Wellness

[patticakes]

This is the issue that I'm currently facing.  While I don't have intense arthritis pain I am bone on bone in both knees and have definite issues with doing the normal daily things that most of us have to do and it definitely has changed my lifestyle quite a bit as I can no longer do some of the things I really enjoy.  I also don't travel nearly as much and I did love to travel; but now, I have to be sure there won't be a lot of walking and standing, etc.  Even cooking and baking are sometimes difficult because I can't stand for long periods of time.  I'd be interested to hear from some of you that have had TkR and what your take is on waiting until it's absolutely the last resort or doing it earlier and having more quality of life now.

[Annabellethecat66]

I'm getting ready to get one done and then the other.  They are both really, really bad.  My problem is I've had a really bad back (broke 3 vertebras) when younger, so I'm always hurting from the chest down.  Ha!

Well, I've hobbled like you wouldn't believe and I finally go to get the MRI done for the Dr.  The radiologist said, "We will get this to the Dr and he'll call you."  Move forward to 1 month later.....I called the Drs office and guess what?  They never got any of the information...it's as if I never had the blank thing done!  Leave it to me!

So it's now been 3 days and I assume the Dr and the MRI people are trying to find the thing!  If you're thinking "GOOD START" you'd be thinking exactly what I'm thinking.

I have severe arthritis everywhere anyway.  My birthday is in December and my girls are giving me a party.  Family and friends are coming from out of state so I can't get it done until January anyway, but come on!

My advice to you is to get it done.  My guess is people will be here telling you to get  it done.  It doesn't make sense to be in so much pain.  I put it off because I know that my back is STILL going to be really bad anyway.

[tansy]

Once the pain was so overpowering at night that I was in tears, I knew it was time.  Both of my knees were bad so I chose the R knee.  After I rehabbed from it, my other knee felt much less painful and I was able to delay the L one for four years.

[SeaMaiden]

@patticakes  It sounds like your everyday life now revolves around your knees.....I like you was not able to just stand in one place without holding on or leaning against something. I could not hardly walk....and started using crutches to get about. WAKEUP TIME!  My life was a prison of pain.  I had BTKR ( bilateral total knee replacement) in 2013 at age 58.  Today I am painfree, walking everyday 3 to 4 miles. My knees are not swollen, I am no longer bowlegged. It is such wonderful surgery! I highly recommend it!

[Shiloh09]

I hab both knees replaced...two years apart. I was in the same condition---bone on bone. I realized  that I had changed the way I was living my life because of the severe chronic pain! I missed out on a lot of things because of the pain. I received steroid injections that took the edge off, but I knew I needed to have the tkr because life was passing me by. I won't lie, the first couple of weeks in therapy were really hard and it hurt! the first time I was able to complete a full revolution on the recumbent bike was sheer joy! I cannot stress enough that choosing the right surgeon, doing all the PT with no excuses and just as importantly managing the pain with meds is critical to your sucess. when your wound is healed, work the scar with Mederma. my scars are not pink and raised because of really ru bing that stuff in! Please be vigilant with the PT. The last thing you want is build up of scar tissue...cause that's another surgery to have the surgeon manipulate the new joint to break up the scar tissue. someone I met at one of my PT sessions had to do that and he said it was worse than the replacement! One last thing...most people worry about taking the pain meds, but they are important in managing your pain. certainly take them (as prescribed) before your therapy session or half dose before and other half after...my insurance also paid for a cryo-cooler which helped with swelling. Best wishes for total success!

[Kachina624]

If this is a case where surgery is inevitable soon or later and Medicare is involved,   I think it would be wise to do it ASAP due to possible cuts in coverage. 

[RedTop]

I totally agree with getting the surgery sooner, rather than later.  There is absolutely no mental, or physical benefit to waiting.   

It was 13 years from the time I first started having issues until I had surgery, and I absolutely do not recommend waiting that long.  The mental and physical toll brought me the closest I have ever been to a breaking point.  I realized I would be in a wheelchair, or a scooter chair within a year if I did not have the surgery.  My knee dictated my life, and I only did what was necessary, because I was miserable.   

I was well prepared for my surgery, mentally and physically, and I went into the procedure feeling that the pain I was facing, could be no worse than the pain and suffering I'd already experienced.   From the get go I referred to my post surgical pain as "healing pain", and knew that as every day passed, I was one step closer to being pain free.   I never once waivered in my way of thinking, and never had a negative thought about having the surgery.   I was determined to make it a positive experience, and continue to think of surgery as the best thing I ever did for myself.   

January will be 5 years since my TKR; I have just learned osteoarthritis is progressing in my right knee and it is time to start thinking about another surgery.   I am not in a bone on bone situation, nor do I have excruciating pain, but my life is once again controlled by a bad knee.   I do not like sitting on the sidelines of my life.   

My decision is to take steroid shots until I have the yearly recheck on my left knee in early 2017, and schedule surgery on my right knee shortly thereafter.   I absolutely will not allow myself to suffer as I did before.   Right now I am dealing with manageable discomfort, and that's as far as I'm going this time around.   Just do it!   

[patticakes]

So much thanks to all of you that have already shared your stories.  I have to say that I cried as I read each and every one as I saw a piece of myself in each post and realized how many of us have suffered and given up a portion of our lives and dreams because of  the condition of our knees.  You all have expressed my very reason for wanting to go ahead and have the surgery now.  I know I could probably endure another year or two but I feel that I'm starting to watch life go by when I could be enjoying my retirement.  Thanks for helping me make the decision to have the surgery.

[151949]

Sooner - the more you walk on those bpone on bone knees the more damage you are doing to your hips and back.

[BriggsiePeawiggle]

Like the poster above me who waited 13 years, I waited far too long to get my hips replaced and also came very close to the brink. There were times just before surgery when I was in such extreme pain that I seriously wanted to get out of my body -- in any way I could. It was my husband's caring and knowing this was temporary that kept me going. I don't recommend waiting. By the time I got mine done I had a lot of muscle wasting and was on a mobility cart. Mostly I waited too long because of a pain doctor who was convinced it wasn't my hips but that it was my back. He was wrong and caused a long delay. I finally gave up on him and went to a physiatrist who immediately diagnosed it as my hips and took x-rays of them and was horrified. Just don't wait until it gets that bad. The pain after surgery was nothing compared to before. I will add here that it hasn't been a year yet, and I'm already riding my bike and walking with no assistance and out of pain. Just do it.