Yes,he has suggested a replacement but I am only 49 and really do not
want to get it at
such a young age.  Thanks for the advice.

tortoise

I have found, that for myself, ultram/tramadol does help but only if it
is in my system throughout the day. At first I was only taking one or
two per day. My rheummy said to take one every 4-6 hours, with
permission to make it two every 4-6 hours (this was when I was still
undiagnosed but erosions were found in my back and both wrists). I
found that keeping it in my system constantly definitely helped me. I
do remember being a bit dizzy when I first started it, but that did go
away for me.
HTH and good luck to you,
Char

Thanks for the suggestion but the ligaments are fine.  It is the
meniscus that is totally gone.
I asked at the beginning if I was a candidate for growing my own
cartilage but since there is none
left to harvest, it would not work.

My ortho did talk about scoping the knee.  I did not think that it
would help since the problem is bone on bone.

Has anyone had any success with a scope when there is no cartilage
left?

Thanks

Yes, indeed. I remember receiving treatments from Dr. Ongley way back in
1975, when he had an office in Costa Mesa. Truly miraculous. I had
herniated disks and nothing had helped before, not cortisone shots, not
epidurals, not chiropractors, not muscle relaxants, you name it. His
procedure which was/is called prolotherapy/sclerotherapy consisted of
weekly injections in the area of pain, and within three treatments I was
completely pain-free and continued to be so. At the time, he was a true
pioneer, he and Dr. Eek, they had the only office in the country, but I
was lucky enough to live within commuting distance to their office. Then
I lost track of them because I was no longer in pain. My son just
herniated a disk and is in terrible pain, so I went back on the net to
see what had happened to Dr. Ongley, and lo and behold, there he is, but
better yet, the procedure has finally been recognized by the medical
community and can be obtained at many locations throughout the country.
What impressed me most at the time was that one of the recommendations
for the procedure was by Dr. C. Everett Koop, the Surgeon General, who
had received it, and I understand eventually also gave the procedure to
long-suffering patients.

Good luck to you. This may be your luckiest find!!

Jack

http://www.ongleyonline.com/

http://www.ongleyonline.com/articles.html

http://www.prolonews.com/mri_herniated_disc_prolotherapy.htm

http://www.prolotherapy.com/testimonials/excerpt.htm

http://www.getprolo.com/rodney_van_pelt_prolotherapy_ukiah_san_francisco_
auburn.htm

http://www.getprolo.com/allen_thomashefsky_ashland_oregon_prolotherapy.ht
m

THERE ARE MANY MORE ARTICLES. JUST GOOGLE PROLOTHERAPY.