Chuckanuts Total Knee Replacement story

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg I am really impressed . You covered all the bases .

I've had a lot of help from those who have gone before me. I owe a lot to friends who have given me advice, and others who have written about their experience.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg I am really impressed . You covered all the bases .

+1

Wow, I am really impressed! Thanks for posting and I can see that I still have a few bases to cover. So, I'd better get busy.

I am seeing the "knee guy" (board certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in knees) on Wednesday afternoon. He squeezed me in after all his other patients when the other orthopedic surgeon asked him to do that. I really hope the knee guy will schedule me for surgery very soon.

[SumDay]

Sounds like you're on top of this. A friend suggested a toilet riser, which DH is installing today. It also has arms to help you stand back up.

I too worry about my steps, but I don't HAVE to use them to be comfortable, but I will be using them as part of my therapy.

6 days to go for me...

[ExFlyBoy5]

I think it is wise you are doing this now. My Dad complained about his knee for years and years and when he was finally ready to have it done (he was then in his mid 80's) he could no longer have the surgery due to COPD and the high risk of the surgical procedure. So, the last 5 or six years of his life were made quite a bit more miserable because of it. He also had a couple of falls that he attributed to his knee giving way. Thankfully, the worst injury from those falls were bruised ribs.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumDay Thanks for sharing Chuckanut!

+1.

Chuckanut and everyone else who is sharing their experiences of events before and after their TKR. Although I am not going to have one in the immediate future, I did inherit my mother's bad knees and I'm 99% sure I will have one or more in my lifetime.

So while I may not comment much if at all, I follow these TKR threads with intense interest!

[Moemg]

If you do not have one of these I would get one . I took care of my Mother and my SO post TKsurgery and the worst thing was trying to get those compression socks on . They have you wear compression socks for several weeks after surgery to prevent blood clots .




https://www.amazon.com/Vive-Sock-Aid.../dp/B07285V3VW

[Chuckanut]

dPart 3.1 – A few small items to get ready for surgery and recovery.

A few things have changed though not enough to go to Part 4 yet. As of today I can no longer take any aspirin products since they thin the blood. NSAIDs are OK for two more days, and then only Tylenol type products for the week before surgery.

And something else I need to do occurred to me when I looked in the mirror. My hair is getting rather shaggy looking, and my next visit the barber would usually occur about 2 weeks after the surgery. I don’t want to subject my caregiver or myself to another trip out of the house during those first two weeks, so I am getting an early haircut next week. By the time I need another one, I hope to be able to drive and walk well enough to do it myself.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg If you do not have one of these I would get one . I took care of my Mother and my SO post TKsurgery and the worst thing was trying to get those compression socks on . They have you wear compression socks for several weeks after surgery to prevent blood clots . https://www.amazon.com/Vive-Sock-Aid.../dp/B07285V3VW

Great info! This looks very helpful for that recovery period after surgery. I bookmarked the sock assist and if/when my surgery is scheduled (hopefully when I see the "knee guy" on Wednesday), will order it from Amazon for sure.

I normally wear non-skid "hospital socks" around the house anyway, because they are so soft and comfy for me. So even when compression socks are no longer needed, I will still need to get socks on by myself and if I am not totally pain free it would help to have this device.

As for haircuts, chuckanut, I am just ignoring them for now. I am months overdue but I am in too much pain (from the torn meniscus, as well as the bone-on-bone) to get from my SUV into a Supercuts even with the walker and the best handicapped parking spot. I should care about my uncut hair but I don't. I'll get a haircut when I can walk in there under my own power and meanwhile, who cares what the world thinks about my hair.

[Souschef]

My one thought is the use of Warfarin. IMO, it has been replaced by Xarelto, which is also used to prevent clots.
DW has been on it for some time, with no side effects.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 +1. Chuckanut and everyone else who is sharing their experiences of events before and after their TKR. Although I am not going to have one in the immediate future, I did inherit my mother's bad knees and I'm 99% sure I will have one or more in my lifetime. So while I may not comment much if at all, I follow these TKR threads with intense interest!

I hope your knees are not too bad, yet! Good luck with them. If they are not causing you any problems yet, there is hope. We don't always inherit what our parents had, and I have anecdotal evidence:

My mother had five kinds of arthritis (osteo, rheumatoid, lupoid, and a couple of others), and her hands were deformed claws and very painful by the time she was 30. I thought for sure I would inherit that! But my hands have zero symptoms of arthritis, no pain, no deformity, and my hand joints work beautifully. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I hope your knees are not too bad, yet! Good luck with them. If they are not causing you any problems yet, there is hope. We don't always inherit what our parents had, and I have anecdotal evidence: <snip>

Thanks, I had arthroscopic surgery on my right knee almost 30 years ago and it's been on-and-off sore since then, seemingly randomly but lately that's been getting more on than off. So I'm pretty sure that I'll be due for a TKR someday, but as you say it isn't a certainty.

DW's mother had terrible RA, to the point that she had multiple joint replacements in her hands and a shoulder. That woman suffered more than anyone should have to.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R As for haircuts, chuckanut, I am just ignoring them for now. I am months overdue but I am in too much pain (from the torn meniscus, as well as the bone-on-bone) to get from my SUV into a Supercuts even with the walker and the best handicapped parking spot. I should care about my uncut hair but I don't. I'll get a haircut when I can walk in there under my own power and meanwhile, who cares what the world thinks about my hair.

That will be what I am calling a Non Medical Victory or NMV for short. I plan on a list of them to go along with a Medical Victories list.

