[irmaRN]

hi.. i was wondering if anyone has ever had synvisc injections for oa... after 3 knee effusions with drainage, in less than 2 months, my next option is synvisc.. are they worse than having your knee tapped? oh the joy of the aging process

[LCRN]

Originally Posted by irmaRN

hi.. i was wondering if anyone has ever had synvisc injections for oa... after 3 knee effusions with drainage, in less than 2 months, my next option is synvisc.. are they worse than having your knee tapped? oh the joy of the aging process

Synvisc will not STOP your knee from developing effusions necessarily. The etiology of the effusions needs to be determined.

I had synvisc injections in 2001 --> the intra-articular injections regardless of the practictioner's skill level do cause pain. I had the series of 3 injections and found that within 6 months I was no better off than prior to the injections. My physician put a "freeze" spray to help with the pain at the injection site...this did help some.

Do a search about synvisc and you can find some good information. Unfortunately for me, my results were not what I wished they were.

Good Luck!

[P_RN]

My friend's hubby had it done. He said it helped for about a week. Plus it's REALLY expensive he had to pick it up at a drugstore and pay them for it. I think he said like $600. We really can't give medical advice here so let us know how it comes out.

[meownsmile]

I have heard the same reports that it is very limited as to how much relief it brings and is only a short term answer.

[sqky]

I had synvisc injections in both knees 2 years ago. The doc told me then it was 50/50 on it working. I was lucky, it has been effective for the past 2 years. Prior to the injections, I was getting steriod and antibiotic injections in both knees after they were aspirated.

It was a series of 3 injections in each knee 7 days apart. My insurance company had to pre approve it. Each knee cost was $1800, my actual cost was around $300 after the insurance paid their part.

[slclvn]

My husband had injections to both knees. Suffered no problems. Doc said at the time that he would eventually need replacements but it has been 3 years since the 1st knee injected and 2 since the other knee injected and although he has some problems with pain, it is not often and certainly tolerable for him. He is a believer in the synvisc.

[rnparrot]

i have had supartz injections in my left knee with excellent results. it is the same type of medicine. i had synvisc in my right knee but that was after i had it scoped 2 times and there was very little cartiledge left. if your knee has never been touched surgically, it should give you some relief. and the nice thing is, you can have the injections every 6 months. get the doc to freeze the site as he injects and it won't hurt so bad. the worst part for me is after the first injection is standing up. you may want to just sit and wait a few minutes. GOOD LUCK!!!

[NJNursing]

My grandmother had cortisone shots to her knees bilaterally and the left one aspirated. She then went on to Synvisc which her insurance fully paid for and it didn't help at all. She's now looking at BL LTK's.