Knee replacement

[Hickok]

Going on 63, I am soon having knee replacement surgery on both knees, the left, and then if all goes well, the right.

Did all the preliminaries, tried arthritis pills, then therapy, got all the xrays and tests, and Doc says knees are bone to bone, nothing left to clean up or repair. They found that I had previously torn both calf muscles in times past, had ligament damage to both knees, and a lot of scar tissue in the knees. High school basketball, motorcycle wrecks, and working in the coal fields for over 44 years has used up my knees. (Plus other parts of my body!)

Not complaining, but the knees are painful day and night. Feel like someone hit me in the knee cap with a ball-peen hammer! When they are not thumping, then they are burning.

Any one else with experience, words of wisdom, etc., about knee replacement?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Me personally no.
My Mom had both knees replaced in the late 80s.
Two different close friends have had both knees replaced in the last year...both are very happy campers.
They did what the Doc says and be sure to do your physical therapy as prescribed, you should be happy as well.
good Luck.

[poppy42]

I had my right knee replaced in 2008. I was 51 at the time. Before I could not walk to the bathroom without a cane! Know no cane at all. My knee was shot ( not literally ) bone on bone since I was 19 when I had my first surgery. I had to sleep with a pillow between my knees to get any sleep at all. I’m not going to sugar coat anything. The surgery is a *****! Along with the rehab. But there is definitely a lite at the end of the tunnel. Do the rehab! Every bit of it and more. You’ll be glad you did. If you ever need/want to talk to someone who’s been through it feel free to pm me.
You’ll do fine
Best of luck
Poppy42

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Two of my brothers had knee replacements. One of them had no problems but the other had to have his redone because of infection. He spent six months in a VA hospital. After that the doctors felt they had cured the infection they did the job again, they had
not cured the infection and now he has to take antibiotics each day for the rest of his life. If you can avoid hit, don't let the VA do the job.

[umwminer]

Had the R one replaced 6 yrs ago . Getting the L one replaced first week in March .
Not looking forward to another replacement surgery , as poppy42 says , the recovery/therapy is rugged BUT 2 months after the first one was done I kept asking myself why I had waited so long .
You get your mobility back and the pain is a memory .

[DCP]

Right knee replaced 2008. Do your exercises. Before and after surgery. Find a warm water pool it makes all the difference in the world. Send me a PM with your phone # We should talk. Need left done now.

[GEOMETRIC]

I think about 5 years ago, I had the left one replaced by the VA but the doctor was from MUSC (Medical University of SC). I am 71 now. I have one replacement & the other one isn't worth a ****. It was obvious that without the replacement I could not continue working.
I have difficulty getting up if sitting on the ground but the good news is I can go pretty good once on my feet. I was surveying a rural track of land recently when the lady I was working for asked me, "how many miles do you walk in a day?"

[johnho]

I had my R knee replaced about 3 and a half years ago. About 3 months before the operation I joined a gym and exercised religiously 3 times a week on both knees hard. I think it made a big difference during rehab. I had no problems and almost no pain after I got home, only took one pain pill. That's not to say it didn't hurt if I did something to cause it but just being still-no pain. Rehap is another story but that's what it takes. My brother in law just got his done and did no exercises. He's been in terrible pain since. Is there a relationship? Have no idea but I think it really helped. No matter what you experience you will be very happy afterwards. Just watch those pain pills.

[PB234]

Prepare for the recovery time before you get the operation. Make lots of food that can be reheated easily or eaten with almost no preparation before and you will be able to eat well when you get home. You will need a seat in your shower and probably a handicap riser for the toilet. You may need lots of ice to ice down the knee. Get some books or be ready to watch a bunch of TV. You will need a person to help you recover like even getting the ice in place and helping you around the first bit of time.

Do the rehab like your future depends on it. Be careful not to get too reliant on pain pills.

It will make your life better after you are done with the rehab and are back to enjoying/being able to walk.

If you have questions PM me.

[buckwheatpaul]

Me no....but my better half is suffering from it....just had her ankle replaced.....and sometime this year her knee.....you do have my prayers for comfort and healing.....Paul

Everyone I know had a great success story and were glad that it was done and overwork....one of the HAWKS had both of his done at the same time and he is doing great....

[Hickory]

Yes, do your exercises. You're going to have pain, but it's a good pain, because unlike what you have now, pain that will only get worse with each passing day, this pain will get better.
So, do your exercises, endure the pain and eventually it will disappear and your knees will feel as if you never had anything wrong with them.
The stationary bicycle is and will be your best friend.

