What Happens If I Keep Delaying?

[sstoots]

let's say that tomorrow when I see the OS (2nd opinion after the first OS confirmed a left TKR six months ago), he recommends a TKR because of a total bone on bone condition. If I put this off what will happen month by month? I guess what I mean to say is, at what point will I be incapacitated? Is there a point where the deterioration gets so bad that a TKR becomes a more and more problematic procedure of limited utility and benefit? Will I get to the point where even a totally successful TKR won't result in normal range of motion?
I am 54. My left knee is steadily getting worse and my right isn't far behind. A 30 mile bike ride now results in significant post requiring several days of icing and NSIDs. Yes, I am seeing the 'writing on the wall' and I'm getting nervous.

 

[loggon]

Everyone is different. You sound like you need it now. Only your doctor can advise. I put off one for a long time, but I could still get around. No one but you can make the decision to have the tkr I hope everything works out for you. Good Luck and I know you will get several post. Everyone here is so caring.

 

[Gringo]

I put mine off for thirty years. I am 58. It got really bad.

What happens? Well, the time from your TKR until you are feeling good again is fixed for the most part. the older you get, and the more out of shape your leg gets due to inactivity, the longer that will stretch out.

But the part between now and your TKR is totally up to you. Would you rather spend six months crippled up in pain, or five years crippled up in pain?

Kid, it just ain't going to get any better the way it's going.

 

[Josephine]

Ok - worst case scenario on what can happen to your knee while you're putting off the inevitable is that your knee gets less and less mobile - bit like an engine trying to run without oil! Eventually you could even get a pain storm where you are even worse than climbing the walls and need a hospital admission to deal with it. Not very common but it can happen.

As for the surgery, doesn't really make a whole lot of difference except for cases where there is advanced bow legs or knock knees. But even so, most knees have a degree of deformity that needs to be corrected. In the end, as far as the surgeon is concerned, a knee is a knee is a knee! Another day at work, in other words!

 

[Nancyo]

sstoots Hello and welcome to Bonesmart! You'll get a lot of advice from various members of the forum. We have all been through just what your going through. No one wants to face the probability of surgery but believe me it's just not going to get any better without a tkr. Only your doctor can tell you for a fact, but the longer you put it off the more pain you will have and as Gringo says, the more difficult the rehab because the the muscle becoming weaker. Plus, you said that your other knee is already giving you problems. If you'll read through the different threads on the Knee side of this forum, you'll see that we have many members who have had both knees done at the same time or within weeks or a few months of each other.
The most important advice I could give you is to make sure you have a doctor whom you trust and who has done numerous knee replacements! No matter which type of prosthesis is used, it's the surgeon and his skill that is so important.
You'll find a wealth of information listed here and a world of new and caring friends who are here to help. Please post often and let us know what your 2nd opinion doctor had to say. Our wonderful Nurse moderator and Mother hen, Josephine has a world of knowledge and expertise about joint replacement. She'll answer most anything you want to know. Hope to talk to you soon!
Blessings~~
Nancyo You won't find a better forum anywhere!

 

[Judles]

We're all family here! What are you waiting for? If you need the surgery,,,,,get it over and done with! You won't regret it!

 

[Texas]

That is true the more you cannot bend now or gets worse the harder it will be to get it back after. Welcome . If you are at that point where you cant take it anymore and it is stopping you from doing things. Dont wait. Get it done and it will be over in no time. And you will be better then you were before all this started......Just an opinion. Hope you feel better soon.............Kim

 

[Jamie]

Sstoots.....these guys are giving you straight scoop. Waiting does you absolutely no good and you lose those days that could have been good and pain-free forever. Additionally, as your knee(s) get worse and worse, your body compensates and can become off balance, putting stress on other joints that will hurt and may eventually need treatment (hips, spine). I know surgery is scary, but waiting for it in pain is even scarier! Trust in the advice you're given by the competent doctors you have selected.

 

[Gringo]

Is it my imagination, or is it usually the case that the left knee is the worst one?

