Forthcoming op for knee replacement

I did my surgery jan 28 ...at first it was rough but with medication...and therapy I did just fine....I dont know if you can handle your knee pain...I.just colud not deal with that bone to bone pain I coukd not sleep I coukd not walk....now...I feel greAt I am happy . I will do the next knee if it act up!

Not everyone is same  yvonnemarie i think if you know what your in for it helps speed to your doctor then decide 

I must say if I had read the discussions on here before surgery I may not have gone through it either! However I have found it useful post surgery to reassure myself that I'm doing fine. I'm 5 weeks post left TKR and I'm in the Republic of Ireland, I'm due to have the right one done in another couple of months. Here you are discharged on the 3rd post op day on nothing but paracetamol and diclofenac but during hospital was on oxycodone and gabapentin also. I was appalled to be going home on no strong analgesia but on reflection it was preferable to the constipation and stomach pains from the other meds! Anyway,the first 3 weeks were very tough,mostly from the swelling which didn't manifest itself till the first night I got home,but I'm so pleased to say it has finally gone down a lot in the last week. Contrary to what a lot of folk on here say I find the compression stocking helps a lot with both swelling and support even though they aren't at all comfortable! People on here post from world wide and the after care all seems vastly different. I was sent home with just a sheet of exercises and told to do them regularly, I visit the physio every fortnight just for a chat and check range of movement. I bought a Cryocuff from Amazon which helped too with the icing. I discarded the crutches after 3 days and only use a cane (which is really a camera monopod!) when I'm on rough ground or steep hills.I'm walking a couple of miles at a time and increasing a little each day. The most important thing is doing the exercises as often as you can tolerate them and accepting the fact that every day is different. An excellent day can be followed by a disastrous one and vice versa. Sometimes you think you will never be comfortable again but all in all I am pleased with the surgery and I know the next one will be easier as I know what to expect. I would encourage you to go ahead with it,as others say,your knee at present will only get worse. I haven't posted before as I didn't want to do so too soon and be negative but the site has been very helpful and I read it a lot...usually in the middle of the night when my knee wakes me up! Best of luck with your decision and please don't be too hasty!

Hi Yvonne, I had an arthroscopy last Sept 15 to see if my knee could be fixed. After that surgery I was told it was not a success as was grade 4 bone on bone and would need tkr. Was sent to a different consultant and told wait for him was up to a year. I was in agony, life was miserable couldn't do anything sleep I was making my family's life horrible. In dec my husband got me a private appointment with consultant who said tkr was only thing, he put me on nhs list but next day found out would be feb17 before surgery. I was on oxycodone, oxynorm and 3 other painkillers. In feb this year we decided to go private (my 50th birthday present to myself which i will be paying for till I'm 60) but Yvonne totally the best decision ever. I had my surgery middle of march and from moment I woke up the pain was totally different. Yes there have been bad days, sleepless nights but it has been worth it. I would do it again tomorrow if I had to. Think long and hard before saying no. I'm only 50 but have got my life back something i had lost for past year at least. Best wishes x

Hi yvonnemarie, i am a 62 year male and had started having kneepains when i was 54 first the right knee went so fast it compromised my safty in the workplace underground i used a made up cane and used it to walk to work places and believe me a normal young person finds it taxing due to heat and uneven ground, long story short after a while my left knee went int the same direction that it forced me to go and see my md and he referred me to a ortho specialist and the result was mind staggering telling me my working days are over how do you tel that to a workoholic lol but i was put on cortizone and d mards and pain medicine and the worse a wheelchair at the age of 55 i just could not walk with out assitence, i also went to the internet as it was about the only thing that did not cause pain and my fingers and brain needed some thing to do.So i started research of what i have why i have it and what can i do to make it better, and you know what even in sickness there are scams and scammers with a lot concoctions to buy and recipes what to eat and what not all is there , my docter changed from dr x to dr google ha ha and after a year still in a wheelchair and much more kg  round my middle and very well trained fingers. My daughter in johannesburg aranged a appointment for me at their ortho and i went to see him the same week, and he was astounded that i did not go for the tkr on the knees and the same what you said i told him that all i could find out from dr google is that the outcomes are more severe thn what i am in now he just laughed and said i must as all my money back from dr google. Ok i took his advice and did tests to see if all was ok to do the op and it was ouch with lots of tears from my wife as well she also cried with me as i am of the dry eye type of person lol and what happened after thre to four weeks i started to notice the pain in

