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Overall, I love my new knees at almost 17 weeks...

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leslie8548

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I read every article and every blog and every posting on knee replacements that I could find before my surgery. It seems that everyone has had a very different experience. Some people have great surgeries and recoveries and others tell horror stories. Since I have both the good and some bad with my surgery, I thought I would share what I have been through and hope that it helps someone in any small way.

I am 49 year old woman and I had both knees replaced on 11/15/06. I went back to work 02/21/07. I love my new knees. Let me repeat that: I LOVE MY NEW KNEES!
I injured both knees when I was 18 years old and have been limping and hurting ever since. I was bone on bone and the joints had eroded so that I was very bow-legged and could barely walk a block. The right leg could no longer straighten or bend, completely. The left leg was bowed so badly that inside muscles were all stretched out and the outside muscles were knotted up and atrophied.

I have tried Steroids and the Synvisc shots and nothing worked for longer than a few weeks. No one wanted to replace my knees because I was so young. Finally, my latest surgeon acquiesced because I was having secondary problems with my hip and low back. After the surgery, he said my knees were “UGly”. I believe that was his technical term. He said it was the worst Osteoarthritis that he had ever seen in someone my age. It wasn’t the “you were right and I was wrong” that I was hoping for, but that’s OK because I finally got my knee replacements. Woo Hoo!

I had an Epidural for the surgery. It worked great until post surgery when they put me in a CPM machine. At that time, they raised the head of the bed to wedge the machine between my hip and the foot of the bed. When raised up, my Epidural only flowed to the right leg. I seem to have a thick spot that the meds could not flow through. When I was reclining, the meds flowed up, over the thick spot and back down. Sitting up, that couldn't happen. I had a rough hour and a half until the Doctor was finished with the next surgery and came back to figure out the problem; then prescribed pain pills in addition to the Epidural. So I had one leg on pain pills and one completely numb with the Epidural. The Epidural leg was the happiest leg by far. Love that Epidural. (And you get to keep it for 3 or 4 days. Nice.)

I could wiggle my toes on the right leg and move it from side to side within an hour after surgery. The left leg, however, did not move for 11 days. It just laid there like a painful lump. It was very, very discouraging. I just cried and cried. I thought the left leg would never work again. The Doctors and Nurses and Physical Therapists kept telling me that it would finally get better, to just keep working it and sending signals to the muscles, but it was very hard to believe until it actually happened. The left leg was in the worst shape before the surgery, so I guess it makes sense that it is the leg that has had the hardest recovery. It has just been frustrating, especially since the right leg is ready to cha-cha!

I had some pinching and catching on the left knee for several weeks. It made me crazy. My flesh would catch in the artificial joint and I would have the grab the skin on either side of the joint and rub it back and forth to shake it loose. In P.T. when they would prop my ankles up so the knee joints would stretch backwards, I would have to tell my Therapist to “jiggle it”!! The pinching and catching finally stopped after the swelling went down. Thank goodness. By the way, backward knee stretch is the WORST! This is how you work on straightening out your legs. It works and it is worth it, but it definitely hurts.

I was in the hospital for 5 days and in Rehab for 9 days, then went and stayed with relatives for about 4 weeks. My worst part of the recovery process was actually a bacterial infection called Clostridium Difficile that I picked up in the hospital. Having extreme diarrhea with essentially two broken legs was really rough. I finished my 4th round of antibiotics for this about 6 days ago. I think it is finally gone. (The bad news is, once you get C. Difficile, it can come back every time you take other kinds of antibiotics.) Before you go into the hospital or rehab; look up C. Difficile on the internet so you know what to watch out for if you develop diarrhea. I was given the wrong treatment for two weeks until my surgeon’s P.A. put it together got me on the right med. This is very scary stuff and no one told me to look out for the possibility of it. And guess what, most people catch the new virulent strain in hospitals or rehabs.

I was on a walker for about 4 weeks, then a cane for another 3 weeks. Then, I soloed. When I hit the 3 month mark, I walked 2 blocks to my hairdresser, had my hair cut, then, walked 2 blocks back home. It was quite a milestone for me. I had not been able to walk that far in several years. Since then, I have walked through a big Super style store and a museum and the Rose Garden at Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. I have already flown the Northern California, spent two weeks and flew back. Yes, I set off the metal detectors. (All the Security people that I encountered treated me gently and took good care of me while patting me down and using a wand to double check me.) I can walk up short flights of stairs, but going down still hurts too much. Both legs become stiff and sore after sitting too long and the first “stand” in the morning is still somewhat painful. But, my biggest stumbling block is getting out of chairs. I won’t even try to sit in a low chair, because I am afraid that I can’t get back out of it. Ditto, for the bath tub. It’s a shower or nothing.
In spite of the above problems, I am thrilled at my new found mobility. I tire easily, but my stamina and strength and flexibility are growing my leaps and bounds.

Yes, the recovery has been painful; yes, it has been a lot of hard work; yes, I am still in P.T. and still have trouble with that pesky left leg (but not the actual knee joint), but both of my new joints are so much better than my real knees that I just cannot rave enough. I have 123 degree bend and a negative 2 straighten on the right leg and a 110 degree bend and a negative 8 straighten on the left leg. The goal is 120 degree bend and the straightening of 0 for both. I am almost there; probably another month of P.T. to go. For me, all the pain and work has been worth it.
However, I do not think the surgery is for everyone. I think you have to be in the state of mind to attack your recovery with all your might. I think you have to be in enough pain to start with to appreciate the difference. And, if you are not willing to fight through the pain and work those muscles and tendons then you may not end up any better off than you started.
For me, replacing both at the same time was the only real option. I literally did not have a good leg to stand on. But, given a choice, I would have chosen both at the same time anyway. Why put yourself though this twice. Just do it and get it over with and get on with your life. And that is what I am doing. I am living my life these days, not just suffering from one place to sit to the next place to sit, because I can't stand or walk. In fact, my favorite moment was the first time they stood me up. Getting out of bed hurt, getting to a standing position hurt, but when I was finally standing (and not bending any muscles) I did not have any pain. It was the first time within memory that I did not have extreme pain in a standing position. It was definitely a defining moment for me.
At no point post surgery, have I been in more pain than I was pre-surgery. (However, the hour and a half with no Epidural on the left leg after surgery came close.) For me, bi-lateral knee replacement has been a life altering surgery and even the tough parts have been well worth it. I hope everyone who needs this surgery, loves their results as much as I do at almost 4 months and counting.
Good luck and happy walking.
Leslie
 
Hard work has paid off for you. Well done. Always good to hear success stories.
I go in to see my doctor today to ask for a second opinion. My mom is recommending her surgeon as she has had her right knee replaced and she is 73 and doing great. It will however take probably 18 months to get in to see her. But I am tired of every one saying there is nothing more that can be done, and to go through rehab 4 hours a day 5 days a week just to get me back into the work place. I said no way are they going to get me back to work with pain. It is exausting having to fight for your own health.
Well good luck with your new knees.
eliza
 
Eliza,
For me, chronic pain eventually ruled my life and it sounds like it is ruling yours too. It is hard to have any quality of life when you have so much pain. I am sorry to hear that you are having such a battle getting help, but maybe the new doctor will have a different outlook than your last one. There are too many good doctors out there to settle for one who is not helping you. I know it's tough, but keep fighting until you get the help you need. Living pain free (or almost) is worth it.
Les
 
Good to hear a positive tale for once. The problem with forums like this are that they are self selecting meaning that it will, by definition, be mostly people with problems that come to post in here looking for comfort and re***urance.

But hey - they don't often find much anywhere else, so why not. Just makes it a bit more a struggle for people (like me) who are trying to decide if it's time or not.

After all, as my surgeon reminded me only a few months ago "once it's done, there's no going back!"
 
Dear Dids,
Unfortunately, no one can tell you when the time is right for the surgery. It all depends (in my opinion) on your level of pain and mobility. When your quality of life diminishes, it may be time to seriously consider surgery. And when you do consider the surgery, you need to also consider the recovery and physical therapy. It is tough, but worth it.

It has been 7 months since my surgery and I love the results. Every day is a miracle to me. I am gardening for the first time in years. Going to the grocery store is no longer a misery. Heck, I don't even mind housework as much. Well, I MIND it, it just doesn't cause me pain to do it anymore!

I think one of the reasons that more success stories are not posted here, is because once you get your mobility back and your pain down or gone, you want to get out there and LIVE you life. And there is no reason to stop or even slow down... there's no reason to turn back.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Les
 
You are sooo right, Les. As I said, it is self-selecting for the very reason you state.

But I am delighted that you are delighted with your result. It is very encouraging to folks like me. Thank you for posting.
 
- I posted "Overall, I love my new knees at almost 17 weeks" several months ago. I don't know if there is a way to post an Update, so I will just post a Reply.
- Today, November 15th, 2007 is my one year anniversary of my bi-lateral knee replacement. And I still LOVE my new knees! Life just gets better and better with my newfound mobility. In the last 12 months I have taken 6 trips (I am an old pro now with airport security!) that I would not have attempted before my surgery. In October I discovered the incredible beauty of the Grand Canyon. This month, I walked all the way through the International Quilt Festival in Houston (it's huge) with no pain and no problems.
Now I am thinking that North Carolina may be lovely in the spring of 2008... hmm...
- Both knees are doing great. The scars have faded, the swelling is gone and I have almost (but not quite) forgotten 31 years of pain. My last remaining problem, is that pesky left leg - I still have some muscle damage from all those long years of limping. My Doctor and I are still trying different things to find a solution, but if it never happens... I am still light years better that I was before.
-- Good luck to everyone in line for the surgery. I hope you have as much success as I have. Leslie
 
Fantastic, Leslie. Absolutely fantastic! It's great to have such a positive and uplifting report for our searching members to some upon.

In light of which, I am delighted to award you with my gold star of the month for the most uplifting and enjoyable post!! Bless you!



[Bonesmart.org] Overall, I love my new knees at almost 17 weeks...
 
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