I'm 45 years old and facing knee replacements in the very near future. I'm looking for anyone close to my age who has had a knee replacement to get an idea of what to expect.
Quick background: Going back 3 years, orthopedic 1 started with therapy, then cortizone shots, then synovial fluid shots. Nothing helped. He said come back when you are 60 and we'll talk about replacements.
At that point I went to orthopedic 2 for a second opinion. He said "schedule them ASAP". But, I had traveled to see him, and he recommended having it done near home.
Got a recommendation for orthopedic 3. He suggested trying arthroscopic surgery to delay replacements. We did that last March. It helped, but I'm still in pain, still have swelling, still have things I can't do.
Yesterday I went back to see orthopedic 3 to talk about replacements. He hedged a bit. He'd like to see me wait. He's afraid that I won't gain much in terms of range of motion or the things I'm limited in doing right now.
That was a surprise to me. Everyone I've talked to that has had knee replacements has said it's the best thing they've done. They all wish they had done it sooner. But - most everyone I know that has had it done is older, early 60's or more. I would normally say that over 60 isn't that old, but most people at that age are scaling back their physical activity a bit.
Part of yesterday's discussion was that I should consider scaling back my physical activities now to postpone knee replacement because I might have to scale back after the replacement anyway. This is really what I am stuck on. I was expecting that after therapy I'd be able to be "good as new" again, and get back to the higher level of activity I was at 3 years ago. I am not crazy about the idea of scaling back my activities at this age. I'm not looking to do anything crazy. One example was snowmobiling - he said I probably wouldn't be able to ride all day in rough conditions. The other was cutting firewood - he said I should plan on only being able to cut/split for a half day at a time if I have replacements.
I can't tell if he is trying to give me worst case scenario or what? Hell, my Mom had a knee replacement at age 66. She took one year off from skiing and then started skiing again. Granted, she's older and the girls she skis with take it easy, but I think that is pretty impressive for someone her age. And I won't be able to ride a snowmobile all day? I don't get it?
One of his points was also that getting a replacement now will likely mean 2 more surgeries by the time I turn 85. While I understand that concern, who knows if I'll live another 40 years? What medical technology will exist before then? That's just too far out there for me to worry about too much. On the other hand, if I keep limping the way I am now, what else am I going to screw up in my hips/back while waiting to fix my knees.
If anyone has any personal experience, please let me know. If you don't want to post it here, PM me.
Thanks.
Quick background: Going back 3 years, orthopedic 1 started with therapy, then cortizone shots, then synovial fluid shots. Nothing helped. He said come back when you are 60 and we'll talk about replacements.
At that point I went to orthopedic 2 for a second opinion. He said "schedule them ASAP". But, I had traveled to see him, and he recommended having it done near home.
Got a recommendation for orthopedic 3. He suggested trying arthroscopic surgery to delay replacements. We did that last March. It helped, but I'm still in pain, still have swelling, still have things I can't do.
Yesterday I went back to see orthopedic 3 to talk about replacements. He hedged a bit. He'd like to see me wait. He's afraid that I won't gain much in terms of range of motion or the things I'm limited in doing right now.
That was a surprise to me. Everyone I've talked to that has had knee replacements has said it's the best thing they've done. They all wish they had done it sooner. But - most everyone I know that has had it done is older, early 60's or more. I would normally say that over 60 isn't that old, but most people at that age are scaling back their physical activity a bit.
Part of yesterday's discussion was that I should consider scaling back my physical activities now to postpone knee replacement because I might have to scale back after the replacement anyway. This is really what I am stuck on. I was expecting that after therapy I'd be able to be "good as new" again, and get back to the higher level of activity I was at 3 years ago. I am not crazy about the idea of scaling back my activities at this age. I'm not looking to do anything crazy. One example was snowmobiling - he said I probably wouldn't be able to ride all day in rough conditions. The other was cutting firewood - he said I should plan on only being able to cut/split for a half day at a time if I have replacements.
I can't tell if he is trying to give me worst case scenario or what? Hell, my Mom had a knee replacement at age 66. She took one year off from skiing and then started skiing again. Granted, she's older and the girls she skis with take it easy, but I think that is pretty impressive for someone her age. And I won't be able to ride a snowmobile all day? I don't get it?
One of his points was also that getting a replacement now will likely mean 2 more surgeries by the time I turn 85. While I understand that concern, who knows if I'll live another 40 years? What medical technology will exist before then? That's just too far out there for me to worry about too much. On the other hand, if I keep limping the way I am now, what else am I going to screw up in my hips/back while waiting to fix my knees.
If anyone has any personal experience, please let me know. If you don't want to post it here, PM me.
Thanks.
o the surgery earlier to limit patient misery knowing that this may lead to more revision surgery. If the pain in your knee is coming from osteoarthritis then the surgery 90% of the time will provide excellent relief. The replacement is a mechanical part and will eventually fail. Treat it like a 16 y/o male with a mustang and it will fail early. Treat it like a 90 y/o woman with that same mustang and it will last a long time. Disregard the earlier ridiculous post about finding a sports doctor that works with sports teams. It has nothing to do with ability. These doctors pay these teams BIG MONEY (in excess of millions)to be their team doctor. The doctor that replaces your knee should be one that does ALOT of knee replacement a year. Don't have the surgeon that only does one or two a month do your knee. More specifically ask your surgeon which knee system he uses and then go online and research that system to find out any potential problems. I only wish that half of the money that went to entertainment (sports stars, actors/hollywood, musicians) went to medical research.
