Who has had knee replacements?

[-boatman-]

I had one replaced yesterday and I don't remember ever having this kind of pain. If anyone has had this done, tell me something good. I am really suffering. I m getting the other one replaced in six weeks and if this doesn't ease up soon I'll have to force myself to go through with it.

[eRay]

My wife has hsd two. The doctor told her they sometimes do both of them at the same time for a man because after he has one, he often will not come back for the second one. Be sure to take a pain pill about 30 minutes before physical therapy.

[AuEagle]

Had mine done a couple of years ago. I hope they gave you an ice water machine that circulates it around the knee, life saver. was on mild oxy, 10mg & kept in front of the pain.

Sorry you're in so much pain, good luck & prayers for your recovery.

 

[-boatman-]

21 minutes ago, eRay said:

My wife has hsd two. The doctor told her they sometimes do both of them at the same time for a man because after he has one, he often will not come back for the second one. Be sure to take a pain pill about 30 minutes before physical therapy.

I tried but he would not do both at the same time. Danger of blood clots.

[glock55]

I have had my right knee replaced and planning to get the left one done after some foot repairs. Yes your assessment of the situation is correct it ain’t no fun. However this is what i found: 1to 4 weeks you think i should not have done this. 4 to 7 weeks you will think this may work out ok. About 8 weeks on you will say this is the best thing I have ever done. Just stay current on pain meds, keep a lot of ice around and do the exercises and you will be happy. It’s not a fun recovery but worth all the effort  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[-boatman-]

3 minutes ago, AuEagle said:

Had mine done a couple of years ago. I hope they gave you an ice water machine that circulates it around the knee, life saver. was on mild oxy, 10mg & kept in front of the pain.

Sorry you're in so much pain, good luck & prayers for your recovery.

 

I do have the ice water machine. I like it.

[peejman]

Dad had full replacements on both knees a couple months apart. Yeah, it hurts. A lot. He was happy to get the first one done. He was gritty about the 2nd.  Dad took the opiates for a few days and switched to advil after that. 

The surgery pain will go away. The hip pain you may not know you have because of how you've been compensating for the knees will go away too. You'll find it odd to walk without pain and without hobbling.

My best advice from his and a few other people's experience is to use the ice water circulator and do the therapy. Then do the therapy. After that, do more therapy.

The flexibility will go away and the scar tissue will make it hurt if you don't keep after it. 

That's not super encouraging, but it will feel much better in the long run. 

[Tuffus]

I had my left knee replaced 11 years ago and am glad I did it even though there was lots of pain in the first few weeks. It was replaced in October and the following April I did a 100 mile bicycle ride. I now ride on average 6,000 miles per year with no pain. You will be fine, just do the rehab religiously. Lots of stretching at home sitting around watching tv.

[deerslayer]

From my experience (not knee surgery yet), the doctor fixes you, but the therapist heals you.  

[TGO David]

11 minutes ago, deerslayer said:

From my experience (not knee surgery yet), the doctor fixes you, but the therapist heals you.  

I haven't had it done but I have several friends who have.  What you just said is 100% in line with what they've told me.

[AuEagle]

Sleeping was the most difficult thing for me, my therapist said when I could flatten out the knee the pain at night would cease, it did.

[Darrell]

I have that to look forward to, but everything I've read and heard says that it's among the most painful procedures.  My doc tells me that I'll know when it's time, and so far the bad knees haven't prevented me doing what I want to do. 

Good luck, and keep your chin up!

[jpx2rk]

My brother has had both replacements, about 10 yrs apart as the Dr/surgeon would not do both at the same time.  Brother had about 6 surgeries on each knee prior to the replacements during HS and later (torn cartilage, ligaments, etc), finally got one, then 10 yrs later the other.  He did therapy and was tickled to get both done after suffering like he did.  He never knew when one knee would "give out" just using the stairs, or walking on uneven ground.  

SIL had it done a year ago, she needs another but probably won't go thru it due to the after surgery BS she went thru with her self centered DA husband who just left her at home and went back to work the next day after she was discharged from the hospital. Wife went to care for her as he is totally worthless in these types of situations.  Plus her entire family does not deal with pain well at all, even though they will endure whatever pain is associated with the issue of needing a replacement procedure.  

GL with your surgery, recovery, etc.

[JohnSutton1980]

I’m 44 and I have hade both replaced. I remember wishing it could be considered “enhanced” interrogation at times. Thinking of the pain at night still makes me want to puke!! I had the left done and then when it stopped being painful, I had the right done. No idea WTF I was thinking. Basically constant throbbing pain for near 3 months. 
I found it helpful to keep my brain busy. I would fall asleep with the TV on or listening to the radio. Anything to keep my brain busy. Careful be really careful on the opiate pain meds. I used them for 2 or 3 days after and then swore off and used Alieve. Didn’t want to get an addiction!! 

It WILL pass though. The pain will ease. Just don’t feel like it!

[pop pop]

Glock55 post above, is exactly what happened with me, except for the first week we found out he pain meds were making me very sick. Had the DR. to change and experienced about what Glock55 did with my recovery. First 2 weeks was really bad for me, but third week I was off to the races. Only took pain meds 30 minutes before Physical Therapy and at night for three weeks, then only for P T 30 min before leaving to go to P T. I was careful with the meds also. Later, most will say it was well worth it. 

