TKR Surgery Day

Basilia65

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Will be having TKR on my right knee 3/3/2020 and I am very scared about the surgery it self, one of my concerns is my weight.
 
@Basilia65 Welcome to BoneSmart! Of course you are anxious about facing surgery. We were all in that space pre-op.

What is your concern about your weight?
 
Well my doc wanted me to lose 20lb but that has not happened not from lack of trying I am 65 and diabetic A1C is 5 so good control but I just don't lose weight like I did when i was younger and more active of course my knees don't help as I can"t walk for very long,
 
Yes it is easier to go through surgery when your weight is ideal. But in reality it is impossible to lose weight when you have mobility issues. You have your surgery date right? Plenty of our members go through these procedures not at their ideal weight. But once you have that knee replaced and it is healed I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much more active you can be.

I'm going to tag one of our members who has had great success with her surgery to come and chat with you here. @luvcats She isn't posting regularly these days - too busy getting back to living again.
 
Great thanks I would love to hear about her experience
 
Greetings @Basilia65

Do you have any specific concerns about your weight? Or did the surgeon just scare you?

If your health is generally good, and your surgeon did accept you for surgery, then I wouldn't worry too much.

Our surgeons are guided by statistics and 'in general' people do best if they are thin and perfectly healthy. But on an individual level, if they were really worried, they wouldn't have accepted you and let you schedule.

When I first saw my surgeon, he gave me such a lecture about my weight, and made me promise to call a group and ask about bariatric surgery, and it wasn't until he called his nurse in to schedule a date that I was certain I had been accepted.

But my weight hasn't really been an issue. I had to have an extra sturdy walker. shrug. Certainly my knee replacement may be more inclined to fail sooner than someone of a more normal weight, but my healing has been excellent and I'm more mobile now that I've been in over 5 years.

And I weighed, at the morning of surgery, 365 lbs. You probably aren't that heavy, so please don't make yourself crazy about it.

Getting new knees is one of the best things I've ever done.
Feel free to ask me any questions you like. I'm a pretty open book about my experiences.
 
Omg so glad to hear from you I did get all kinds of warning from the surgeon especially the P.A. and they did suggest bariatric surgery but they did schedule me for surgery and I had all my testing with all my doctors they all cleared for surgery basically I am a healthy person I am diabetic but well controlled, All this time I have felt so worried about my weight and the surgery itself but I can not continue to live this way I can't walk I don't want to burden my family especially as I get older so hear I go. My weight is just around 240 and I carry my weight in my legs talk about thunder thighs and knees, my mind is filled with all kinds of thoughts how will they manage my fat knees how will I get around and do for myself I am a very independent person I have a great husband and my daughter is a nurse she will take time off to be with me I am going to be in a great level 1 hospital in Tampa Fl I have a great doc who does only knees and hips and has done 100s of them, also every time I have seen the PA he warns me lose weight or the doctor will not do your surgery that has been terrible for my mental health it makes me feel like something terrible will happen during surgery because of my weight. Thank you for reaching out it made me fill better to know that someone else has had the surgery and been over weight.
 
While it's not at all impossible to lose weight with mobility issues, it is a little harder. I am still a lot less mobile than I'd like yet have still managed to lose about 45 pounds of the weight I gained after my original TKR. I still have a little more to lose, and am slowly doing so. In the end, in order to lose weight, we have to take in less calories than we burn off, no matter our activity level. Being more active will help the weight come off somewhat faster, while being less active still allows for weight loss, just at a little slower pace.

What I did is I sat myself down, took a look at what I was eating and made some changes. I had to be honest about what I was eating, and eliminate some choices I was making. I now stick to 1400 calories per day, plus I cut out processed carbs and sugar and lowered my fat contents. I make my menus once a month, as always, and make sure to account for my daily limits. I also keep good snacks around so as not to be tempted to eat thing I know aren't good for me. On occasion, I will eat 'fun foods', but they are no longer a part of my daily choices.

Everyone is different, so 1400 calories per day may be too many for some to lose weight, or too few for others. You need to find a good balance that fits your body, and pay attention to it every day. I use an online manager that lets me enter everything I eat, and keep total track of all my nutrients. It also never hurts to get your primary care doctor involved, and if needed, a dietitian for advice and feedback.
 
