Total Knee Replacement Question

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Hey Coldfeet

surgery today I guess ..life will never be the same for you in airports or on the hiking trails

let the real work begin

the best advice I can give is

take your pain meds before every pt section

do more than they say..push yourself..you can't hurt the joint..avoid scar tissue

eat your prunes
 
Coldfeet...

I hope your surgery went well. Keep an open dialog with your therapist and make sure you let them know you want to be pushed as much as safely possible.
 
Just left him a message on his cell phone. Would he be home today ? Probably not, right ? He'll probably think he's Jerry Garcia for a couple days, anyway. :D
 
+1 on working the PT hard. Very important to get your range of motion back.
Good luck in recovery stage. Use those hiking poles, especially on the downs and watch rocky trails.
 
Hey, thanks for keeping us in the loop Chip, I left a post on his FB wall.

I'm not sure what I would of wanted to go through yesterday, a Preliminary design review or total knee replacement... :eek:

Jay
 
Best wishes for happy heeling. I'm sure your determination will get you hiking, biking and paddling in no time. As for snow sports, if it's anything like here down your way, you'll need someone else to shovel out first ... Oh! Woe!
 
I wonder if you could get a surgeon to etch something rude on these artificial metal parts so that it would be visible on one of the full-body scanners at the airport?

Wonder if they'd put you on the No Fly List if it said "The TSA are Weenies"?
 
Just spoke with good ole' Coldfeet...:D:D:D ;):D...he's doing great.
He has a machine bending his knee for him 3 times a day for 2 hours to improve flexability. Is using a walker to get around.
He should be home this weekend I think he said.
We're planning a trip up Trap Dike Monday if anyone's interested...

Speedy recovery David!!!
 
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Good luck with your recovery. Like silverfox said, push it - you're not going to hurt it. My dad had his done when he was in his 70's. He had ultimate determination that it wasn't going to keep him down. He was back on the golf course in 8 weeks - walking, not riding a cart. He said that once it initially healed he never had pain again the rest of his life (and he was still playing golf 7 days a week at 86). I've got bad knees myself and pretty surely have this ahead someday too. Hope it goes as well for you and me both.
 
Thx everyone.....yea it hurts....waiting for prunes to kick in...tried new meds and experienced no naseua...kevin that was funny.....pushed myself with bending machine....got it to 120 but my scar was turning purple as i increased flexibility...pretty cool.....im groaning every 90 seconds when knee is bent....will push it as best as possible.....got me onblood thinners for a few weeks to avoid clotting...Sandy...that will be nice...also John is working on his recovery....sorry...gotta go...tough to use laptop on stomach....
 
paul ron thx anyway...chip got me sold on the 85 its just what the dr ordered.... keep in touch to meet for the banf festival coming up soon,,,sunday night works best for me and indian chris...gotta go...thumbs up for prunes :eek:
 
It's been exactly 2 weeks and I can confirm that physically and mentally it was the worst 2 weeks in my life.

Staples were removed yesterday and new pain meds were prescribed......pain level has dropped but sweating and light headed has increased probably because of increased meds....will start to slowly ween myself off of them....will stick my nose outside the door today and get some fresh air....be well...
 
I remember ALL of it. Those 1st 2 weeks....And I thought labor was the worst pain I had ever had. Not even close.

PT was also 'memorable':eek:

It does go away though....
As soon as I hit the trail and didn't feel my knee bones grinding together, all the horror was pushed back into the back of my mind.

Keep up the good fight.
Sandy
 
Total Knee Replacement

Ahh yes.
It's a bit intimidating to hear Cold Feet' and Train Wreck's laments knowing I go in for TKR in May.

I am trying to get "Razor Thin" to see if that may help and I may not have to go thru it.

But...... my Daughter does TKR in Denver and says quality of life goes way up.
So...... I'm a parent that listens to his children.......

Cold feet
How long before you can drive a car ? ........ Not a golf ball.
Do great PT!!!!
 
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Hi pks4000, don't listen to me being a cry baby, listen to your daughter. Quality of life does go up. At first I thought against the replacement and figured that I would never really go hiking again but then I started to get pain while teaching in school. That's when I realized that the pain of arthritis was going to be with me for the rest of my life, so i figured why wait? Yes it is painful but I didn't really get the right pain meds for the first 2 weeks. That was my problem and I think my dr should have called to find out how I'm doing. I have a 6 week app to see him for the first time. I have had a lot of positive feedback from others on this site and I'm 100% positive that I'll be much happier at work and at play.

As far as driving a car goes, that is one of the toughest things not to be able to do. Most dr's say 6 weeks, I'm guessing that's when your finished taking those heavy duty meds. Last year a girl crashed her car and they discovered she was taking a ton of pain meds and by law your still in trouble. I'm going to wait as long as possible, also right now it's tough to be in the sitting position for more than 20min. Be well, I used to read a ton of stuff on the internet but some things are very discouraging so I stay off those sites. I'd say to go for it for the continued quality of life!
 
