OA and TKR

Chris01

Hi, recently I had flare which went very bad, leaving my joints swollen, making me unable to walk for several days. Day by day, I am losing a confidence that I will be ever able to cope up with this pain and medicines those are prescribed to me are not providing enough relief, sadly. I am just wondering, when I should consider a surgery? Or shall I give a try to other alternatives like steroid injections, before going for one?
Any advice?

Chris.

Graciesmum

Hi Chris,

It may be worth trying the injections first. I have found my 2 knee replacements quite hard to deal with. However also I probably left the surgery too long which means my recovery is harder. I am not the most agile person and find the physio hard and painful. I f you are quite good with exercise and quite fit, you might find it is a doddle and you will be pain free then. You also will probably find for everyone who has a post op problem there are 10 who say they sailed through. Talk to your medical staff, consultant, GP, I also found the orthopaedic nurse specialist was easy to talk to and had lots of time for me, if there is one attached to your hospital.
Good luck I really hope you get the right result for you.

Sue

stickywicket

Good advice from Sue. I'd just add that I don't think any orthopaedic surgeon would touch your knees unless you had first exhausted all other possibilities. It is they who make the decisions, not us. You can certainly ask your GP about the possibility of a steroid jab. They work well (temporarily) for some but not others. You'll never know unless you try.

dreamdaisy

I needed two new knees three years ago: I was refused for being too young (I was then 52) despite both being bone-on-bone through around 3/4 of each joint. Now it's bone-on-bone throughout the joints so maybe I stand a better chance; I've lost weight too, but I bet they find another excuse. :roll: I don't know if I'll go for it anyway, due to the wait other joints have joined in and I'm now sure just how much benefit I might gain; currently I prefer the devil I know.

It's not what we want, it's what they will offer and knees won't be offered until a certain degree of degeneration has happened. Of course the meds don't do much - anything doesn't do much, all relief is temporary and some is more temporary than others. Meanwhile we grind on. DD

Helenbothknees

I had two new knees about two and a half years ago; it was the best thing I've ever done and has literally given me my life back. However, my GP wouldn't hear of it until I'd tried everything else and was almost unable to walk. That included steroid injections, which did absolutely nothing for me, but which work well for some people. So keep doing research and so on, but it won't just be your choice...as everyone else has pointed out.

dreamdaisy

Hello HBK, how are things with you? I hope all is continuing to go well. DD

Helenbothknees

Hi DD, and thanks for asking.

Things are going fine for me. My knees work really well - but I still touch wood when I say that! I have no other joint problems, apart from intermittent aches like almost anyone else my age - I'm 66 now. I swim, do yoga, have taken up ballroom dancing...etc etc. I'm a normal person again.

That's why I'm rarely here, as I don't have arthritis any more (I still enjoy saying that!) so have little to contribute. But I check in once in a while to see how you're all doing, and in case anyone has questions on TKRs, particularly bilateral TKRs. It's not, definitely NOT, that I've forgotten you! You all helped me out at a very difficult time in my life, and I'll forever be grateful to you forum regulars for that.

I hope things are going well for you, DD...or not too badly at least.

I'm now dropping in here fairly regularly so feel free to chat...

dreamdaisy

I am very pleased for you, that all sounds wonderful and I cheerfully admit I am very jealous. That is the point of surgery, and you embody that very well indeed. We frequently have new ones on here asking questions about replacements, the aftermath, recovery etc. so your experience will always be useful to others.

Me? Things are getting worse but no matter, it is what it is and it will do what it will do. Arthritis is complex, no matter which sort you have, but living with two versions is hard work. DD

Helenbothknees

DD, I sympathise, and I'm wary of saying too much about how good things are as I don't want to make things even more difficult for people like you!

