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worried about TKR

Posted , 10 users are following.

christineuk62
christineuk62

I'm worried that when I have my TKR that I will have the problems most of you are having.

I'm usually good after operations. I had my gall bladder and stones removed recently by keyhole surgery and was ok by the second week. I also had hysterectomy and was home after 5 days looking after 3 kids.

My op was sposed to be Thursday 16th October but has been cancelled. No date as yet. 

1 like, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 christineuk62

    Posted

    I don't think anyone would want to try and make you apprehensive but you are talking apples and oranges when you try to evaluate your previous surgeries with the TKR. I have had to have both rotator cuff's operated on and thought that was difficult but they were nothing compared to TKR. There is the physical and emotional sides to the TKR. If your surgeon is a straight up type, have him give you an honest step by step of the entire process. This is not to scare you but save you concern when various steps of the healing process takes place. Like flying for the 1st time, its good to know what all the strange sounds are in advance so when you hear them, you won't think the wings are falling off. You'll do fine, just listen carefully to instructions, get your excercise routine set, take your pain meds when prescribed and understand there will be pain of various amounts and a lot of work on your part. Check in here for encouragement and help
    • christineuk62
      christineuk62 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      I appreciate your opinion and have joined this site so I can prepare myself for the post op. If I can lie in bed for over 4 months in pain after my accident, I can deal with anything. For now that's the way I am focussed.
  • gloria29023
    gloria29023 christineuk62

    Posted

    Christine don't have it unless you really need it. It is traumatic but just something we have to go through. But you do get through it. I've just had my second and although I hated the first I still went ahead and had the second. I've had a number of ops including a shoulder tendon impingement in between my TKRs and none of them compare with the TKR. Doctors will tell you the same. However I have friends 2 years down the track and they say it was worth it. Don't be afraid tho, it is bearable but a site like this gives people a chance to vent and unload whilst they are healing. Good luck.
    • christineuk62
      christineuk62 gloria29023

      Posted

      It's something I have to have. I've just rang admissions as I'm sick of waiting for a date. My pre op runs out a week today. The man I spoke to seems to think I'm in the next week or so. I have to ring back in the morning. 

      Yes, a car hit my moped and threw me onto the road in January this year. I had 4 breaks in my right knee its shattered and bone has grown wrong. Apart from that i had 3 breaks to right shoulder and a broken right arm and 2 ligament tears to my left leg with  one break. Ispent 6 weeks in hospital, 3  months in bed and the rest of the time shuffling round my bungalow apart from physio which left me knackered for days afterward.

  • mary83072
    mary83072 christineuk62

    Posted

    I agree it is a big op....  and painful weeks after...There are days where I wish I had not had it done... but others when I am positive about the outcome. .. its onlybeen 5 weeks since I had mine. .. so got quite a bit to go hopefully the worst is over. ..I am seeing small improvements every day.... Was using walking frame for over a week... didn't think I would progress to crutches.... now I'm only using one crutch....and I have a straight knee for first time in 5 years.... so my poor muscles are trying to cope with that. ... good luck. x
  • jennifer86104
    jennifer86104 christineuk62

    Posted

    Hi Christine, you're bound to be apprehensive about the op. I agonised for ages whether to have it done or not. I have not found it easy by any means, as you'll see if you look at my previous posts, but I don't regret having it done. I am 12 weeks post op now and can more or less do all I was doing before the op. I go for walks each day but can't say I do so comfortably yet but I look forward to getting there eventually. If I'd not had it done there was no hope of walking comfortably any distance. 

    You need to work at the exercises and be very patient. I think this site shows most people have problems but do overcome them. Also, everyone recovers differently. My consultant told me it would take 6 to 12 months or more to fully recover. I thought that applied to other people, not me! But I think he's probably right! But I hope to fully recover, that's the point. Good luck with your op. Jen 

  • joy47826
    joy47826 christineuk62

    Posted

    I read so many comments on the "NEED" for knee replacements....here in the US MOST I know try to avoid these surgeries for as long as possible....these are all elective and there are many ways to keep going without major surgery....I'm doing it at 76 and my knee is way worse since narley hip replacement.... Surgery and loss of our parts should be Last Resort.....it seems there is a "need" to do this so much in the UK......
    • christineuk62
      christineuk62 joy47826

      Posted

      I NEED the knee replacement as my knee is badly damaged from a motorbike accident. 

      I see that most people in the US have to pay for surgery whereas people in the UK pay national insurance all their lives into our national health service NHS so they have the option whether or not to take elective surgery 

    • joy47826
      joy47826 christineuk62

      Posted

      Perhaps you really NEED a replacement, but since I've been here I see a constant surgery parade....maybe "free" insurance is not the best bet, many doing these surgeries have more issues after. I'm 76 and lots of wear and tear on my knee and worst since hip replacement surgery at 72, and I could go for medicare knee surgery which costs me almost nothing, but I just won't do it....I can bend my knee and use a lot of supplements and alternatives to keep going.... Hope things work good for you.J
    • christineuk62
      christineuk62 joy47826

      Posted

      Thankyou Joy.

      I must point out though that NHS is not free. We pay into it all our working lives.