Lovtocookandsew I have lost and gained weight most of my adult life I have done weight watchers Jenny Craig etc currently I take in about 1200 to 1400 calories a day I also use an app to count my calories the struggle is real I also work in the health care industry trust me I am not giving up on trying. Thank you for your advice.
 
I truly didn't post on this site to get diet advice, I an looking for reassurance that although I am overweight I can still have my knees done and get through it I would appreciate hearing from others in my position,
Thank you
 
Try not to worry. We have had many BoneSmarties who were not at their ideal weight do just fine with surgery. Do you know what your BMI is? Some surgeons do have an upper limit of 40 that they require for surgery. It can be an issue with some insurance policies. But since your surgery is scheduled, I'm guessing you are below 40 BMI.

It is true that there are increased risks with any surgery when a person is heavier. But these are "risks" and not absolutes. Surgeons are used to dealing with all types of risks, so you should be just fine. The doctors must tell you about the increased risk, even though it is unlikely to be a problem. And it's a strange fact that it's usually the PAs that hit you the hardest about losing weight. I'm glad you didn't bite on the idea of bariatric surgery. It's always seemed crazy to me to have one surgery so you can have the one you really need. Bariatric surgery has it's own set of concerns and it's not a "magic bullet."

It sounds like you are doing all the right things to manage your diabetes and maintain a healthy diet. Once you are able to exercise more, you'll likely find yourself losing some weight as you bounce around on that new knee. :) :-) (: I was overweight when I had both my knees replaced and they are doing great.
 
One of the best things about Bonesmart is that every bit of advice is given with the best of intentions and genuine caring. Advice that isn't right for you might help someone else.

how will they manage my fat knees
.
I too was worried about my very fat knees. I carry a lot of weight in my thighs too. I don't know how much difference it made, but I waited the maximum time to have my staples out, because adipose tissue can heal more slowly. And you might mentally prepare yourself for your legs to swell like crazy, because adipose tissue has a tendency to hold fluid more easily. And then if that doesn't happen, you can be pleasantly surprised.
 
Jamie you are right the PA is the one constantly talking about my weight the surgeon mentioned it once, I definitely am not interested in Bariatric surgery as I have seen results as well as complications of my patients. Thank you luvcats for your advice I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my concerns. I will have faith that all will work out.
 
One more question since I need both knees done, will waiting to do the second knee affect the knee replacement I hope to recover from one try to do the left knee at the end of this year if it's ok with my surgeon and all goes well with the right knee.
 
I haven’t had mine done yet (I’m scheduled on Mar 16). My surgeon recommended bilateral replacements as he said both are in bad shape & if we did one at a time, my remaining bad knee could impact the replaced knee. I had gone in planning to ask about the possibility of both at once as taking time off for 2 would be hard & I didn’t like the idea of going thru it twice. I was glad he suggested it before I even asked.
 
I’m 5’3 1/2......had two hips done and first knee 8 weeks after second hip. I weighed 180 ish and no issues. If he’s all set with replacing your knees, just do it.
 
One more question since I need both knees done, will waiting to do the second knee affect the knee replacement

Because of my weight, I was not a candidate for bi-lateral, so I scheduled both surgeries as close together as my surgeon would allow.

I think the only real affect was that I stayed on more meds longer than I might have needed to, because my old knee still needed that level of pain relief.

I also couldn't do as much PT as I would have liked for the first knee, because the old knee had a much shorter limit on standing and walking than the new knee did, even right after surgery.

Having them super close together was good and bad. The good was that it is now over and done and nothing can interfere. My worst and constant fear pre-surgery was that something would happen and prevent the replacements. Having them both done was mentally the only choice. It's also not a fun process, so I think knowing it was going to happen right away put me in a good head space for it. There was no chance to decide I wasn't going to do the other one.

The down side was that it was really hard on my husband who is/was my only caregiver. I think it was also very hard on my body. Being completely incapacitated for most of 4 months was tough. The only thing that kept me from completely losing my mind was knitting. lol That whole story is in my recovery thread.
 
My surgeon will not do bilateral as he feels the recovery is too hard, I will ask how long between replacement, as I read the different threads here I realize that although I trust my surgeon and he has excellent credentials he hardly spends much time with me in our visit I haven't asked enough questions I have my pre OP on 2/26 I will ask him how long I should wait between knees, Luvcats I see you only waited a couple of months, that would be really hard on my job. I thank you so much for your time.
 

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