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Extreme intense knee pain, frozen joints, Any ideas to help plz??

K

Khadijah

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
Messages
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I got a question that maybe some of the medical knowledgable ppl here can help me with. Lately sometimes when i go to sleep, but it happens more often when i pass out , i wake up and there is a extreme intense pain in my knee joints and it hurts so bad that I cant move. Literally I am frozen, the pain is so intense and extreme, that i am frozen to the spot, it is like someone put super glue in my joints and i cant move my legs at all. i end up staying in the position that i am in for a long time tryin to be able to move a little bit at a time. the pain, there aint no words for it, its excruciating. it feels like there is tendons in my knee that are just about to snap completely. Its hard to put into words, but just imagine a definite 10 on a 1-10 pain scale. Like i said, it makes me not be able to move.

The only ways i have got out of these positions so far, is to stay very very still for a half hour or so, and then slowly little by little , im talking like a half inch at a time, start slightly moving my lower leg with my hands, unbending it little by little, this takes a long time and hurts a lot but its the only way i can get out of bed or the pain is too intense. sometimes i got to stop doing this becz it hurts too much, and i just lay in bed for mad long. If i had someone else there maybe they could stretch it out for me or help me get outa bed. Its mad weird. I never had anything like that before. and this is from sleepin in a totaly normal position, laying on my side with my knees half way bent nothin crazy that would hurt me. It is only in my knees not hip or ankle joints.

does anybody know wat this might be? Like i said, imagine how it would feel, if someone took a needle and injected super glue into your knee joints and you were tryin to break the bond and its tearing the muscle and tendons apart and you want to scream from the pain cuz it feels like i dont even know wat. Agony. that is how it feels tryin to bend or unbend my knees when i wake up with this frozen pain. So If anyone got any ideas on wat this might be a sign of or anything i could do to make it better i would be mad grateful.
 
Gout?

probably not, though. It would probably be felt in smaller joints first. This is definitely something that you should see a doc over, though. <3
 
I have no idea what it might be Lacey, but you definitely need to see a doctor to have it checked out.
 
Yea i am the type to just be like watever and not do anything so i needed you guys's input cuz on my own i would prolly just ignore it. so sane ppls opinions on whether that sounds serious or not, is a good look! Thanks guise :D
 
I was having those exact symptoms, but in my hands/wrists/shoulders, when I was doing a high-ish dose (240-280mg) of oxy daily. I posted on this a little while back and Shambles replied that that condition is a common reaction to massive histamine release associated with opiates. Maybe you could hit him up for more info.

I don't know why it would happen at night, but I dealt with that exact situation. Sometimes I'd wake up from the pain it was so bad. It was always when I woke up: I'd lay there and slowly try to move my hands and fingers for about 1/2 hour in agonizing pain. Then it would take about half the day or more before I could close my hands. During this period, I never could manage to close my hands to make a fist (6 mos or so.)

It went away when I tapered and went on a low maintenance dose. I never went to the doc though. Because, naturally, being a drug addict, I never go to the doc unless I'm getting pills. 8)
 
do you have high blood pressure? leg cramping can happen. or maybe you walk a lot? try taking glucosamine
 
my brother had terrible joint pain when he was on Accutane for his Acne. You might have too much vitamin A. Apparently it can cause joint pain.
 
wow i dont know what it could be lacey... but my suggestion is a heating pad to loosen up the joint/ease the pain when you're first waking up. just wrap your knee(s) in it and it might help. i try and do that when my hip is all fucked up, i got a really fucked up hip and sometimes i cant even stand up on it when i first wake up. but i know how mine was caused, it was from injury. good luck :)

...and i also think you should go see a doctor cuz a 10 out of 10 is definite serious business.
 
Lacey I just had to reply as the same thing happens to me every morning, my right knee just freezes and the pain when I try to move it is unbearabe, I have tears falling down my face its so bad. I have artritis in my joints and have always put it down to that but I am thinking of going to the doctors to see if theres anything I can take to try and stop it. If I woke up and the house was on fire id be stuck as I still wouldnt be able to rush. It helps to know other people have the same problem as my partner just doesnt have a clue, he just says "Whats up, is it cramp" yet I get it every morning.
 
Hey lacey. Before anything, do try to see if easing on the uric acid-rich food (beans, lots of meat, cheese, etc.) helps. This tends to help a lot with people I know. My grandma's and ma's arthritis/gout pain is relieved when they stop eating cheese. I get knee pain when I am in cheesy/creamy countries (Nordic areas) and get carried away with the food.

I regret not knowing their counterparts in your country, but an herbs that seems to work astoundingly well on gout/joint pain is a common weed here.

A friend of mine had frozen shoulders and went to a doctor who recommended everyday glucosamine and six (!) months of physical therapy. She found this so expensive so she went to another doctor who recommended this herb (to be drunk in massive amounts everyday) and also performed some massage with hot oil. He also told her to wrap slices of ginger around her shoulderblades with cloth every night. And this is the weird part-- the first morning she took the tied thing off, the ginger slices had turned dark brown. The next day, they were light brown, and the last day they were normal-yellow like a normal ginger, and that day the pain was gone.

I also recommended this herb (without the massage) to my other friend, a marathon kind of guy with gout on his toe and knee. It really worked well in a short period of time!
 
D'tergent that herb sounds amazing, think im going to try it myself but do you know if it has any side effects as i take tablets for hypertension as well as prescription pain killers.
 
I'm not sure about the painkillers, but my friend (who did the ginger thing) was on hypertension meds at the time, so I'm guessing they don't have any conflicting effects.
 
