Date for knee op

wendgro
wendgro Member Posts: 296
edited 21. Nov 2012, 18:12 in Living with Arthritis archive
I had a phone call today with the date of my revision surgery on the KNEE February 25th I suppose with Xmas and it's only 8 months since I had the hip done my poor old body does need time to recover. I was a little upset though the stiffness and pain is getting worse I know it's a bigger op and making it more so is that I can't bend the knee. I was hoping for it to be done before xmas then I can start sorting out a holiday for next year so it will be later in the year now best laid plans and all that. Wendy

Comments

  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,281
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Wendy
    Could you ask to be put on a cancellation list, its worth a try , xx
    Love
    Barbara
  • wendgro
    wendgro Member Posts: 296
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I am sure if a slot comes up they will let me know. I should be gratefull they are still allowing me to have it done at the private hospital because I haven't been discharged with my THR I am still under there care. I need to loose some weight as well with my mobility being so impaired I haven't put any on since my hip op but I know it will help me more to loose a few pounds although I don't know how I eat very carefully how can you loose weight with very little exercise suggestions please
  • skezier
    skezier Member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Wendy,

    Glad they have given you a date though. It would be good if you did get a cancellation but its not really that long away if you don;t. I so hope it will be sooner for you though.

    Oh flower the trying to lose weight without the exercising is a hard one.... I been having the same trouble and will hope someone can make some suggestions for us both to try eh? You can do it with reduced food alone but with out the exercise you have to drop to a rediculoius level of intake I find...... I still get about but at the apace of a snail and that's just riot enough to shift this lot.

    Hope your ok in your self though and a later holiday will still be ok. Cris x
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I remember the pre-op for my revision. The thing with revisions, they told me, is that they take longer so they can't just slot you into a gap because the gap won't be long enough. So people just needing a TKR got in in front of me.

    As for losing weight, it gets harder as you get older. We hardly eat anything sweet now. No desserts unless we have visitors, 1-2 small chocolate biscuits per week and a plain biscuit to take my bedtime meds with. It was either the sweet stuff had to go or the wine had to go. No-brainer :wink:
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • blueknees
    blueknees Member Posts: 90
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Sorry to hear you are having problems.

    What is the reason for the revision?

    I had a TKR 5 months ago and it is very stiff and sore, how long does it take for a decision to revise the op?
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello blueknees, I'm sorry to read that you are still having probelms with your TKR but this is still very early days (I know, I know, five months doesn't seem like early days) but recovery can take a good deal longer for some than the impression given by surgeons etc. Are you still in touch with a physio etc?

    Hello wendgro, that is good news I think but I realise it may not seem so. You will be able to get Xmas out of the way and it does give you extra recovery time from the hip op. Losing weight isn't easy and takes longer as you get older but I always remember the case of jillyB1 who lost over five stone despite being wheelchair-bound. It takes determination and a very strong will. You have both of those qualities in spades. ((((())))) DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • fowls48
    fowls48 Member Posts: 1,357
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Wendgro

    Good luck with your op .Losing weight is hard i need to lose another stone :( not going to well .I find bread is my downfall crisps and sweets :( and its too cold for salad but i did have one yesterday which i had to share with polly the dog :lol: Good luck with the dieting but i think you have done very well with keeping your weight stable since your last op .All the best


    Fowls xx
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    blueknees wrote:
    Sorry to hear you are having problems.

    What is the reason for the revision?

    I had a TKR 5 months ago and it is very stiff and sore, how long does it take for a decision to revise the op?


    Hello Blueknees. They'll only do a revision when they've exhausted every other possibility. In my case the TKR was nearly 30 years old and had slid off sideways.

    How much aftercare have you had? If your physio and surgeon are happy with your progress that sounds OK to me though mine have been good from the start. If you've not seen them for some time I think you should get back to them. It will do no harm to have the experts check it out.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • wendgro
    wendgro Member Posts: 296
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    For Blueknees. I had my TKR 4yrs ago it was never 100% after 3yrs it started becoming more painfull so went to see the consultant and he thought it may be because the hip on the same leg needed replacing it could be referred pain in the knee, So in April of this yr I had the THR so now I have 2hips done I then had 3 months of intense physio on the knee the hip op was a total success. The physio called it a day she said nothing was working there was no improvement and sent me back to the consultant I then had a nuclear xray which proved nothing he then sent me for a second opinion. At last 2 brains together came up with the implant which had a moveable bearing was now not moving hence the stiffness the swelling and pain is because of some sort of gritty stuff bone or such like being in the tissue causing inflammation thus pain. So we are now waiting to go in and have the old knee prosthesis taken out and a new one put in Lord only knows if I shall be able to bend it or be without pain but have to give it a go because I take far too many pain killers.
  • blueknees
    blueknees Member Posts: 90
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks for the information, wendgro and stickywicket. I have been told that my surgeon does not do revisions, he has a good track record - however there is always a first time for everything :)

    I have been having physic almost continuously since the op and have changed meds a lot as well.

