Your Osteoarthritis (OA) questions. Expert answers.

I have been told I need both knees replaced or I soon will not be walking. The surgeon said I have a higher risk for blood clots because of some varicose veins on my thighs. They didn't seem that bad to me so I did more research and found that a tourniquet is used during surgery.

I can no longer take NSAIDS because of potential renal disease and prednisone has been suggested as a replacement (5 mg/day) for my achy joints. Despite having peripheral iridotomies done to both eyes to prevent angle closure glaucoma, I developed an acute attack in one eye. The glaucoma made the cataract worse and it was removed.

My mom also has spinal stenosis related to the arthritis. She gets epidurals and the doc there told her she has DJD, not RA. My grandmother had arthritis, but my niece has RA. What is the likelihood that my mom's conditions are all related? How do we know if she has psoriatic arthritis?

It only affects my knees and primarily just my right knee. I started having problems with knee pain when I was 13. At 14 I dislocated my right patella. Dr's were unable to reduce my patella, so I ended up in emergency surgery to put it back in place. Before this I had general pain in both knees.