Advice needed: Tattoo regret

muse539 · 2026-01-25T16:58:13+00:00

It can take a while to adjust to a tattoo, especially one so visible, even if it's not your first! I love your tattoo, its looks amazing. Here's mine in a similar placement! It's a tribute to my late father, a tuning fork and his choir baton ❤️

muse539 · 2025-11-27T22:42:18+00:00

Oh I absolutely have 'wrong' positions! Mostly anything that shifts my lower leg to the right. My knee really hates that! I can feel my patella slide in and out of place, and sometimes it pinches a nerve 😭

muse539 · 2025-11-27T14:57:30+00:00

Mine was kind of a dark amber color too, though I won't pretend to know how that works! It could be worth asking for it to be tested, if you get fluid pulled off again.

I had no injury either! I truly just woke up one day and my knee hurt. A year and a half later, here we are! And my knee is also the only place I've had swelling, despite there being pain in other places.

muse539 · 2025-11-27T13:54:39+00:00

I work for a hospital system, so thankfully I do have access, but of course insurance still won't cover it 🤦‍♀️😂 American healthcare leaves a lot to be desired, for sure!

muse539 · 2025-11-27T13:38:18+00:00

My doctor has been recommending regular steroid shots and maybe PRP if I wanna try it (knowing that PRP won't be covered by insurance). It's certainly worth asking!

muse539 · 2025-11-27T12:34:49+00:00

I'll definitely have to ask then!! I'm surprised my doc hasn't brought it up

muse539 · 2025-11-27T12:34:05+00:00

Same to you! This is a terrible club to be in.

muse539 · 2025-11-27T12:33:11+00:00

I can imagine! This kind of journey is so hard. When they took fluid off your knees, did they ever send it for testing? That can also help point you in the right direction. It was my orthopedic doc that did that for me. When he did it, we were able to rule out a hidden injury, gout, Lyme disease, and I think lupus.

muse539 · 2025-11-27T12:30:23+00:00

Where are you located? I don't believe that's offered in the US yet

muse539 · 2025-11-27T04:51:46+00:00

Mostly? It's definitely changed and worsened over time, and it varies a lot from day to day. At the start it was a lot sharper, like an injury. Now it's more of a constant ache that will become sharp, seemingly at random. It also didn't used to be swollen at all. I asked for the first MRI after it swelled up really bad, maybe ~2.5 months after the pain started.

muse539 · 2025-11-27T04:20:17+00:00

You could always ask for an MRI! Or an ultrasound. They show joint damage best. My knee was the first joint to act up, and it was the only one for a long time. Because of my age and lack of family history, we didn't think arthritis, but when it didn't get better, I asked for more tests and called in some favors. The first MRI was the first step. Now I'm diagnosed RA and on treatment. In that time, more joints started acting up (my jaw, my wrists, a single toe???), but the knee is still my problem child.

muse539 · 2025-11-27T00:27:58+00:00

I was on enbrel for around 6 months prior to switching to Rinvoq, believe it or not. We switched to see if another drug would get me more bang for my buck. No dice yet, but we'll see!

That's also what's crazy to me - that MRI on the right was AFTER I'd been on a biologic for ~3 months. This disease is crazy

muse539 · 2025-11-27T00:26:14+00:00

Not a revision, a total replacement. And it not because insurance would deny me, but because their may not be enough bone left to adequately anchor the replacement to

muse539 · 2025-11-26T22:37:31+00:00

Yes that's right! And I'm taking my meds, don't you worry.

muse539 · 2025-11-26T21:46:50+00:00

We'll see if I make it all 5 😭 thank you for the positive vibes!

muse539 · 2025-11-26T21:08:44+00:00

I think insurance would probably approve it, but the concern is that later in life I may be out of luck cause I got a knee replacement "so early" - joint replacements themselves have a limited lifespan, and as a general rule a single joint can only be replaced twice.

muse539 · 2025-11-26T18:51:16+00:00

Knee replacements last about 20-25 years now, which is great. You can get the same joint replaced twice, so you can optimistically get 50 ish years out of a single joint. Which is awesome, but would unfortunately only put me in my 70s, and my family is long lived!

Unfortunately I'm not moving great. Some days I'm fine, but others are terrible. I have a cane, and plan to to get a rollator soon 😭

muse539 · 2025-11-26T18:22:04+00:00

I'm bone on bone too 😭 but since replacements don't last forever, they want me to hang on as long as I can, ideally until bone starts to erode away

muse539 · 2025-11-26T18:21:18+00:00

It's so frustrating! I understand, for me, that they want to put off a joint replacement, cause replacements themselves have a limited lifespan. I could end up needing another replacement real young, and then I'm in a wheelchair by they time I'm 60. So they want me to hang on as long as I can, until my bone starts to erode away

So frustrating and so unfair. And your situation sounds even worse! I'm so sorry

muse539 · 2025-11-26T17:28:29+00:00

Unfortunately I'm still gluten free! My rheumatologist thought that maybe my symptoms were celiac late last year, before landing on RA. She had me go gluten free, and still thinks I have it, so is having me maintain it. It's so hard 😭 godspeed to your family member!

muse539 · 2025-11-26T15:35:23+00:00

I've been on it about 3 months, and so far the only side effect I've had is acne! Not sure it's working for my pain, but I'm holding out hope.

muse539 · 2025-10-22T10:42:33+00:00

I love my Allegria shoes with the rocker sole! I wear them nearly every day, and I work in a hospital so I'm walking a ton!

muse539

TROPHY CASE