TKR lots oif questions ...

freeview

Hello All,
I am going to see my surgeon on 21st and would like to hear from any members who have had the TKR . They said 6 mths ago I need to wait another 10 yrs, am 55 now . I also have A-Fib (heart arrhythmia )and take Warfarin
Had a washout on the worst knee last Nov and it helped for the first 6mnths, the problem at that time was I couldnt move from the pain or locking, ? I never knew or was told what it was ?
Now I have pain when lifting the knee to go and walk, the pain is bearable to stand on for a while but when I move to walk again it feels like a huge throbbing pain going right through the middle of the knee
I would like to hear at what stage did you feel that it was the right time to go ahead with the tkr, was it the pain? not being able to walk ?or just the surgeon's decision?
How was your recovery ? and at what age did you have the surgery, and was it successful ?
Sorry for all the questions but I would be really interested to hear from as many people as I can
Love Lou x

angel1

You`ve already heard from me, Lou. You now need our Elna. She has had both knees re-placed, and had totally different experiences from me. I`m sure she will be along later to help. The last I heard she was travelling all over the place on a train! When she isn`t doing that, she`s cycling everywhere, so a great advert for our TKR club.........Ange.x.

freeview

Hi Ange,well it sounds as if its given elna a new life!..and thats what I would love to have :roll:
Hoping to hear from all who have had the op soon x Lou

elnafinn

Hi Lou,

Welcome to the forum

I am back from my train journey now Ange is darling isn't she? I don't ride my bike that much, only locally. I do not take it on the train!

It was the pain that drove me to be referred to a consultant. He told me to wait until I could bear it no longer. This was around 2 years before I went back to him. I did not wish to go on walks. It was too uncomfortable so I tended to avoid walking other than to get on with my life if you know what I mean. I used to bike to the town which takes about 5 minutes. Well I still usually bike there, as it is quicker.Pre op, I used my bike whenever I could as I did not have pain then as I was not weight bearing. I had the left knee done in January 2008 and the other one this year in January. I will be 60 by the end of this year. Pre op I managed without using a stick unless I stepped out with hubby and then used him

Both TKR's were very sucessful. I got my mobility back quickly and the physio was very pleased with me but I suffered with bad pain afterwards for quite a time. With the second op the pain did not last for so long. I know this because I kept a diary of how things proceeded, with both operations and post op. I got a very good knee bend quickly with both knees and came out of the hospital both times with one crutch only. I took quite a time to actually go for a walk other than in the garden after the first op, because of the pain, but the physio scolded me and so I did start with 5 minutes and then progressed from there. When I did start to walk out the first time I took the crutch with me, for moral support but never used it. After I had walked into town and got back ok, I discarded the crutch for good.

I can kneel OK and in the garden if I wish to kneel I use knee pads .

I am very happy that I had them done when I did. As my consultant emphasised it is a major operation and can take up to 18 months for everything to sort itself out. For me, I would say about 9 months to a year before one forgets all about ever having had a knee replacement.

Ask as many questions as you like and I shall try to answer them. There are other peeps on the forum that have had knee replacements. Sharmaine has had one knee done and is looking forward to having the other replaced in the near future. Her mobility before the first op was much worse than mine and I am sure she is younger than Ange and myself.