TKR Not going through with surgery

Yolandamamula

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I was scheduled for the first of 2 knee replacements on Sept 29, but I am not going through with the surgery.

I wonder if anyone else has experienced this, but I fear it will make things worse. All of this started with groin pain 4 years ago that morphed into intense pain which a PT told me was spinal stenosis, another told me was bursitis, a neurosurgeon told me was hip arthritis.

The initial hip xrays ordered by PT 1 were not done correctly and the arthritis didn't show up clearly. The x-ray ordered by the neurosurgeon did. I was told the hip surgery would improve any back issues, though nothing jumped off of a spinal MRI as a clear pain generator.

The hip surgery plus excellent PT did resolve most issues, until 2 falls finished off my knees. After the hip replacement, my non-op leg is 3/4 inches shorter. The knee on that side is a mess. The knee on the side with the hip replacement is also in bad shape, but now, when I lift thay leg with my knee flexed, I have what feels like nerve pain shooting from my knee to my ankle, along with the old bursitis pain and pain in my SI joint ( or is it my spine)

The PT I saw for knee prehab said my hip pain was spinal, but he did not examine me. The PT I see for my hip says my back seems good (he did a lot of motion testing) and that he thinks my sciatic nerve is being pinched at the tibia where it splits to form the peroneal nerve.

My entire lower body is in pain. I don't mean to whine, but I feel lost and hopeless and don't want to go through another irreversible change only to be worse off. I guess I am not sure what to do next.
Until the hip issues, I was extremely active and fit. I never had any spinal issues.
 
Since you don’t seem sure what to do here are some articles that may help you come to a decision about knee replacements.


If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:

Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic knee?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?


If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:

Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?


Regardless of where you are in the process, the website and appMy Knee Guide can help you stay organized and informed. The free service keeps all the information pertaining to your surgery and recovery in one place on your smartphone. It is intended to be a personal support tool for the entire process.

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced knee, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:

Stories of amazing knee recoveries
 
My entire lower body is in pain. I don't mean to whine, but I feel lost and hopeless and don't want to go through another irreversible change only to be worse off. I guess I am not sure what to do next.
Until the hip issues, I was extremely active and fit. I never had any spinal issues.
I'm sorry you're in such pain, @Yolandamamula and I understand you being confuse after so much differing advice.

I've had a look at the other threads tyou've posted and I see this in one of them:
X-rays showed bone on bone arthritis in the outer compartment of the bad knee,, problems under the kneecap and severe joint space narrowing in the internal compartment.
What the X-Rays show is quite severe arthritis in your knee, with bone rubbing on bone in the lateral (outer) compartment and damage in the other two compartments.

Nothing except a total knee replacement (TKR) is going to cure that. In fact your knee pain is going to continue to get worse.

Pain from an arthritic knee can also produce pain in other areas of your body,including hip and spine pain, as your body tries to adjust, to take some pressure off your knee.
You know the old song, "The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone" etc. There is some truth in that, because what affects one joint does have an effect on other joints.

Having your knee replaced may well produce a lessening of pain in other areas. Even if it doesn't, once recovery is over, you can be assured that you won't have an increasing pain in your knee.
In fact, you will be better off, not worse off.

I recommend that you ask for a second opinion from another surgeon, one who specialises in replacing hips and knees.
 
WOW, so sorry you got such confusing advice. I had a L4/L5 Spinal fusion 2 years ago and knew at the time I also needed TKR on left knee. After the fusion and recovery I sure did NOT want to go through with TKR too, but...my knee had other ideas. I was told it would continue to get worse and really needed to be done. (Osteoarthritis and bone on bone). So through lots of thought and anguish I did have it replaced and now it's been 3 months and I am happy I went through it.
Good luck with your decision!
 
You have every right to really think long and hard about it- it’s a big decision-
I was shocked after I injured my right knee how fast the bone on bone arthritis set in and escalated to crippling pain 8 months later, where I could not even stand on it sometimes.Then I had a fall and hurt my left knee and like the other knee first tried PT, cortisone shots, gel shots and was ready to spend 5K on stem cell therapy, but my OS said, you can’t regrow cartilage, my knees were shot- so I had both TKR’S
done 3 months apart and I have absolutely no regrets.
 
I have stenosis and severe arthritis in the L3-4-5 area. I get injections every couple of months and I've had radio frequency ablation, also last year I had to have both of my hips revised and I'm having my left knee replaced in three days. It's a lot to have on your plate when you have pain in multiple areas. I can understand not wanting any more.

But, your knee isn't going to get better on its own, just like mine isn't and I'm choosing to be a little optimistic and hope the knee replacement will eventually take a little bit of the pain off my plate. Maybe the knee will hurt less, maybe my back will feel better because I'm walking better, I choose to hope.

Think about the long picture before you cancel and maybe be a little hopeful and optimistic about having the surgery.
 
The PT I saw for knee prehab said my hip pain was spinal, but he did not examine me. The PT I see for my hip says my back seems good (he did a lot of motion testing) and that he thinks my sciatic nerve is being pinched at the tibia where it splits to form the peroneal nerve.
I know this is all confusing for you, but honestly a PT is not the right person to be taking advice from about the cause of your pain. PTs are not qualified to diagnose your pains.
You need advice from a surgeon who specializes in hip and knee problems.

I can tell you for sure that your knee pain is not going to go away unless you have the knee replaced, It will continue to get worse. I speak as someone who was forced to wait for 9 long, painful years for my first nee replacement, until I was considered "old enough". By that time I finally had my surgery, I was almost completely housebound.

Having to wait so long distorted my muscles and tendons. Some of them shrunk and some became longer that normal. That made for a long and difficult recovery.
 
I know this is all confusing for you, but honestly a PT is not the right person to be taking advice from about the cause of your pain. PTs are not qualified to diagnose your pains.
You need advice from a surgeon who specializes in hip and knee problems.

I can tell you for sure that your knee pain is not going to go away unless you have the knee replaced, It will continue to get worse. I speak as someone who was forced to wait for 9 long, painful years for my first nee replacement, until I was considered "old enough". By that time I finally had my surgery, I was almost completely housebound.

Having to wait so long distorted my muscles and tendons. Some of them shrunk and some became longer that normal. That made for a long and difficult recovery.

I was just talking with a younger lady the other day, her Mom needs TKR, but she keeps hearing so many bad tales. And they are ALWAYS a friend of a friend, or the PT said, or such. She has never talked with an orthopedic doctor about her knees. Or anyone that has gone through it.

I could have had my knee replaced at 46, my orthopedic never took age into the equation. But, I didn't think it was that bad, the gels and cortisone worked. Until it didn't. And I lived on pain meds for too long. Finally, enough was enough. I had it done at 47 years old. Nine years and 11 months ago.

I wish I hadn't waited. And if you read my posts here over the years, I've repeatedly said I wasn't going to let my other knee get to that point. Well. Here I am. Next Monday, I get that one replaced as well. Do I want to? No. But I refuse to let myself live in pain, and on meds again. I hope to have as close as possible an outcome for this knee as I did the first one.. But I am 10 years older. And 50 pounds lighter than when I had the first one done. And yes, the picture in my profile was jumping, just 7 months after the Left TKR. AFTER... (Please note, that was not sanctioned by any of my health care team. Although, they all LOVED seeing it. After scolding me!!!)

I am also facing ankle fusion or replacement as well. My left ankle is in bad bad shape. I wear an AFO brace for support, but it's not enough... But the knee must come first.
 

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