X-Ray Technician: Right knee? Left Knee?
Me: Both knees and right elbow.
X-Ray Technician: Falling apart? Accident?
Me: Falling apart.
The good news from Tuesday's visit is that the x-rays were pretty encouraging. My knees haven't changed much in the last three years. The bad news is one of the more promising treatment options may not be covered by our insurance. I think I know what this is about, though. The old saying goes "you can pay me now or pay me later". If the insurance company chooses the cheaper "pay me now" option, they pay for it. If they choose the much more expensive "pay me later" option, your next health plan or the one after that will pay for it. The insurance companies know that most people are switching plans every year or two because their health insurance premiums are partially paid by their employers and their employers are constantly switching plans to lower their premiums. It's a circle but I wouldn't call it vicious.
5 song iTunes shuffle:
- Tom Sawyer - Rush - Moving Pictures
- Heart Of Gold - Neil Young - Harvest
- You're All I've Got Tonight - The Cars - The Cars
- Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual
- Baby Blue - Badfinger - The Very Best Of Badfinger
Quote of the Day
Landlords in Britain's capital are evicting tenants so they can cash in on this summer's Olympic Games by charging tourists many times the usual rent.
Marian Smith, msnbc.com
Blog of the day is here.
Quote from said blog: "SUPARTZ may be the right treatment for you if: 1) Your knee pain is due to osteoarthritis"
Good luck with whichever option you take. I hadn't heard about that injection therapy before. It sounds interesting, but does it really work?
I don't know if it works, Dave. Hope to find out, though. Cortisone does work for me but I'd like to try a non-steroid treatment if insurance covers it or if it isn't prohibitively expensive.
The effectiveness of the cortisone shots my mom would get kept getting shorter and shorter. That's why she decided to get one and then the other knee replaced. I don't think the injection treatment was ever offered to her. I don't know if that's because she wasn't a good candidate or maybe it wasn't fully developed.
It probably wasn't on the market yet. This is the first time I've seen it and I've been going to the same orthopedic surgeon for many years. My concern for knee replacement, besides the many obvious ones, is their lifespan. They're getting better and better at knee replacement but I don't think they have one that spans more than 10 years or so yet. If and when I finally submit to that procedure, I want it to be my first ... and last.