Denied TKR Until I Lose Weight

[VancouverUSAgal]

I've decided I'm going to write a letter to my surgeon telling him how much I appreciate the fact that he was willing to operate on me despite my BMI and other health issues (I was turned down by Kaiser ins. and several other OS over the years). My recovery has been pretty average, I'd say, not as fast and easy as some but not particularly slow or difficult either. I was well educated about the process from the site and tried to keep a positive attitude and faithfully do my exercises; however I suspect that a lot of the so-called difficulties for high-BMI patients may be exaggerated. Lots of knee replacement patients have various medical problems but some OS seem more willing to work with those people and not just handpick the easy surgeries; thank God for them or many of us would be living out our later years as cripples.

 

[Gingiebot]

I had the same problem...my BMI is 40 and lots of docs turned me down. They say its for you, but it's for them. They just want to have a stellar record of good outcomes. But some of us just can't wait. I asked one scheduler 'so if I never lose the 30 pounds does that mean I can never have my knee replaced? What, will I just wind up spending my life in a wheelchair?' She didn't like that. But it's true! What if you never list the weight? Just keep looking. I found a doc nd you will too.

 

[Eva41]

I'm 5'5" 160 lbs. I went to the gym almost everyday before my April BTKR. I thought I was in pretty good shape. I just read my surgery report today and I was described as a 56 yr old obese female. I was more than a little surprised. I just don't understand why some of these OS's are so hung up on numbers. I wish you the best of luck in your search for an OS that will restore your quality of life. I'm sure there are some out there.


BTKR 1 April 2014

 

[LauraLeigh]

@Eva41, that's why I despise that stupid BMI chart. It doesn't take into account a person's fitness and muscle mass at all. Of course it is archaic - it was invented in 1850! So using it to say that someone like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is morbidly obese is just ridiculous.

I'm very glad I didn't have to go through a horrible search like some people for a decent doctor - my OS never said anything about my weight, other than it might be helpful to lose a few pounds before the surgery to take some of the pressure off my knees. I lost about 10 lbs in 4 months. I'm definitely losing right now as I've had little appetite in the hospital and have been subsisting mostly on saltines, skim milk and lime Jello. I know I will gain some back when I start eating normally again but have high hopes that my new knees will allow me to work out again and be as fit as I'd like to be. My big goal after my recovery is to be able to do Zumba again. It might take a while but I'll get there!