Anybody here had a knee replacement?

meathammer

Senior Member
lots of good info in these post. i treat post op knee replacements daily. general rule is 8 to 12 weeks of soreness with first 4 to 6 weeks being most difficult. usually after 6 weeks you should be walking with cane at most. like stated before, pick an orthopaedist that specializes in knees even if you have to drive a little ways. ive treated replacements from 35 yr old to 93 year old. my mom had hers replaced at same time at 63. she did wonderful..riding bike golfing etc now. the therapy is a most important after the surgeon. of course above mentioned is an average. ive seen people at 2 weeks post op walking independently with little to no pain. just depends. is surgery in april or may out of question?
 

7Mag Hunter

Senior Member
Not to change the OP's subject but have any of you done the injections. My sister has that done once a year and says she's usually good for a year to a year and a quarter before the pain comes back. Three injections over the course of a couple of weeks and then pain free for a year. I am thinking of that over the knee surgery because I just don't want to be out of work that long.


I have had Synvisc injections for 2 yrs after i had my knee "scoped" for meniscus repair and to shave off bone spur.. 3 shots, 1 week apart and they last me 6 mos...

I have an X-ray and MRI every year to monitor pretty
severe Osteoarthritis....Injections loose their effectiveness as AO gets worse....I am likely 6 mos to
1 yr from right knee replacement...
 

1bidbob

BANNED
I had SynVisc and it was a waste of my time and money !!! You gonna have to fix it sooner or later anyway and a bandaid wont do it !!!
 

brriner

Senior Member
I had a knee replacement on August 3, 2016 and climbed a ladder stand to hunt on October 23 and killed the best buck I've ever taken. I could have climbed sooner, but I hadn't gotten into the woods to make sure all my stuff was still in good shape until the week before.

It's rough for the first two weeks but, I swear to you, on day 15 it was like a switch was thrown. I was able to cut back to less than half of the pain meds I'd been taking and physical therapy became much easier to do. FYI - I used the walker for 3 days, then graduated to a cane for 2 weeks - only for balance.

I stood up the afternoon of my surgery, but was still groggy from the anesthesia so they didn't want me to walk as I'm a big guy and they were afraid I might fall on one of them. LOL They came back the next morning at 8:00 a.m. and I walked from my hospital room to the PT room, did therapy, then walked back. Flexion to 127 degrees that day. If you stay with the therapy, do some on your own at home, you'll be very much able to walk in Kansas.

I spent Thanksgiving 2016 at Epcot and walked all day long. There was a bit of inflammation at the end of the day, but no pain.

Good luck with the procedure. It'll be well worth it.
 
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JohnK

Senior Member
I have had Synvisc injections for 2 yrs after i had my knee "scoped" for meniscus repair and to shave off bone spur.. 3 shots, 1 week apart and they last me 6 mos...

I have an X-ray and MRI every year to monitor pretty
severe Osteoarthritis....Injections loose their effectiveness as AO gets worse....I am likely 6 mos to
1 yr from right knee replacement...

That's about what I had so now I get a shot every 4 months, lasts maybe 2 weeks and they drain 55-65 cc of water off at the visit. That's one indicator that you need a knee is the fluid build up reoccurring.
Ya'll keep this up because I need one bad. I'm afraid my left one will go out and I'll be crippled for sure then.
 

poohbear

Senior Member
My wife had it done after 4 years of the shots in her knee each time lasting shorter and shorter time, she had knee replaced and worked through the therapy as hard as she could she can't take any pain meds they make her ich all over so had to grin and bare it. It was tough but was able to go back to work in 2 weeks surprising but she did it. They key is to get that knee bending it's going to hurt but you have to keep pushing through it. Her other knee was hurting too but was because she was favoring the bad one and putting more weight on that side, but since replacement it has gotten better. Just do the exercises and it will get better faster than not doing them.
 

7Mag Hunter

Senior Member
My wife had it done after 4 years of the shots in her knee each time lasting shorter and shorter time, she had knee replaced and worked through the therapy as hard as she could she can't take any pain meds they make her ich all over so had to grin and bare it. It was tough but was able to go back to work in 2 weeks surprising but she did it. They key is to get that knee bending it's going to hurt but you have to keep pushing through it. Her other knee was hurting too but was because she was favoring the bad one and putting more weight on that side, but since replacement it has gotten better. Just do the exercises and it will get better faster than not doing them.

X-2...Good advice here....I have 4 friends/family who
have had replacement and all are happy with their increased mobility and lack of pain after 1-2 mos...
Physical therapy is key...
 

TimBray

Senior Member
Had both mine done at the same time (bi-lateral) in Jan. 2010 at age 55 (12 yrs. younger than you so results may be different).
Started on shots at 46 (cortisone first few years then the artificial joint fluid they came out with). Last injection did not help so Dr. said it was time.
Dr. was/is James Roberson at Emory. He told me my knees were so bad that after the surgery I would most likely not have near the pain I had been having (and he was right). 2 weeks after the surgery I walked into his office on a cane (went in for a check as the in-home therapist thought I had an infection in one of the incisions- I didn't. ::; ). When Dr. Roberson came in, he looked around and asked where my walker was. Told him I came in with the cane and would lose it if it was OK with him. Said no, "use it for my peace of mind". :D
Long story short, I had little pain and therapy was no trouble (only pain was when doing the deep knee bends). Everyone told me I was way above the curve on pain and rehab. ;)
I am told I have a very high pain tolerance so maybe that contributed.
8 years and I'm doing great.
Naturally, your experience may vary but I wish you the best with it. :cheers:
 
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