2 weeks away from TKR and having doubts

Hi roger,

I had my right knee done 10th April this year. At first I didnt think I would ever get better. But now I am nearly painless and have total movement. Its still numb but mobility wise I am almost back to normal. I am having the other knee done in Oct because this is now giving me a lot of pain. Dont be put off this is worth going through.

well, it depends how badly you need this operation. I hardly could walk. Now I can walk pain free. It is  a terrible , visious operation, with lots of pain and possible complications, but I had no choice. i was told in yeat 2000 that TKR is needed. I lasted until year 2014, but both knees needed doing. will have second one hopefully in December. I asked for Genesis II Zirconium implant and got it.   I delayed operation by going to the gym, doing a lot of leg exercises, being on a bike for one hour at the time.    

Hi Roger. I had mine done nearly two weeks ago and I am also 53. I was told the same as you and so put up with the pain for the last 6 years. I know from reading all the responses etc that it is going to take a longtime and is really painful.  It is painful too!! In the end though I had it done as I have missed out on so much of my life through not being able to walk far or go out with my family.  I have to believe it will be better in the long run although I know there is a lot of hard work to do between now and then.  Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Hi Roger, I had left TKR in March 2010 aged 53 & ended with all sorts of problems afterwards, which took a total of 16 months to sort out. I had stainless steel & plastic implant, which for some reason even at my 6 week post op check up felt loose & was rattling & banging about all over the place & just didn't feel right, wasn't sure how it was supposed to feel as this was all new to me, the surgeon that performed the op told me if it wasn't giving me any pain then not to worry about it & I should use it as a party piece?? Not really what I was hoping to hear, at that time I had very little pain but as the months went by the pain & the instability increased dramatically, I was then referred to another surgeon who advised me that I needed to have my patella resurfaced as this was not not changed during the original surgery? Had this carried out which made no difference at all to relieve the pain or the instability, I was then referred to another surgeon who told me the poly liners in my joint would need to be changed to a differnt size & this would then cure the instability, you guessed it, no difference again, it was finally decied in April 2012 that I needed revised surgery on my left knee as nothing else seemed to have worked? It was explained to me that the new joint (again stainless & plastic) had a bar fitted to the bottom part of the joint & a hook on the top part which would interlink & would be virtually impossible to work itself loose, this is as well as having steel rods inserted into my thigh and shin as is common practice on a revised surgery, oh dear, seems they were wrong again? I still have exactly the same problem with this joint, in between all this my right knee needed replacing & I had that done in Oct 2012, no problems for the first 3 months but would you believe it, this joint is now loose, went through the same old crap as before, having the liners changed again but still no joy, I've had 3 surgeons in 4 years & not 1 of them can explain why these surgeries have failed so drastically or why the joint "Stretches out" as they put it, I've now been told the only way to aleviate all this is to have revised surgery on both knees yet again, it seems the new joint is called a Zimmer & it's a hinged prosthesis that comes in 1 complete part & operates as a hinge would on a door & apparantley very little chance of instability with this joint (de ja vue) due to ruptured tendons & quads I have now had 7 major surgeries in just under 4 years & still in pain every day with both knees, I'm now 18 days post op after having my left hip replaced & so far so good, all being well I'm having the right hip done within 3/4 months? The hips also diagnosed with arthritis are apparently another reason for the pain in both knees? I'm hoping that if the pain vanishes after the hips are fully recovered, I may just put up with rattling knees & give further surgeries a miss? Sorry if this all sounds so nagative as I know quite a few people that have had great success stories after TKR's, I was told originally that 4% of people don't benefit in any way from having a TKR either with reduced pain levels or improved range of movement, how unlucky am I? Hope you make the choice that's right for you Roger as it's totally down to you? Good luck