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Sgriff

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Feb 23, 2008
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I am 52 and have had bad knees for over 18yrs now
Scans have shown bone on bone ,with floating bits and torn meniscus ,one knee cap has moved as well .

Dr says I need 2 knee replacements,he is going to do arthroscopy on both next Month I am just hoping that this will help for the meantime
I am just SOOO SCARED OF HAVING KNEES DONE I am not a good patient as it is and I think the months of recouperation will drive me nuts,but whats the alternative? I am scared of even having the arthroscopy as I was told this may also worsen the problems,so has anyone had the arthroscopy (both knees) and found their condition worsened after ?

Have so many questions to ask
Thing is I have good flexion in my knees so am scared if I have new knees that I will lose this ?
Thanks
Sue xx
 
Sgriff, I was hit by a car exactly 24 years ago today and it had taken out both of my Neez(meaning thats what part of my body was injured). Since then I have had a total of 7 knee surgeries, 3 of hich were scopes to either repair ACL, PCL or "CLEAN OUT" cartlidge, broken bits etc. I do believe at the time of the scopes it did somewhat help relieve the pain in my knees but I also remember that these procedures (for me) were non-weight bearing post op which meant I HAD to use crutches for several weeks. I do not know how severe your scopes would be and what post op would be like. What I do know is that I am scheduled for my first TKR on Thursday and as much as all you hear about is the pain (which I go through everyday now) there is still PT, and lots of recouperation time involved. If you have someone at home that can help you and if you read the posts on hear I believe you wil see that the "Quality Of Life" people experience after TKR's makes it all worth it. Everyday I talk to someone wether at the grocery store or mall and all have positive things to say. Do your research, talk and ask LOTS of questions and you may just change your mind. I myself can not wait until the day I dance the night away at my wedding which is a little over a year after my TKR's. Hopethis helps somewhat : )
 
Thanks NewNeeze for your reply
My problems seem to be the knees are catching frequently and when that happens I cannot move from the position I am in and cannot bare any weight on them ,sometimes when I have turned as well I get a terrible pain which I know is the bone on bone pain ,but what is the worst is when the ( whatever it is ) seems to catch and I cannot move would the arthroscopy help this do you think ?
Sue x
 
Hi there, Sgriff. Truth is, it might and it might not. If you are having bone impingement to that degree then sadly it's 50/50. Never the less, once all the detritus is flushed out of your knee and any tidying up done, you should be aware of some improvement.

I met a man in the clinic last year who has put off his TKRs for 6 years by having repeated arthroscopies.

On the other hand, if there is any specific worries you have about the ops or anything, please ask. I (we) will do our very best to answer them.
 
Thank you Josephine
Would you know if they do both knee replacement here in the UK ?
I am scared of both arthroscopy and replacement ops.I had a gastric bypass 14 mths ago ,which has helped me lose nearly 6stones in weight ,but am still 15.7 am waiting for gastric bypass to be revised as my weight loss was not satisfactory and op has some problems as well ,it just seems thats all I have to look forward to right now is operations
Funnily enough after a weight loss of nearly 6st my knees have got worse,so has my back .strange or what ?
Sue x
 
Oh gosh - I never noticed you are in the UK! Want to tell me which hospital/surgeon? I may know them!

And yes, many surgeons do perform bilaterals which means having both done at the same time. But do read around the threads and see the reports from people who have had it done. Not for the faint hearted.

As for your knees and back, that may just be the progress of your condition coincidental. Often when a person walks badly because of hip or knee disease, it affects the back badly.
 
Hello Dids
I am being seen in St Marys Paddington and the surgeon is a Mr Hearth
Do you know him ? I was just wondering about the both knee replacement as if your going to be laid up for one you might as well be laid up for both ?it would be good just to have both done and dusted so to speak
Sue
 
Oopps - I must have accidentally logged in under my old name! I'm also dids! Sorry about that. No, I am not acquainted with Mr Hearth but I do know St Mary's. Good place - you'll do just fine there.

That is certainly one positive of having both done at once but I do recommend you read around the threads and see how others who have had that have felt about it. So long as you are prepared for the post op period then you go for it!
 
Jo Jo Jo, thanks again because your are more of the Specialist then I am. I have been through quite a bit but Jo is a much more qualified person to answer and once again she did a great job. SO thanks to Jo.

NuNeez
 
Hi, I, too, am a newbie here. Isn't it great to have found this site? For me I felt like I had discovered an answer that helped me set aside so many of the fears I have about having my knees done. I had both knees scoped last spring. The week I went in to have my left knee scoped my right knee started hurting so I had to get my scopes done at different times. The help I got from getting them scoped was so short lived it wasn't worth it but without the scopes I would have had to wait for MRI's to be approved, etc. so my ortho did the scopes after just doing xrays. He has enough experience that he could tell without even that that I had miniscus tears. When he got in he discovered the problem is so much worse, bone on bone in both knees, calcium deposit that was considerable on right knee with bones chips floating around in both. Now, two weeks ago the new surgeon for my TKR's shows that all that clean-up is undone as I once again have bone chips and even have what he called cysts in the end of the bones. Have been having the cortisone injections every three-four months and got a bit of relief that way until the shots two weeks ago and they lasted about four days in each knee. Surgeon told us that on a scale of 1-10 the arthritis in my knees was about 11 so I don't expect to get any relief until I get through the surgery and PT afterwards. I know it is going to be a tough go for a while but I keep thinking how lucky we are to live in an age when they are able to do this kind of surgery. I keep asking myself what people did who had this kind of problem at 50 and sometimes even younger? I am 66 and just feel so sorry for people in their 30's, 40's and 50's who are going through this and seeing doctors who tell them they will have to wait 10-15 years to have TKR. How do they cope? I am in so much pain that I at this point I can hardly stand to be on my feet at all and dread each step I take, especially those first steps in the morning. My knees were bad enough to have had the surgery last summer but I chose to wait until this spring to give myself time to lose weight that I had gained during change of life. I have lost over 50 pounds and will continue to keep losing after the TKR, but I did mine the old fashioned way, I stopped eating the things that made me gain in the first place. Nothing like pain so bad it leaves you nauseous to take the weight off. It seems like every new posting I read brings it closer to home that we all are so much alike no matter how different we are. I wish you the very best luck with whatever decision you make. You are, ultimately, the only person who will know when you are ready for TKR and when you are ready you will have it done. Rowdy66
 
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