My total knee replacement- no trouble
 

Thought I'd report on my knee replacement on 3/08/16.
I heard of many painful replacements from buddies, so I was very unsure about this whole deal.
Briefly, I report that it was no great big deal as far as pain & discomfort. I was given a full compliment of pain meds (hydrocodone & tramadol). I used only 1 or 2 following the replacement. I just didn't need them. The recouperation was the biggest difficulty. It took about 4 or 5 weeks before I could walk w/out any type of assistance.
Without a doubt it was a good thing to do. Should have done it years ago.

Did you ever have surgery for a torn meniscus on that knee in the past?

I did, about 30 +/- yrs ago. And?

Mom had it done. Recovered quickly and knee works great. Amazing time we live in.

I had meniscus surgery about 10 years ago and now my knee is swollen and aches all the time. I guess knee replacement is in my future.

I've been thru hundreds of them working as a PT aide in a hospital.

If you are a fat little old lady, start doing exercises *before* your procedure

After the procedure, wear the damn knee bending machine. And let it bend. And bend some more.

Do everything your physical therapist tells you. If you don't hate their guts after the first 2 sessions then one of y'all is slackin off.

Walk. Do your damn exercises. Walk more.

They seem to have gotten this down, and the new designs for replacement knees are really superior to the old ones, principally in how they attach to the bone.

Every one I know who has had this done says they wish they hadn't waited. Glad you are doing well

Ah, the healing touch. ;)

Does this also apply to shoulder replacements? I have less than 20% mobility in my left shoulder for almost 5 years now. Many times dislocated, broken 2x, there is nothing left to mend. Advanced arthritis and constant pain. Two consults say replacement is only fix. The thought of replacement worries me enough to just frown and bare it as is.

Do be carefull about waiting too long on the shoulder.
A buddy waited till he absolutely had to go for replacement.
Waiting too long meant the the procedure was much more complicated with more deterioration in the bone that received the replacement parts.

It is great that these repairs are available.

Cheers Richard

The reason I asked was that I also had meniscus surgery, and was told after that it often leads to total knee replacement later in life.
Just gathering anecdotal evidence.

As meniscus or joint space structures become inflamed, damaged and/or deteriorate over time, the cartilage covering the ends of bones is forced to take more and more of the pounding. It's not good at doing that and when the cartilage is sufficiently damaged or worn away (leaving bone on bone), pain brings people to the surgeon.

Each joint's approach for replacement is different but the pain generating cartilage is sawed off and replaced with polished metal that is glued or otherwise incorporated into the native bone. Knees and hips obviously support a lot of body weight so the metal bone ends are separated by plastic spacers. Less well known is that arthritic toe and finger joints are also routinely addressed today.

As stated earlier, it's not uncommon to hate/fear your physical terrorist. However, PT's see a lot of people after surgery and if unbiased, can serve as a great guide when choosing an orthopedic surgeon because they see the outcomes and should be able to spot patterns.

People tend to find elective procedure surgeons using their feelings. Don't. Do your homework then pick a surgeon. The highest volume or nicest surgeons aren't always your best choice.

Javabrewer, I had a shoulder replacement 3 months ago, I'm 54. I think I have more mobility now than before the surgery. I was really torn over whether or not to get the replacement; but I'll be leaving the Army soon and decided to get it while I'm still "important" (active duty). Part of what convinced me to do the replacement was that the longer one waits the more muscle loss one has, less mobility, and all that makes the recovery harder. I'm a little disappointed with the PT I've received it has not been challenging to me. I expected someone moving my arm around, but i just do exersizes at home on my own and go to the hospital once or twice a week if they have room. I'm told by the 6 month mark I'll know what the real results will be. 3 months after the surgery i think it was worth it.

15 years ago:

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OK, so I have "total knee replacement" in my future according to the orthopedic surgeon that looked at my x-rays. I have some pain, but it is easily manageable at this point. I did have to stop running, etc.

