If and when to have TKR

Iout f you have problems with painkillers, I don;t know what to say aboout gabapentin ( or however it is spelled. . can't remember now)  I took it for nerve problems, not pain, and it affected me a lot. . made me turn into a different person.  Everyone is different, and you may not be affected, but both my husband and I were, gabbling nonsense and hyperactive . . . but maybe that is not a common reaction.  If you have bad arthritis also in your shoulders, remember that walking with crtutches to begin with is also hard on that joint. . I have considerable pain in both of them now from the effort . . both shoulders operated on in the past, and they were good before the op.  I'm overweight too, and people often say that's why I have the knee problems, but it doesn't account for the shoulders does it!  People are very quick to put blame on you for things which are often not your fault!  No easy options  At seven weeks I'm beginning to feel it was worth it.  If you had asked me three weeks ago I would have said NO. 

Hi Libralady, it's 4 weeks today since my TKR, and it wasn't nearly as painful as I expected. Like you, I can only take paracetamol but I've not really lost any sleep or suffered too much discomfort. Just remember to take them regularly over the first few weeks and don't wait until you're in pain. I'm 65, have OA in both knees, and my surgeon said that the longer I waited, the worse I'd get, and the harder it would be to recover. Luckily, I'm fairly slim, which I know is a huge help, so it's a good idea to take some time to lose as much weight as you can. And tell your friends and family not to tempt you to indulge - it's just too important.

Also, I did about 3 months pre-op physio at a hydrotherapy pool, which is the only way to go when you're in pain with OA. I went twice a week to build up my thigh muscles and work on my balance and I really believe it paid off. I left hospital 5 days ofter the op, and 7 days after that, I was 'walking' without crutches. (It felt more like a stagger!) It wasn't all plain sailing, but each day i amaze myself by my steady progress.

Today, my husband drove us to the park so I could walk with him & our dog. I used a Nordic walking pole on the hilly bits, but I managed to walk for over half an hour! And when we got home, I walked up our 17 stairs normally for the first time in years. Yes, I held onto the stair-rail, but I didn't have to drag myself up like before the op.

As for your low back pain, it could be because of the way you have to hold yourself, and maybe when you get in & out of chairs, you might be either twisting your back or putting too much pressure on it. Definitely talk to your GP, but also try a physio if you can - they sometimes have just the answer. The pain in my knees seemed to move around a bit, sometimes behind, sometimes at the side, sometimes down my leg, but I also had a Baker's cyst which had to be drained during surgery.

I hope I've helped somewhat, and as so many others have said, everyone's different, and we all recover at a different pace, Try not to worry too much, tend to all your other concerns, and then go for it!

I there.   I am about 13 weeks post op from my right kne TKR.  I am 62, with bad OA, and a little overweight.  The first 6 weeks were great and pretty much textbook recovery.  I had 3 weeks of in home physical therapy and then 3 weeks of out patient therapy.  At 6 weeks my surgeon announced that I was fine, could stop PT, and wouldn't need to see him again for a year.  Since that visit I stopped PT, and exercised by walking the dog about a mile daily, peddling the stationary bike for 10-15 minutes every day, and doing all the household chores (live in a tri-level home).  During the last couple of weeks I have had some swelling and discomfort in the knee.  Not sure why and it isn't bad enough to see the doc.  Would I do it again - yes.  It's been a hard road of recovery, lots of work, but compared to how the knee was before, it is a relief.

Oh, my brother just had BOTH knees replaced at the same time.  The day after surgery he was tolerating pain by only taking Tylenol.  He went home after 5 days in hospital/therapy.  He is now 4 weeks post op and doing fantastic.  At 3 weeks he was driving himself to PT, church, errands, etc.  He is walking well and peddling a stationary bike.