Thread: FKNA!!!! I Had Stem Cell/PRP/HGH Injections in Two Knees and One Shoulder Yesterday

The blindfold bent the top of my ear over onto itself uncomfortably. I heard the chopper approach, then felt the wash from its blades. A hand on each elbow and one on my head, bending me low, guided me toward the cabin. I clambered into the door, my feet lifted for me to find the step. Buckled in, we were up and off. A headset was placed over my ears, a mic adjusted in front of my mouth. A brief rundown of the procedure was delivered as my stoke level piqued.

A short while later my blindfold was removed as the chopper settled to the ground at a secret facility high in the mountains at the edge of a beautiful lake. I could smell the pine trees. There was still snow here. A skier was approaching. As I walked to the edge of the landing pad, the skier slid up, hit the edges and sprayed snow across my legs from the knees down. The goggles came off and the long flowing red hair of a drop-dead gorgeous woman looked at me as she pulled two syringes from between her teeth, smiled and said, “So, you ready for some stem cells?”

That would be the dream. The one I might have that unrealistically portrays my desire to get some kind of healing treatment in my knees and left shoulder. These joints have been used, abused and torn asunder during their decades of service skiing. I tried a lot of remedies. I went through surgeries. It wasn't working. I kept hearing about stem cells. Stem cells. They come from dead babies, right? So this vixen with the needles is some kind of baby killer? Not even. Nowdays, you get to use your own stem cells harvested fromm your own body. We’ve come a long way, baby. Without babies.

I was indeed treated by a beautiful red-haired lady doctor. And she did indeed inject my knees and shoulder with stem cells. I am blown away with the whole process. I'm not naming names just yet, but I will say she’s the blazing flame of a medical movement about to set the world on fire and, as one of her first patients, I’m in the hot seat to report on how stem cells helped my three specifically different joint problems heal when all other options had been exhausted. So far, so good. But it hasn’t even been 24 hours. Yet, I feel like a million buffalos. This is some interesting stuff. I’ll report more later.

Very interesting splat, especially if you feel like a million buffalos. I could use a miracle drug right about now, Keep us posted.

I wish I could feel like one buffalo right now.

Splat...

Why does your stem cell trail report sound like a million buffalos with Captain Morgan and Captain Jack Sparrow riding each - two-up style?

Did she give you anything else besides dead baby parts?

Was on a call with a guy that used to play for Stanford last week. He was one of the first people to get the PRP surgery, was able to play his last year of football and is out doing normal human fun activities these days with no problems. I hope your surgeries go just as well!

Quoted from an article to give others an idea of what it is

"The easiest way to think of how PRP works is to think of cutting yourself. The platelets stop the bleeding, but then they release the growth factors that start the healing response," said Dr. Mishra.

After drawing the patient's own blood, Dr. Mishra places it in a centrifuge which divides the sample into three layers, leaving the platelet rich plasma in the middle, ready to be injected back into the patient's knee or elbow at the point of the tear.

The injections raise the concentration of platelets to about five times normal.

"That's when we put the injections, right underneath where the tendon beneath where the tendon attaches, because that's typically where they get the problem," said Dr. Mishra.

He says evidence suggests the platelets carry growth factor proteins, which in turn stimulate cell regeneration.

Some researchers also believe the platelets may recruit other types of cells, which can help repair the damaged tissue.

"There's a study in Japan that shows when you inject the tendon with PRP, it helps bring circulating or bone marrow derivative cells to that area, and it's like a signal fire to bring in reparative cells," said Dr. Mishra.

To what level are the knees worn/torn/shorn before this injection?

Just a day after report with a mild hallucination thrown in for when the ipod friendly animated series is released.
Stem cell with PRP is its own holy grail for joint rejuvenation. I had it done because I'm busted up as a rodeo cowboy.
I'm just a bit excited about it and thought I'd report here for anyone who might be interested.

Originally Posted by caddah

To what level are the knees worn/torn/shorn before this injection?

Many decades of skiing. Each joint has it's own issues. Left knee had an acl and menicus repair 3 years ago, retore meniscus, 60% removed.
Right knee was my 'bad' knee when I did the acl/meniscus on the other. The last 5-6 weeks, I have had an ever-increasing patellar tedonitis developing to the point that I'd almost scream out loud when bending it. Shoulder has a torn/detached bicep tendon and a rotator cuff the doc said looked like hamburger.

Crystal Mt - The procedure I had done involved stem cells mixed with PRP. This is pretty much what everyone has been waiting for and soon to become widespread. It wasn't a surgery but, rather, injections into troubled areas that weren't healing either after surgery or because those areas 'needed' surgery.

