Beauty

[monicakm]

@50Mickey 

I've heard from a couple of people it takes about a year to fully recover.  One of those was my BIL.  I'm sure it's different for everyone.  I'm not putting it off.  It's been put off by Covid ( because it's an elective surgery) and my Dr's backlog of patients (again due to Covid).  January is the tentative month.

[monicakm]

@fairydogmother 

The pain of knee surgery is tremendous

You hate me don't you   I have NO pain tolerance.  I am the epitome of  wimpiness when it comes to being uncomfortable.  And I can't take pain meds   I'm afraid of the side effects and addiction.  Induced coma is sounding like a plan!

[chiclet]

I posted before on this but I will post update.  My husband, 75. diabetic and overweight, had right TKR on 10/7/2021.  He was on a walker for about 8 days, drove after 4 weeks, and will have second knee done on12/28/2021.  Both knees are bone on bone.  The most pain is the first 10 days. He pressure washed the driveway this week  and was back to cooking a couple times a week after the second or third week.  The second knee will be trickier because the right knee which he just had done will now have to be the strong knee for the left knee surgery in December.  As far as pain meds go he does not take much now since Doctor said he can quit rehab and restart after second knee since his extension etc. is fine.  My advise is if you know you have to do it and can do it, just do it.  My husband agonized over it, researched it and drove both of us crazy talking about it and put it off for a long time.  You cannot start getting better until you do it.  His mental state is better now as he feels he is not an invalid and there is hope for him to get better.  Having that black cloud of dread over your head all the time plus the pain is depressing.  

[50Mickey]

@fairydogmother  With all due respect what happened with you, 4 major surgeries on one knee is not what the average person deals with. I have 2 good friends and 2 neighbors who have had TKR surgeries. And no they were not pain free in 2 weeks and yes they were in therapy for a several months but absolutely it did not take a year to recover. If depends on your definition of recover.

When I said doing well what I meant is they are up and walking and going to therapy and well on the road to recovery. And I don't know anyone who took a year to get to this point. And yes I know that bone surgery is very painful. I don't think it helps to give someone who needs this surgery the worst case scenario and scare them out of having a needed surgery that can be a life changer.  

[fairydogmother]

@50Mickey  Points taken. However I stand by my statements. Maybe it's just me, but I would rather know the worst case scenario and be prepared. If it's less intense than what was portrayed, that's a bonus. Everyone and every situation is unique. 

[Shelbelle]

I firmly believe that every doctor owes it to his patients to divulge everything from best and worst case scenarios. No excuses!!!

[fairydogmother]

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@monicakm wrote:

@fairydogmother 

The pain of knee surgery is tremendous

You hate me don't you   I have NO pain tolerance.  I am the epitome of  wimpiness when it comes to being uncomfortable.  And I can't take pain meds   I'm afraid of the side effects and addiction.  Induced coma is sounding like a plan!

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Surely there is a pain medication that you can take. Discuss with surgeon, he or she will tell you the options. Morphine does make most people itch. That's a given. Opioid pain relievers are super constipating, so stool softeners are advised to be taken daily. The pain relief far outweighs the side effects in my opinion. 
i have no doubt that your pain can be managed. Not trying to scare you. The most intense pain is post operative but you'll be getting IV pain meds so you will be reasonably comfortable in the hospital. In fact the surgeon will put a little cocktail so to speak, of pain meds directly into the joint. This is hugely effective in conjunction with the IV drugs. Please speak with your surgeon and let us know. I feel like you have told yourself a lot of things that are not accurate, you will get great reassurance if you verbalize all of your worries to the surgeon and clinical staff. 🥰 I apologize for scaring you. 
One more thing: patients who have legitimate, significant pain from surgery don't get "addicted" to the pain meds. If you were to be on them for months which you won't be, you could develop a tolerance which is different than an addiction. This won't be the case, number one, because you will only be receiving narcotics for a limited time and two, the physicians are limited by the Feds as to how much to prescribe and for how long. 😊

[monicakm]

@fairydogmother 

Thank you for addressing some of my fears.  I'm just now seeing this.  I came here to mention an update on my surgery.  Elective surgeries are now being allowed at my Dr's hospital.  Also I can choose to stay one night if I think I need to (I need to!)  Covid restrictions have eased.  My tentative surgery date is Jan 18th.  I have a pre-op appt Dec 9.  I guess any of this can change if the Covid situation worsens.

[fairydogmother]

@monicakm  Please keep us  posted on how things go. You will come through with flying colors. 

[Jk9]

@monicakm Just for a perspective on the replacement surgery routines,  I had a total shoulder replacement last year.  Surgery was outpatient and I was admitted for an overnight stay to get IV antibiotics and pain meds.  Discharged next am.  Went to see MD at office 5 days later and started PT (outpatient) shortly thereafter.  So doc saying that surgery procedure is outpatient is pretty normal here with the overnight admission for post op care.