    Consultant appointment is December so I have to wait and see what he says then.

    Thanks and take care :)
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    What does your physio say, Blueknees? Is (s)he happy with it?

    When you say you've changed medication, are you talking about anti-inflamms/pain relief or are you on meds for an auto-immune form of arthritis?

    I really don't think they'd do a revision so early on. I think they'd try other things first but, when you see your consultant, perhaps you should tell him that you are unhappy with things as they are and ask him for a plan. Once all other avenues have been exhausted, whether or not he does revisions, revisions occasionally have to be done as Wendgro has unfortunately discovered.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,792
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I am so glad for you Wendy

    this time it really HAS to work

    Enjoy your Christmas and before you know it it will be upon you :shock:

    love and ((()))

    Toni xxx
  • wendgro
    wendgro Member Posts: 296
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    It's amazing how we can share info on so many subjects. I know quite a few people who have had TKR some have excellant results others not so. I don't mind if the revision causes me not being able to bend the knee as long as it gets rid of the pain I am still on Tramadol and paracetamol in the day that's 16 then I take 60mg of amytryptiline at night for pain so if I can stop taking them great. I have been told the priority is to get rid of the pain. Keep writing it does help to hear from fellow knees :)
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I'm not sure that a revision would necessarily mean less bend, Wendgro. I actually have more bend on mine than I did on the 29(?) yr old TKR it replaced. That's because, when they put the original TKR in, my ligaments/tendons whatever were all shot and there was nothing they could do about it back in '81. By the time of the revision, they did a bit of needlework and things were much better. I also had to have bone grafts. Did they mention that to you?
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • wendgro
    wendgro Member Posts: 296
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    He told me that it was more complicated because I had very little bend and getting the old prosthesis out would be a problem( but he would get it out) I know the new one will be longer into the femur and tibia as long as it didn't meet the hip prosthesis when he hammered it in (clash ) he will make up any further bone loss with bone and cement. Well done you on having yours in for so long hope the new one lasts as long. How was your stay in hospital was it longer than 3/5 days and how much physio did you have? Wendy :?
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Getting my old one out was no problem at all. It had come adrift and it slid out :lol: Yes, I was quite surprised when I saw my first X-ray as the new one goes halfway up the top of my leg and almost down to the ankle. However, it looked beautiful, with lovely, clean lines. I never had any problems with the THR above it.

    I was out on the 6th day which was much the same as those having a first TKR. When you have RA it’s slower progress. I could do straight leg raises the day after the op but, for the first time ever (and I’ve been through a few), I had a poor physiotherapist. He was lazy and didn’t even turn up some days. When he did, he went by the book and said I couldn’t go home until I could get off the fairly low chair they’d given me, without help. I said in that case I’d be in quite a while as I hadn’t got off one so low, unaided, in about 20 years :roll: Luckily the consultant was sensible and said that was nonsense.

    I remember a couple of follow-up visits to physio. There were more, group classes but, having RA, I couldn’t do most of the stuff anyway (not in the last 20-30 years :wink: ) and this physiotherapist realized that. She also realized that I knew what I could do and I would do it so said I needn’t see her again unless I wanted to and to just phone up if I did.

    One thing – for the first few weeks I’d to wear a thigh to ankle splint when walking. (I looked as if I was going out to open the batting :lol: ) However, this might have been, not so much just the revision, as the fact that he re-routed a few tendons. So you might not have that. I hope not as it was hot and prickly and dug in.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • diamond
    diamond Member Posts: 396
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Best of luck Wendygro with your knee revision i pray this time will be a complete success and you will go forward to enjoy life.
  • wendgro
    wendgro Member Posts: 296
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    The biggest problem I have at the moment is trying to loose weight I need to shed a few pounds not that they have said anything and I haven't put any on since my hip op but I know it's important to get some off, my mobility is very poor although I do go out and do most of my own housework it's still a problem I just can't seem to shift any I am very carefull with what I eat and I don't drink so what's the answer. I even changed the batteries in my scales because they kept coming up with the same numbers( how thick was that ) still it caused a laugh with the family. I will keep counting the calories and not think of the forthcoming festive events and hope the weght will eventually come off. :(
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    As DD said, wendgro, jillyb1 lost 5 stones despite being in a wheelchair so why not PM her and ask how? I wish you luck with it.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright