Wellness

[gazelle77]

John:

I understand where you are coming from concerning the cons of joint replacement... as with any surgical procedure there are risks... but if someone is suffering from joint issues, and it is stopping them from doing the things they love, plus they can no longer get the exercise that they need for health, it is worth the risk. If someone can temporarily get relief from the pain doing alternative methods, they can do that as long as it works.... if that is the route they want to go.

I spent 10 years in misery.. Nothing I did helped me.... I put off getting replacements for many reasons I felt were good ones. When it got to the point where about all I could do was sit and if I got up.. count every PAINFUL step to where I was going until I could sit again... I could not even stand in one place for more than a minute without sitting down or holding on to something to take the weight off of my knees.... my life was empty and useless at age 57. What I got from knee replacement one and a half years ago was MY LIFE BACK!! I feel useful, happy, and can do everything again! It is life saving surgery. Yes, there are risks, but, in life there are always risks.

A month ago I just had my left hip replaced.... wow what a difference in just 4 weeks already! I can put my socks on again.. such a simple thing but until you loose the ability to do that, you, do not know how important that is! My right hip will be next. For now I am doing well... just finished raking up all the leaves in my yard thanks to these wonderful bionic joints

[halfpint1]

I am back e my doctor this morning. I had back surgery 2months ago. Sunday my knee was in awful pain and still is. I thought I was getting better and now this so I will see what he has to say. You all gave me a lot to think about. Also I was treated for UTI.

[Windycity]

On 11/4/2014 mominohio said:

On 10/31/2014 happy housewife said:

On 10/31/2014 hckynut said:

Trying to Avoid Total Knee Replacement

Why?

John, many times on this BB I try to figure out why anyone would prefer to be in constant pain when there is a surgical solution - but yet , many do seem to prefer to live like that. How often here you read about people who won't have back surgery, or a joint replaced. To each their own.

Total knee replacements aren't as successful as the medical profession would have you believe. Like any procedure, there are risks, and the outcomes vary by individual. I, too, need knee replacement surgery, and have decided not to do it at this time. I don't believe the payoff is there for a good percentage of the people who go through it. There is always the possibility that one ends up either no better off, or worse off after the surgery, and if one can find alternatives to cope with, relieve the pain, it is often the better option.

As to OP's reason for posting, I have found that certain physical exercises help, and a friend who is a physical therapist says there is some physical therapy that helps some people. I have tried the laser therapy, and it did some good at first, but not a real long term solution for me. I'd suggest trying everything you can think of before having surgery. But, only you can know just how limited you want to be or how much pain you want to tolerate before moving on to what should be that final step of surgery. Don't let people shame you into doing something you don't want to do.You will have to live with the consequences not those here trying to make you feel like a fool.

Thank you!!! You have expressed my own thoughts to perfection!!! Especially, "don't let people shame you into doing something that you don't want to do. YOU will have to live with the consequences, not those "here" trying to make you feel like a fool. Amen.

[Cookie777]

Do you have those little chairs that go up the stairs? I know how it feels to have your knees hurt. I thought I might need something done, but my knees got better, don't know why .

[sfnative]

Since the discussion has moved beyond initial queries and poster input, I thought I'd provide some information which hasn't been mentioned yet.

Yes, we're all aware that there are TKAs (Total Knee Arthroplasties [Total Knees]) which resolve well and others that don't. Trying to understand why some do and don't can be difficult and nerve wracking, if you're in a position of trying to make a decision as to whether to have the surgery or not.

Allow me to qualify what I'm about to say: Prior to retiring last year, I directed surgical training for a large medical center/medical school/large clinic complex with over 6,000 employees. I can't tell you how many TKAs I assisted in and viewed over the years. Then one day at work about 10 months prior to retiring, my knee started buckling and I slammed against a wall at the hospital. I eventually sought an eval from an Ortho I very much respected, but knew I wouldn't be having the surgery there, as we were moving out of state shortly after retirement. What it came down to was that my left knee was not bone-on-bone, it was becoming "valgus," which meant it was turning in or knock-kneed and I couldn't even tell this was happening. When we move to another state to be with DD and DSIL with GD on the way, I was told that this situation would get worse little by little and become a hazard to my mobility and safety, so I had to have a TKA.

So, now I'm in a new state. I really didn't like the new ortho doc I was seeing, but saw the sense in what he was telling me about the TKA. Because of my professional experience, I called a vendor that I knew well and asked for the local rep so I could find out who did "navigation" joint replacement surgery. Plus, I knew I wanted a Stryker Triathlon knee so needed to asked who did TKAs providing those knees.

What's "navigation" and why did I think it necessary? During knee replacment surgery, portions of the shin bone and thigh bone are removed to accommodate the artificial knee. As you can imagine, the surgeon must be exact in the angle and amount of bone removed. If not, this is just one of the things that can cause a major, major set-back. "Navigation" is actually "Computer Aided Navigation." Beams of light measure your bones/anatomy, and tell the surgeon exactly where and how much bone and at what angle to remove it using the knee prosthetic that has been chosen. Look at this as though it were carpentry: measure twice, cut one. Except in orthopaedic surgery, even if the surgeon eye-balls the cut twice, it still may not be at the correct angle nor enough bone. You may think, "Big deal," he/she will just slip in the knee and take it out if it doesn't fit quite right and make multiple minute corrections. It doesn't always work this way due to surgeons' OR schedules. In training Resident Ortho surgeons, I can't tell you how often we preach "time management," one of the reasons being that the affected leg has a tourniquet placed on it. The sooner we can release the tourniquet the better. Now back pedal to "navigation" and I think you'll see why I wanted navigation: it provides accuracy and saves much time.

