I was given a cortizone injection in my knee Friday. I am amazed at the amount of relief it has provided thus far.
How long can I expect the relief to last? I have read anywhere from a month to six months.
I got one in my knee two years ago (and I could not walk on it then, pretty sever pain). I am still pain free and feeling good. YMMV
ETA: Cortisone, not cortizone 
My knee is pretty well worn out and I am too young for replacement at this time. I wish I’d have had this shot a couple years ago.
I’m happy to hear about your great results. Thanks for sharing.
P.S.
I know it is cortisone yet I spelled it with a z :smack:
I think I’ll blame brand name otc medications that are spelled wrong
ie. cortiz ol etc.
Yeah… thats it.
I think the injection is directly helpful for weeks, but that in some situations the inflammation is a self-perpetuating cycle and the injection can break the cycle. In that sense, it can be permanent, or can last years until something else starts the cycle again. Note that this doesn’t mean the drug is still present so much later.
I have a mysterious thing with my right knee where it decided to swell up like crazy out of nowhere, and the second time it did this within a month I got a shot. (I’m told I have a bit of dead bone in there but as awful as that sounds there’s no reason to do anything drastic about it unless it starts giving me huge problems.) It settled down beautifully until I moved maybe a month later, and it swelled up again once after I got here, but hasn’t done it again since, and that was in August. I can’t get mad about it doing it after the move which involved driving across most of the country and various packing/lifting/physical activities to go with them. So I’ve gotten months out of it. Fortunately, if I need another one, I live in a town with a lot of skiing, and therefore a lot of knee docs.
How old are you, if I may ask? Or at least a range? Age is becoming less of an issue with replacements. My mom is in her early 50s and got one last year and is doing great with it. The newer knees last longer than the older ones, and if you don’t abuse them, you should be good for quite a long time with one.
This morning my wife got cortisone shots for her plantar fasciitis. No pain for about 4 hours then it all came back this afternoon, so it hasn’t been a miracle drug for her. She’s been on her feet since the injection though, so I’m sure that didn’t help.
Sometimes the cortisone itself can cause pain (I believe that it can crystalize). Then, after that pain goes away it can feel much better. It certainly happened that way for me- the day after I got the shot it hurt worse until it finally felt better.
whiterabbit—I am 48 and they want me to wait at least another 5 years. They also want me to lose about 50 lbs. so that is what I’m working on.
The newer knees are indeed much better and hopefully will improve further by the time I get one.
PoorYorick----My doctor told me about a non-steroidal treatment , the name escapes me, that is given in a series of injections. once a week for three weeks.
He said we would try that if the cortisone didn’t work.
Good Luck