You need to be able to walk comfortably in a week.

Glucosamine won't work in the short term. It might improve things in a couple of months' time, but that's too late.

Get yourself a decent physiotherapist TODAY and do the exercises. If they give you ultrasound, use the internet to find similar physios in Europe and top up the ultrasound as you're travelling. Ask your physio for exercises you can do on the plane, and find a way of doing them - religiously -as you're travelling. Make sure the physio has checked your walking style and given you advice. Buy whatever inner cushioons etc she recommends. The right exercises (building up muscles in the right places to cushion you), ultrasound and anti-inflammatories are pretty well the ONLY way of building yourself up quickly for European-style walking.

If in doubt, OD on anti-inflammatories, double-checking first you've got the right ones. And even when you've killed the pain (I got what sounds like exactly the same thing a few days ago, and I'm describing what I've done), ration your walking seriously, walk slowly and ALWAYS carry a stick.

Try to avoid geting into a situation where, when it starts twingeing again (whatever you do, it will), you're going to have the same walk back. After the extra walk, it'll take several days of pills, near-rest and exercise to get yourself back to where you were before you overdid it.

So ENSURE there are no long airport hikes. Of course you're not disabled, but the airlines will wheel you to and from the gate. And if you're going to overdo it at some point, it'll be a lot more satisfying if your legs go in Sienna than at Heathrow terminal 3.

Re Glucosamine....It may not work in a week...but I'm not so sure one has to wait months to see results. Let me share my experience because I'd be very interested in what others have gone through:

I started taking Gluco/chr..
whatever...about 2 1/2 months ago...
just one tablet a day. I had been stiff/sore/unlimber to the point of thinking I was in the early stage of some dread disease. Getting down on the floor with my grandkids was difficult enough; getting back up was almost impossible (more from a "stiffness" point of view than actual pain). And then, within about two weeks of starting the gluco, I felt like a TV evangelist had smote my forehead and declared: You are healed! The difference was that profound.

I woke feeling refreshed; no sore muscles or back; could get out of bed w/o moving gingerly; could drop something and instead of thinking Oh s***!, I could just bend over and pick it up; I could stand up from a chair or get out of the car and move forward, without having to stand still for 10 seconds or so while everything dropped into alignment (or so it felt). I was flabbergasted (and thrilled).

Then we changed brands. For the last two weeks or so, I feel as though I've regressed almost to where I was originally. And my spouse, who mostly was feeling better in terms of his arthritic hip pain, felt the same sort of regression happening.

I think our first bottle was the Walgreen's house brand...more recently, we've been using the Osteo BI-Flex. Has anyone else experienced such differences between brands? We feel as though we opened a bottle of placebos. About three days ago, we started taking two tabs a day instead of one....Too early to tell if that's going to make a difference.

Costco's Joint Juice is also a useful remedy.

Do it the old fashioned way. Get yourself a flask and sip booze during the day; adjusting your "buzz" according to the level of your kneee pain.

Seriously, I hope you find relief. I know what you are going through. Good luck!

Take a walking stick (aka cane) and you'll be offered a lift/elevator ride in a lot of places.

Take Ibuprofen in the morning before you start out -- it's a great anti-inflammatory that can pre-empt knee and other joint pain.

Take it easy, know your limitations.

Do the "must do" stuff in the morning while your fresh and leave the afternoons for the less important stuff so you can do it only if you have the energy. Rest often.

My aunt and mother just came home with me from a week in Paris. They took things slower and did all of the above and saw much.

Good luck,

Jules

I found that using a cane in museums and other public places often brought a guide to ask whether I needed help and to show me a private elevator instead of having to use stairs.

Parrot Pop has been on glucosamine for years and had knee surgery last June...but because of a bad ankle (can't be repaired) he does walk with a cane..and takes the elevator whenever possible. Underhill is right...do not be proud..and if there is a spot where you can use a wheel chair...DO IT!!

Don't know if it will help in your case, but I have had great results with Voltaren (tablets & cream) with severe muscle pain.

Do have the knee op as soon as you can. My cousin (70) had his done last year and has better mobility than he's had for, probably, the previous 10 - 15 yrs. It's a bit of work doing the physio afterwards - but SO worth it.
In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful trip. People will be very kind & offer help if you just let them know.

Lynda, I have no advice but want to wish you a comfortable and happy trip.

I can certainly sympathize with you because I fear that I am developing bad knees also which breaks my heart. I have always been active and love to take hiking tours which often involve a lot of climbing. One thing that has helped me is that when I sleep on my side I keep a a pillow between my knees. This keeps the knees from putting pressure on one another and seems to have slowed down the progression of my problem and has greatly decreased the pain.

Grace, yes, very practical advice!

On my last trip I took with me an inflatable pillow to keep it between the knees, worked out great. The cover is non-slippery, so it stayed in place. I found the spare hotel pillows to thick for this purpose.

Again sympathizing with your plight as i'm also suffering to a lesser degree and in my reading many experts say the number one best remedy for sore knees is weight reduction - not viable in a week but they say this should be the number one option to begin with at least. Good luck and don't be deterred in going - Celebrex, a prescription drug that has gotten bad press but by doctor said to take some along as, he says, it takes about an hour to work if encounter great pain. research the pros and cons of course before swallowing.