[-boatman-]

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. Yesterday was the day after and I think I got discouraged because it was so bad. I'm seeing a slight improvement in a few things this morning and that's helping my mental state about it. I think as long as I'm seeing improvement that will keep me going. If I could get up the nerve to take a shower I think that would help also.

Edited January 10 by -boatman-
Added info.

[TGO David]

4 hours ago, -boatman- said:

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. Yesterday was the day after and I think I got discouraged because it was so bad. I'm seeing a slight improvement in a few things this morning and that's helping my mental state about it. I think as long as I'm seeing improvement that will keep me going. If I could get up the nerve to take a shower I think that would help also.

Every single one of my friends who have had one or both knees replaced said that the pain was bad but survivable, and that once they saw the improvement that the surgery had made in their lives, it was all worth it.

A buddy of mine just had a single knee replacement a few weeks ago, actually.  I asked him on Sunday how he was doing and he said it was the best decision he'd made.  He's very early in the process and he still has that confidence because of what his life was like before the surgery.

Hope that encourages you!

[-boatman-]

11 minutes ago, TGO David said:

 

Hope that encourages you!

It does. Thank you!

[NoBanStan]

@-boatman-Make sure you don't also suffer in silence. if it's unbearable, bring it up to your doc just to be on the safe side.

I haven't had it done myself, but I know a few people who did and it was a major improvement once they got over the hump. Good luck to ya buddy.

[JohnSutton1980]

Id like to tell people I was a huge hero in the sandbox! How I was an Airborne Ranger and my knees got bad from so many jumps. To be honest......I was a "wheeled vehicle mechanic" I never saw combat. I never fired my rifle in a combat situation. We are all the hero's of our own story!   I guess I just had bad knees !!! I blame my parents! At 44, I shouldn't have to had both knees replaced!  Chin up though. It will get better. Like TGO David said, best decision I ever made. Embrace the suck. All good things have a little pain to deal with. Also.....get a shower!!!!

[Rob White]

Boatman Ive suffered plenty with my knees over the years and considered knee replacements and many other treatments suggested by the surgeons over the years. I ended up with a doctor suggesting an osteotomy rather than a replacement and it has become one of the single most biggest mistakes in my life. I won't bore you with an extremely long story but I ended up with a DVT blood clot in my leg and I will suffer the rest of my life with it so best advise I can give you from my experience is summarized as such:

1. Never let a surgeon convince you that a surgery is your best option bc they get paid a lot of money no matter what the outcome . They are experts at being super confident and making you feel ok with your decision. You have to live it.

2. If you do get a surgery get the most common surgery that is performed daily on old ladies and stuff, never ever ever. Never!! get an osteotomy. I woke up from the surgery after the morphine wore off litterally screaming in pain and have been in pain ever since. much more pain than before the operation.

3. Be weary of dvt blood clots bc they are killers and are one of the worse things that can happen to you in your life. They are more common in knee surgeries than the doctors and hospitals let on and can easily ruin your life. So basically if you can take the pain I wouldn't risk the surgery until it is so unbearable you feel you can no longer survive without it bc much can go wrong and you can easily be left in more pain than before the surgery.

4. If you do decide to have the surgery several things can be done to try and aid recovery and prevent negative outcomes such as the ice water machine many have already mentioned , losing weight before the surgery can greatly reduce the chance of dvts, also avoiding any medication that alters hormone levels, and they are continuing motion devices and leg air circulation pumps that can keep you blood moving while you are laid up.

 

Sorry if that was too long and good luck with your decisions man. Hope this helps...

[deerslayer]

51 minutes ago, JohnSutton1980 said:

Id like to tell people I was a huge hero in the sandbox! How I was an Airborne Ranger and my knees got bad from so many jumps. To be honest......I was a "wheeled vehicle mechanic" I never saw combat. I never fired my rifle in a combat situation. We are all the hero's of our own story!   I guess I just had bad knees !!! I blame my parents! At 44, I shouldn't have to had both knees replaced!  Chin up though. It will get better. Like TGO David said, best decision I ever made. Embrace the suck. All good things have a little pain to deal with. Also.....get a shower!!!!

44 wow.  How long are they good for?  We have a guy at work who had a hip replacement at 29 a couple years ago and needs the other one done (crummy genes).  His doctor said the new hip is good for 20 years and he MAY be able to have a second replacement.  The math doesn’t look good for him.  

[JohnSutton1980]

6 hours ago, deerslayer said:

44 wow.  How long are they good for?  We have a guy at work who had a hip replacement at 29 a couple years ago and needs the other one done (crummy genes).  His doctor said the new hip is good for 20 years and he MAY be able to have a second replacement.  The math doesn’t look good for him.  

A lot of variables in that question but I was told 25 years was the average lifespan on the units I got. The way I act like I'm still 25 at times makes me think closer to 15 years!

[AuEagle]

Wow, do I feel blessed. I had pain but nothing like some are reporting here. Hope you're gettin better BM.

 

 

[-boatman-]

I'm eight weeks into this and it was rough for a while but I'm getting there. Nothing happens fast but the little victories along the way keeps me going. I'm walking without a cane most of the time now and still going to therapy. I think I over did it today. It's swelled quite a bit tonight but I had to get out and enjoy this weather.

I canceled getting the other one done until next winter. I couldn't go through it again so soon after the first. I do think it is going to be worth it when it's all said and done.