A friend of mine has had her knee drained twice. It took about an hour, was done in the clinician' s office under local anaesthetic. She also got a steroid injection which took about 2 days to kick in and then she got considerable relief from it. It will probably depend on what is causing the fluid to form - Baker' s cyst, RA etc, etc. Shouldn't mean a long time off work though if you are relatively well otherwise. Perhaps a day or two to rest. Why not ask your doctor?

I had fluid drawn off my knee (25 cc) and went to work in the ICU as a nurse the very next night. It took so much pressure off my knee it was a relief. The spot where the needle went in was sore for a day or two but just when I bumped it. It kind of depends on your pain threshold. Mine is pretty high.

I have had the fluid drawn from my knee. It wasn't all that bad. My doctor numbed the knee and removed the fluid and sent it to the lab. Once the fluid was removed, the swelling and pain were gone. I did have a bacterial infection determined by the fluid lab reports, so arthroscopic surgery was necessary. I would have fluid removed again if necessary. Good luck!

My daughter has had to have it done a few times. It's done at the doctor's during a routine visit time and you're up and out walking right after.

I have fluid on one knee as well, but it doesn't bother me since I went on 5mg of prednisone every day.