Phyllis Said:

really bad knee pain shall i seek a second opinion?

We Answered:

I would call your doctors office first and be a proactive patient. Paper gets shuffled and misplaced, so call your doctor and request the referral to the physiotherapist AND as for a referral to an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in knee problems, torn ACL, torn Meniscus, etc. Your doctor is just there to direct you, but you can't sit back and wait without checking back in with them.

There are many things can cause you pain in your knee. A spider bite or scrape can cause an infection inside the knee. Sleeping with your leg off your bed can cause numbness or pinching. There just doesn't need to be any trauma for a joint to become inflamed.

If you hear any noises from this knee you don't need to worry about. It's just fluid moving around in the joint. If you have SWELLING or PUFFINESS then you need to see a doctor.

I would invest in a memory foam knee pillow or a wide enough pillow that provides you comfort so that you can sleep. The knee can freeze if you don't keep it moving, so there is a list of exercises for you below. It can take weeks or extensive months....it'll depend on whether or not you'll need fluid released from the knee at a later date or surgery.

You need to keep the inflammation and pain down, so you must understand how to take the medication properly ~ you don't take it as needed, you take it consistently every day until you feel better.

If the doctor says to take ibuprofen (not addictive) every 4 hours for 10 days, then you take it exactly this way and after 10 days, you'll know if it feels better or still swollen and can then decide whether to continue with the anti inflammatories which are not addictive at a reduced amount or same amount.

The same goes with narcotics (percocet, vicodan, demerol, fentynal, morphine, &/or codeine).You take it as prescribed and not AS NEEDED this is how people develop an addiction because they wait for the pain then take the pill it doesn't work so they pop another and the addiction starts.

As long as you take it as prescribed, your body will stabilize on it and you won't feel loopy all the time or stoned. When you take it whenever your body doesn't get a chance to metabolize it so you get "crashes" with cold sweats & a yo yo of emotions.

I suffered with pain for years and it took 10 years before I was given the pain protocol which clearly explains to you how to take your medication for the best results and least side effects. I attend the pain clinic at our hospital every 3-5 weeks for an infusion for pain, so I'm up on pain protocols.

Be aware in the future for the following symptoms for bursitis of the knee. This can occur anytime now that you've had an injury so be aware of "bursitis" and the symptoms. There doesn't need to be a reason for BURSITIS, BUT it's incredibly PAINFUL. You could find yourself in the emergency room for pain control because tylenol might not touch it.

Bursitis is the most painful and it's difficult to bear weight. If you have an anti inflammatory, this will take down the swelling and pain fast. If it isn't working then you need to see your doctor asap to try a different prescription.

You should take it as directed on the bottle. If it says every 4 hours, then you take it every 4 hours. If you take it as needed, you might as well not even waste the doctor's time.

A lot of people think taking on as needed basis is better. It does nothing if it doesn't retain a build up of the medication so it can attack the inflammation.

ANTI INFLAMMATORY ~ ADVIL MOTRIN CELEBREX VIOXX

Sit on the side of your bed with both legs draped over. Try to straighten the knee. You may hear crunching, popping, etc. Keep doing it, up and down, up and down, like a handle on a pump...you'll need to keep doing it 4-6x a day.

You could also lie down on your bed. Lift your knees up and now try and move them like you would on a bicycle....keep doing it until all noise disappears from the knee ~ do not exceed 5 minutes.

Continue to do this, take anti inflammatories, ice the pain, and then warm the tendons.

***if you have puffy, swelling, and pressure increasing your pain, you may need to see the doctor to have the water drained.

http://www.drugs.com/cg

pain protocol further explanations...http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/gosh/clinicalserv…

Chronic Pain Condition, Knee Injury, Sciatics, Anklosying Spondylitis

Lucille Said:

is psychology worth degree?

We Answered:

I can't speak for the UK, but here in the states, a psychology undergraduate degree isn't worth the paper it is printed on. Graduate degree, different story.

I recall the psych degree referred to as the English degree of the 90's.

Mae Said:

Physiotherapy A levels?

We Answered:

I'd definitely stick with biology and PE. Maybe take chemistry if you can? It's extremely useful for medicine, and universities love it. Health and social care isn't very good, stick with more academic subjects. Psychology isn't really needed either, maybe pick english or maths. If you're focused on one thing, you won't need a variety of things to make your uni application stand out, it already will with the DofE and music grades.

So yeah, Human biology, PE, Chemistry?, Maths?, English?
Do what you feel confident with.