Reply
Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I can never understand why someone who is having terrible pain will refuse surgery that will relieve that pain. Be it hip, knee, back or whatever - if the doctor is offering surgery and that will completely relieve it - why the heck not?

My DH had cataracts and the doctor told him over and over he needed surgery but he just kept saying no. There was no convincing him !! Finally he said I guess i have no choice because I can't even read or watch TV - I'm going blind. He had other eye issues as well as the cataracts. He had the first surgery in Dec. and the second in jan. Now he keeps blaming the doctor for making him wait so long - WHAT?!?!  Every time he gripes about the eye drops being a pain in the neck I remind him that it would all be ancient history had he done them when the doctor wanted to do them 2 years ago.

So my advice to the OP is - if the doctor is offering surgery - it's not going to get better until you do it. Temporary inconvenience for permanent improvement.

Highlighted
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,889
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Oh boy do I feel your pain. I have been active all my life and now, in my late 60s, I have knee pain all the time. I've changed my workout routines a bit to give the knees a rest but I love my aerobic dance classes, which I still attend three times a week. I modify many of the moves so that there's no impact. On my off days I attend strength building classes...weights, stretches, mild movement. My weight is good but there were times in my past that I was overweight so I think working out when I was overweight put strain on my knees.

 

Cortisone shots help temporarily, if at all, and you can only have a few each year. My knees aren't bone-on-bone so I'm waiting before considering knee replacement. My husband had the surgery and it was quite an ordeal. I would not opt for it unless I had no other options left. Ironically, because I'm in good physical shape, I was not a candidate for PT. Building up the quads and the hips are helpful but mine were already strong so the physical therapist gave me some dance modification moves and sent me on my way. At first I was flattered. "Hey, whoop-dee-do, I'm in great shape!" Then reality set in. There's not much more that anyone can do to help me with my rotten knees. 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,258
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

@151949 wrote:

I can never understand why someone who is having terrible pain will refuse surgery that will relieve that pain. Be it hip, knee, back or whatever - if the doctor is offering surgery and that will completely relieve it - why the heck not?

My DH had cataracts and the doctor told him over and over he needed surgery but he just kept saying no. There was no convincing him !! Finally he said I guess i have no choice because I can't even read or watch TV - I'm going blind. He had other eye issues as well as the cataracts. He had the first surgery in Dec. and the second in jan. Now he keeps blaming the doctor for making him wait so long - WHAT?!?!  Every time he gripes about the eye drops being a pain in the neck I remind him that it would all be ancient history had he done them when the doctor wanted to do them 2 years ago.

So my advice to the OP is - if the doctor is offering surgery - it's not going to get better until you do it. Temporary inconvenience for permanent improvement.


@151949

 

I basically agree with you.  My husband has what appears to be a cancerous lesion  on his right arm 8mm in diameter.  (He has a hx of skin ca.)  When I came at him with a ruler and magnifying glass to look at it, he wanted to know  what I was doing, so I told him I was taking a good look at what was probably yet another skin cancer.  He refuses to go back to our wonderful derm to have this removed.   OK, so how long and how invasive will this have to be before you have this removed, I asked him.  The first one I dragged him to the doc about was 18mm in diameter, frequently bled spontaneously, and was incredibly invasive: it was quite thick and included the periosteum, required a flap procedure to cover and close the large area removed.

 

Sorry to invade this thread.