Decision to be made.

not sure whay chose and book means in different areas , i started with them , but was sent to the local hospital , the surgeon was the same had i gone private , i know you have the right to chose which hospital you go in , i just looked at the local ones and went for the one with the shortest list .when i first went through chose and book all i did was have one appointment where i had an injection in my knee ,( which didnt work )then i was passed back to the doctors with check up , my gp was not pleased amd just got in touch direct to the hospital , so glad its working for you .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                as for the tkr ,im 53 and have been off work 18 months due to the pain in both knees , and was told the same , i wanted it done so that i can get back to a normal life , i wasnt over impressed with the excuse of how lond it lasted etc , 12 months ago i saw the surgeon who would be doing the opp ,he sent me for an mri scan ,which i would have to wait 4 weks for and then he would see me 4 weeks after that , ( the christmas hols slowing things down ) . i saw him at the end of jan and he sai it defo needed doing and put me on the list ,now 9 months later ive had both knees done and im going back to work monday ,ithink its the best thing i did , there are some things ive not done like kneeling , sitting down on the floor and i do walk a little slower , but i can walk up and down stairs , drive , sit down in the bath ,over all i can do more now than this time last year ,so for me thats a bonus . i do still have a strange feeling at the sides of both knees , the numb side ,this can take up to 2 years , so you have to work out how much the pain bothers you ,this op is a big one and very painful , with lots of times you wonder why did i do it , but 3 months after my 2 nd its all over and i know my choice was right , just weigh it up and decide whats best for you , good luck x 

it would be normal to try insoles and leg braces ,befor an op like this x

Hi, I had 2 arthroscopies over ten years and then had to wait until I was 65 for my TKR. Yes, it is very painful, but at 5 weeks after, I realised that the pain I am in now is less than before my op.

My bend isn't good, but getting better and each day I seem to achieve little gems ( I can walk upstairs properly today).

My thoughts on the 12 - 15 year is that a lot can happen in that time and they are making surgical breakthroughs all the time.

The knee injury is probably the most common in sports and so new ways are being researched.

Carol - Perth Australia, 5 weeks post op

When a new knee was first mentioned I was around 50 and at that time had private insurance. My surgeon said I should have it done but I put it off until now for the same reasons that you have mentioned. He said that when it reached the stage where either I couldn't sleep for the pain or it interfered with my normal life I should have it done.To put it off was right for me then but things have improved so much over the years and I am sure that in another 15 years a revision will not be the problem it is now. Think of your life and what you want to do with it. If you can't enjoy the life you want then have it done.

HI Gill, Hi All,

im in exactly the same position as you now having been told all of the above I have had three ops on each knee due to osteo arthritis now there's nothing else left to be done apart from TKR on the left knee as the inside outside and kneecap have all deteriated so much the pain in the right knee is bearable and I will hold out long as I can but the left is agony cant sleep, cant turn it on a morning, struggle every day I also will need at least one replacement possibly more but I also think points to consider after the most important one ...how much longer can you stand the pain? is that in the next ten years they may be advances that we could have one new joint for ever who knows what will happen but I would rather try live and enjoy my life now in less pain than worry what might happen in however many years when I might not even be here. following my new MRI my consultant said my left knee defo needs it so im booked in for the 6fh January next year age 47!!!! Wish me luck im reading all your posts for helpfull advice too so thank you Tina x

Hi Tina1966!

Sorry I had to reply to my own post to reply to yours but I have 'lost' the ability to reply to a post within a post!

i will obviously wait to see what the consultant has to say on Monday evening when I see him when he will have my Xrays but at the moment think I will leave having the op until the pain gets worse. I am ok on flat ground walking but inclines up or down are both more painful as are stairs. I have no pain in the night except for occasionally when I twist my knee getting up. On my first visit he asked about any pain in my groin which I don't get and didn't understand why I would. 

I will ill update this post after my appointment.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and good luck!

Kind regards,

Gill X

Hi Gill , I giggled at your reply because I do the same just makes things easier lol I think you know yourself whats best for you and if you can hold on I think I would it shocked me a little hearing about how many knees you may need how many you could realisticly have and furthur complications I wont add because they upset me im sure they will you too I too am not sure about the groin pain question maybe someone could answer it for us will be good to see follow up after your hospital appointment I think even chatting to people who have had the op can help us prepare so to speak good luck ill check back next week although I hate seeing all the mistakes my fingers made with typing on here drives me mad lol and the lovely predictive text typing TakeCare Tina x

if you can wait I would because a second knee replacement on the same knee could have complications in surgery.  But that is down the line and it is your decision.

Richard