    • Tucks
      Tucks joy47826

      Posted

      Hello joy, you make some yearly good points about elective surgery, certainly my GP and consultant seemed quite eager for me to have it. Biggest mistake of my 82years, I am now 9weeks post op. some days it is bearable but others like today I feel battered and broken. No one told me what post op would be like. I don't feel I will ever be the same person again. I have lost so much weight too. Lovely to talk to someone and see different perspective. Wishing you well joy. From fed up old tucks.
    • jennifer86104
      jennifer86104 joy47826

      Posted

      I don't think any of us have this op unless it is a last resort. I know I took a long time to decide to have it done and tried other treatments first. My consultant gave me the option of having a TKR based on x rays and MRI scan. Even then, I took some time before I chose to have it done. In my experience, all other options are considered first before the medical profession suggest this op here in the UK. Jen 
    • joy47826
      joy47826 christineuk62

      Posted

      Same here with Medicare we get when we hit 65, we pay into all our lives of working....The really poor get Medical but it's pretty limited care....but our hospitals turn no one away insurance or not. This is the emergency cases....

      The US has a huge population of 330+million and the UK I think 56 million or so people so I would think much easier to manage health care....

      It's an issue for all but the very wealthy here, they can go and do anything for their care....I prefer alternative medicine so that's my choice and I am hooked on this prevention...if I could have done a alternative hip replacement, I'd be the first in line....mine has not been a great outcome....

      Everyone pays one way or an other, our govt is broke....they keep borrowing and printing more money....ummmmmwish I had a money printer..

    • joy47826
      joy47826 Tucks

      Posted

      Oh Tucks, I'm 76 and my knee is the worst than ever since hip replacement, that surgery messed things up more...

      Surgeons are eager to do their work, but we go home with the mess and they go on to the next victim....these replacements now that I've gone thru one are truly barberic.

      More and more are going to Prolotherapy and Prolozone to save them from these surgeries...and some have done the surgeries and now talking to Prolo MD's saying "can you fix me"...as they did the surgeries and are still broken, worse than before often.

      Hopefully you will improve daily. Keep bending... There are many suppslements and minerals for bone health....why not look at them.....could help your progress....Magnesium is critical.

    • joy47826
      joy47826

      Posted

      Pathetically we spend MOST of our people's money on war games....
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 joy47826

      Posted

      Joy...Medical is the California version of welfare based insurance. In most of the other states it's medicaid........all the sam stuff, just takes care of the millions that don't have insurance. The ACA was supposed to get everybody covered so those plans wouldn't be that previlent but as we all know, hasn;t made one whit of a difference. May even be worse. My ortho's and infectious disease docs are at a teaching medical center. I have to chuckle at how well I'm treated but then again I have insurance. For every one of me there is one or more that doesn't. Many, many of the ER patients are there for head colds, and other minor ailments that shouldn't even be taking up time and space in an ER setting.
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 christineuk62

      Posted

      Actually private insurance is the most common. This either paid for by the individual completely or a combination employer/employee paid. There are generally some degree of deductables paid by the patient with max. out of pocket expense. 65 and older is Medicade which has several sections. The 1st part is paid for by the individual through their working years. Part B is completely individual paid as is the supplemental or gap insurance and part D is for prescriptions  and paid for by the individual. My wife and I have all 4 parts and our monthly premiums are around $700 USD monthly but almost nothing out of pocket for services. We can use any practioner that accepts medicare and can make our own appointments with specialists without referrals from primary care docs. 
    • joy47826
      joy47826 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      I worked 40 yrs and as I recall ALL my health insurance was employee paid...I did not abuse my insurance as I avoided seeing docs for every little thing....

      Then at 61 I lost my corporate job, and sued them on age discrimination and won a settlement but that's another issue....I went 4 yrs without any insurance until Medicare kicked in....I have straight medicare and pay my own copays....no drug insurance as I'm into holistic healing and spend my money on prevention....supplements and nutrition. I believe I pay $100 monthly out of my social security check and an annual deductible for $147 the last couple yrs.....It's a good program and it's been abused too my docs and pharma and people .. Medicare is working on that fraud issue and is cutting back on payments and some docs are opting out of medicare...they are not making ENOUGH money. On the older folks. I see my integrative MD next week for my annual check in and labs but do my own healing daily. with supplements that is where my money goes.

    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 joy47826

      Posted

      Certainly wish you the best and hope everything continues to go well. We had an old friend that was doing pretty much the same and then was hit with a rare cancer. 6 to 9 months later she was broke and 18 months later gone. She had a decent life insurance policy that was mostly eaten up by the debt. You just never know.  My wife was always healthy and now in advanced stages of Parkinson's with no family history. 
    • joy47826
      joy47826 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      Back in 1995 I started on Pycnogenol and then went to grape seed extract, both powerful antioxidants....we were told at a lecture that these MAY prevent cancer....I'm banking on that and it's 19 yrs on both these antioxidants....

      My grandkids dad didn't take these antioxidants he's gone 6 months on chemo, drugs and radiation....he did smoke too long too. that was his downfall. He was 55.

      These antioxidants addresses our total circulation system and keeps our blood clean. Addresses PD as does Vit D3.

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