have pain from that too.
I will try to remember to come back here and let you know how I am doing.
If these don't work I am told my only option is knee replacment.
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Re: Supartz Knee Injections (by Sue86793 on Nov-07-05)
Sounds like we are both in very similar circumstances. My right knee is also bone on bone and the alternative is knee replacement. Also have arthritis in left knee but not as severe but it has been hurting a lot more. Probably due to putting more weight on it because of the extreme pain in the right knee.
Would appreciate a follow up from you on the success of the Supartz in your case. I'm hesitant to have them due to the fact that I have to pay for them myself. Very expensive and if they don't help then I've thrown away about $1,500.
I hope you have good luck with the injections and get some relief from all the pain.
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Re: Supartz Knee Injections (by buck39 on Nov-08-05)
Hi, I would like to add my thoughts for your consideration. I have had the shots twice and did not help either time. Thankfully, I had insurance. I had a knee replacement last July and it still hurts and is weak, despite a long therapy regime. Both knees hurt and I have resorted to my original course of help, vicodin. Possibly the shots work for some people, but if I were paying for the shots, I would not try them and save the money. Reply to This Message | Ignore buck39 | More Posts by buck39
Re: Supartz Knee Injections (by Sue86793 on Nov-09-05)
Thanks for your thoughts, Buck. Other people's experiences are always helpful for those of us needing to make a decision. Actually, I had pretty much decided against the Supartz injections. If the insurance would have paid for them I definitely would have tried them but at a cost of $1300-$1500 for something that may not work is a lot of cash to throw out the window. My older sister had the Synvisc injections and they didn't help her.
Guess I will have to go the knee replacement route.
Sorry to hear you are still having pain despite the knee replacement. Hope things get better for you soon. Thank you so much for the input.
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Re: Supartz Knee Injections (by pattecakes on Nov-09-05)
Sue, I had the Sinvisc injections - another brand of sinovial fluid injection. Requires 3 shots a week apart. They are not worth the money and are not meant to help people with bone on bone problems. Try anything else. Have you looked into partial knee replacement. Recently attended a seminar on them. they are made by a company called Oxford and you can find them under Oxfor Partial knee Replacement Systems. Much less invasive than a full knee replacement, but only good if the damage is to the inside of your knee only. Good Luck! Pattecakes. Reply to This Message | Ignore pattecakes | More Posts by pattecakes
Supartz Knee Injections (by kensplce on Nov-07-05)
Sue: Have had osteoarthritis(OA)all my life(now 75) and was bow-legged at the early age of 7(didn't have to worry about falling off a horse; had a permanent grip). Had my first Osteotomy at 42 when it was discovered that Arthroscopic surgery would not be enough to correct the locking up knee problem. At 56 the rest of the meniscus disappeared when the joint went into a "sandpaper effect" where bone particles chewed every thing up while I was trying to walk out from hunting in the BackCountry. Is there much meniscus left in your knee right now? If not, it is not worth any amount of pain to put off getting a Knee Replacement; they are very much improved since I got mine 19 years ago and I've had no leg pain since, so I'm very happy. In fact, there was a much improved unit just approved by FDA this April, 2005 and it was being used as the main replacement unit in our local hospital immediately. That was to be expected though as two of the top Surgeons in the Field moved to this area because of it's predominance of Knee Problems. One Surgeon specializes in first time Replacements and the other Surgeon in Replacing Replacements. I was told that 20 years was the life of a Repl and mine is showing some wear and tear so I'm glad he is here. There are 12 persons I know with Repl's, (whoops, 13, a family friend got one of those new types last Tuesday) and all of them are pleased. I have been a farmer since 1964 to '97, which includes lots of manual labor, but because I learned how to control my OA at an early age I have missed very few work-hours in my life. If you desire to chat further, you can contact me at:kensplce@netscape.net Reply to This Message | Ignore kensplce | More Posts by kensplce
Re: Supartz Knee Injections (by Sue86793 on Nov-09-05)
Ken,Tried to reply to you off the message board but my email to you was returned.
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Re: Supartz Knee Injections (by kensplce on Nov-10-05)
Sue: That email service does that once in a while. Try my secure site: euphoria@countryspeed.com -Ken I was on the road all day today---do a little subbing for delivery service drivers who suddenly find they must take a day off. That way I keep my driving practices up to par----I was a Rural Mail Carrier from '78 to '97. Reply to This Message | Ignore kensplce | More Posts by kensplce
Supartz Knee Injections (by pattecakes on Nov-12-05)
Sue, Had orthoscopy on my right knee 10 years ago for the same thing. think the partial probably not for me either. But I am not bad enough yet to even consider replacments. Do you take any medication? 800mg Ibuprofen 2 daily keeps me moving and grooving. Well, it keeps me moving and out of major pain as long as I don't do too much weight bearing exercise in one day. Hang in there. they have to come out with something better soon. I am 61 in case that matters. Reply to This Message | Ignore pattecakes | More Posts by pattecakes
Supartz Knee Injections (by _swank_ on Nov-19-05)
I'm glad you decided not to get the injections. I had them but they were totally useless and were incredibly painful. I later found out they are pretty much useless if you are bone on bone. Luckily insurance paid but it was a total waste of money just the same.