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I know there are a lot of folks here suffering from various knee conditions and there is always a discussion on whether or not to get cut.
I have had one successful TKR and for the last year I've been suffering from the other knee going south. I drew the short end of the stick on one issue, lol severe Osteoarthritis at an early age, probably started in my early 50's.
So it's late fall here in Philadelphia and yesterday I woke up to 30 degree beautiful sunny day and unable to get out of bed. My knee was literally stuck in a bent position and hellish pain to even straighten it enough to stand. Oh great, today is my day to usher at the 11 am church service. Sit with a heating pad on my knee for 20 minutes just to get out of bed.
Start the day with 2- 650 mg acetaminophen and 2 aspirin, a salon pas patch and my knee brace. Ushering is a nightmare. trying to simply escort folks a few feet to their seats with constant pain.
Throughout the day I'm popping pills. when I get to 3000 mg Acetaminophen, I switch over to ibuprofen. 800 mg at a time. Ice, elevate and finally I take a tramadol 50 mg. to get some sleep
Woke up this morning, a little better but have to go to work. luckily my workload is light so I can sit a bit.
but I've got 3-650 mg of acetaminophen in my back pocket to take right after I have some tea and a bagel.
So the bottom line is I do not want this to be my daily routine for the next 30 years.
I guess I'm posting this because I think on here there is an illusion that folks who decide to get a tkr are some how unintelligent stooges of the medical industry just blindly listening to a surgery happy physician. That we somehow just walk into a doctors office and reach the decision to get our knees replaced.
I can assure you I am not. I've been reading, researching and trying various alternatives but again my bottom line is I do not want to live not even being able to make it to the bathroom in the morning because of knee pain.
I know surgeries can and do go bad.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Most people I’ve heard about having this surgery are quite happy with the results, only
wishing they hadn’t waited so long to do it.
I know there are a lot of folks here suffering from various knee conditions and there is always a discussion on whether or not to get cut.
I have had one successful TKR and for the last year I've been suffering from the other knee going south. I drew the short end of the stick on one issue, lol severe Osteoarthritis at an early age, probably started in my early 50's.
So it's late fall here in Philadelphia and yesterday I woke up to 30 degree beautiful sunny day and unable to get out of bed. My knee was literally stuck in a bent position and hellish pain to even straighten it enough to stand. Oh great, today is my day to usher at the 11 am church service. Sit with a heating pad on my knee for 20 minutes just to get out of bed.
Start the day with 2- 650 mg acetaminophen and 2 aspirin, a salon pas patch and my knee brace. Ushering is a nightmare. trying to simply escort folks a few feet to their seats with constant pain.
Throughout the day I'm popping pills. when I get to 3000 mg Acetaminophen, I switch over to ibuprofen. 800 mg at a time. Ice, elevate and finally I take a tramadol 50 mg. to get some sleep
Woke up this morning, a little better but have to go to work. luckily my workload is light so I can sit a bit.
but I've got 3-650 mg of acetaminophen in my back pocket to take right after I have some tea and a bagel.
So the bottom line is I do not want this to be my daily routine for the next 30 years.
I guess I'm posting this because I think on here there is an illusion that folks who decide to get a tkr are some how unintelligent stooges of the medical industry just blindly listening to a surgery happy physician. That we somehow just walk into a doctors office and reach the decision to get our knees replaced.
I can assure you I am not. I've been reading, researching and trying various alternatives but again my bottom line is I do not want to live not even being able to make it to the bathroom in the morning because of knee pain.
I know surgeries can and do go bad.
I have not regretted having my knee replacement for one moment except maybe the first weeks. Of course things can go wrong and I love what my surgeon told me: knee surgery is always elective but sooner or later I would have to have it done. I decided to not put it off and I think I had better results by not waiting.
eliza - I know what you're saying here. I had my knee replacement about 7 months ago. Even though I look perfectly normal walking around, I am still very much in the healing phase which I expect to continue for a year to year+1/2. I have good days and some painful days. But the good days are increasing and the bad days are less severe, so it's all going to plan.
People that I don't know well who watched me go though this (co-workers, neighbors, distant family) procedure make it sound like I woke up one day with no warning, and flippantly decided to have my knee amputated and then just go on my merry way. Ha! Hardly.
It has been an agonizing experience, though I am healing very well with no issues. I just was not prepared for the lengthy recovery I've had to go though, however many times my surgeon reminded me of it. And doing it with a commute and full time job... well it's been a challenging experience. And it took me oh - about 7 years leading up to that decision, trying everything known to man along the way to avoid the inevitable outcome. I slowly became more debilitated and my life became smaller and smaller, and I was ever-more depressed with the situation.
Finally, when I had to hold on to the walls at my workplace to just walk to anywhere in the building, I finally did one fine day get up and decided to do something about it. It was hard to accept that reality but once I did, it was full steam ahead. My Orthopedic surgeon was very patient with me and never brought up knee replacement. He knew that when I'd had enough and we'd exhausted all other avenues of treatment, I ask about it. And I did! Three weeks later I was waking up in the hospital with a new knee. And THEN is when the challenge really began. The healing process.
The other knee shows signs of wear and does ache occasionally, but is mostly silent... for now. I'm hoping that it will not require surgery someday, as the first knee did suffer an injury at age 11 with my horse. Horse slipped and fell on top of me, injuring that knee, so I wasn't too surprised that it gave out early. Since the other knee didn't sustain any injury, I hope it will take me to the end of my life with nothing more than normal aches and pains of aging.
But if it did give out, I tell you, I'd do the same thing again, however difficult that decision may be, however painful and lengthy the recovery may be. So you do what you need to do and hang what anyone else thinks about it. They don't have to wake up every day in your shoes, barely able to walk through the day. There is very good technology available that provides a good solution for you (as you well know with your other knee). Don't be afraid to use it. Sure there is risk. Life itself is a risk. But fate favors the bold. I've found that to be true all my life.
Sounds like you know what needs to be done, but are afraid to take that step. But like my surgeon said - you'll know when it's time and then you will find courage within yourself that you never knew your had!! Best of luck to you!
Last edited by BijouBaby; 12-13-2019 at 01:28 PM..
Physical therapist here. Of the hundreds of TKR patients I have worked with, only one had complications. So the odds are very much in your favor as long as you have a good surgeon and follow the post-op procedures carefully.
I had both knees replaced last year. I am so glad I did. It took me about 6 months after the first one, to get my head around having the second one done. Now, I am 7 months past having the second knee done, and it is almost equal to the first one. I’m told I’m a fast healer, and had no complications.
I am left with some stiffness, weakness, and discomfort at certain times, like getting up from a low chair or climbing stairs. I supposedly can kneel, but I’m afraid to, and it is uncomfortable. I think it’s sort of funny that I can feel clicking when it walk. DH says he can’t hear it, but I feel a bit like the crocodile in Peter Pan.
Bottom line, I’m very glad I had them done. The first few months are no picnic, but after awhile it’s fine.
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I drew the short end of the stick on one issue, lol severe Osteoarthritis at an early age, probably started in my early 50's.
trying to simply escort folks a few feet to their seats with constant pain.