my left leg much more as i was usuing elbow crutches and Walking haleuja but as i said the pain in the left knee became so bad i went back to the wheelchair, and the ortho scheduled the next one to be done but alas all does not go as we wish for i had heartfailure on the operating table and was resusitated and spent the next month in icu and high care with three broken ribs, and i still dont remember it i can recall the last week before my release, now what i asked the docter can we cut it off under local something i dont want my leg anymore and they can make me prostesis he asked me if i was joking and said

 no i am seriuos if i cant have a tkr i want it off. He said i sound very depressed and he will put me on something and we will discuss it with my intern that is the docter who does all the test bloods and plumbing and he send me for  a angiogram wich said go and get your knee nothing wrong inside now it was already a year or so later and it is scheduled for 5th of june wow what an early birtday present for me, i must go and see him next week to get all in place and i am back on my legs walking unaided for short distances and do stat bike exersize and lost 9 kg i know this i an essay but i wanted to give you my real life experiance in my life i cant wait to have no two and if it is not the same as the first one i will live with it but please i ask you to do a serious operation only for your own sake otherwise it will make you into a person i was and i did not like myself then,goodluck with any decision you make and let us know what is going on regards danie61

 

Hi, Yvonnemarie,Wow such stories you read here. Whenever I'm having a "bad" day, I just read these posts. I begin to realize: 1) I'm not alone or weird with my recovery issues and 2) there are a lot of folks out here with much bigger and worse problems than my whining. But our pain is our own and we do own that. I had my left PKR two years ago. Within 6 months my right knee was going with arthritis also. (I'm 66 in the US). My left leg was working so hard to compensate for the other that it started going backwards. I was thrilled that my ortho recommended a TKR for the miserable right knee. Funny after almost four months, I've all but forgotten the trials and tribulations of those first weeks. But the arthritis pain is gone...period! Then it was/ is surgical recovery. This is the long road with lots of stumbles along the way...one day good the next not so. Or as our beloved mentor OFG says"It's a marathon not a sprint." Is it worth it? Better than a wheel chair? You bet. No, I still don't walk my rambunctious three year old lab. No, I'm not ready for Dancing With the Stars. But I've got a life back. Not totally but a work in progress. But if my doc said I needed a revision on the PKR left...I'd say, "let's do this....how soon?" That all being said, everyone and their situation is unique. We are blessed to find this little niche in which to commiserate, share helpful ideas and give moral support...from around the world. Amazing! So whatever you decide...our prayers and support are here.

Hi Yvonne.  I must be honest and say if I'd read found this forum I would have been scared but after my operations the forum has been a godsend.

I was told a few years ago I needed both knees replaced due to OA. As I was in my early 60's I tried alternative options e.g APOS which kept me going for another 3yrs. Once the OA pain got so bad that it was interferring with my life, I saw a different consultant and went ahead with two knee replacements, first Jan 2015 and the second June 2015.  Yes, the pain is terrible but it doesn't last for long and I was able to come off my painkillers by 6 wks. I know I have a very small issue with one knee but hopefully when the muscles are stonger that will diminish.  Do I regret it? NO.  I've got no arthritic pain and can enjoy life again.  

Maybe it might be worth getting a second opion.

Hi all.

I may not have thanked you all individually for all your valuable advice. after reading all posts I belief I need to think again about not having my new knee fitted.

Thank you all for sharing your story ith me to which I am thankful. I see my surgeon next month when I have to let him know my decision. I will let you know what I decide . I think this group is wonderful with lots of information.

Thanks Yvonne