PKR August 11th

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Toy529

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I have dealt with knee pain all my life, bad knees run in the family. I always knew I would be getting some kind of replacement in my life , but did not think it would be at the age of 42. Getting my left knee done due to the bone on bone. I am very active and this has slowed me down, my 72 year old Dad can out walk me. I hope I have the patience to take it easy and not do too much on the post op side.

I am glad I found this site, it has a lot of good information.
 
@Toy529 Welcome to bonesmart! When is your surgery date? My husband had his LTKR the end of May. People have a habbit of trying to rush recovery, just remember trying to rush it will just cause pain and swelling. Your knee will choose it's own time to recover. Elevate and ice. The things that bothered my husband the most the first few weeks was the dead weight of the leg (takes awhile before you can raise and lower it by itself) and having to have someone do things for him. Now his main complaint is the stiffness (everyone has it and it does go away) and the ache in his thigh muscle, and lack of sleep (he slept good the first week or so and then joined everyone else in the sleepless nights. He can get up to 4 hours straight sleep now. An advisor will be popping in shortly to welcome you. Wishing you a speedy recovery when you have your surgery.
 
:welome: It sounds like you're ready to get a new knee. Yes, patience with the recovery is one thing almost everyone struggles with. Keep reading the good info in the Library and in people's threads and be sure to ask if you have specific questions or concerns.
 
Actually, it's becoming more and more common for knee replacements to be done in the forties and even earlier.
So join the club! And welcome to BoneSmart!

Here are some tools that can help you decide what is best for you.

These links may help:
Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic knee?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?

If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:
Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?

Regardless of where you are in the process, the website and app My Knee Guide can help you stay organized and informed. The free service keeps all the information pertaining to your surgery and recovery in one place on your smartphone. It is intended to be a personal support tool for the entire process.

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced knee, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:
Stories of amazing knee recoveries

I would also add this cautionary advice
1. make sure your surgeon does partials AND totals as it's not unknown for things to be discovered that were not known or seen on xrays and scans. In which case, there needs to be an option of changing the plan when the knee is opened.
2. do not expect a partial to be 'less' than a total, meaning less pain, less recovery time and less time off work. We've discovered on here that there is very little difference between to two types.
 
@tiredwife, my date is August 11th, I was not excepting it so soon , but I will not postpone

Josephine,
The surgeon I was referred to by my knee doctor does lots partials and I am travelling a good distance to have it done by him. We have discussed the possibility if the partial will not work to be ready to do the Full replacement at that time. I think we will be OK, they were just in the Knee this last December.

I am blessed to have the time off for a lengthy recovery, my problem will be my mental state of trying to rush it.
 
@Toy529 Sooner you get it done the soon you will recover. It will take time, and you will pay for overdoing it with pain and swelling. It was really difficult for my husband not to do things for himself. He is more than ready to get his 2nd one done Aug 6th.
 
Update :
I went for the Pre-op on tuesday the 22nd. Everything was good.

But I am concerned about 2 things.
Range of motion. I currently have good range of motion and hope to get as much back as possible.

Being able to kneel. I work on cars and other things. How many people that have partials can kneel ?


I hope I do not go backwards in these 2 areas.
 
I'm guessing your range of motion will be pretty darned good after surgery. As for kneeling, that might be trickier. It took a while for me to be able to kneel, and it still isn't all that comfortable. I'm Catholic and we kneel in church. I've jokingly told my husband I may have to change religions. Actually, I'm ok at church as long as I find what I call the "sweet spot." What I can't do any more is kneel to clean the floor, shower or tub. Just can't seem to lean forward enough on my knee to do that. But hey, I can use that to my advantage and make my husband clean those things!


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart®
 
@Toy529 If you do kneel you should probably use knee pads or a kneeling pad. I would think kneeling on the incision would be uncomfortable.
 
I assumed he would not be kneeling on it until the incision was healed.


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart®
 
@Lovestoread Sorry I didn't state that clearer, I would think it would be uncomfortable to kneel even on a healed incision. It is tissue that has been damaged and never will be completely the same.
 
@Lovestoread Hubby's surgeon told him not to kneel except maybe a few minutes here and there, but he is an overcautious man. It took a whole lot of talking to convence him to do the surgeries just 10 weeks apart. I see yours are close together too.
 
My OS gave me no restrictions on kneeling…..whatever was comfortable, I could do. Yes, I had them 6 weeks apart last summer.
 
I hope I have the patience to take it easy and not do too much on the post op side.
That is a very good point that you make! Recovery can take some time, so patience is something that you will reach deep down inside of yourself and find! You have more patience than you believe that you have!

Welcome to the forum!

Being able to kneel. I work on cars and other things.
I had a BTKR and my OS told me not to kneel for several months---until the button that is placed into the patella could fully bond with it.

I can kneel, but, boy, does it feel weird, so I choose not to.

Range of motion. I currently have good range of motion and hope to get as much back as possible.
I would imagine that your ROM will be pretty good after your PKR.
 
I have heard that your ROM before surgery is a good predictor of what you'll get post surgery. Those who have had limited ROM might even get some gains.
 
@kneeper I agree, my husband's ROM now is far better than before surgery. It isn't perfect , but it is enough.
 
Update:
I think I am in trouble. I think I have a bad sprain or torn LCL. I went dirt bike riding yesterday and I went to get off my bike on a up hill section, I was not moving. When I put my left foot down I felt a pop on the outside of my knee . I have bad swelling and constant pain, and need crutches to get around. I am elevating, and icing, but I am really worried. My PKR on that knee is scheduled for the 11th.
 
I doubt you've done anything that extreme.

It's more likely what I refer to as a 'stone in the shoe' pain which comes and goes erratically. Sometimes it lasts for an hour, sometimes for a week but this is what causes it .....

Arthritis has the effect of making our joints crumble like an old concrete step.

aflagsforworship.co.uk_jo_pic_images_arthritis.jpg


It breaks down, creating lots of grit and debris. Generally this stays in the pouches at the side of the joint but every so often, a bit gets into the weight bearing part of the joint and then we get that extreme pain and can't bear weight on the leg at all! Pain killers do nothing, nor do things like braces. We are just conscious of this horrible burning pain that all of a sudden goes away!

aflagsforworship.co.uk_jo_pic_images_painfulkne.jpg
aflagsforworship.co.uk_jo_pic_images_painfukdk.jpg



It's every bit as disabling as the constant bone-on-bone pain so many others suffer and is a very good indicator that a joint replacement is needed.

To assess your need for replacement, print off the form in this link, read the instructions and fill it in
Score chart: how bad is my arthritic hip/knee
 
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