[madmmac]

Doctors(or others who have slept in a Holiday Inn Express--recently),

My right knee had been really bothering me for a couple of months now. Went to my personal DR and had and exam and x-ray. X-ray showed a 40% collapsing towards the lateral side of the knee. He could not see in the x-rays but speculated a meniscus tear and sent me in for an MRI.

MRI was done and results were given to an Orthopedic Surgeon(OS). OS stated that I had a 2 to 2+ tear to the lateral meniscus and a 1+ to 2 tear to the medial meniscus.

But the OS seemed to be more concerned with the amount of traumatic arthritis that was present laterally. The lateral side is where the pain is persistent. Raising from seated, stairs and twisting are painful. Bending or squatting of the knee right now is impossible. I have been taking Celebrex for the last week which seems to have helped the pain quite a bit.

I'll get it repaired/cleaned up in another month or so when the rains/winter sets in and I don't have so much outdoor stuff to do.

The OS also mentioned injections for better movement and pain reduction but they only sounded like temporary solutions.

My biggest concern is that the OS said I probably would have to have a knee replacement within 5 years due to the pain. I want to put this off as long as possible but still be as active and pain free as possible.

I have been taking chondroitin and glucosamine supplements for years.

I'm open to both regular or alternative medicine as opposed to surgery for prolonging my original equipment as long as possible. I'm 53, 6'1 about 200lbs---yes, I could lose some.

Thanks for any input,