A final few comments: if, after knee replacement surgery, you're having knee pain where you used to have knee pain, e.g., where the bone met bone, then something untoward is going on, because that joint is gone and has been replaced by metal which cannot "hurt." You may indeed have pain under your knee cap, at the point where the knee cap ligament attaches to the shin bone (this drove me nuts for months), on the right side of your knee and/or the left side of your knee and perhaps the back of the knee (not so often). All of these complaints are due to "soft tissue" such as muscles, tendons and ligaments, which were manipulated - retracted - during surgery and they can be really sore! Muscles will heal faster than tendons because they have better blood supply. Tendons will heal better than ligaments because they have better than the almost extremely low blood supply that ligaments have. **Should have have incurred an injury to any of the 4 primary knee ligaments in the past, you need to tell your surgeon prior to surgery and know that this may compromise healing and whether the new knee is going to be stable and work well for you.

Not every surgery is going to have a perfect outcome. Mine didn't. My surgeon told me that because my knee was going knock-kneed, once the correction was made with the new knee, a new dynamic would exist in my left foot. What!? I didn't want a new "dynamic" in my left foot! LOL! However, I see what he meant because now I'm having an ankle issue I never had(pain), so we're looking into this at this time. Please know this isn't normal. I wan't bone-on-bone, as most of you are, so your foot will probably be fine.

I hope I've provided some clarification. For the nay-sayers, my purpose has not been to gross anyone out. Just as hckynut has provided very specific information regarding his cataract procedures, for instance, including the lenses used (which I have written down and have in my wallet), I feel it's never to late to learn, for through this process comes clarity.

God Bless - Rebecca

[Mominohio]

On 11/4/2014 gazelle77 said:

John:

I understand where you are coming from concerning the cons of joint replacement... as with any surgical procedure there are risks... but if someone is suffering from joint issues, and it is stopping them from doing the things they love, plus they can no longer get the exercise that they need for health, it is worth the risk. If someone can temporarily get relief from the pain doing alternative methods, they can do that as long as it works.... if that is the route they want to go.

I spent 10 years in misery.. Nothing I did helped me.... I put off getting replacements for many reasons I felt were good ones. When it got to the point where about all I could do was sit and if I got up.. count every PAINFUL step to where I was going until I could sit again... I could not even stand in one place for more than a minute without sitting down or holding on to something to take the weight off of my knees.... my life was empty and useless at age 57. What I got from knee replacement one and a half years ago was MY LIFE BACK!! I feel useful, happy, and can do everything again! It is life saving surgery. Yes, there are risks, but, in life there are always risks.

A month ago I just had my left hip replaced.... wow what a difference in just 4 weeks already! I can put my socks on again.. such a simple thing but until you loose the ability to do that, you, do not know how important that is! My right hip will be next. For now I am doing well... just finished raking up all the leaves in my yard thanks to these wonderful bionic joints

Wow gazelle, you have really been through it! I'm so happy to hear a positive story about the replacements. I often hear not so good stories, and it is motivating and encouraging to know that it does change people's lives for the better. Best wishes for continued success and with your next replacement.

[Gooday]

On 11/3/2014 happy housewife said:

On 11/3/2014 Gooday said:

On 11/3/2014 happy housewife said:

On 11/3/2014 gazelle77 said: An MRI is not necessary unless the X-ray does not show arthritis. If you have pain and rule out arthritis, than you would go further with diagnosis and perhaps go the MRI route. MRI's are expensive and only show soft tissue. My hip replacement and both knee replacements were done just with X-rays, no MRI's. My doctor is known nationwide for joint replacement.

Arthritis changes are easily seen on simple x rays. If there is no space between the bones in a joint that means the cartilage has deteriorated and the joint is bone on bone. You don't even have to be very good at reading x rays to see it.It is a blaring defect.

Any good ortho surgeon will order AP/lateral/standing views of BOTH knees. That is the best way to determine joint loss. Think about it - if the only views that were taken were while lying on a table, you could not get the accurate measurement of joint space. Now, stand up and take the pictures - full weight bearing and there's your accuracy.

Ok - where did anyone say they should only take one view?

No need to be SO defensive. I was just sharing information that some may not know. Believe it or not, some PCP's referred patients to us all the time with x-rays and the patient would get all huffy when we told them they needed more views. That is all.

[tansy]

One issue with the navigation that sfn didn't mention was that for me there was a concern that my bones might be too soft for that tool. I was diagnosed with osteopenia five years ago and had a bone fracture from a relatively minor fall that resulted in a shoulder replacement. I decided I didn't want to risk it and as it turned out the surgeon said it was a good decision after my recent TKR, which is doing very well.

[hsawaknow]

Whatever you decide, best of luck to you.

[fortune]

Thank you all so much for your posts!!! I took notes and feel that I'm in a much better position to ask the right questions. I'm going to take the X-rays I had today (standing, both knees) and get another opinion. You all are so great to take the time to give me such thoughtful and detailed posts!!! I think one has to get into the right mind-set to consider having major surgery, change homes, and live a new life style!