panammaniac
member
Hello,
I just visited my orthopedist yesterday and he recommended this site to me. I'm 55 years old and have been suffering from left knee and hip pain for about the last 5-6 years. X-rays came back as Stage 3 OA in the left knee, but the orthopedist looked at the X-rays and said it is probably a bit worse than that - probably closer to Stage 4, and "it's almost always worse than the X-rays show once we get into the joint." I went into the appointment mostly expecting a regimen of injections, pain meds, and PT. I was pretty stunned, and perhaps not quite emotionally ready, when some of the first words out of his mouth were "it may be time to consider total knee replacement." I haven't signed up yet, but I have a follow up appointment in a month with the knee replacement surgeon to discuss it further.
I'm really not sure what to think at this point. I've heard some arguments that people under 60 are more likely to be dissatisfied with the results, and then there's the chance that I'll need revision surgery in 15-20 years or less. The doctor countered by asking how the pain is affecting my daily life. Well, when my family goes out for any kind of activity that involves walking, I can no longer keep up with them. Back before Covid we went on a European vacation. We'd be walking around a city, say London for example, and I found myself walking alone a good part of the time with my wife and daughter about half a block ahead of me, then they'd have to stop and wait up for me. I find that to be very frustrating. Because of the pain, and my inability to walk more than a couple blocks without hurting, I have become less active, which in turn has caused me to put on a little bit of weight, so it's a downward spiral. Still, it's not totally unbearable. I can still do most of my normal daily activities.
I have taken all of the "decision maker" tests. My Oxford score was 26. I don't recall what the other two were, but they were down in the moderate bordering on severe category. At this point I obviously haven't met with the surgeon yet, but I feel like I have a lot to think about before I do.
A doctor friend of mine is trying to talk me out of TKR, saying I'm too young and that the procedure has been oversold. He says I should try something called Genicular Radiofrequency Ablation, which is basically killing the nerve endings around your knee. From my little bit of research, that looks like a fairly new, and not yet fully proven bandaid fix to postpone the inevitable, but I'm still researching.
Anyway, I look forward to interacting with the community here as I head down this completely unplanned journey.
I just visited my orthopedist yesterday and he recommended this site to me. I'm 55 years old and have been suffering from left knee and hip pain for about the last 5-6 years. X-rays came back as Stage 3 OA in the left knee, but the orthopedist looked at the X-rays and said it is probably a bit worse than that - probably closer to Stage 4, and "it's almost always worse than the X-rays show once we get into the joint." I went into the appointment mostly expecting a regimen of injections, pain meds, and PT. I was pretty stunned, and perhaps not quite emotionally ready, when some of the first words out of his mouth were "it may be time to consider total knee replacement." I haven't signed up yet, but I have a follow up appointment in a month with the knee replacement surgeon to discuss it further.
I'm really not sure what to think at this point. I've heard some arguments that people under 60 are more likely to be dissatisfied with the results, and then there's the chance that I'll need revision surgery in 15-20 years or less. The doctor countered by asking how the pain is affecting my daily life. Well, when my family goes out for any kind of activity that involves walking, I can no longer keep up with them. Back before Covid we went on a European vacation. We'd be walking around a city, say London for example, and I found myself walking alone a good part of the time with my wife and daughter about half a block ahead of me, then they'd have to stop and wait up for me. I find that to be very frustrating. Because of the pain, and my inability to walk more than a couple blocks without hurting, I have become less active, which in turn has caused me to put on a little bit of weight, so it's a downward spiral. Still, it's not totally unbearable. I can still do most of my normal daily activities.
I have taken all of the "decision maker" tests. My Oxford score was 26. I don't recall what the other two were, but they were down in the moderate bordering on severe category. At this point I obviously haven't met with the surgeon yet, but I feel like I have a lot to think about before I do.
A doctor friend of mine is trying to talk me out of TKR, saying I'm too young and that the procedure has been oversold. He says I should try something called Genicular Radiofrequency Ablation, which is basically killing the nerve endings around your knee. From my little bit of research, that looks like a fairly new, and not yet fully proven bandaid fix to postpone the inevitable, but I'm still researching.
Anyway, I look forward to interacting with the community here as I head down this completely unplanned journey.