TKR Hopefaith's Ups and Downs of Recovery

[Nana moon 27]

@hopefaith I always say my knee is the best weather forecaster too. Don't start me about left knees. I'm really fed up of my lefty xxx

How are you doing? Xxx

 

[ironman60]

Hi @hopefaith You sound like you are getting better!! Great news.
Looks like you have two birthdays close together like me.
One for you & one for your knee. My knee will be a year old tomorrow & I will be a year older next week.
Where does the time go? My knee is great. I can't think of anything I couldn't do with it. I'm still hiking many miles & volunteering in youth programs. Had a bit of good weather here so I have just about got the yard & Spring stuff in shape. Snow today though. I hope you continue to heal & be happy. Happy Birthday to you & your knee.

 

[Phil75070]

@hopefaith Happy to see your knee is doing much better as well as, it seems, your spirits!

 

[hopefaith]

Well l it has been one year ago today that I had my TKR. Would I do it again if I could make the choice again? Probably not. I would have waited until the pain was a lot worse. Or maybe never.
But none of us are given 20/20 ahead of time, are we?
I agree with @VancouverUSAgal has said. This surgery is way over rated and turns out well for a few. I believe the statistics are scewed.
Anyway, my knee is much better in the past month. Going Gluten free has helped a lot. I also have been going to accupressure which is helping. The weather is my knee barometer or the other way around and my TKR knee hurts much more at those times than my left knee.
I still put ice on it 1-2 times a day, especially at the end of the day. I have very good range of motion. I am just surprised how stiff it feels at times and how it still hurts at times. I take nothing for pain except Gabapentin.
This site was beyond supportive and literally saved me in SO many ways. God brought me to this site. I have no doubt about that.
I have so much respect for anyone who goes through this and it has made me more compassionate in ways I would never have thought.
x x x
love to all,
MaryJean, who after all of this still has hope and faith

 

[Jamie]

MaryJean.....this morning I went back through your thread to refresh myself with your recovery journey. It has been a bit of a rough ride for you and I admire your inner strength (even though you may not think you have it, YOU DO!!) and ability to look to the future for better days. I hope you can keep that going because I think your story is not yet complete. You've had some unique complications during your recovery that have undoubtedly slowed you down. But that doesn't mean things won't improve. Please never give up that wonderful hope and faith that you have!

 

[Josephine]

This surgery is way over rated and turns out well for a few. I believe the statistics are scewed.

Jamie is right. Your case has been somewhat unusual. But the stats are not skewed. TKR is the MOST successful and MOST performed surgery in medical history. Almost one million are done globally every year which gives testimony to it's overall success. Doctors truly wouldn't keep doing them if they routinely had poor outcomes. I say this not to wrong foot you, @hopefaith but because of all the guests and new members to whom we owe a duty of care to put the other side. I do know and sympathise fully, that it can be 1,000,000 to one but if you're the one, it's a catastrophe. I do hope things improve for you soon.

 

[Legin]

Havent spoken before to you much if at all. Re your statement I can totally umderstand your thinking. I recently told gp I had the opperation to get rid of pain and have better mobility, now im in pain with rubicube mobility. Ok but lets look at life without our opps I know im a hippie. It would be ever increasing grinding pain with ever decreasing movement, I was at 5%. Also as I was told by surgeon my joint was ready to go completely as most joints will get to at some point.
I'm really sorry you went thru all that in recovery and as I said can understand how you feel but its a new dawn you have posted real possitive things ie reduced pain relief and as too you think your compassion has increased well cant say about before but you support people with a genuine care. I truly hope improvements keep coming and as for weather its a downer on all tho with age can be worse, I go puddle stomping with gson. Speaking of which on my thread he made a magic potion we could try that. Keep smiling

Legin THR Sep 14

 

[patient 99]

Doctors truly wouldn't keep doing them if they routinely had poor outcomes.

How do they assess whether the outcomes are good or poor? I expect that my operation has been logged as a success, but I live with chronic discomfort. If I hadn't had the op then more than likely I would be living with chronic pain. So does that mean my TKR outcome is good?

It would be interesting to know how the stats are compiled. The number of revisions required must be one of the criterion. Another might be that post op the patient has more mobility. But this would require people to do pre and post assessments at various times. I'm not aware that this happens. I do remember being asked a few questions pre op about how far I could walk, level of pain etc. but there was no post op comparison done.

I am with @hopefaith on this one. I too believe that the stats don't show the true picture.

 

[hopefaith]

I knew I would hear from you @Josephine. I need to speak the truth anyway. I read over and over again on here people who have had lots of trouble with their post TKR's many around the time I had mine in all different parts of the world. As @patient 99 said what is considered success? My OS would never consider my surgery a failure, but I wouldn't have it done again. He won't enter that stat anywhere.
I do think the results are scewed. I stand by my belief. I wrote many months ago about people coming back to tell about this post experience a year later. I've kept my promise because I want others to know this is not a one year recovery. in my case I may never be able to do the things I could do pre surgery.
So @Josephine let everyone tell their true story.
MaryJean

 

[sarainvt]

I feel that sometimes OS's do not inform their patients on what limitations they may have post op. While I am doing pretty well and will continue to heal, I have since spoken to several people I know who have had replacements, and they all tell the same story about their knee always having a level of stiffness, and even two or three years later it can easily swell if they overdue it. They "just get used to it." I am prepared now that my knee, while not painful, may always have some stiffness and never fully feel like my other knee. However, like others I know, the arthritic pain is gone, for which I am thankful.