If anyone ever comes on here asking about TKRs and you think I can help, but I don't show up here, feel free to send me a private message or tell them they can. I'm always happy to help if possible. It's time I gave a bit back!

dreamdaisy

It doesn't make things more difficult, not in the slightest. Yes, it's a reminder of what I cannot do but so what? I had a good few years when I could do similar things but now I'm much more accustomed to every move hurting somewhere. It's good that things can work out for some people but it's true that the good news stories are very thin on the ground on here: this board is populated by die-hard arthritics who have tried much and achieved little: those who do well rarely bother to encourage others because they are out there living a better life, so it's understandable that they forget that others may be as they once were. The forum can be a little skewed by this, it can be very hard to encourage others when oneself is reeling under the arthritis cosh for one reason or another. DD

stickywicket

Helen, it's good to see you and I'm so pleased all is still going so well with your new knees. 'I don't have arthritis any more' is a statement that I honestly don't think I've read on here before and, possibly because of that, the old regulars such as DD and myself are apt to tell people there is no cure. I guess you epitomise the fact that surgery is indeed a cure for osteo if it's confined to eg knees and hips. Please hang around if you can as you have a very important alternative voice on here. I can't actually remember any other bi-lateral knee people though we've had a couple of bi-lateral hips.

Cate

I had a TKR nine years ago, and it quite simply gave me back my life. I recovered very quickly and was in hospital for just four days. I believe this was down to having an epidural as opposed to GA. I had no pain whatsoever, so found the exercises quite easy, and did them religiously.

I would say that if you're offered the op, go for it, but of course that's only in light of my own experience. Not everyone is as lucky as I was.

Cate

I had a TKR nine years ago, and it quite simply gave me back my life.

I made a very quick recovery, with no pain, and was out of hospital on the fourth day. The speedy recovery was due, I believe, to having an epidural as opposed to GA. I did the exercises religiously, and remained pain free throughout. After years of suffering, it was absolutely amazing.

If you are offered the surgery, I would say go for it, but then I would wouldn't I? I do realise that not everyone is as lucky as I was though...Cate.

Helenbothknees

Cate,

Mine was similar - spinal anaesthetic (not sure if this is the same as an epidural or not), and home after four days. I had a lot of pain, however, and refused to go home unless they gave me morphine to take with me - though I stopped taking it after a couple of days at home. I did all the exercises, and got back such bendy knees that no-one believed it possible.

Like you, I thought it was amazing, and I still do. Though as you say, not everyone is as lucky as we were. However, they do say 80% of people are happy with their new knees, and if you're in a lot of pain and incapacitated, that's reasonable odds.

Chris01

Thank you folks again for wonderful positive replies.

Cate and Helen : Your stories are encouraging, will bother you more for advice in coming future.

I had my appointment last week with my doc and it was not so good (my OA is spread to wrist, I still can’t believe that it can move so fast :? ) and not so bad because he is hopeful that I might get benefit from steroid injection for my knee pain, so I have to trust him. Not very comfortable with the idea, particularly when I know it’s like trial and error. But still hoping it will help me through some tough time especially when wife’s shoulder arthroplasty is planned in next month.

P.S : My doc thinks I might need TKR in future but not so soon.

Chris.

dreamdaisy

I've had steroid injections into my knees (done after the extra synovial fluid was withdrawn so not a pleasant process) and it is important to rest the joint for at least 24 hours (preferably 48) to give the steroid time to really sink into the joint and, hopefully, get to work. I've never had much in the way of relief from them but they work well for others - there's only one way to find out which group you'll join. DD

Helenbothknees

Ditto to DD - steroid injections did nothing for me, but they relieve pain for some people for up to a year or so. So worth a try.

OA in your wrist doesn't mean a think except that you have OA in your wrist. OA doesn't 'move'. It isn't a disease as such; it's simply wear and tear. Some people get it in one joint, some in many, some are between those two extremes. Almost everybody gets it to a greater or lesser degree as they age - it's a sign that joints are wearing out. Someone here may argue with me as to the details of this, but I don't think I'm too far out.

If your doctor thinks you don't need a TKR, and you disagree, see another GP, and make a fuss! My GP thought I wasn't that bad because I walked normally into the surgery...but that was about as far as I could walk at all actually. I saw another GP in the practice and said I couldn't walk as far as the leisure centre next door without severe pain, if at all - after that I more or less got fast-tracked for an op!