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Having my knee replaced - advice anyone?
I recall several people here have had knees replaced and I guess I'm up now. Doc says I'm out of options and the surgery is scheduled for Jan 21st. Doing the PT thing three days a week trying to get as ready as possible. Words of wisdom much appreciated.
Replies
Hawk
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
Complete joint replacement, hamstrings are now my ligaments, 1.5 years in rehab...like I said, it has gotten much better since then...but my advice still stands; if you weigh 125 and borrow skis from a guy that weighs 225...adjust the dang bindings!
Best of luck to you.
Matt
Matt
The surgery techniques and recovery has been improved greatly. I did the exercises on my own without advice, assuming that pre-surgery exercise would improve the conditions for recovery, and I was proved right by the doctors, nurses and physical therapists who attended me in the hospital and afterwards.
I had problems with the surgical recovery but those were very unique and had no real connection to the many others who've had the same replacement.
Be prepared for some considerable pain and discomfort from the surgery, but what's critical is that you immediately do all the exercises and extension drills that are assigned to you. The sooner you get the new knee "locked" into the bone and muscle structure, the better.
Don't over do it however. Just do the exact level of exercise after surgery that you're shown. Naturally, as with any post-surgery, be watchful for unseen problems or complications, but also realize that knee replacement surgery is one of the most successful prosthetic ventures.
You'll be fine.
Sent from my SGH-T999L using Tapatalk
Wife had both done about 2 years ago. Do what Make_My_Day said, plus use the pain meds before therapy and exercising and do what the doc and therapist say to do. I am currently 5 weeks after rotator cuff surgery and can attest to the pain meds and following what the doc and therapist say to do, as I am already ahead of schedule.
Good luck, fast and full recovery!
Best of luck, prayers sent, and a speedy recovery.
JAY
NRA Endowment Member
I will fear no evil: For I carry a .308 and not a .270
I hope it is all routine and things go smoothly for you.
A Doctor in FLA told my MIL when she had knee surgery (not replacement) that the majority of his patients in for knee/hip replacement had been on cholesterol lowering medications for years prior to issues with their joints. I'm now on them , but am curious how many of you had these replacement procedures without having any other trauma/injuries/sports/job related impact in the past?
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
That's SOP these days.
Mike
N454casull
The surgery was a success except the nerve block - whatever that is - didn't fully take, which I was told complicated the procedure somehow. The very heavy drugs kept me from caring about anything anyway. Had me on a walker the same afternoon, creeping along in the hallway and then the PT lady did some manipulations to check the range of motion. Surgery was on a Tuesday and I was discharged on Friday, doing pretty well. Could get along on the walker pretty well and could even manage stairs holding both rails. Still heavily drugged, though. The PT people had me using a Constant Passive Motion (CPM) machine at home, which just works the knee back and forth through a adjustable range of motion. Spent hours on the thing. Problem was that I couldn't raise my leg the 9" necessary to get into the CPM stirrup and had to have help. I got dropped a couple of times, which was really painful. By Saturday, just moving the leg without support was very painful, even with all the oxycodone I was taking. By early Sunday, the pain was getting really bad. Late Sunday afternoon, I started having a stabbing, intense pain in my upper thigh and the leg swelled up so tight the skin was stretched hard and my lower leg was turning blue. The pain had me out of my right mind and my wife called 911. The EMTs shot me full of something and took me back to the hospital. Best guess was that I had a small clot that got loose. The swelling took two days to get under control and then they transferred me to a rehab facility, which looked a lot like a nursing home to me.
After a few days I got unhappy with the lack of PT and the apparent long-term orientation they had. It looked to me like I could end up being there for weeks and maybe months. Every time I asked about what the plan was for getting me well and back home I got some form of "we'll see" as an answer. During the sixth night I was there I decided to leave, checking myself out if I had to. I got the feeling it was like Hotel California - you can check in but you can't leave. I was polite but persistent and finally got released early that afternoon. That was last Monday. Since then I've been set up with at-home PT and am doing pretty well. I got off all the hard drugs and can get around with just a cane and even without it around the house. The joint pain is all gone, of course - and the pain I still have is all from the stretching exercises to regain my full range of motion. Right now, I have full extension - better than before the surgery - but only about 100 degrees of flexion, which means I have about 20-25 degrees to go. I can even get up and down the stairs in my house although in and out of cars is tough. Not enough bend yet. The PT guy I have is a dead ringer for Jack Lalane and told me I'm making great progress. He also told me that all the work I did before the surgery was a big factor in my progress now.
So, 2 1/2 weeks after the surgery my advice to anybody facing this kind of thing is to do everything you can before hand to add strength and range of motion and don't expect to jump out of bed and go back to normal right away. Take it seriously and pay close attention to the signals your body is sending. Don't try to be macho about it, either. Lots of people get knees replaced but it's still major surgery. Take the pain medication - do not get behind the curve on that or you're going to be sorry - and do the PT. It's going to take longer than I wanted but going too fast is not going to produce the best long-term results.
Thanks for all the support, everybody.
Jerry
Excellent advice, to not try to be macho but at the same time, to carefully evaluate yourself and make intelligent decisions, regardless.
Good luck!
I guess that means you and I both don't need to do anything stupid for a few more weeks.:jester:
Mike
N454casull
Thanks, Jerry - sure would love to be there and will do my best to make it.
As an update on the knee - now about 5 weeks after surgery - I'm steadily regaining range of motion although the PT hurts like heck when they extend the knee to the limit. Still using the looney pills once in a while but I'm mostly off all the pain stuff. I've still got a long way to go but I'm getting there. I use a cane sometimes but I can walk without a limp and without pain for the first time in a couple of years.