Painful, swollen knee - pseudo gout?
Posted , 5 users are following.
I've had osteoarthritis in my knees for many years. Last week I had a trapeziectomy operation which was extremely stressful as the regional nerve block didn't work properly. Three days later my right knee suddenly became extremely painful - throbbing - and swelled up. I couldn't walk on it, I've been using ibuprofen gel and paracetamol and it has improved very slightly today ((3 days in).
Considering the speed of the swelling and pain, does this sound like pseodo gout to you? I had pain and swelling of the other knee six weeks ago, but it was nothing like this. I'm thinking of seeing my GP to discuss it, but would appreciate your thoughts.
0 likes, 20 replies
Cheetah
Posted
Just to add that I've also been taking a diuretic for 16 years as part of my high blood pressure medication - 2.5mg bendroflumethiazide Could this also be a problem?
Sochima822 Cheetah
Posted
Cheetah Sochima822
Posted
Hi, I'm 70 - just!
tara73162 Cheetah
Posted
This sounds exactly like pseudo gout, unfortunately. I was just diagnosed with it after having a terrible knee for about 3 weeks (so far). It took the emerg dr to figure it out after draining the fluid and sending it away for analysis. It was awful and I am still on crutches. My regular Dr. thought it was just osteoarthritis as I had a previous partial menisectomy many years ago. The only way to diagnose PG is to have your Dr. tap your knee and send it off for analysis. Another clue - the fluid that came off my knee was straw colored. It will probably show WBC +++ with CPP crystals. It also shows up on Xrays as calcification of the menisci. It is rare, which is why it is hard to get a diagnosis. I hope you don't have it as there is no cure for it and the recommended treatment seems to be oral NSAIDS and or sterioid injection and or cochicine. The good news is the acute phase seems to last a couple of days to a couple of weeks but can recur
Surgery/injury/illness is known to bring it on. Good luck. P.S. If it is Pseudogout, you should ask your dr to run some tests to find the underlying cause.
Cheetah tara73162
Posted
Hi Tara, thanks for your reply. By the time I was able to see my GP the swelling had gone down. I had an x-ray of my knees, but there was no report of calcification. To be honest, I'm not 100% convinced that this is accurate as, in the past, an x-ray report said my foot was normal, when an ultrasound showed that the mid-joint is bone on bone! My GP, like yours, has put it down to osteoarthritis. If I get it again - I hope not - I'm definitely going to see the doctor while my knee is swollen and have him check the fluid. And I'll take your advice and ask him to find the underlying cause. Thanks.