I'm facing knee replacement surgery
Ron Knights
Posts: 1,785
Both of my knees have been bad for years. They have no cartilage. The pain doesn't bother me all the time, or maybe I just ignore it. I've been using a walker for several months.
I fell down the other day. Both of my knees just collapsed, and I went down hard. My knees apparently hit the floor first. I have a scrape on one knee. Falls are serious for us older people. I have almost no upper body strength. It was hard for me to get back up. I was fortunate because someone had just knocked on my door. I would have been able to yell for help if I didn't get up. I always keep my door locked, just to be sure someone doesn't wander inside.
I've been rather shaken since the fall. I've asked to have my bath tub altered so I can get out of it much easier. I guess they make some sort of hole. I won't be able to use it as a tub, but I'm already to big to lie down in a tub. Someone will be over this afternoon to do the job.
I'm still agonizing over when I'd want to have the knee replacement surgery. You can get a clue from my recent posts. Just wanted to pass along an insight.
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Comments
Ow, Good Luck with the Op. I'm glad it wasn't a hip
sorry to hear this Ron. That has to be rough going. My wife had one knee like that. She said the surgery and after was far less painful than when her knee was bad, so I can;t imagine what you;re dealing with. Good luck and hopefully you can get this taken care of very soon. Do you have on of those life alert things? My mom had one and it did save her multiple times when she fell.
Be prepared for a long recovery. I've been warned that it takes something like 4 months for a full recovery. Don't stint on the PT. It's needed.
I'm looking aty the same thing and it will be awkward since I live alone at the top of a staircase.
I didn't want to say that I didn't want to discourage him. Someone told me that he wouldn't pay. Why? I asked, and he responded, "What will they do to repossess them? then I saw "Repo Man." I bought it, took it to his house, and we watched it together. He was so happy that they hadn't started that yet.
My mom has titanium replacements on both of her knees, on the the first knee the replacement lasted maybe 2 years before it detached from the bone and had to be replaced again.
The initial operations were not that bad, she was walking without a cane in maybe 2 months, but when they had to replace the broken one, she first had to spend 8 weeks in bed without a knee for the bones to heel before they could install the new one.
My apartment building manager arranged to have a guy come and covert my bath tub into a shower. I looked at the web site for the Clean Cut Step device. It looks interesting.
https://cleancutbath.com/product/cleancut-step/comment-page-3/?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwgsqoBhBNEiwAwe5w02xQKFQYU4WnzRZm_6pX0R78ujA8I77rIuYZuhtfcA1R1OW9vPTc-RoCfJ0QAvD_BwE
get a knee brace walmart has um, everywhere does. get the one with the extra rigging suport on the sides of the knee, helps when ya bang into things. cost like $40 or summin. just slides on. keeps the knee and leg straight and supports the tubes n musles, etc. I have to wear one on my left leg. seriously it helps if for no other reason to say hey I have a bum knee. helps when the knee goes to jello too.
get a shower massager with a long cord, get a stool or one of those plastic bath chairs. had to for my mother who cannot stand in the tub or shower, works great and she can get to all the parts that need cleaning confortably with no risks of falling or injurying her self.
a hand grabber is good too, so ya don't have to bend over to pick things up. keep up the fight Ron, keep truckin' :)
Oh my! I feel for you and pray everything goes well and that you get better without surgery. I can SO relate to your dilemma as I'm facing the possibility of an ankle fusion. My left ankle is wrecked due to a combination of walking/standing on nerve damaged legs for 35 years ( bad neck) combined with a left leg that's a bit shorter ( just found that out last week). As a result all the tendons and ligaments gave up last year. The hard fact of the Healthcare system in the US is that I had to wait for Medicare to get help. By the time I paid $1000 a month for insurance and a couple prescriptions there was nothing left to pay the high copays and deductibles.
Surgery would mean 2-4 months in a rehab facility since I live alone and I cannot see how I could do that ( practically or moneywise- even with Medicare) There's my cats and I also cannot lie at all or sit for long periods because of my neck issues. Also I would die of boredom without my DAZ and digital painting software. Right now I'm in a hard walking boot so I can at least walk more ergonomically and with MUCH less pain. The hope is that Physical Therapy will lossen things up so the Doctor can "force" the ankle back into better alignment. It's been a couple weeks and there is some slight improvement in range of motion but it's going to be a long road.
Have you thought of massage therapy? I've been going for years to aid my neck issues and secondary fibromyalgia. Without it I would've been wheelchair/bed bound years ago. Your whole body gets out of whack when you ve got a bad limb and that just increases your pain and mobility issues. I also have a bath chair in my shower that could also work for a tub. I should get some grab bars, but for right now I can shimmy from the chair right onto the john and then finish drying.
Hang in there!
I'm very sorry to hear that, Ron. Especially because I also had a bad fall last year that completely damaged my right shoulder joint. It's still not okay.
I hope you are well looked after now (washing, cooking, shopping, etc.). Get well soon, and good luck with the surgery!
