Do I or don't I?

[Josephine]

Re: Right - here goes

LOL! Max, Pieman is going into the premier centre of excellence in the UK, the one that hip/knee surgeons from across the UK and Europe send their unsolvable problems to! The registrar's next stop will be a consultant's post in his own right at another hospital so he'll not exactly be a trainee either!

What type of PT does he do (in home or Hospital) - we don't have home PT in the UK
Does he do revisions or will that be another DR - see above!
Time in hospital - about 5-7 days
Time in rehab - we don't have rehab facilities in the UK


'How many does he do' and 'What is his success ratio' are questions listed in my post to which he referred.

 

[Gringo]

Re: Right - here goes

Hmm...maybe I should have considered going to the UK for my TKR....since I live in a British country...


Nahhh....I would have to give up good Tex-Mex and BBQ!....I am going to stick with Texas.

 

[Judles]

Re: Right - here goes

Gringo! Now don't you put on a ton of weight eating all that (very fattening & delish Tex Mex), You don't wanna put too much stress on your new joint now!!!! LOL!

 

[Gringo]

Re: Right - here goes

Oh, heck. I thought someone just recently posted that TKR patients lose a dozen pounds in the process.....I was hoping to stuff my face and still come out of it with a net two pound loss.....

 

[Judles]

Re: Right - here goes

I like your thinking! All of us think our joints weigh a ton! Truth is.....only a few ounces,,,,,Oh well!

 

[Gringo]

Re: Right - here goes

I wouldn't touch that line...

 

[Judles]

Re: Right - here goes

Gringo!!!! WHOOPS!!!!! Just re-read what I wrote! You got the gist of it!! We can just go on & on!

 

[Rowdy66]

Re: Right - here goes

I would definitely ask him his practice when it comes to pain relief and what he prescribes. Frankly I am shocked that so manny of the people who post here are seeing surgeons who are so poorly versed in pain control. Sorry, I know drug addiction is a problem in this country but I don't think a person who is using drugs to be able to live a normal life is a drug addict. Tylenol extra strength just is not adequate pain control for a month out for this particular surgery. For a few rare folks it may be okay but they are the few and those pain meds make a real difference when it comes to steady progress and rehabilitation. Rowdy

 

[Rowdy66]

Re: Right - here goes

Gringo, you, my south of the border friend, are going to be one of those people who are running marathons six months after the surgery. Sense of humor is so important and you are WONDERFUL or maybe it is just sun stroke. LOL. Nah, you have a good sense of humor. My money is on you and a speedy recovery. Good luck and my best thoughts to you. Janet (Rowdy)

 

[PieMan]

Rom

Dear Bonesmarters,

I'm curious about ROM ( range of motion ) what would be a good ROM for a natural knee and how close can a TKR get to that.

Just FYI - , for thiose that have read my prior bleatings, the current registrar wants me to wait another 6 mths but will talk to the consultant about a partial - blimmey thought i'd been through that a year ago. Anyway, not in a rush to go to the old sawbone.

Regards Pieman.

 

[Josephine]

Re: Rom

Flexion for a normal knee can be as much as 130. The 155 depicted in this image may be possible in a very skinny person. I certainly couldn't manage that even without the TKR!
Extension depends. Some people have hyperextension of up to -15 degrees or even more.
Both should be approachable post-TKR though I doubt they'd make the full range. Depends upon swelling and scarring, etc.

 

[duffy]

Re: Just looked at the knee photo's

Pie man,
I agree the photos are just "WOW" and all the different scars. My scar is 4 months old and PT girls say it's the nicest one they've seen! I admit it's lookin "good". With all the things posted here good and bad you have to remember you will be free of the pain your in right now. We talk about pain form physical therapy and such but besides an achey pain at night or when the weather is damp I am pain free!

 

[Texas]

Re: Just looked at the knee photo's

Pie Man are you really pain free? I know everyone is different but wow that just made a big difference for me. I am actually excited about that. Thank you for posting that , you really made my day............I sure hope you continue on this path you are on, and remember you helped alot of people on here with that post alone Thank you Kim

 

[PieMan]

I'm still dithering!

