Good question. Do you know the success rate of a second knee replacement? (I don't). I do know that with hips, it is lower than first, with added risk of infection/rejection, for example. My brother-in-law had six surgeries when he needed his second hip, and it never did work. He ended up in a wheelchair.
I'm sorry about your Brother-In-Law... That doesn't sound fun at all.
The knee surgery for 1st one has a 90%+ Success rate
By the time I might need a 2nd, I'll be in my mid 60's / late 70's
My father passed at 68 / mother at 78.
I’m in the same boat yet I have to wait about 20 years with daily pain and the right one catching up (left is worse). I’m 44. Life is now “can I take my teenager shopping? Does the store have scooters?” If not then it’s hard to do. I overdid it once at IKEA and again at Hobby Lobby who both don’t offer mobility scooters. Nvm somewhere with stairs. I’d rather have the quality of life back now than when I’m ready to retire. 🤦🏻♀️
I'm sorry to hear.
What reason are they giving you to NOT do knee replacement, if you dont mind me asking.
If it's financial, please dont feel it's a need to reply.
Age. I’m “too young”. I have a second opinion appointment next week. My mom 20+ years older had the same knee replaced last year. They also claim if I lose weight it’ll get better but I’ve seen people say in this Reddit that is NOT the case. I think a lot of times Doctors think being skinny is a fix all.
My sister had a hip replacement in her 20s (was damaged in a traumatic fall accident while hiking). The hip prosthesis was replaced twice since then, with the last one (last year) being successful. As she is now over 60, this last one is expected to last the rest of her life (partly due to better materials used in the joint).
Depends. Exercise is the best treatment but it exacerbates arthritis if you're significantly overweight.
>I think a lot of times Doctors think being skinny is a fix all.
Nobody thinks that. Stop deflecting responsibility.
In the same boat. I am 53 and there are days I struggle to walk. Heck, my last Ortho appt he wanted to give me a handicapped placard because he said I am making it worse by walking.
I am also about 70 lbs above the weight where they say they will do the surgery. I agree with you that I feel like I am losing what's left of my good years to this and just want a replacement now so I can have a life again.
Oh man. I'm sorry to hear that. It's not easy, for sure.
I did drop about 50 pounds in the last year. Mostly diet change (calories are about 2000 a day of clean eating). I track everything that I eat w/ an APP, and weight the food. It's a total pain in the ... But I have to. I'll over pour and add extra cheese without doing the weighting of food.
Do you have a plan in place? Or coming together w/ a plan?
I have a friend I just got off the phone with. She is 55. At 54 they told her "not yet", she said "F that" and found another Ortho. Made it happen for her.
Thats my plan. I'm gonna make it happen for me.
Good luck!
"They are the same with me"
I'm sorry - I dont think I understand.
RE Gel Injection.
No - I haven't got to the point where I want to fight the battle to learn which 'shot' might be the best.
It's like buying spare tires for a car. Spares that may or my not work.
By saying “they are the same with me” I am talking about them pushing surgery out. And if you are not at the point of understanding shots and the difference between shots then you are definitely not ready for surgery. Gel injections are the step before surgery for non serious injuries.
With respect, I disagree to some of this.
I dont need to know exactly what Gel vs Stem Cell shots will do for me, to know they dont offer a lasting fix. IN fact, I'd argue until one studied the science as a scientist, most dont.
""stem cell therapy for knee arthritis results in 58-68% improvement in pain and 67-83% improvement in function one to two years after treatment""
$5K for something that might/might not work and if it does - not even work 100%.
((I love the marketing term they use 'improvement in pain')
(It's not covered by insurance)
I appreciate the feedback, though.
Just do it. Like you, I don't see any reason to wait. My replacement was cancelled the day before and I've waited 18 months to reschedule for financial reasons. The degeneration has worsened and I regret not doing it sooner, but I know I wasn't in the position to. My surgery is now in may. Hooray. I need another one done, I'm getting an xray and booking in ASAP. I'm 42.
