CONCLUSION: KNEE PAIN AND HOW I AVOIDED SURGERY

For almost 20 years I had been pain free until I started playing tennis again. My knee was hurting like years past. Noticing everyone on the courts wearing knee supports, wrist bands, etc. I figured it was okay for me to purchase a knee support too to help relieve the pressure. But my last day of tennis I had to practically crawl to my car. Walking was impossible.

Living in a different state I went to another orthopedic doctor. I was advised to get arthroscopic knee surgery. Remembering the ordeal prior, I went to my new internist and asked him to prescribe Doxycycline. After his refusal, I researched on Google, typing "knee pain and Doxycycline" Boom, pages and pages of information about the promising effects of the drug. I printed the 20 pages and brought them into my doctor’s office. After he read them, I got a call from his office that my prescription of Doxycycline is waiting for me at the drug store.

Knowing we must be our own advocate, we should always ask questions and acquire information about our health issues. Our doctors are more educated than we are. We rely on them to take good care of us and continue to do research on their patients illnesses. But they are human like the rest of us. They error, and make poor decisions as well. Surprisingly though, they hardly have the time to do research as often as they should.

If we are not feeling better within a reasonable time, it is most important to find a support group and learn from them about the medications they take and the doctors who have treated them satisfactory.
Thankful my doctor took the time to review the information I gave him, I wondered why he was unaware of the wonders of Doxicycline before. For his patients sake and mine, I was glad I made him discover another use of Doxycycline.

The research pointed out that even patients with Fibromyalgia benefited from Doxicycline. Whenever I hear a patient who is suffering from it, I tell them my story and suggest they speak to their doctor in prescribing it for them. Either they do not say anything because they believe their doctor is trying to help them. Others speak about it with their doctors only to have the doctors refuse to prescribe it even if their illness has not improved. I feel helpless watching them suffer and continue to stick to Dr. God's methods.

Wondering why doctors do not prescribe this wonderful drug, perhaps there is a drug shortage from what I am reading in the paper. I also called my Walgreens drug store last week asking if they have 100 milligrams of Doxycycline in stock. Their answer is "their supply is diminishing."
It is scary out there. I think they are trying to save many drugs for life and death situations because it is getting scarce. They are afraid of a pandemic and they do not publicize too much about it.

As for playing tennis again, I made a deal with my knee. I said "knee, if I am good to you and not give you pressure by playung tennis, will you be good to me" It's been a good deal and I am sticking to it.

My knee pain has gone for the past five years. If it ever comes back, I know what I have to do.

Stay well everyone!

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SURGERY

PART 2 - KNEE PAIN AND HOW I AVOIDED SURGERY

While waiting for another opinion to have knee surgery, I read about Lime Disease being ramped not only where we lived in New City, New York, but all over the world. The paper mentioned symptoms most of which I had. It also listed Lime support groups in every neighborhood.

My husband and I went to one which devastated us. The room was filled with about thirty people. Some consisted of very young teenagers and adults. They all claimed they had knee pain at the beginning of their disease. Most of them had unsuccessful arthroscopic knee surgeries.

Everyone in the room were in poor health. Most needed intravenous every day because the oral antibiotics were not effective. Unfortunately they waited too long for proper treatment. Each person spoke one at a time in orderly manner telling their story. Most said they could not get out of bed each day. They all had mood swings, poor concentration and felt ill. It appeared a spirochete from a tick or a bite from a mosquito  invaded their nervous system. The teenagers could not attend school and the adults could not go to work or function normally.

My husband and I looked at each other with complete fear that this was going to happen to me. It was too unbelievable as I was always very healthy up to that point. When it was my turn I spoke about my symptoms which were similar to theirs but definitely not as serious. I said, "Tiredness came often with spells which I could not describe. I found it difficult to concentrate on my business, but still tried pushing myself. I  just assumed the symptoms would go away."

