Posted on 12/01/2005 12:37:47 PM PST by MississippiMasterpiece
I'm interested in hearing the experiences of any Freepers that have had knee replacement surgery.
To Knee, Or Not To Knee, That is the Question............
Anecdotal experience --- M-I-L had double knee replacements 2 years ago. She went from being unable to clean her own trailer due to pain and limited movement, to mall-walking 2 miles a day.
1. It's all about the rehab. Good rehab place is better than a good doctor.
2. If you are fat, they are not for you, as the connection will break.
3. Get the kind that are bend sideways a bit. Most are like a hinge; to be more natural your knee should actually shift a bit. The way to get insurance to pay for the better knee is to say you are a church organist and have to move your knee freely.
I have had total hip replacement and it is almost all good.
My sister has had both knees replaced and it is also mostly good. Nothing is perfect, but these operations will most likely give you, or someone you know, their life back.
I know several older folks (70s and 80s) that had one or both knees replaced and went from hobbling and in pain on good days to walking without pain on most days. One lady down the street can kneel down and enjoy working her garden and an older guy now golfs 18 holes 3 times a week instead of getting in a painful half-round every other week.
Weak knees run in his family. So naturally his son signed up for the 82nd airborne. ;)
She was adiment she was not going to have the right one done the first few weeks after her surgery. However, once she was able to start rehabbing and she found out how pain free and how much freedom of movement she had, she was eager to get the second one done.
She was basically incapacitated for much of a year, but it retrospect she was incapacitated just as much before the surgery.
Once through the recovery period though, the resulting change in her lifestyle has been wonderful to see.
My mother, who will turn 74 in late January, has had both knees replaced in the last 4 years, and she tells me that the only time she has had any trouble is during cold weather, when she experiences some aching of the joints, but she can usually overcome that with small doses of ibuprofen.
Just from watching about a half-dozen people get them:
1. Use a GOOD ortho guy.
2. Figure "recovery" about 3 times longer than what they tell you.
I have a coworker who just had a knee replaced.
He claims the surgery was quite painless. The initial insertion of the epidural was the most pain experienced. After that, there was virtually zero pain from the surgery.
The rehab was another story. My coworker is obese. Rehab forced him to use muscles that he doesn't use too often. Rehab is tough, but he's lost 30 lbs.
He came back to work yesterday. He's still using a cane, but claims that it is much better already.
I have no experience with this, but I am looking into Total Face Replacement.
Had one knee done and now that leg feels like it did 20 years ago. The key is to do the recovery exercises exactly the way the Physical Therapists tell you to do them. After the third day you will begin to see improvement and after the 7th day you'll be encouraged even more with improvement. Take the pain pills if you really have to use them...I avoided them. Accept the fact that recovery is challenging but you will be sooooooo happy afterwards. After two weeks I gave up the walker, crutches and used a cane for a week. Three weeks did some stairs. PS Warn your caregiver that you won't be much fun when they help with the exercises during the first week. They have no way of knowing what to do when you hit a pain spot in an exercise....talk it out when not in pain so they don't feel guilt.
Finally do some searching on Google. I found people who wrote about their experiences...unfortunately after I had my surgery.
Good luck
had mine done last may. fantastic!!!!
Six months after the my wife's knee replacement operation, we were hiking in the Grand Canyon....both knees done....very successful. The pain had negatively affected her personality.
Just make sure you get all ther references you can on the MD.
An aunt of mine had both replaced about a year ago and went from getting around on a scooter to walking around like she had, well, new knees.
Check out the orthopedic surgeon carefully. Find out how many TKRs he's done. You don't want to be his first. Then check out the hospital(s) where the surgeon works. Find out what kind of infection rate they have, I've known people who got infections, had to have the prostheses removed until the infection is cleared up, and then re-done. What a long, painful mess that is. Follow medical professionals' orders. Take your pain meds, religiously. I've known dozens of people who had the surgery, and only one regretted her decision. But she had lots of other complications, morbid obesity top on the list.
The experience also depends a lot on the age and overall fitness of the patient. My mom's had both of her knees done. The first was done at least five years ago, and her recovery went as expected.
This past spring, she had the right knee done. Same doctor, but this time she had some complications with the pain killers that ended up keeping her in the hospital for a few days, which delayed the start of her PT. Even with PT, the recovery this time was more difficult, and took longer than she expected, which affected her attitude and made it difficult to motivate her for PT. A nasty little self-fulfilling prophecy. Plus the fact that she was older, less active and somewhat heavier, it all factored into her recovery experience.
Anyway, 8 months done the road her mobility's greatly improved and her quality of life is significantly better than it was before the second knee was replaced. So it's definately a net gain for her, but the path was not smooth this time around.
Would you be capable of hiking & carrying a backpack if you choose? I'm curious cuz I know I'll be looking at this in 10 years or so.
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