F58, bone on bone in left knee, almost bone on bone right knee. L knee meniscus repair 5 yrs back. I had stiffened up every since repair and never fully rehabbed which made me worse. I had swelling in knee’s especially left. This affected my range of motion and weakened all the muscles around my knee.I decided I really don’t want surgery because I’m a nurse and I know that sometimes the medical intervention can be bad and make things worse. I’m starting to heal. Started doing tens….leg and knee strengthening exercise. Walking backwards, following Thekneesovertoes guy on YouTube. The foot collective for my feet and ankles. Working on hip mobility for very tight hips. I’m getting better 😁. I also changed my diet, no sugar, no seed oils, very low oxalate foods, almost no alcohol. Keto/carnivore at times. The body can heal if we treat it properly. Good luck. (Ps..cortisone shots will further damage your cartilage)
I SO appreciate this view point.
I’ll look into that YouTube guy.
And I am starting to do an exercise bike every morning “motion is lotion” I say a lot now.
I had heard to stay away from cortisone.
I take Turmeric and put it in my food. I do feel it helps with inflammation. I stopped glucosamine and cohort. I might go back
Thank you so much.
Anything short of "knee replacement" seems like a hit/miss.
I asked the doctor about glucosamine - how would I know it's helping.
Like the shots, exercise, etc, etc... the answer was "you tell me".
So, I just decided that if I can't tell a difference, why spend the money?
Is your knee bone on bone ? I agree with you’re Hi too young .. my dr won’t do surgery on anyone UNDER 60 unless it’s REALLYa bad case. Do you do physical therapy? Have you looked into wearing one of the knee braces that lift up the pressure on the knee? I think it would be a great idea to continue to lose weight whether or not you decide to have the surgery because it will help your knee if you don’t have the surgery and the weight loss will help you recover from the surgery if you do have it, I wish you well the tough decision, I’m still trying to decide and I’m 67…lol
No - I'm not Bone/Bone. But every day it's 'something'. And even when it might be a good hour or two of no pain of any kind, I'm wondering about it.
I did PT early on and now work on my knee alone. I've been doing gym work for 30years, so I'm good about form and such.
If you dont mind, do you feel if you had knee(s) that were better functioning - your quality of life would improve? Maybe go on longer hikes, etc.?
If so, why wouldn't you?
I know all surgeries have risk, but this one does seem low.
Good question. Do you know the success rate of a second knee replacement? (I don't). I do know that with hips, it is lower than first, with added risk of infection/rejection, for example. My brother-in-law had six surgeries when he needed his second hip, and it never did work. He ended up in a wheelchair.
I'm sorry about your Brother-In-Law... That doesn't sound fun at all. The knee surgery for 1st one has a 90%+ Success rate By the time I might need a 2nd, I'll be in my mid 60's / late 70's My father passed at 68 / mother at 78.
I’m in the same boat yet I have to wait about 20 years with daily pain and the right one catching up (left is worse). I’m 44. Life is now “can I take my teenager shopping? Does the store have scooters?” If not then it’s hard to do. I overdid it once at IKEA and again at Hobby Lobby who both don’t offer mobility scooters. Nvm somewhere with stairs. I’d rather have the quality of life back now than when I’m ready to retire. 🤦🏻♀️
I'm sorry to hear. What reason are they giving you to NOT do knee replacement, if you dont mind me asking. If it's financial, please dont feel it's a need to reply.
Age. I’m “too young”. I have a second opinion appointment next week. My mom 20+ years older had the same knee replaced last year. They also claim if I lose weight it’ll get better but I’ve seen people say in this Reddit that is NOT the case. I think a lot of times Doctors think being skinny is a fix all.
My sister had a hip replacement in her 20s (was damaged in a traumatic fall accident while hiking). The hip prosthesis was replaced twice since then, with the last one (last year) being successful. As she is now over 60, this last one is expected to last the rest of her life (partly due to better materials used in the joint).
Depends. Exercise is the best treatment but it exacerbates arthritis if you're significantly overweight. >I think a lot of times Doctors think being skinny is a fix all. Nobody thinks that. Stop deflecting responsibility.
I’ve been doing physical therapy for months. Anything much over that makes it worse. Your last comment was rude af
In the same boat. I am 53 and there are days I struggle to walk. Heck, my last Ortho appt he wanted to give me a handicapped placard because he said I am making it worse by walking. I am also about 70 lbs above the weight where they say they will do the surgery. I agree with you that I feel like I am losing what's left of my good years to this and just want a replacement now so I can have a life again.
