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Stem cell nightmare!

Posted , 6 users are following.

Stem_cell
Stem_cell

I had my own adult adipose stem cell & PRP injected into both knees.  Ten days later the left knee developed chronic inflamation.  The pain has been really unbearable since !!

 I’m 65. Female, good health, not overweight.  I only wanted to stave off knee replacement down the road. They were starting to get a little achy.  I was trying to be preventative.  Now, I can hardly walk and need a cane. It’s been 6 weeks since the procedure.  The first week I was fine, then boom!  I ended up going to hospital in an ambulance and carried in a stretcher!  Nobody seems to know when the inflammation will subside.  My doctor told me I would feel rejuvenated. Ha!  I can think of a dozen words describing how I feel.  None of them are rejuvenated. I feel the opposite of rejuvenated!  

 

1 like, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Anhaga
    Anhaga Stem_cell

    Posted

    What kind of treatment have they given you?  Do you need antibiotics for infection?  An effective anti-inflammatory?  
    • Stem_cell
      Stem_cell Anhaga

      Posted

      Hi.  Thanks for your message. I have a new doctor now, and had an ultrasound.  There was infection. I’m on strong antibiotics and anti inflammatory injections.  Still lots of inflammation and pain.  Progress is at snails pace. I’m Only supposed to walk (with my cane) to bathroom-bed for another week.  I feel I’ve already lost a lot of strength.  AND, I’m supposed to be hiking with my son in Utah in July. Ha! Somehow can’t see that happening.  

      My new orthopedic doctor thinks I HAD an average case of tendinitis which coulda-shoulda  been treated in several different ways non aggressive ways. Still in pain,  playing the waiting game now.  I feel especially stupid having had a procedure done that I really didn’t need. 

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga Stem_cell

      Posted

      It is what it is.  Don't think about what might have been. Your job now is to focus on healing and it seems you're in good hands with your new doctor, so hopefully you'll soon be feeling a lot better.  Maybe the hiking will have to be in July 2019?

    • Stem_cell
      Stem_cell Anhaga

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply Anhaga.  I’m trying to be both patient and positive with my healing. I know my knees will be back to normal in time.

        A big part of the reason I posted was to bring awareness to other people who are considering stem cell injections.    It CAN go wrong.  You need to ask your doctor about side effects.  My doctor said the only thing that  Could possibly go wrong, is that it would not work , and there would be no improvement.   That was simply not true.  My side effects were terrible.  I’m lucky I’m retired. Otherwise I’d have to have taken weeks,  or months off work.

  • jules130
    jules130 Stem_cell

    Posted

    Hi ya, I am sorry to hear that you have had a bad reaction to stem cell treatment. I have had stem cell treatment to my right knee.I had the second needle  done about a year and a half ago. I have had very good results. I have had about 80% improvement.Less intensity of pain, length of pain and frequency of pain.I had mine done due to already having had my left knee replaced. I have had septic arthritis in my replaced knee.I nearly died. My knee was opened up twice in 3 days.I still have pain and stiffness and swelling in the replaced knee. If I was able to, I would have had stem cell treatment in my left knee and not had it replaced. Seems that some treatments works for some and not for others. Good luck.
  • mountainhigh
    mountainhigh Stem_cell

    Posted

    I have had both hips and knees replaced. Unfortunately I developed an infection in my right knee after it was replaced. The replacement was renewed and very fortunately healed well but not nearly as well as it did for the 5 weeks prior to the infection.

    We are warned that operations can have complications but expect them to happen to others so it's a tremendous shock when we are the ones. My decisions to have my joint replacements were made for good reasons and I have never regretted the decisions in spite of the problems. Note both knees are painful when I exercise on the cross trainer but my right knee is worse. The moral of this is that replaced knees never work as well as healthy knees. My replaced hips work perfectly.

    • thisolegirl
      thisolegirl mountainhigh

      Posted

      My bilateral TKR has given me my life back. I can walk! They are wonderful but like you say they don't work as well as the real thing. My hips are going next & I keep asking just how many implants can one person have before the tide turns. Have never received a satisfactory response. Have you wondered also & what are your thoughts?

    • mountainhigh
      mountainhigh thisolegirl

      Posted

      My operations were carried out very close together..10months for 1st hip to 2nd hip followed by right knee 5 months later. My physiotherapist following my 1st hip was not helpful. If possible you need to fully recover from 1 operation before the next. As for the infection that was down to bad luck. About1 in 300 operations go wrong. It's not really a question of the tide turning. My consultant was devastated that my knee went septic. He was fanatical about sterility. Just bad luck which can happen to anyone!

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