Definitely go see the doctor, lacey. Keep us updated so we know you're OK. :)
 
^^ yea listen to roger, I agree you should just take a quick trip to the doctor to be on the safe side :D
 
Geez, his post about his painful knees was on the start of the year, you guys are posting as if it is today or this week, he propably had an operation by now! Starting with Jasmine who was knew and did not notice the date, the rest followed!
If you are concerned today, send him a private message!
 
I have it too....

Khadijah said:
I got a question that maybe some of the medical knowledgable ppl here can help me with. Lately sometimes when i go to sleep, but it happens more often when i pass out , i wake up and there is a extreme intense pain in my knee joints and it hurts so bad that I cant move. Literally I am frozen, the pain is so intense and extreme, that i am frozen to the spot, it is like someone put super glue in my joints and i cant move my legs at all. i end up staying in the position that i am in for a long time tryin to be able to move a little bit at a time. the pain, there aint no words for it, its excruciating. it feels like there is tendons in my knee that are just about to snap completely. Its hard to put into words, but just imagine a definite 10 on a 1-10 pain scale. Like i said, it makes me not be able to move.

The only ways i have got out of these positions so far, is to stay very very still for a half hour or so, and then slowly little by little , im talking like a half inch at a time, start slightly moving my lower leg with my hands, unbending it little by little, this takes a long time and hurts a lot but its the only way i can get out of bed or the pain is too intense. sometimes i got to stop doing this becz it hurts too much, and i just lay in bed for mad long. If i had someone else there maybe they could stretch it out for me or help me get outa bed. Its mad weird. I never had anything like that before. and this is from sleepin in a totaly normal position, laying on my side with my knees half way bent nothin crazy that would hurt me. It is only in my knees not hip or ankle joints.

does anybody know wat this might be? Like i said, imagine how it would feel, if someone took a needle and injected super glue into your knee joints and you were tryin to break the bond and its tearing the muscle and tendons apart and you want to scream from the pain cuz it feels like i dont even know wat. Agony. that is how it feels tryin to bend or unbend my knees when i wake up with this frozen pain. So If anyone got any ideas on wat this might be a sign of or anything i could do to make it better i would be mad grateful.
Click to expand...

Good to know there are a few others out there with this 'unknown' condition. I have it occasionally, and it happened again this morning. It only takes me about 30 seconds or so now to get my knee moving. Never my hands, just my knee, searing pain on the outside part of the knee where I cannot move it without searing pain. Gotta move it slowly SLOWLY where eventually it doesn't hurt anymore. No problems at ALL other than a minute or less after I wake up and realize I can't move. Pinned to the bed till it 'releases'. I can't find anything on the net medically for a reason, have looked a lot. The only thing I can figure is that I slept in the same position for a very long time, and possibly there's a portion of the knee that doesn't get blood flow?? But then, wouldn't your foot fall asleep too? Not going to try the doctor, I'm quite sure I would have to see about 50 of them before one REALLY knew what it was. I don't think it's threatening in any way but it really hurts once in a while anyway. It's like you have this 'made up' thing or something, but it's real. It really reminds me of when I had restless legs (Now called 'RLS' and restless legs syndrome) and tried to explain it to my doctor who I was seeing for another reason, and he looked at me like I was crazy. Came to find out about a year later what it was from an article in a magazine!!!!
So, if you ever find out what it is, please post it somewhere so others may be able to find it thru searching the internet. Good luck to us!
 
Hi , I just saw your post by doing research on Google as I from time to time in winter period also suffer from frozen knees .
I know it is a while ago but I thought it might be still useful the answer to someone. It happened to me too while asleep to wake up and felt my knees frozen and in excruciating pain if I try slightly to move them. It mostly happens in winter period affected by the cold air.
The only thing that help me to recover was using of a warm water bottle applying between my knees or sport gel ( contains camphor and menthol). Camphor is bringing warm release to the muscle joints and let the blood flow freely. While menthol has opposite effect. It feels cold and makes the blood circulation flow faster to the affected area.
After few minutes the warm from the jot water bottle helped to bring circulation in my knees enabling them to move and the pain was gone.
I hope this answer will be useful to those who suffer from sudden frozen -locked knees while asleep.
 
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I can't diagnose you from afar but I can tell you that this is certainly related to blood circulation. When you go to sleep blood circulation drops, so that when you awaken if there are any injured or debilitated parts of the body they will hurt a lot then.

You can make a simple linniment out of 1 cup vinnegar and 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper. Boil it for about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool. Before you go to sleep you can rub some of the linniment onto your sore joints, wrap it with a non-breathable/non-absorbent bandage, and then apply heat so it absorbs. Cayenne increases circulation so it might keep the blood flow moving while you sleep, so that when you awaken there is less excruciating pain.

You should get to a medical professional who can do simple manual tests like the chondromalacia test, drawer test, etc. on your knees to make sure there is not anything out of alignment or structural damage. Pains like yours are often linked to degeneration of the cartilage under the patella, swelling of the bursae in the knee, or generalized arthritis. If those things can be ruled out, then you should look at your diet and exercise levels and over all body circulation.

Do you have cold hands and feet easily? Does your skin turn a shade darker in only the slightest bit of cool weather? Do you get numb legs from sitting too long? Do you have a very sedentary job? Any cardiovascular problems that you know of? Does anyone in your family have a history of venous thrombosis or other clotting disorders?

If structural problems can be ruled out then I would look at disorders of the blood and cardiovascular system, especially as it pertains to blood circulation. One simple thing you can do is look under your tongue in the mirror. If there are big purple veins going all the way to the tip of the tongue, then your blood circulation is poor. In people who do regular cardio, those veins are usually absent or very minimal.
 
Sounds a lot like gout, though could be rheumatoid arthritis. Either way, go see a rheumatologist, or any doctor.
 
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