All the negative posts are killing me

Where is Tenerife?

I, too, was bone on bone and 66, but luckily I hadn't read this forum before I had my tkr in Feb this year. My surgeon had warned me about the pain, which was nowhere near as bad as I expected. Bone on bone was worse! I took my meds on time, never lost a single night's sleep (maybe the glass of red with dinner every night helped), threw away the crutches at 12 days post op (no stick, either), and stopped my meds at about 6 weeks. Felt down & not myself at about weeks 2 & 3, but not for a millisecond did I regret the op. The day after the op was the worst when I had tubes sticking out of me everywhere & the physio walked in & asked if I'd like to go for a walk!

Do what physio or hydrotherapy you can before the op, keep your weight down as much as possible, and do your excercises post op no matter how bad you feel. It's up to you to push yourself.

As for the tennis - my sister-in-law is a keen player and her tennis group is full of tkr's, so take heart and go for it. You can only get worse if you don't.

Best of luck,

Denise from Oz

Hi there!

I was right where you are about a month ago. I kept telling myself that I was going to be OK, that I didn't NEED surgery, that I didn't WANT to be chopped up.

Then I watched The Little Couple and Bill needed back surgery. As a little person he had ALREADY had 30 surgeries. His wife had a rare form of cancer, now cured, thank goodness, AND they were in the process of adopting a second child. He said he needed to take the risk with this back surgery because he wanted to have a CHANCE at a normal life with his wife and children.

I thought, "I want my normal life BACK!" If do NOTHING, then I will gain nothing.

Also, on May 30th I was unable to put any weight on my left leg. It felt like I had been SHOT through the back of my knee and the bullet came out the knee cap! Scared me because I needed crutches for two days. I saw myself moving next to a wheelchair. At 64 I am not young, but I DO have a first grandchild on the way in two months, AND our youngest son's wedding to attend a year from now. Without surgery, things would only get worse.

You are right; each person has to reach the point where they are READY. You need to reach a point where the pathway seems clear. For me, the two elements mentioned above did the trick. Also, when I saw my current X-RAYS compared to those from four years ago I was SHOCKED at the amount of damage I inflicted on my poor knee bones and how bad they actually looked. You don't all of a sudden repair damage like this just by thinking that you will be OK. Denial is a powerful thing. X-RAYS photos are even MORE powerful!!

I hope that you will have your AH-HA moment very soon!

Hi hon,

I'm back again.

Well, since your post and my reply, things have improved.

I'm now 3 months post op, and things are way better than they were.

I'm now sleeping again, I'm not crying anymore, nor am I imagining that I'll never be 'normal' again.

I AM!! I still feel stiffness, but who cares! I don't! 

I must admit, for me, I think the turning point came a month ago, when my hubby (god bless him) got our spa back up and running. 

I'm in that thing, first thing every morning and do exercises in the water ... and often at night again ... 

That has been my savior - that and this forum.

So, don't panic, it'll all be ok, and things DO get back to normal (or acceptable) before too long.

The morphine meds are the pits - thats what I'm blaming my insomnia and depression on. Yuk! Thank god, I'm off those!

Best of luck,

Lindy

I think you're correct that people who are doing well probably aren't posting to forums. I came across it by accident while trying to find info on a couple of problems I have that are most likely from my leg being crooked (bent in at the knee) for years before I had the surgery due to uneven wear on the cartilage. I've had trouble with ITB pain getting it stretched out, also seem to be a bit weak on the operated side so i can't walk far without the cane before my back starts hurting.  Having said that, at 6 weeks (last week) I walked 4 miles alternating with and without cane.

You'll probably be fine since you are active, and probably not overweight - those things seem to help a lot. I'm in a hiking club and know several people who have had good results. However, as my surgeon told me, the recovery is a marathon not a sprint.  At 7 weeks getting around is still considerably more difficult than it was before the surgery but I have faith that eventually I will be better off for having it done.  I hiked using poles for a long time but when it got to the point I could not get up hills easily and was having to take steps one at a time going both up and down, I decided it was time.  I will probably have the other one done next summer.

I am an expat Brit but live in the US and here Medicare pays for an ice machine you bring home from the hospital (a container for ice and water that is pumped up to a sleeve around your knee).  You can use it continously since the ice isn't drectly on your skin, and it is very helpful at night.  On the NHS you might have to pay for your own but it would be well worth it.

You'll know when the time is right - when your knee stops you from doing what you enjoy.  But they do say high-impact sports are not recommended after TKR if you are jumping and landing on it....

All the best, whatever you decide.