Kneed some relief

It's almost 1:30 in the morning and I'm up because my knees hurt so bad I wanna cry.  I got up to take one of my arthritis pills and of course I've gotta stay up for a bit and eat something or else my stomach will be a mess.  Nights like tonight I feel like such an old lady.

My knee story starts around two years ago.  After Kyrie was born I was still having a lot of pain in my right knee.  I figured once the preggo thing was over that it would just go away on it's own, but unfortunately it didn't.  When it got to the point that I was afraid to climb the stairs while holding my newborn daughter I decided it was time to go to the doctor.  They did x-rays and pumped me full of cortisone to start.  The first shot worked great for about a month and then the pain came back.  I had a reaction to the second shot.  My knee swelled up and I was in unbearable pain.  After that I scheduled surgery. They didn't know if they'd find anything they could fix because nothing showed up on x-ray or MRI but I was willing to give it a shot, anything to make the pain stop.  Last April my surgeon performed arthroscopic knee surgery, repaired a small meniscus tear, and scraped way more arthritis than any (then) 27 year old should have.  After the recovery (which by the way is WAY longer than they prepare you for) I had a fantastic pain free summer.  When fall rolled around though it was back to the same old routine.  I went back much earlier this time though to avoid the severe pain I'd experienced before.  My surgeon decided I needed a new round of shots called hyluronic acid.  I'm sure I spelled that wrong, but what it boils down to is some cushioney pain relieving gel made from rooster combs.  The treatment consisted of three shots spaced one week apart.  It is supposed to be a wonder drug that they shoot up all the athletes with.  Again it worked great and I was pain free for most of the winter.  Spring rolls around (notice a change in season patterns here?) and I'm back at the orthopedic surgeon, in pain again.  It hasn't been long enough to have another round of rooster shots so he prescribed me an NSAID (non steroid anti inflammatory drug.)  Hello wonder drug I love you!  After just 3 days of taking it I was pain free again and having a great summer.  Summer however is coming to a close and here I am, having a light snack at 1:30am so I can take my drugs and hope to get some sleep soon because my knees (yes both, now the left one hurts as well) hurt so darn bad.  I'll be calling my surgeon in the morning to have him reevaluate the right knee and decide a course of action for the left.  I can't believe I'm even considering it but I may ask for a script for another round of physical therapy.  I know eventually this will all lead back to surgery and at least one knee replacement by the time that I'm 40.  (Why did I have to be so good at playing catcher in softball?  It was fun but my knees hate me now.)  I'm still working on coming to terms with that but ya gotta do what you gotta do I suppose.  If it means I'll be able to keep up with the kids, bring on the chop chop.