Piggity Pow - I know your knees are pretty toasted. If this fixes guys like you and me, it is its own holy grail. I'll update occasionally.

as i guy who has fully ruptured both of his patellar tendons back in the 90's, i'm very curious about how this works out for you. my knees are junk, and i'm still playing hard, but it's harder every year. i'm pretty much bone on bone. the tendonitis can be wicked brutal after hard days. keep us posted, please.

Please let this work great. I need it in knees and hip.

Looking forward to hearing how this turns out.

Cuanto cuesta? $$$$?

My left knee and right shoulder want to hear about results.

nice splat! i hope this works out for you and for everyone!

from my very limited knowledge - the main difference between embryonic stem cells and "your" stem cells is that embryonic can grow new tissue. "our" harvested stem cells can help to repair damaged tissue. babies do not use all the embryonic stem cells as they develop, therefore it is possible to harvest some without harming the child. of course this opens up a whole bunch of other issues, but someday that may repair dead tissues from cancer and the likes.

The most noticeable immediate improvement has been in the patellar tendonitis. It raised its burning searing head a couple times yesterday, the day after the treatment, but is almost gone completely this am. To say I feel great again today is an understatement, even though I am in a bit of discomfort in the extraction zone where they took the stem cells out. I'll get into that later. It's quite amazing where the stem cells are and how the cells are taken out.

strawjack - thanks for that insight. The self-extracted stem cells are currently being used to repair macular degeneration in the eyes, emphysema and, I believe, can be injected into the hearts of people who have had heart attacks to regenerate damaged heart muscle/tissue.

How are the knees faring?

Bump
4
I so wanna mainline free range physbilician and thc fed ambiotic stem cells
for the fountain of youth
while listening to neil youngs cortez the killer
sign me up bro

Sign me up on the buffalo herd list asap and if not maybe the HGH 90 year old guy list will work. What wanderin* said.

Originally Posted by skifishbum

Bump
4
I so wanna mainline free range physbilician and thc fed ambiotic stem cells
for the fountain of youth
while listening to neil youngs cortez the killer
sign me up bro

Captain Morgan on psilocybin stem cells is only a small part of my daily regimen to keep up with the rigors of hanging out on tgr and preparing for burning mang, where punani and I are planning to cure to world of bad joints by introducing our solar rolling machine.

Now that its been a week, I've reduced my meds from my stem cell injections and will switch up to the burning mang med preps. Since it takes 4-6 weeks for the stem cells to kick in noticeably, all I can say is Stay Tuned.

can't believe Dr. Know it all hasn't chimed in to scold you.

Pics of the hot red head doc, or it didn't happen.



oh, and glad to hear the knees are doing well. I had a small piece of meniscus removed 4 weeks ago, back on the road bike do 40 mile rides with no problem, but I wouldn't mind getting the treatment by a hot red head.

Originally Posted by hutash

Pics of the hot red head doc, or it didn't happen.

oh, and glad to hear the knees are doing well. I had a small piece of meniscus removed 4 weeks ago, back on the road bike do 40 mile rides with no problem, but I wouldn't mind getting the treatment by a hot red head.

Dammit, hutash, she a doctor, not a celtic gladiator. Wait, actually she might be both...

I'll ask when I go back for my prp followup injections in a couple weeks.
They say the stem cells are the seed and the prp is the fertilizer.
Otherwise, joints are feeling OK.

edit: Found an interesting article on this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/he...nted=3&_r=1&hp

Had my 4 week followup PRP/HGH injections last week.
Nothing overwhelmingly noticeable in my improvement yet.
Giving it time...

Interested in your continued progress reports. There is promising work in this field. However, a doc in the front range is fighting the FDA.

Stem-cell therapy feels Food and Drug Administration's pinch
Reinjecting an adult's own cells requires study, agency says
By Jason Blevins
The Denver Post

To the Food and Drug Administration, the treatment pioneered by a Broomfield doctor appears to be a misuse of a drug that requires licensing and federal scrutiny before it's used on patients.

And that puts Dr. Chris Centeno on the front line of a simmering dispute over the use and regulation of adult stem cells, which can be cast as either a rogue therapy or breakthrough panacea.

Centeno says his procedure — Regenexx — is one of the first in the U.S. to bridge the gap between stem-cell research and actual treatment. Regenexx involves harvesting a patient's cells from bone marrow, growing more in a lab and then injecting the tissue-repairing cells into damaged joints or even lumbar discs.

Kaye is one of 500 patients who, since 2006, have paid several thousand dollars for a chance to regain their youthful bounce with Centeno's stem-cell therapy.

In Kaye's case, the treatment ended years of pain that five orthopedists said could be fixed only by fusing his ankle.

Today, three years after his stem-cell treatment, Kaye says he plays golf "whenever it's sunny."