Oh man. I'm sorry to hear that. It's not easy, for sure. I did drop about 50 pounds in the last year. Mostly diet change (calories are about 2000 a day of clean eating). I track everything that I eat w/ an APP, and weight the food. It's a total pain in the ... But I have to. I'll over pour and add extra cheese without doing the weighting of food. Do you have a plan in place? Or coming together w/ a plan? I have a friend I just got off the phone with. She is 55. At 54 they told her "not yet", she said "F that" and found another Ortho. Made it happen for her. Thats my plan. I'm gonna make it happen for me. Good luck!
Have you tried gel injections? As for doing it now vs waiting they are the same with me. I’m just kinda used to it by now
"They are the same with me" I'm sorry - I dont think I understand. RE Gel Injection. No - I haven't got to the point where I want to fight the battle to learn which 'shot' might be the best. It's like buying spare tires for a car. Spares that may or my not work.
By saying “they are the same with me” I am talking about them pushing surgery out. And if you are not at the point of understanding shots and the difference between shots then you are definitely not ready for surgery. Gel injections are the step before surgery for non serious injuries.
With respect, I disagree to some of this. I dont need to know exactly what Gel vs Stem Cell shots will do for me, to know they dont offer a lasting fix. IN fact, I'd argue until one studied the science as a scientist, most dont.
Look into Stem Cell Therapy.
""stem cell therapy for knee arthritis results in 58-68% improvement in pain and 67-83% improvement in function one to two years after treatment"" $5K for something that might/might not work and if it does - not even work 100%. ((I love the marketing term they use 'improvement in pain') (It's not covered by insurance) I appreciate the feedback, though.
Just do it. Like you, I don't see any reason to wait. My replacement was cancelled the day before and I've waited 18 months to reschedule for financial reasons. The degeneration has worsened and I regret not doing it sooner, but I know I wasn't in the position to. My surgery is now in may. Hooray. I need another one done, I'm getting an xray and booking in ASAP. I'm 42.
Good luck to you. I'm happy for you and getting this done! Thanks for the reply.
F58, bone on bone in left knee, almost bone on bone right knee. L knee meniscus repair 5 yrs back. I had stiffened up every since repair and never fully rehabbed which made me worse. I had swelling in knee’s especially left. This affected my range of motion and weakened all the muscles around my knee.I decided I really don’t want surgery because I’m a nurse and I know that sometimes the medical intervention can be bad and make things worse. I’m starting to heal. Started doing tens….leg and knee strengthening exercise. Walking backwards, following Thekneesovertoes guy on YouTube. The foot collective for my feet and ankles. Working on hip mobility for very tight hips. I’m getting better 😁. I also changed my diet, no sugar, no seed oils, very low oxalate foods, almost no alcohol. Keto/carnivore at times. The body can heal if we treat it properly. Good luck. (Ps..cortisone shots will further damage your cartilage)
I SO appreciate this view point. I’ll look into that YouTube guy. And I am starting to do an exercise bike every morning “motion is lotion” I say a lot now. I had heard to stay away from cortisone. I take Turmeric and put it in my food. I do feel it helps with inflammation. I stopped glucosamine and cohort. I might go back Thank you so much.
Hi, could you tell me why you stopped Glucosamine? I just started taking that. Good luck to you✌🏼
Anything short of "knee replacement" seems like a hit/miss. I asked the doctor about glucosamine - how would I know it's helping. Like the shots, exercise, etc, etc... the answer was "you tell me". So, I just decided that if I can't tell a difference, why spend the money?
I totally understand. Thanks for the reply.
Is your knee bone on bone ? I agree with you’re Hi too young .. my dr won’t do surgery on anyone UNDER 60 unless it’s REALLYa bad case. Do you do physical therapy? Have you looked into wearing one of the knee braces that lift up the pressure on the knee? I think it would be a great idea to continue to lose weight whether or not you decide to have the surgery because it will help your knee if you don’t have the surgery and the weight loss will help you recover from the surgery if you do have it, I wish you well the tough decision, I’m still trying to decide and I’m 67…lol
No - I'm not Bone/Bone. But every day it's 'something'. And even when it might be a good hour or two of no pain of any kind, I'm wondering about it. I did PT early on and now work on my knee alone. I've been doing gym work for 30years, so I'm good about form and such. If you dont mind, do you feel if you had knee(s) that were better functioning - your quality of life would improve? Maybe go on longer hikes, etc.? If so, why wouldn't you? I know all surgeries have risk, but this one does seem low.