Sara

RTKR December 1, 2014

 

[hopefaith]

@sarainvt
yes, I had had some kneecap dislocation at times but intermittently. x-Rays showed almost no cartilage, but I didn't have tons of pain. Live with it....I have no choice.
No, I was not informed I would be trading one type of intermittant pain for this kind of very limiting pain.

 

[Josephine]

I do think the results are scewed.
I read over and over again on here people who have had lots of trouble with their TKR's

To say something is skewed is to impose the expectation it is an exact science. It is not. 'Statistics' are based upon reported satisfaction of patients and that varies greatly. Some are known to be happy with a lowish ROM and some pain. Others are very UNhappy with that same situation.

Plus this forum has a disproportionate number of people with problems for the simple fact that those who are happy with their outcomes don't trawl the internet looking for places like BoneSmart to get support and information. That's a fact. People who are satisfied with their outcome generally don't tend to hang around on here very long either so that colours the picture too.

But you are more than welcome to express your views on here but you will have to accept that I have a duty of care to ALL the members and guests, to give a more balanced explanation. It's my job so please don't think I am getting at you.

 

[Josephine]

I have since spoken to several people

See, I love these kinds of apocryphal reports. (nothing personally critical intended, Sara) but how may is several? 2, 6, 20, 50? I do plead that instead of saying 'several' you say how many.

This is a true story: I went into a budget store one day. I happened to be suffering from quite bad shoulder pain at time so instead of using one of their wire baskets, I put my shopping in my own cotton shopping bag and proceeded to select about six tubes of toothpaste and a couple of other items. When I got to the check-out, I very pointedly lifted the bag up in the air and emptied the contents onto the belt, giving it a final flap to show it was empty. Nevertheless, the manager stopped me and loudly told me that "all the other customers" had been reporting to her staff about this woman who was shop lifting. Since the shop was quite busy and I'd only been in there about 10 minutes I doubted that 'all' was factual and asked the manager how many 'all' was. She got a bit flustered and said it was 'a lot'. So how many is a lot? Now maybe it was a few. How many was a few - 2 - 4 - 6? Eventually she admitted it was just one!

I rest my case!

 

[hopefaith]

@Jamie
Thank you for your compassion.

 

[sarainvt]

@Josephine, I have spoken with 11 different people, 10 women and 1 male.. It took me a minute to give you that detail. Different ages, surgeons, and joints. But, all have no regrets and are happy with their new knees.


Sara

RTKR December 1, 2014

 

[Pumpkin]

How to judge outcomes and research is more of an art than a science. We frequently hear from members about a great aunt's recovery from TKR in two weeks, but never actually see these people. There are lots of people who join Bonesmart, stay during recovery, then move on. Go back 30 or 40 pages of posts, and you will see lots of names of members that are no longer posting. Occasionally they will report back how happy they are with having a TKR. Here is a link to some Stories of amazing knee recoveries , then we have members with long term challenges after TKR here is a link to their stories, Challenging TKR Recovery Stories .

@hopefaith , you will have to join Medscape to have access to this page, it is free to join. Here is a link to my search for Knee Replacement, you will see a number of articles about TKR outcomes.
http://search.medscape.com/news-search?newSearchHeader=1&queryText=knee+replacement

The medical community is concerned about less than satisfactory outcomes, and what they can do to improve outcomes among a large range of ages and expected activity levels after TKR.

If you happen to be the one in a million, for you the rate of poor outcomes is 100%. It is frustrating because there is no where for individual poor outcomes to be included in statistics, for Joint Replacement, unless your OS keeps track.
OS's and other Medical people could use the outcome scales that are readily available, but most do not.

I understand your frustration, that your outcome is poor, and you have nowhere to turn to report it so it can be included in studies searching for answers about to reduce the incidence of poor outcomes.

 

[Josephine]

@Josephine chalk and cheese.

hopefaith, I'm not trying to beat up on you honestly but I do have to make sure the other side of the argument is made. Please do feel free to share your story.

@sarainvt thank you - that is most helpful and interesting. I've never before met anyone that knows more than two or three joint replacement people!

 

[Pax]

@Josephine I know six people who've had knees done, three were tickled pink with their outcomes by the six month mark, the remaining three were very unhappy until they reached the 18 month to two year mark. Now all report being glad they had it done, some have residual stiffness if they sit too long but say it's manageable. Seems like recovery happens when it's darn good and ready for most people.

 

[kneeper]

Ithink it's good that people share the good, the bad and the ugly,so to speak. unfortunately some OS don't give the full picture beforehand.
hang in @hopefaith, we're still here for you

 

[sarainvt]

@Josephine some of them are people I have met at the gym (when they see my scar they often will strike up a conversation if they have had one themselves), and others are friends or family members of friends and coworkers. I always ask about how they are doing, etc and most never mention some stiffness (or tightness may be a better term) unless I ask if they have it. They all have said it doesn't bother them and are used to it. I may be describing something different than the clinical definition of stiffness for TKRs and apologize if I am.


Sara

RTKR December 1, 2014