Thanks, caravelle and everyone else for your support. I am currently going through a rough patch right now. I haven't fallen recently. I'm facing 3-4 appointments for other things, such as a sleep doctor, neurologist, etc. Yes, I face numerous challenges, both physically and emotionally.
I just went a few days with very little sleep. I'd switched pharmacies, and things got a bit confused. I should get a new supply of medications later today. I should be back to an even, if wobbly, keel over the weekend.
Take care, everyone.
I don't know how to express myself under the circumstances in English, but.. pls be strong, happy and relaxed ! I wish everything's going well with the surgery and have a speedy recovery !
My Dad had one knee replaced 5 years ago and unfortunately, during the surgery a blood clot went to his brain and it bascially made him almost a vegetable. Luckily, it did dissolve and he got full function and memory back after a few weeks, but it was scary to see what it did to him, he didn't even recognize me. I am starting to have issues with my left knee (had an accident many years back onstage when I was a musician), so I might have to go thru this some time in the near future myself. Best of luck and God bless Ron!
crosswind, I understood you just fine. Thanks for your support.
MSMCDesigns, I'm glad your Dad recovered. I imagine his experience might give you cause for concern. I think this type of surgery has a good success rate. One of my friends had hip replacement surgery awhile ago. She's old enough to be my mother. She is doing fine.
One of my doctors is in her lower 70's and just had a hip replacement cause she fell and broke it and they ended up having to replace the whole thing cause it couldn't be fixed in the state her bones were in with her age. She was only out for roughly a month and had a total of 3 months of therapy twice a week I believe.
From what I've heard knee replacement surgery has become a pretty common operation and they have pretty much perfected it to a point where there is very little that can go wrong. Not saying nothing can't go wrong, but there is very little chance. Physical therapy will depend on the technique they use so it could be a month to 3 months. At any rate, I wish you the very best of luck, and think happy thoughts and heal quickly.
Heres wishing you all the best with the surgery and hope everything goes well with that and with your healing and recovery afterwards. I can relate to that as I have been putting mine off for several years now. I went through a major back surgery a few years back so Ive needed time to catch my bearings and my pocketbook
. I bought me a recliner that I could use to sleep & recover in-as there is no way I think I'll be able to crawl into my bed afterwards. Someone over on the bone forums told me that the recovery can be long like up to six months which I am not looking forward to.
My dad had a knee replacement just a few months ago. At first it's very painful, but with therapy and exercise, it gets better. He's now sleeping much better, which of course helps with everything else.
Wishing you all the best with what you need.
I've known a couple of people who've had knee replacements...
I don't know if your doctor brought it up, but it turns out it's not as cool as it sounds... apparently these crappy things aren't even bionic or cybernetic... so like you probably won't get any cool super powers like being able to jump over vats of hungry piranhas, or kick killer robot dogs through brick walls while making cool "tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh" sound effects...
Well, technically you could still make the "tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh" sound effect yourself, but you'd have to limit the jumping to a more reasonable expectation level... maybe just some goldfish in shallow baking pan or something... when I was like ten my friend used to do that sound effect when we played basketball... eventually he fell and got hurt while doing that and I think he still hates basketball to this day.
So yeah, I hope that wasn't a let down, but I'd still ask to see if they have bionic knees now... technology changes so fast now, they might have released like Apple iKnees or Samsung Neez by now... I dunno though... the way things are with tech these days, bionic knees would probably turn into something stupid or goofy... like you couldn't get them wet, or there'd be a tiered subscription... like basic knees would be for like jumping over a doormat or a pile of dog poop or something and SuperNeez MAX+ would be for kicking robot dogs or jumping over vats of piranhas... but you know the bastards would make it tied to WiFi and it would constantly be updating or signing you out and of course that would always be just as you were about to leap over the doggie nuggets or over those piranhas...
Yeah, maybe just get regular titanium ones... definitely don't cheap out and get wooden ones like George Washington did... did you know he was mostly made out of wood by the time he died... and apparently it was termites that killed him, not the fifty ton weight that Major General Charles Lee set as a trap for him... (Lee was Washington's nemesis and one of the first supervillains in colonial America)... I probably shouldn't go on about historical stuff now and just stick to medical advice... so yeah... avoid the wooden knees or those DIY ones you can get at Home Depot... And DEFINITELY avoid any of the ones they sell at IKEA... not only do they require assembly, who thought up pressboard joints with plastic and metal bearings... and that stupid Allen wrench that strips out the plastic Floobin-gångjärn...
Sorry... that's probably all too much to think about now...
I think the real take away on this shouldn't be worrying about termites or piranhas, but focusing on what's best for you... it's probably be a bit of an uncomfortable inconvenience at first if you do go with the new kness... but from what I've seen, if you do what the doctors tell you to do, you'll probably be able to be more mobile again... and not just rolling down stairs, but walking and... well... basically walking... mostly... maybe a little fast even... as far as I know, that's pretty much it, from what I've seen from the people I know who've gotten new knees... well, except for one who didn't really do any of the stuff they were supposed to do and now they are almost as bad as they were before the new knees...
