TKR Looking for reassurance - or company for my misery...

[ElanorG]

Sue,

We have very similar issues. I tore the meniscus in my left knee in 2004 and have OA in it also but it was the right that degraded and had the TKR. So mine is grumbling all the time. i do take the chondroitin/glucosamine pills but I am not sure they help me any more. The two things that help me the most are strength training exercises to make the muscles around the knee as strong as possible. That helps hold the knee in the right place. I also get injections of artificial joint fluid, like SynVisc or Supartz are some of the trade names. Those helped me alot to as it promotes the production of more healthy joint fluid. Exercises like biking or swimming, water walking or water aeorbics also help promote the production of more joint fluid and the healthier your joint fluid is the more cushioning it will provide. Some docs may recommend a cortisone shot, but since the cortisone helps break down the tissues in the joint I am leaving that until the very end before knee replacement. Eating an anti-inflammatory diet can help a great deal with reducing inflammation in the knee which might make you feel better; in particular reduce your intake of sugar and processed foods, increase foods high in Omega-3s, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and beans, lean meats. The weight loss will help but it is a slower process. When your knee grumbles, ice it just like you do the other one. I frequently take two ice packs out of the freezer now instead of one! Taking an anti-inflammatory or something for pain might help, Aleve, Tylenol, Celebrex are all options that work in varying degrees for different people.

I know I will ultimately have to have my left knee replaced too, but I am hoping to baby it along for another year or so. I want to get thoroughly used to my new knee first before doing this again, but I also want to weigh a lot less as I think it will make recovery easier on me. Hope this helps you with some ideas.

 

[Josephine]

Don't waste your money. They are mildly effective before the arthritis begins but once it's started, forget it. Yes, I know they say different in their advertising but ....

 

[Debbie_joints]

Don't waste your money. They are mildly effective before the arthritis begins but once it's started, forget it. Yes, I know they say different in their advertising but ....

Josephine, are you talking about the glucosamine/chondroitin pills being a waste of money? Gosh I have been taking them for 15 years just because they said they would help. Can't say I felt any difference when I had to go off for my hip or knee replacements. They run around $22 a month, so you are saying they don't help? I take so many pills, it would be nice to quit taking some if they don't work. I guess I was afraid to stop long term in fear I would get worse.

 

[Josephine]

Absolutely, Debbie. There has been countless documentaries and investigative journalism into this and the conclusion is always the same. If you can start using chondroitin/glucosamine before the arthritis gets a good hold, then yes it just might slow down the progress in some cases. But once any significant damage is done, it's too late. Though these drugs do contain some analgesic properties so users get some pain relief which tricks them into thinking they are working but they'd be wrong. No drug will undo the undoable, if you get what I mean.

 

[Titianlady]

I agree with Josephine. I have read and seen investigative research that shows they are worthless once arthritis gets ahold. Nothing stops the arthritic process once it has started and damage is done.

 

[referee54]

Glucosamine did nothing for me except to help empty my wallet a little bit. I had the SynVisc, and those were wonderful---for all of three days. I can remember getting the first shot on a Wednesday, and the relief was tremendous! By Saturday, though, it was back to the same old-same old.

For others, though, the shots do work---one of my friends got two more years out of his knees because of them...

 

[1ELISEA]

I tried it but was so arthritic it didn't help as Josephine as mentioned.
Cortizone shots helped for awhile to control the pain as I planned for the surgery and did some metal testing.

 

[vicledsome]

My OS told me not to waste my money.

 

[referee54]

Cortisone shots actually did get me about seven months, allowing me to umpire and work during the summer months, but they were timed so the last one would wear off right before my BTKR.

 

[Motorcycle Meemaw]

I feel fortunate that I actually got 2 years out of cortisone shots. I tried one of the Synvisc shots and it did nothing. My GP told me to take glucosamine. Not for the bad joints, but to prevent further arthritis in the good ones. Don't know if it helps or not. She told me not to bother with the chondroitin because it had not been proven to be helpful.

 

[soSuesew]

I've just re-read my first post, from two weeks ago, and realised how much I need to thank you all. I was 'stuck' and beginning to think that it was as good as it was going to get. Now, my knee is more supple and I'm using it more naturally. It bends much more readily, although only a little bit further. I have less discomfort and tightness and, on the whole, I'm sleeping more comfortably. I don't grip both rails going up and down stairs, I use one for security.

And it has to be because I listened to you Bonesmarties. I rest, elevate and ice more. I take the drugs more regularly, I stopped doing stuff when my knee hurt. I am more gentle with, and feel more in control of, the physio. And I realised that it was going to get better. You were all right...thanks so much.

Sue in wet and chilly Aix

 

[ElanorG]

Sue, so glad you are feeling better!

 

[Dhare63]

Glad you are feeling better Sue. I am sure that as time goes by it will only improve. It's funny how getting perspective after only a few weeks helps let you know where you really stand. I think keeping a journal is so helpful because the small improvements day to day are hard to see, but over time they really add up.

Congrats and I hope things continue to get better!

Be well,

Dawn

 

[soSuesew]

Now I'm trying not to worry about ROM numbers, the stairs have been my big bugbear. Could go up a few, step by step, but lost momentum quickly. Could only come down one step at a time, just couldn't bend my knee enough to do it, plus I was scared.

Don't know what has changed during the course of today BUT I have just gone up and come down the stairs, step after step, without pain and almost without thinking about it. I sat on a chair at the bottom of the stairs and cried with relief and delight and the feeling that, perhaps, this IS going to get better.

My husband is pleased for me, a bit concerned about why I'm crying and mainly confused (after all, what's the big deal?) So I'm sharing it with you guys as you know why it's a big deal.

Sue in very autumnal Aix en Issart

 

[Debbie_joints]

Sue it is a very big deal. I know the steps is my biggest drawback yet of this knee replacement. Everything else seems to be falling into place. A good happy cry is indeed warranted but poor hubby, he has seen you cry when you are hurting and blue and now happy. No wonder they don't understand us.

 

[robynhood]

So pleased to hear of your stair progress Sue. I am feeling very sore and swollen today both knees so reading about someones good news is cheering me up as well. Im only 4 weeks so still early but i didnt realise my unoperated knee would start to hurt so much. We live and learn - and ice, elevate and medicate. Take care.

 

[clovergirl59]

Sue that is wonderful. It is strange how one day we can't do something and the next day we find ourselves doing it.

 

[soSuesew]

So pleased to hear of your stair progress Sue. I am feeling very sore and swollen today both knees so reading about someones good news is cheering me up as well. Im only 4 weeks so still early but i didnt realise my unoperated knee would start to hurt so much. We live and learn - and ice, elevate and medicate. Take care.

Patricia, I have a grumbly other knee too, and it has complained at taking the strain in the run up to and after the operation. If it's any consolation, it's grumbling less as my operated knee recovers.

Since my unoperated knee also has some signs of osteoarthritis, I'm trying to repeat the operated knee exercises on the other knee - I figure when and if surgery follows on the second knee, it will be in better shape to deal with it.

Sue

 

[soSuesew]

Sue that is wonderful. It is strange how one day we can't do something and the next day we find ourselves doing it.

It's a complete mystery to me! I have no idea how I did it or why, I just found myself doing it. I shrieked so loudly, my husband came running, concerned that I had hurt myself.

He's put me on rest and ice, scared that I am going to overdo it, but he's smiling too!

Sue

 

[kneeper]

Wonderful news on the stairs!