72yr old with severe knee and ankle pain! painkillers or op?

tutztutz

my 72 year old mom is in so much pain in all her joints but mainly with her ankles and knees so much so she can only stand and walk with a stick for a few yards a time,but she seems to be going round in circles with the doctor,trying tablets,insoles etc thats shes tried before.
shes been told she needs knee replacements which have made her ankles go out of line (ankles being the most painfull)but apparently the knee is the route cause,so she just plucked up the courage to say yes to have her knee done (as she was concerned that her other painfull joints wouldnt cope conpensating after a op) then only to be told if the knees the least painfull we will concentrate on the ankle first to get it strong for the knee op,so once again she decided to go for the op then to be told the ankle joint is too swollen and a ops to risky of infection due to it not healing.
now she is waiting a appointment for shoes and insoles,but she has been down this road before,so she gets so disheartened and understandably she complains of the pain that insoles are trying to correct joints that have been out of line for years and creates more pain in other areas then!
does anyone have experiance of knee op replacements-can arthritic joints in arms and the opposite knee cope with compensating?
i have recently sent a post (thanks to those that replied)because to top all this off she cant find any painkillers that take the edge off the pain that dont make her stomach bad or nausea,id be gratefull of any suggestions,experiances,painkillers that i can tell her untill we can sort something out. thanx

frogmorton

Hi Tutz
Poor Your Mum
I'm not too good with meds either so I can sympathize with her.
I expect others have suggested you go with her to apts so that you can support her and tell them how she is from your point of veiw.
You know - does she get out much, can she get i and out of the bath etc?
I do hope someone can gioveyou more help
take care
Toni x

tutztutz

frogmorton wrote:

Hi Tutz
Poor Your Mum
I'm not too good with meds either so I can sympathize with her.
I expect others have suggested you go with her to apts so that you can support her and tell them how she is from your point of veiw.
You know - does she get out much, can she get i and out of the bath etc?
I do hope someone can gioveyou more help
take care
Toni x

hiya,no my mom hasnt been able to have a bath for years,she can only just lift legs up to walk a few steps,thats why when she goes to the docs and they say excersise or swim u feel like strangling them!!
thanks for replying il have to go with her to the docs again and try another approach!!!