"I can walk anywhere now," said Kaye, who hasn't used a cane since his Regenexx treatment. "It's been an incredible recovery."

But the FDA says stem cells are really a type of drug that requires intensive study and licensing.

The agency sent Centeno a letter in 2008 warning him that lack of FDA licensing for Regenexx appeared to be in violation of the Public Health Service Act. The FDA asked Centeno to write a letter detailing "steps you have taken or will take to address the violations."

Centeno, 46, sent a response to the FDA but said he has yet to receive a formal reply.

Centeno asserts that a person's own stem cells, which he magnifies in a culture of the patient's own blood in a controlled lab, are not a drug.

Dealing with the FDA

While Centeno circumvents the FDA, at least one other company is working with the agency to treat adults with their own stem cells.

In Louisiana, the 4-year-old TCA Cellular Therapy company has several ongoing FDA-approved clinical trials on humans, using patients' own stem cells to treat heart and vascular diseases. The company is waiting for FDA review of its plan for clinical trials using stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis​, or ALS, known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Centeno insists that the FDA exceeded its authority when, in an effort to prevent the spread of disease, it decided in 2005 that a patient's own stem cells should be regulated as if they were being used on another human.

But the medical community largely has supported the change.

An October 2006 report in the New England Journal of Medicine analyzed the FDA's updated regulation of stem-cell-based therapies. The report said researchers should be able to prove stem cells used won't transmit disease and will be pure, effective and safe. The authors concluded existing regulations governing stem cells "provide an appropriate structure for ensuring the safety and efficacy of the next generation of stem-cell-based products."

The International Cellular Medicine Society, which Centeno helped establish to set professional guidelines for adult stem-cell therapies and now counts 300 physicians in its ranks, is meeting this month with the FDA to discuss the issue of whether a patient's own cells classify as a regulated drug.

A hard-line stance by the FDA could force Centeno to go abroad with his Regenexx procedure, which he licenses to other doctors. Already he is helping to open a Regenexx clinic in an orthopedic hospital in China that specializes in medical tourism and caters to patients seeking unconventional medical treatment.

Harvesting, cultivating and three injections of stem cells at Centeno's clinic costs $8,000 and is not covered by most insurance policies.

Centeno's treatment, three 10-minute injections, can flood an area with as many as 40 million stem cells — roughly the size of a pea. By comparison, microfracture, a surgical technique that involves creating tiny breaks in a bone, bathes an injured joint in a few hundred thousand stem cells.

"The body sometimes has a hard time getting enough stem cells to an area, and what we do is simply amplify the number of cells," Centeno said.

Paul Pendleton is certain that adult stem-cell therapy could someday end joint-replacement surgery. He says it already saved him from replacing his knee.

He was about to give up decades of weightlifting and regular workouts when he found Centeno a year ago.

"It feels like my knee did 20 years ago. I'm back doing lunges, teaching my spinning classes," said the 53-year-old petroleum engineer. "The knee seems kind of bulletproof to me. It was a solution that conventional medicine could not offer."

Soon, regenerative stem-cell therapies like Centeno's may not be so cutting edge. A study published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Current Stem Cell Research and Therapy detailed the recovery of 227 Centeno patients. Using high-resolution MRIs, the study showed no patients developed tumors or other serious complications from the treatment.

"The safety has been quite good," Centeno said. "Especially when compared to other things like knee replacement or a big orthopedic surgery or microfracture or a laminectomy, the risk profile of this is far less than all of them."

Addressing safety issues

As doctors and researchers present more stem-cell therapies to the FDA, the regulatory process may move more quickly, said Dennis Roop, director of the new Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology at the University of Colorado Denver's An schutz Medical Campus.

"But it will not ever evolve to the point where you don't have to address the safety issues," said Roop, noting that the FDA strictly regulates labs where tissues are grown. "If any physician thinks he can take cells out, expand them and grow them in his own clinic, the risk is something very similar to gene therapy, where there was so much hype and an adverse event can stymie the field for years."

In 2007, a 36-year-old Chicago woman died three weeks after her knee was injected with genetically engineered viruses as part of an investigational treatment researching gene therapy's potential in easing the pain of rheumatoid arthritis.

While the culture and climate for stem-cell therapies is improving, Roop said, more research, like Colorado State University's stem-cell work on dogs and horses, is needed to ensure safety and learn long-term effects of stem-cell therapies.

"I think as more data accumulates documenting safety, that will potentially accelerate getting more of these stem-cell therapies approved," he said.

^ good article, thanks.

i think the big pharm lobbyists are going to fight this til the death. i am ignorant to the whole process, but i would believe they have a lot of pull with the fda. i hope my ignorant thoughts are wrong.

And to think a maggot wrote that story!!!