When I told them about my planned operation they all gasped at the same time. "DON'T YOU DARE" they said with anger. "The operation will do nothing. You need to be on Doxycycline at once before it is too late. It is an anti-inflammatory as well as an antibiotic. It will never kill the spirochete, but It will put it to sleep for decades stopping them from further damage in the body.. If it should ever wake up and you are feeling pain with similar symptoms, retake Doxycycline."  They all tried other antibiotics of which none worked as well as Doxycyline. "But you must take Acidophilus with the antibiotic to avoid yeast infection", they said

They laid out a map of what I had to do. They all recommended the same doctor who will treat my symptoms rather than a blood test. There were only a couple of those doctors in the country and the one they suggested was not too far away from home.  They told me most doctors would not treat me unless my blood test shows positive. But their doctors said if my blood was positive I would be helpless and too late to cure me.

The spirochete could have been in my body for years. Perhaps as young as an infant, a mosquito bite could have bit me not knowing how severe it would be later on.  Some times we get aches and pains, never attributing it to a spirochete invading our bodies. We think it might be arthritis  How many times have we been bitten by a mosquito which developed into a rash? Who ever knew about ticks until it was broad casted everywhere in the 80’s?

This toxin, bug eats into your tissues. It can attack your knee, joints, lungs, heart, nervous system, kidneys, and heart, whatever it can find. It starts attacking usually when there is stress to the body. Usually the first place it hits is in the knees.

After the meeting I took a blood test which thank God was negative. My doctor refused to prescribe the antibiotic because by blood was fine. Therefore I went to the support group's doctor who treats the symptoms rather than the blood test. After completing a long questioner and an examination, he prescribed 100 milligrams of Doxycycline for 30 days.

When the 30 days were up, I was not feeling better. So the doctor prescribed another 30 days of the drug. After I got the new prescription, I hesitated taking the pills. I waited almost a  week  as I was dubious about taking too much medication.

When the week was up, I was pain free. The full bottle of antibiotics were not used. My original orthopedic doctor told me I was foolish not to have the operation. He said it was like having a marble in my knee whereby the pain would come and go. Eventually if I did not have the operation, my knee would get worse and I would be a cripple in less than 10 years. Luckily I was happy with my decision. I heard so many stories of people who did not have Lyme disease having the surgery.  Unfortunately they still suffered with their knees and eventually had to go for knee replacement. There are cases as well that arthroscopic knee surgery was successful in some patients.

For about fifteen years I was pain free.  I will never know if I ever did have Lyme Disease.  However, the treatment for it helped me. I was well again, playing  tennis and walking three miles every day.  For a few years I stopped playing tennis when I moved to Florida.  But when I started playing again, guess what happened?

Read what my doctor discovered and how my knee pain left me for good.
Next week

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KNEE PAIN - HOW I AVOIDED SURGERY

Over twenty two years ago, I took my 16 year old daughter to look at a college in Boston. Prior to the trip, I had been lethargic for several months with unexplained spells. Not wanting to disappoint her, we packed an over night bag and started our trip. While driving, my knee started to bother me. The further I drove the more painful it became. I couldn't believe the high level of pain I endured. It felt as though my knee was being sawed off.

Screaming was not what I wanted to do, but found myself actually crying. I never had knee pain prior, nor anything so intense that I could remember. I did not understand how or where this pain came from or what caused it. I wanted to turn back to go home, but we were halfway there. I reasoned with myself that pain eventually goes away.  Getting off the exit, I road into town where I purchased a bottle of pain relievers.

Making the best of it, for my daughter's sake, we continued with her plans to be interviewed at Boston University. Afterwards we drove to the popular Quincy Market which is a tourist area and a college hangout. On the weekends entertainers, jugglers, etc., would come out. We enjoyed a lovely lunch and ventured to the mall. Walking was very difficult so I stayed in the car and told her to go alone. That weekend was a nightmare.

Arriving home, I immediately saw my doctor who referred me to an orthopedist. My exray showed a torn cartilage which had to be repaired immediately by arthroscopic knee surgery.

Before undergoing the operation, I was about to go for a second opinion when I read in the paper about an alternative to knee surgery.

How I got rid of the pain for good. ….. continued next week