 

[RickB]

Gringo,
You have a point there, I had my BTKR in Sep'08 but my left knee was bad for 12 years, which caused my right one to go. I do believe that most people do have there left go first.

God Bless,
Rick

 

[aussie]

Hmmm, once again, I'm a bit different, right knee first, but left hip first if that's any concellation

 

[Jamie]

Is it my imagination, or is it usually the case that the left knee is the worst one?

Not me....my right was the baddie. It went suddenly after arthroscopic surgery and I didn't wait for it to impact any other parts.

 

[Gringo]

Oh, okay. I guess I just read a spate of Left Knee First posts or something. My left was definitely and by far the worst. the OS used the term "wrecked" early on, then "bad, bad, bad, bad, bad" right after the surgery, and then "Horrible, horrible" at the two week post op visit. The procedure that normally takes him a little over 50 minutes took him 90.

And the difference is astounding. Imagine thirty years without an ACL, and bone on bone. Ground down three quarters of an inch in height. Suddenly, I have this still painful but stable knee. I am walking down slopes I used to have to tack down.

I have been thinking about the question that started this post, actually, because of my second knee and wondering whether to go ahead and get it replaced this year, or put it off as long as I can stand it. I just read about MIT working on this new technique getting the bone's stem cells to regenerate meniscus, and maybe bone. We all know that is coming, some where down the road. But how long? And how many years of pain to go through between now and then? I would assume that having the prosthesis put in will pretty much make it impossible to grow new tissue there. So, going with a prosthethic knee at a young age pretty much guarantees you will be living with some version of a prosthesis for the rest of your life. Whereas if you are willing to wait, long enough, someone will come up with a way to grow new parts naturally. Add to that the knowledge that there is just NO way a piece of metal glued to a living bone will stay that way forever. It is going to loosen someday. And that is going to be another major surgery to fix. In my case, I am gambling that I can take care of these thingum knees and make them last twenty or more years...playing off my expected life span against my hopes for mobility. My grandmother lived to be 99. My father is turning 86 in a few weeks, and still sharp and active. I have the genes for that.

It's quite a decision to make, isn't it.

 

[Josephine]

I know of people who have had their knees in for 30 odd years and still going strong - only question is, who will check out first? The knee or the patient!

For hips, some are in their 40th year plus and still going strong.

 

[Gringo]

thats good news on the knees. I was advised for years to wait as long as I could, for just that reason. And I waited as long as I could. My wife just told me that I no longer walk like an orangatuan. If that tells you anything.

If I can get 30 years out of these knees, that should do it.

 

[Josephine]

Oh my! The imagination runs riot!

 

[stives]

Go for the second as soon as you like, Gringo. The difference I'm already noticing since having the second one done is amazing! Two strong, straight legs, the only pain is the muscles still repairing. Today I've done quite a lot of walking - and it's so comfortable. I've climbed up and down stairs and done stacks of stuff in the kitchen. I'm about to walk to the local supermarket, just because I'm enjoying the walking - and in spite of the fact that it's still cold, showery, and very windy!!

 

[Nancyo]

Just a reminder~ seems like a good place to put this....
For you folks who haven't read it, I put a post in LIFESTYLES about my Hubby. 17 years and 5 total Joint replacements. Tims story is posted in there and if you haven't read it I suggest you do. Because of all his joint replacements, he's less cripple than most folks I see walking down the street and he's still going strong. His joints are still strong and secure and let me tell you. He is the most active man on the face of this planet! No way can I keep up with him!
Truth is he did have a great surgeon, but its his attitude that makes the difference. He never said that there was something he couldn't do just because he'd had joint replacement. He has always been so happy that the pain was gone, that he just keeps going like the energizer bunny! An amazing man to be sure! Please read his story!

 

[Gringo]

I am still thinking early September for # 2. Hopefully, that will give me time to get it in shape to fly to Iceland or Norway in November. My wife turns 50 this year, and for her birthday I want to take her somewhere to see the Northern Lights. She has never seen them. And I have never been to Iceland, so that's probably where we will go.

 

[Judles]

Why ask???? "Just do it!!