But the others seem to be much better off... and walking without a limp or painfully hobbling about is light years better than the alternative.
Well, good luck and remember... if the doctor schedules the operation at an IKEA, just say "NoThanks!"...
Cheers.
Don't get the knee replacement done. I work with a guy who had it done and it elimitated the pain and gave him greater mobility but because they are not flesh and blood, they remain room temperature and he always has chills shooting through his body.
Hmmm. I have a titanium plate and 8 screws in my neck and I can't say they've made me feel the cold worse- even in the depths of a Michigan winter. Still, it is VERY important to weigh all the options before undergoing a major surgery like a joint replacement. Best to assume that the doctors are NOT telling a patient the full story on ANY recovery. If they told people the WHOLE truth then nobody would consent to the procedures. I was told my neck would be good as new by 4 months afrer surgery. In truth it took twice as long to become functional and I never was "good as new". But I had no choice but to go ahead to have a chance at a decent life.
Getting advice from more than one professional working in the field absolutely makes sense, e.g. if you don't have that top-of-the-line institute next door, or don't personally know the head of surgery person, and so on.
(Damaged nerves could result from knee-surgery in theory, so before jumping off the train, i'd ask a professional, if a potential/anecdotal consequence worries you. Cold/hot therapy seems to be common after knee surgery, so maybe something related could be detected early on, if one wanted to ensure.)
Other than that... godspeed, best of luck!
Good luck. I am hoping to avoid a hip right side ball & socket joint replacement in the future. I've already been told there is some grinding wear in 2003 at the Universitaetsklinik Balgrist (ironic name given the ball of my right femur was like a grist mill on the socket of my right hip). My body has developed some sort of deposits the size of my fist to keep the ball from popping out of the socket so frequently nowadays after over 2 decades of PT. I think they deposits are made of calcium of some sort. I got the injury when I was t-boned in Danvers, MA driving to Gloucester, MA and to make matters worse, I was thrown from a horse a couple years after that and landed on my hip first. I went to many doctors and physical therapists but they only ever looked for breaks. Finally I figured out in 2003 after that Balgrist Clinic visit why all the trouble was happening. I figured tt was because the ligaments in the middle of my two hips that joins them tightenly together and allows flexibility had been stretched and probably partially torn and so the hip hip hangs lower and is loose and the right femur supports it more than the left femur supports the left hip. I could be wrong though, because no doctor has ever told me so, they only tell me about the symptoms I told them abount that caused my visits. It's thrown physically things so out of wack in the almost 30 years since the injury I can see the muscular development between the line of symmetry down the middle of my sternum is such that the left side is more muscular while the right side is more flabby (owning to the decade of loss of complete control of the right hip while I searched for ways to rehab it effectively). The pain that that causes me from time to time is excruciating enough to cause black outs. Luckily as I've jogged and ran so much since those accidents the musculature in the hips, thighs, and lower back has developed to the point that that right hip mostly stays in place so I hardly ever get the excruciating pain anymore that causes the black outs. You definately want to to the physical therapy they prescribe. And you definately what to ask the doctors and medical specialists probing questions about the exact nature of your condition to be sure that thay of fully informed and prepared. It will help you improve the PT they prescribe and devise your own too, if need be.
I probably won't get the surgery this year. I have several other physical and emotional needs that are pressing for my attention.
I need to see a sleep doctor and get a new BiPap machine. Mine is around 20 years old. I think they recommend a new machine every 3-5 years. I've been using a health monitor smart watch to record my sleeping patterns. My sleep quality isn't so great. I consistently have poor quality REM sleep. I haven't a a real "in-house" sleep study for around 20 years. I am likely overdue!
I will also see a neurologist to try and figure why I am always feeling so lousy.
I'm a type 2 diabetic, and have been successfully managing that condition. I see my doctor every 3 months.
I had what I'd call an emotional breakdown a couple days ago. I had switched pharmacies, and my medication supply was interrupted. I was sitting outside the dining room, waiting to eat lunch. I almost broke down crying for no apparent reason. I got myself upstairs to rest and recover. Then I got a new supply of my medications and am slowly improving.
But then I got hit with a bunch of needed apartment repairs, etc. I was bowled over. My bathtub was converted into a step-in shower. That way I have less chance of falling in the bathroom. But I can't take a shower for 48 hours. The sealing compound needs to dry. I decided to hide out in my apartment through the upcoming weekend. I should have regained my energy by Monday.
Sending more prayers and gentle hugs.. I think a neurolgy consult is a great idea...You might want to see about getting worked up for fibromyalgia as you're describing some of the more common symptoms-poor non restorative sleep, always feeling tired and generally lousy, emotional swings, frustration and a feeling of being in a fog at time. It's NOT just a neuromuscular pain syndrome It can affect every part of you. I know.. I've been severely afected for 35 years!( was up most of last night because brain refused to shut off)