This is the perennial question - i am umming and erring about my LTKR. Had motorbike accident when i was 18, slow deterioration ever since - just to add complication, i have a repaired ACL but no PCL. So at the ripe old age of 46 my left leg is bowing, my shin is sinking back and the pain is getting steadily and occasionally aggressively worse. But the big BUT is i can still cycle 140km ( achieved last month ), swim, play golf ( gets a bit painfull towards the rear of 18 holes ) - can walk without too much problem but extended walking is becoming harder. I completed, for a cancer charity, the Maggies challenge this year - 30 mile cycle and 43 mile walk, i was in tears, knee had seized at the end and i was rattling from painkillers but i completed it to my surprise - training walks up to that date had bearly got me past 12 miles before the pain was unbearable. If i sit too long getting up to walk can be very painful and i hate the fact that i can be walking along a normally as i can ( i have been told my gaite is unusual ) and then experience that searing pain.
If i can do all that surely i should wait - i do think after living with my knee for so long the pain is a bit like white noise, there, but in the back ground. I want to be as active after a TKR as i am now. I am thinking about a challenge next year but realistically i don't think its going to happen as left knee is now not up to it - this is now affecting quality of life - but could i walk 43 miles on a TKR. This is my dichotomy.
My registrar told me last time that the range of movement i get now ( or then ) is better that i could expect with a replacement so what do i do.
Blimmey - rambled on as ususal but good to get it off the chest.
Regards
Pieman.

 

[cotton1958]

Re: Should I wait or have it now?

Sorry for what you have had to endure. I worked 30 hours a week, standing up for retail merchandising, bone-on-bone, nearly up until my surgery. I also lost my gait, as I did my 'own' walking because I was in pain and it was the only way I could walk to avoid that pain. I still do not have my gait back, but working on it. IMHO, I don't think things will get better unless you make a choice to go for the surgery. It's a tough surgery, and recovery, but in just a few weeks, you will see a new life. Your legs will never be what they were, but for many of us, this surgery gives us a second chance.

Good luck to whatever you decide. : )


BTKR 8/09

 

[Josephine]

Re: I'm still dithering!

PieMan, I moved your post so you don't derail hopeful's thread, ok?

Truth is, only you can decided, as you well know. But what you're describing is a slowly escalating amount of disability where your knees are more and more becoming the deciding factor on what you will or won't do. Wouldn't you like to be back to deciding what to do and being able to crack on with regardless? Just how much more disabled do you want to get before you get it done?

I cannot recall where you went to where the registrar told you that. What is your ROM now? And why can't you do what you want with less? I doubt you would be less, anyway. They always seem to err on the side of caution somehow! Quite a number of people get 120 and more after their TKR. I'm sure that would be enough to do pretty much all you want to. Cus at the moment, you're not doing them much anyway, are you?

Seems to me you're holding out because of things you want to do now and can't against things you want to do in the future and maybe won't be able to. That seems to be just a little bit illogical, don't you think?

 

[Max Wallace]

Re: I'm still dithering!

I waited 15 years and your story could have been me to the tee. It was not until after the surgery that I realized just what 15 years of pain had made me into. I had lived with the pain so long I thought it was normal to take pain pills, aspirin, Tylenol , celebrix, motrin and all of the others. I had grown accustomed to avoiding stairs, uneven ground, anything that made me use my knees. I have never been depressed but after the surgery my wife says I am a much happier person a different person. I like you for years refused to let the pain slow me down but it happens so slowly sometime you don't even know it happening. like the difference between a twenty mile walk and a 19 mile walk then eventually 18,17,16,15 and before you know it 15 becomes the normal and not 20 but you have given up the 5 you enjoy and it happens so slowly it seems normal.

I gave up 10-15 years of my life and my wife and kids suffered as much as I did just in a different way. My son didn't get those piggy back rides my wife didn't get those long walks holding hands and talking. I didn't go canoeing and hiking when we vacationed in the mountains. I could go on and on and probably have gone to far as it is but I am passionate about loosing part of your life. If I had it to do over I would never wait and give up anything you only have one life and when its gone its to late.

 

[ship4]

Re: I'm still dithering!

My ROM was 135 with both legs prior to surgery. It is 135 now after surgery. What is your ROM now? Do you need any more than that?
How much experience does your OS have? What type of knee will he put in that limits your ROM? I have a rotating platform which allows me to continue to downhill ski.......
Just wondering.........
Best thing I ever did was to have BTKR! I am getting on with my life and even took up golf this year.

 

[Pat29627]

Re: I'm still dithering!

Wow, you can do so much more than I ever could even in the healthiest years of my life. Maybe if you cut back on some of the distances, you could wait another several years? Maybe you're just pushing your body a little too hard. I know, it's different if you're that kind of guy....my son is into bicycle racing and sometimes I know they do so much that it is stress to the body rather than contributing to health. Who can know if you could do as much after replacement? You wouldn't have all the pain you're having now, probably. You should read online about athletes who've had joint replacements, ...I'm not into sports so the only one that comes to mind is Floyd Landis and his was hip.

Pat

 

[Judles]

Re: I'm still dithering!

Well!!! Now what are ya waiting for???:sct: