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Sorry...stupid questions...

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D.J.

new member
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Jul 7, 2008
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Hi there everybody,
I'm new at this, so sorry if I ask a lot of stupid questions. Finally, after needing my left knee replaced for the last 6 years, they're going to do it. The first thing they (Dr.'s), told me was to expect at least 6 weeks of severe pain post-op. I figure, how much worse can the pain be than what I'm in now? I've had 8 surgeries already, and only 2 were simple scoping's, 3 ACL reconstructions, 1 for nerve damage, and so on. I'm only 42 and they kept telling me that a TKR was the only thing that was going to help, but I was too young because they only last 10-12 years, so I've been sitting on the sidelines of life for the last 14 years. Is there anybody out there who is pretty young that's had this done?
 
DJ-- no such thing as stupid questions. Really. And if you didn't have questions I'd be worried about you!

I am not the younger person you are looking for (51) but there have been others who have posted on this forum who are closer to your age. You can go back and look at old threads and find many posts with many questions and many answers from real people who are really going through the day-to-day experience of recovering from a TKR.
Short answers--- yes it hurts. And it will hurt for more than 6 weeks. (more like 1 year to really heal!). BUT it is a productive pain that you have to work through in order to reclaim your life. Most of us are here due to osteoarthritis and problems that will never get better--- only worse. The pain after a TKR is different (hard to explain but it is true) and it DOES get better. And the harder you work at rehab (which is painful) the better off you will be at the end.

As for the life of the prosthesis--- no one really knows how long they will last. They are constantly re-engineering and improving the product and are finding that they are lasting longer (15-20 years) than expected originally. Younger, more active people will often work their new knees harder than the average 70 year old TKR patient so they may not last as long. My doc says to expect to need a revision to my PKR in 10-15 years, depending more on how rapidly my OA advances than the prosthesis itself. But I figured it is worth it to have my life back during these years and I will deal with the revision when the time comes. I would rather live healthy now.

You are the only one who can decide--- but I am betting on medical science continuing to advance. Good luck, read those old posts, and I bet you will hear from others.
 
Hi DJ, welcome. Yes there are some younger ones on this forum who have had TKR's, I am sure they will be here for you soon. I am 54 and had mine done in Januray, now I have no more pain from the joint. It's so worth getting it done. Good luck
 
D.J. my TKR in January was my ninth surgery on my right knee....I wouldn't classify the pain as severe. In fact, you need to talk to the Dr. about what he uses for pain control. I was on Oxycodone, and others on percocet. If you take the drug as prescribed, ice it down and do your exercises, it is manageable.
To be truthful, it is major surgery and you will be uncomfortable at times. It is a long slow process to recover from.
You absolutly have to be committed to doing therapy and continue doing it. On the bright side, I'm at six months post op now, and rarely even think about my new knee as I go about my daily activites.
Ask all of the questions you want to, that's why several of us stay on the forum, to help others as we were helped. Plus, many of us have become close friends.
Best of luck.
 
Hi D.J.
I'm 43 and had my LTKR 9 weeks ago. Yep, it hurts. But like you I got tired of sitting life out. I'm early in my recovery but I can tell this is going to be worth it. I'm already doing more than I did before. You will be glad you did it. --dar
 
Hi DJ, I am 4 weeks post op recovering from my second knee replacement at the age of 47. I was 46 when I had the first one done last fall and guess what....I came back for seconds so it must have been worth it. My surgeon said the new knees can last 25-30 years as long as you don't abuse them. I decided to get my life back rather then walk on crutches so here I am. There are plenty others here in their 30s and 40s so don't feel alone.
Karen
 
HI DJ

I am 42 and I had my TKR done 6 months ago. I know what you are dealing with with the age issue. The knee I have is a gender specific knee. When I need any type of surgery to my knee, all they have to do is replace the cusion in between the joint and I am good as new. Check out the post of encourging stories I have my experence posted there. As far as the pin issue, honestly I dont remember being that bad. I had an epidural for the first 24 hrs then morphine drip for 2 days then I was on oral meds. One thing that helped me thru PT was taking pain pills 30 minutes before and that helped me thru PT.
Please dont hesitate to ask questions no matter how silly you feel it is. You will get a ton of knowlage here.
Debbi
 
I was 39 when I had mine and turned 40 2 days after, while in the hospital. Best birthday gift I could have ever got. As josephine put it, as to the lifetime of the knee, they are always conservative, but if they truly all needed replacing that often, they would never have time to do any new ones. Made sense to me. And the pain is way different. Enjoy the change.
 
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