No hip replacement

Whelpdale

I am 64, have always maintained a healthy lifestyle which included, running, hill walking & going to the gym.

I knew about the OA in one of my hips but X Ray shows it in both.

But I was suddenly rendered debilitated following a particularly strenuous bout of squat exercises & have been in pain ever since! XRay shows OE in the knee & GP believes damaged or fractured cartilage - but tells me that knee replacement is out of the question due to my age & lifestyle!!

Shell_H

Hi @Whelpdale - welcome to the online community!

I see you've been diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in your knees, and this has really had an effect on your lifestyle. However, despite having a healthy and active lifestyle your GP has advised you that you can't get a knee replacement.

I admit, this is an oddity. Normally, when people are told they can't get a knee replacement it's either because they're too young or because they're overweight, neither of which seems to apply to you. That said, most doctors will try other treatments before they'll allow you to have surgery. Has your GP referred you to a pain clinic and/or given you painkillers to try out and see if they help? Have you been referred to a physiotherapist to see if you can regain your movement and strength that way? I don’t know what your weight is, but weight loss is also often tried first to see if that can help alleviate some of the pain.

I’d talk to your GP and see if you can have some of these other treatments – even if you go for a second opinion (which I’d suggest you do if you’re unhappy) you will need to go through these options first before you get put forward for surgery, most of the time. Even if another doctor puts you immediately forward for surgery, the waiting time at the moment is a year or more, so using these other therapies in the mean time is highly recommended. Also take a look at our ideas on pain manegement, as these can help a lot.

Do take a look at our information below on Osteoarthrtis of the knee, and our information on knee replacement surgery. They may help you when talking to your GP or another one.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-knee/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/knee-replacement-surgery/

Have a look around the rest of the community and do join in wherever you want to. Everyone here is pretty friendly.

Lovely to meet you!

Shell

Lilymary

That prognosis sounds extremely odd. You should request a consultation with a rheumatologist or Musculoskeletal consultant. My sister teaches aerobics, has done for over 30 years. She had both her knees replaced before she was 60 and is still teaching at 67. i’ve just had my hip replaced at 61, my consultant knows I plan to give it a good pounding on the fells once I’ve recovered from surgery! If your GP won’t refer you, ask for a second opinion within the practice.

Sheelee

The medics always seem to go by age, as though we all age in the same robotic way. I can never understand why. I do wonder if it's because they can or cannot replace the artificial joint so many times??

I still feel, however, that if the op can only be done once, the individual patient has the right to decide when they wish to benefit from the new joint ie immediately or in the future.

Good luck x

Lilymary

64 is not young for THR or TKR, and they can, if we last that long and are in good shape, do hips twice (although I’m not sure I would want to go through this again on my 80s). I believe the same can be said for knees. If your GP is suggesting you would keep running and ruin his precious new knee, I’m sad to say running would be off the agenda anyway, but it probably is already due to the pain, so that argument doesn’t stand up. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t continue fell walking once the new knee has properly bedded in and healed. Ditto the gym, my brother in law goes everyday with a new knee, as well as my sister teaching aerobics and horse riding with two new knees. Like I say, second opinion and referral to a proper specialist rather than misguided general practitioner (there’s a clue in the name) required.

suelema

Change your GP! Seriously though, under the NHS charter you cannot be refused treatment purely on the basis of age and only an ortho specialist can make an assessment of your joints and their impact on recovery. I would insist upon a referral to a specialist, research first and name who you would like to be referred to as you are entitled to do that! I am 72 and not very active but was offered a knee replacement subject to my losing 10lbs by the next appointment which was 8 weeks. I started on a very low calorie diet using nutritionally balanced shakes and bars (google for a reputable company) and have now lost over 2 stone, by the time of the op I will be down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 30 years ago! It can be done, so be determined to at least discuss with a specialist and don't be fobbed off if you are in pain, if an expert says no they will explain why a d ha e good reasons.

YvonneH

Hi @suelema

Can I congratulate you on losing weight as requested by your surgeon - you are exactly right, it's not easy but it can be done and it will give you the best option for recovery post op.

Well done too on checking out the other discussions and adding comments where you felt comfortable/useful. No one would believe you this was your first visit. I do hope other new members will do the same so they too get the most from their Online Community

Yvonne

suelema

I googled absolutely everything I could find on reputable sites including outcome studies as I think knowledge is power and getting a good outcome does seem to be strongly influenced by a positive state of mind.