TKR and pain management/driving

That was a really helpful reply.

I appreciate the time you took to answer.

I'm rooting for you and really hope someday we can compare "zippers"
under our shell pants on some far away summit .

When I got to the poiint about 10 years ago of no cartilege or functional ACL's I continued to climb as it's what and who I am.

Now my hips and back have joined into the pain chorus so I best start some
preemptive measures or the Climbing Stallion will be climbing no more.
And yes the arthritis is a great reason not to delay it. Very good advice.

Let's stay in touch.

Are you having them other one done?

Did you do the right one ...... ahhh ......I mean the knee on the right LOL
 
Pks4000 - just read your post and was glad to read of another parent who listens to their kids. I still listen to my parents, at age 90, and also my kids, but pay less credence to what my nearly 3 year old granddaughter says, though I enjoy every word of it.

When you mentioned having other pain in your joints, I thought of another direction than arthritis, based on personal experience. Lyme disease. Most standard blood tests do not show correct results for finding this hidden bacteria. Pain in muscles and joints, i.e. knees, hips, shoulders, feet is one of tha hallmarks. I'm not saying don't have the replacement, but am causiously advising people to consider this is a real possibility.

Here's a story to share:
http://www.naturalnews.com/031407_Lyme_Disease_epidemic.html
Lyme Disease, a severe epidemic condition the medical establishment refuses to acknowledge
Saturday, February 19, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) It is a condition that afflicts more people every year than AIDS, West Nile Virus, and Avian Flu combined, but that receives little attention from the mainstream medical establishment or media. Lyme Disease, which according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infects 325,000 new people every year, is a complex, systemic inflammatory condition that often leads to chronic fatigue, joint and muscle pain, autoimmune disorders, neurological problems, and even death -- but many medical professionals continue to dismiss it as a made-up disease, leaving victims with no recourse or treatment options.

The Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA) explains in a recent report on Lyme Disease that because the condition is complex and displays itself uniquely among different patients, many doctors dismiss sufferers as hypochondriacs, much like they do to those suffering from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and Morgellons disease. But potentially millions of Americans now suffer from the condition and either are unaware of it, or can do nothing about it, because most insurance companies hold the same view as conventional doctors that the disease does not actually exist, and thus does not require treatment.

Lyme Disease, however, is real, and is believed to be caused by an infection bacterial lipoproteins (BLPs) from over 300 different strains worldwide. And it is because there are so many strains that, some experts believe it is able to bypass the immune system and chronically infect patients and diverse ways. And the bacteria literally infects virtually every tissue and organ of the body, which makes it very difficult to pinpoint and diagnose, but also extremely severe and debilitating.

Chronic Lyme Disease (CLD), the official name given to the chronic condition, is believed to cost over $2 billion a year in attempted treatment costs, according to a report in the journal Contingencies. The condition is often misdiagnosed and mistreated, however, which accounts for much of these costs. And most insurance companies refuse to reimburse for such treatments unless they are for recognized conditions. In other words, unless it fits into a typical, Western medicine category of diagnosis, then it does not exist and is not worthy of coverage.

But Lyme Disease patients are among the most afflicted as far as chronic conditions go because symptoms often keep patients in a perpetually debilitated condition. And current diagnostic methods used by the the few doctors that even acknowledge the disease are 90 percent ineffective at both detection and differentiation of the unique infection types involved -- which results in ineffective treatment attempts in many cases.

Fortunately, many alternative doctors have developed customized Lyme Disease therapy protocols to help patients treat and even overcome the disease. These include integrative approaches involving vitamins, nutritional supplements, herbs, antiviral and antibacterial nutraceuticals, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, intravenous vitamin C, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), among others.

To learn more about Lyme Disease and some specific ways in which to help treat it, visit:
http://www.naturalnews.com/lyme_dis...

You can also visit www.NaturalNews.TV and search the keyword "lyme" to view videos about Lyme Disease.

Also, be sure to check out the documentary Under Our Skin, which exposes the hidden story of Lyme Disease, and follows the stories of both patients fighting the disease and physicians fighting to get it more recognized.
http://www.underourskin.com/film.html

Sources for this story include:

http://www.anh-usa.org/httpwww-anh-...
 
good post about lyme disease. My nephew (27) was tested positive for it app 10 years ago after complaining about joint discomfort, he is feeling much better now. I believe my dr at Hospital for special surgery had done that test on me probably 6-7 years ago once he heard I was wacking around in the woods. I'd get the blood test done first.

Not to sure about showing off my zipper to you just yet, we haven't even hiked a 4k yet, I'm not that easy ;)

Had the left one done and one day I'll need the right side also. Be well and get lots of dr opinions especially for the blood test.
 
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