My question is that I'm only 52. How many miles do you get out of a new set of knees? I assume this is a one-time surgery? Do I need to wait until the last minute to go through this to maximize the mileage I get out of them?

Things I've wondered about...

While these are questions for your surgeon, a fair bit of it comes down to luck, body weight (and/or mileage) and proper installation. At one time, I believe 10-15 years was a commonly quoted average but that may have grown.

As for when to have it done, that decision frequently lends itself to a pain vs quality of life equation. As evidenced in this thread, most people do well after their joint replacements. Naturally the younger you are when having new parts put in, the more likely it is that you will need your surgery revised at some point.

Lastly, 52 is young. If you're doing well, I'd definitely wait but balance that against your health now (good health is positively correlated with tolerating the procedure and recovery well) vs your health n years into the future.

Thanks for the response. I'm not sure why my knees are worn out, but years of sports and recreational running (5Ks, etc.) evidently took their toll. Not massively overweight (6' 3", 215 lbs) either. My plan is to try and make it as long as I can. I just worry that every time I climb a flight of stairs or play in the backyard with my kids, I am taking some "life" out of my knees...

Everything takes its toll but that's the price of living!! http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat6.gif

A little over a year ago. I was at the ortho just today; he tells me I could use a new knee, but I'm too young.

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My mom has had a shoulder replacement and hasn't had much trouble... however she is now 92 and had it done in her late 80's so it is not like she is out playing racquetball.

She has had both hips replaced and one has dislocated several times... however at her age it may be due to her forgetting to follow doctors orders.

I should add IMHO definitely get it done sooner rather than later... a lady friend put it off... put on a lot of weight because she became less active... then Dr.'s couldn't operate because she was obese... she got on pain meds and... well... it was the end of her.

Mike and Thom, even if you are not fat, 220# is still close to 100 kg. Switch to cycling or swimming, stay away from running, especially on treadmills.

Knees and hips, you walk on, shoulders not so much. Revisions are tougher than the initial surgery, they like to put them off, because if the patient dies of old age before it wears out, you never have to do the revision.

Pretty much what my ortho told me. And take the elevator, skip the stairs.

220? Closer to 255 at the moment; I was 230 when I got married 6 years ago...

25 pounds of happy weight, guess she can cook.

You just never know. A neighbor across the street from our old house had a knee replacement. Supposedly, he was up and walking the same day or next day. Said it was no sweat. I didn't know about that first one. He had another one when I knew him, I'm guessing 10-15 years later. He still seemed pretty spry, and was outside working in the yard and was a stocky looking fella. That second knee did him in. I rarely saw him outside after that, and when I did, he was sitting on a little seat and walking very slowly. I think his wife said that he was heavier and she thought that he may have been part of the problem the second time around. I can't remember why.

In retrospect, I guess the biggest problem was sleeping, if that is a great big problem, considering. I couldn't find a comfortable spot without discomfort. I finally slept in my recliner for about 10 days. No big deal.
Yes, they had me on my feet the afternoon of the surgery. No big deal. It sounds strange- but can be easily done.

I'm looking down the barrel at total knee replacement... 34 years ago I blew my knee out playing Basketball - ACL / Meniscus yada yada. They took out my ACL (it was in half anyway) but it looks like 34 years has worn down the rest of the meniscus and pads -= and I am in a fair amount of pain.

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I'm 54 - about to try some treatment with Synvisc - but I am guessing that will be short term...

My favorite comment from the Ortho - hey, you know you don't have an ACL, right?

Just happened to see your post.
I'm 11 mo's out of a total replacement. It has been a life changing improvement. My left knee is still bone on bone, but without swelling due to not depending on taking the brunt of my 6'3,220 lbs.
The only downside to the procedure was the 2 mos +/- recoup period. Activity was done during that period, only somewhat restricted, as you could imagine. Hope this helps.