[24601NoMore]

My knees are starting to give out at 55 due to (as my DO and PT put it), "high mileage" (running on a Precor Elliptical daily for 25+ years, mountain biking, roller blading, etc). Recent MRI has shown that cartilage damage has gotten worse since the 2016 MRI, and that I now have a "loose body" (floating cartilage or bone chip) in the left knee after spending 3+ months in PT for the right knee...UGH!

I'm super active - exercise every single day for 45+ minutes, and not being able to perform at the level I'm used to has really hit me hard..exercise is my "stress relief", and not being able to do it to the level I'm accustomed to is HARD (mentally).

Walking even 3 miles is painful, especially downhill. (Walking...SERIOUSLY?!!) Mountain biking for an hour..painful. Both are "doable", but it is tweaking me off beyond words that I can't just go do those things anymore at the ripe old age of 55..even DRIVING for 30+ minutes, for God's sake, is painful..

Not going to think about TKR..DO didn't push me for surgical intervention - YET..but am definitely concerned..

I'm used to just "sucking it up" and pushing forward on just about anything and everything. This scenario where your body basically says "um, nope!!"..is disconcerting..

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24601NoMore My knees are starting to give out at 55 due to (as my DO and PT put it), "high mileage" (running on a Precor Elliptical daily for 25+ years, mountain biking, roller blading, etc). Recent MRI has shown that cartilage damage has gotten worse since the 2016 MRI, and that I now have a "loose body" (floating cartilage or bone chip) in the left knee after spending 3+ months in PT for the right knee...UGH! I'm super active - exercise every single day for 45+ minutes, and not being able to perform at the level I'm used to has really hit me hard..exercise is my "stress relief", and not being able to do it to the level I'm accustomed to is HARD (mentally). Walking even 3 miles is painful, especially downhill. (Walking...SERIOUSLY?!!) Mountain biking for an hour..painful. Both are "doable", but it is tweaking me off beyond words that I can't just go do those things anymore at the ripe old age of 55..even DRIVING for 30+ minutes, for God's sake, is painful.. Not going to think about TKR..DO didn't push me for surgical intervention - YET..but am definitely concerned.. I'm used to just "sucking it up" and pushing forward on just about anything and everything. This scenario where your body basically says "um, nope!!"..is disconcerting..

Welcome, I wore out a hip at 65. Made it quite long as a runner. Now, at 75, hoping and praying the other OE hip and two knees hold out for the distance. I just walk 10,000+ steps per day and I am grateful.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24601NoMore exercise is my "stress relief", and not being able to do it to the level I'm accustomed to is HARD (mentally).

I'm so sorry this is happening to you! In my case, it is hard to keep my weight down without exercise. I have managed to lose weight anyway, but it has not been easy either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24601NoMore Walking even 3 miles is painful, especially downhill. [...] Not going to think about TKR

I'm no doctor, but gee, ever think that maybe you don't need TKR, but are just getting older? That does happen to people eventually. 3 miles with some pain sounds really terrific IMO. Oh well, a good orthopedic guy can tell you if/when you need a knee replacement. I really don't know what the criteria are for that.

[mamadogmamacat]

W2R,

perhaps it would be a good distraction at the time to get your hair done while you are spending a day or so in recovery in the hospital. I know there are stylists who routinely work in hospitals in my area. i expect it would not be cheap, but why not splurge a bit. Plus ,the last thing you need is hair getting in the way diring PT sessions,or being more of a pain to wash while you are recovering at home

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamadogmamacat W2R, perhaps it would be a good distraction at the time to get your hair done while you are spending a day or so in recovery in the hospital. I know there are stylists who routinely work in hospitals in my area. i expect it would not be cheap, but why not splurge a bit. Plus ,the last thing you need is hair getting in the way diring PT sessions,or being more of a pain to wash while you are recovering at home

I'll think about it, if the opportunity arises and if I feel up to getting my hair done at that time! Thanks. It's still an inch or two above my shoulders (I prefer it at about earlobe length, oh well).

[24601NoMore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I'm so sorry this is happening to you! In my case, it is hard to keep my weight down without exercise. I have managed to lose weight anyway, but it has not been easy either.

Ditto that. My family has the "naturally heavy" genes (Mom is extremely heavy and DS is pushing north of where she "should" be and has been for years) and even though my DW is a wisp of a girl at ~100 lbs, if I even LOOK at food, I put on 10 lbs..have done SparkPeople 3-4 times now to get back down to a healthy BMI, but in addition to counting calories exercise (roughly 4K+ calories / week) has been the only way I stay in a healthy BMI..I was doing 4K+ calories/week in exercise until the knees started acting up back in late OCT...3 months of PT later, I got the right knee back..and then blew out the left knee (SERIOUSLY?!! URGH!!)

Getting "old" sucks, but sure beats the alternative. (Damn, I just want to be able to exercise..not being able to do that the way I used to is really, really tough..)

[SoReadyToRetire]

I had both my knees replaced 7 years ago at age 54. It took me 8 weeks to go back to work. The oxycodone prescribed made me horribly depressed, so I had to stop taking it. It also kept me WIDE awake, strangely. I think the sleeplessness was the biggest reason for my taking 8 weeks off. I won’t lie—the pain at times during those first few weeks was intense.

I was afraid at one point I’d never get my full range of motion back, but listen to this—in March 2019, I did my first-ever powerlifting meet and brought home national records in all 3 lifts!!! So yeah—life-changing is a great way to describe the results. ��. (I squatted 110 lbs!!!) Not bad for a 60 year old who was never an athlete!

if you’d like a great forum for joint replacements, both pre- and post-, check out bonesmart.org.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24601NoMore I'm used to just "sucking it up" and pushing forward on just about anything and everything. This scenario where your body basically says "um, nope!!"..is disconcerting..

Yup, more and more often I find myself thinking "Yeah, I can do that" and my body says "No you're not!"

Bette Davis was right.