[jdfoxinc]

Trying to lose weight so Docs will do surgery. My current doc says BMI of 39. Thats 150+- lb weight loss. Ortho hospital attached to St Anthonys here in Denvse says max BMI of 50. Thats 50 lb +-. My problem is that every time i fall, jump, leap off of the low carb wagon i regain what ive lost.

[jsizemore]

My sister got hers done a couple years ago. She did the PT exactly and no extra. Her recovery was right on time and she does as much as she wants to on it. Fella that rents some pasture on the farm did a bunch too much and ended up with infection from trying to tend to his horses. It increased his recovery by a year. He had to have his shoulder replacement done twice from doing too much too soon.

[nicholst55]

You may want to shop around for a surgeon, if you're not comfortable with the one you currently have. I lucked out and got a good, experienced one the first draw. Listen to the doc and the therapist, DO THE EXERCISES, even after therapy stops. They'll have you out of bed walking later the same day of surgery, which isn't terribly pleasant. Suck it up, and get on with rehabilitation. Do more than the minimum number of reps, and you'll finish with therapy faster.

[10x]

Start a physio program now to increase the strength of both knees . The stronger your muscles before surgery, the easier and faster the recovery post surgery
It took me 6 months of post surgery physio to become confident. A good execise phsýio prgram prior to surgey would have shorted that

[earlmck]

"Watch out for the pain pills" isn't enough info. It's not addiction you need to watch out for -- it is CONSTIPATION. Dang near died of terminal constipation after the first knee replacement about 3 years ago. Was much smarter by the second which was a couple months later. Stool softeners, laxatives, and get ahead and stay ahead of it.

The epoxy-on parts used now are not as invasive as the hammer-in parts they used to use, so recovery is faster now than it was a few years ago and infection maybe a bit less danger. If you are in shape ahead of time it is a big plus in the rehab department.

And something they don't tell you is that it takes a lot longer to get back to full strength than you'd expect. Sure, you'll be walking around the neighborhood just fine in a few weeks. But up and down the hills if you are hunting may take a couple of years. I was disappointed in my knees the first hunting season about 6 and 8 months after the knees were replaced but by the second season I was doing well. And this year I am back to normal for up and down hills (and ladders). Another thing they don't tell you is you'll never be able to squat to poop like you used to do. The fake knees just don't bend that far.

The new ones aren't as good as the old ones used to be. But the new ones sure beat what the old ones had become!

[MaryB]

I am facing this soon... 2 years ago the ortho doc told me to walk on it until you can't stand the pain any longer... cartilage is shredded, torn ACL both knees... right knee is the one giving me the most grief and it hurts constantly now... weather changes really suck too!

[knifemaker]

My wife had a knee replacement about 5 years ago. She is going in for the other knee this month. Her recovery rate was so fast and good on the first one that the doctor said she should be his poster child for knee replacement. Her advice is to do the rehab exercise every day as required even if it is painful. The more you exercise the knee, the better it will get and less painful as the weeks go by.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Based on what I have heard from people who had both kinds, it is about as unpleasant as hip replacement, but there is less trouble getting about afterwards, and far less danger of doing serious damage by a fall. There is a lot to be said for getting one done at a time, if you are offered that option.

My wife had two hip replacements done, a necessity inherited from her Afrika Korps father. Only after Hip 2 did they realise, or think to tell her, that what she had inherited from him were shallow hip-joint sockets, rather than poor joint quality. That greatly reduces the chances that it will go on and on elsewhere, until she is replaced all over.

[Taylor]

Had my left knee done last April. As soon as I woke up,the therapist was there. Get up,let's go.She walked me up and down the hallway. The first month....sucks, no other word describes it. The therapist came to my house everyday for a month and then I started going out to pt. I was given a cane,walker, a thing to go on the toilet seat ( best gizmo ever invented) and a machine that bends your knee along with a ice machine with a pad for the knee. They took the bending machine back, bit I got to keep all the other things. The ice pad, I'm trying to figger out out to plug it into my truck as a small fridge. After I finished all of my therapy,which was July, I took a motorcycle ride..1200 miles! I made a scabbard to tie off my cane to the bike. And then deer season came along,like night and day from the last one. I am about 10 months into it now. You know that it ain't natural, but it is solid.Still can predict rain and it will ache something awful.Which it did anyway. I made a good decision,you may doubt this the first month.But this has also helped my back and hip pain by straightening and aligning my skeletal system. In july 1981 I broke/almost destroyed both legs and back during a helicopter repel. That cost 6 months in an army hospital. I think you may be pleased with the results. I did have a good doctor.
This one is 2 years after the initial injuries.