I forgot some important details in my last post, such as, where did I choose to have this procedure performed and who will I be working with. One piece of this puzzle is the Centeno-Schultz Clinic in Broomfield, CO. The Regenexx procedures were invented at the Centeno-Schultz clinic. The Regenexx procedures emcompass Blood Platelet and Advanced Stem Cell procedures that can be used to repair tendons, ligaments, tissues, bones and joint injuries. The blood platelets and stem cells come from the patient, not from some other source, and not from umbilical cords or other means. Your own body is used to heal your body. How cool is that? Since I first had stem cells, Centeno-Schultz has trained physicians across the United States to perform these interventional orthopedic procedures. This is lucky for me as I can now get treatment closer to home. I chose to work with Dr Jonathan Fenton in Winooski, VT – one of the Regenexx providers. For more information on the Regenexx process you can visit their website https://www.regenexx.com.
The stem cell procedure is a 3 day procedure that spans a little over 1 week. The first procedure is Prolotherapy. The second procedure involves bone marrow stem cell extraction, and re-injecton into the area of repair. The third procedure is Blood Platelets (blood draw and re-injection). There are a lot of needles involved in all of this. The good news is all injections are fluoroscopy or ultrasound guided. This means they are precise and exactly where needed. Topical numbing agents are used – so this helps. I look at it this way, you can choose to have surgery and incisions, or you can choose to “suck it up – buttercup” and deal with some needles.
I completed the Prolotherapy injections. It was only 4 injections and it was not painful. As explained to me – prolotherapy prepares the knee by stimulating a healing response in the body. On the day of this injection my knee felt itchy inside – kind of like when a cut is healing. Prolotherapy helps tighten tendons and ligaments. I can tell you after 2 days, I can notice a slight difference in my knee. It feels more solid and stable.
Next up stem cells. I have 2 days to prepare for this procedure. You can do things to improve the amount of stem cells that are available in your body. Fasting or being on a restricted caloric intake can improve your stem cell counts. I chose the latter and only ate about 800 calories/day for the 2 days prior to stem cells. I will also have at least a 16 hour fast prior to stem cell extraction. Why not do everything you possibly can to improve your odds? There are other things you can do from a diet perspective to improve stem cell counts: give up sugar, reduce caloric intake, reduce carbohydrate intake, light aerobics exercise, weight lifting, and taking nutritional supplements. I started that list a few weeks ago….I am as ready as I will be. Tomorrow is the big day.