surgery

[rodmkr]

Anyone have Knee Replacement surgery?
How long were you in the hospital?
How long laid up after surgery?
Need to have it done but with a wife that has dementia it kinda has to take the back seat.
If only in hospital a couple of days maybe Daughter can stay with her.
Any more than a couple of days and it would be Katy Bar The Door with them,

rodmkr

 

[Rick H]

Some are released the next day.....however there is a lot of home rehab work to be done before you will be able to really take care of another. Most I have known have been two or three days in hospital with continued rehab PT at home or clinic.

 

[Gary]

Hospital stay isn't that long, but as Rick points out, rehab is sometimes months. Maybe with help from your daughter and possibly Home Health Nurses you can get by. Also possible to place your wife in a Nursing Facility until you're able to resume her care. You have my prayers.

 

[freebullet]

Mom is active. In hospital 1 day, hobbling around in 2-3. Very active after. Does great still.

Mil not active. In hospital 3 days. Then a rehab facility for another 2 weeks. Still sedentary & having knee trouble.

Imo Raise activity & fitness level =increase strength= faster recovery. Best of luck!

Very sorry about your wife's condition.

 

[462]

My wife had a total knee replacement three years ago. She was up and walking within hours and was scheduled as an out-patient, but pain made it an overnighter. As mentioned, rehab can be a long process and much depends on your general physical condition and mental outlook. She had a physical trainer and a nurse visit three times a week, for three weeks, as part of the entire post-surgery process. Post-surgery pain medications can affect your mental processes and outlook.

My suggestions would be to consult with the doc regarding his post-surgery recommendations and estimated time of recovery, and contact the local Visiting Nurses Association for information about in-home care for both you and your wife.

I wish you and your wife all the best, sir.
(My mother-in-law suffered from dementia and my wife took care of her for 10 years. Caring for a dementia patient is a very difficult road and you have my utmost sympathy.)

 

[RBHarter]

My great Aunt and Grandmother had them done with 2-3 day stays and were back to routine in about 6 weeks . My Dad put it off until he was nearly unable to walk . His hospital stay was long , aggrevated by bad med reactions that caused major delays in getting rehab started . His rehab was very slow because of his partial atrophy before the surgery and the 5 days after before he was able to even think about starting . He was walking in about 6 weeks but needed a walker for nearly 6 months if he needed to go more than 60-70 ft at a time or had to go anywhere in any reasonable length of time . Stairs were a challenge for over a year . He did finally get back to a normal level but it was a long stubborn haul and he eventually went back and checked into a full inpatient rehab center for about 3 weeks 3 months out ....I think I can still smell the blue thunder .

Keep the knee mobile and keep at least 90° flexation , more is better if it's at all possible , it will pay big returns on the other side coming back .

 

[Winelover]

Had both knees replaced four months, apart, late 2014 and early 2015. Highly recommend it............but it ain't a walk in the park. My knees were so bad that when the surgeon walked into the examine room, he asked which one I wanted done first. Apparently, he seen me enter the room, before hand.

My surgeon shares his office with two others. They have a new MRI, that's better than the one the local hospital has. Not all orthopedic surgeons even take an MRI. As a result, both my knees are custom made in England (Smith & Nephew), not taken off the shelf.

Hospital stay, for me, was overnight. They get you up and moving the day after surgery. If they like what they see, they kick you out. In home therapy for about ten days. Then offsite therapy, three times a week, for two months. I was able to drive myself, to and from therapy.

About a week before surgery, a knee bending machine was delivered to my home, for 30 day use. Doctor expected you to strap yourself into the Iron Maiden, two hours twice a day................increasing the amount of bend, daily, till 130 degrees of flex is attained. Again, not all surgeons adhere to this therapy. But I can see the benefits.

I was lucky, my wife was there to cook meals. Otherwise, they recommend you prepare and freeze meals, prior to the recovery period. I took the bare minimum of pain meds...............mostly to help sleep, at night. I averaged 14 pills, for each recovery. Never refilled the prescription, I received for the second procedure. Sleeping on my back, is not my forte. Used a walker for about a week and then a cane for another.

Hope this helps.............and good luck. Most of it is attitude.

 

[JonB]

I read this thread on Tuesday and started thinking, I need to start the process of investigating if I'm ready for a Knee replacement...Because if I am, this is the time of year, I'd prefer to have it done.

Let's backup the truck.
I've had bad knees for 20 years. Besides the heredity thing (my Mom had knee replacements in the late 1980s, she was the age I am now), I also abused my knees in my early 20s playing aggressive volleyball.

16 months ago, I tore the meniscus in my right knee. The doctor xray'd it, as well as my left knee. They said both knees are bad and while your right one hurts, your left knee is worse, and you can expect to have to do something sooner or later. Well, they gave me an injection of cortisone in the injured right knee, and it got better.

Fast forward to this winter.
My left knee has been bugging me more and more...may have been from a pretty good slip on the ice, and while I didn't fall, I twisted my leg/knee pretty good. So Tuesday, after reading this thread, I made a call to the clinic to make an appointment. I figured I'd have to wait days/weeks to get in to the specialist I seen 16 months ago. Well, I got in on Wednesday (the next day), I sure was surprised.

They took a bunch of xrays, and we talked about the problem...not only is my left knee worn out, it's misaligned. They would have tried some cortisone again or other things, if I wasn't crazy about surgery...But when they knew I was board with knee replacement, they said it was the best option right now. Since I was anxious for a early surgery appt, we chose the earliest one available (April 2), and I meet with the surgeon on Feb 20.

There is one complication....I have a SS pin in my left femor, from a motorcycle accident in 1977, so that may dictate what type of knee replacement they can do, and may have to do a MRI. I guess for one style knee hardware, they need the exact dimensions of the bones for the custom hardware that needs to be made. They told me, they usually don't do that type, due to insurance, because it's more expensive, but it is the better way to go, I guess? So, if that's true? maybe that SS pin that I've been carrying around for in my leg for 43 years, has become a golden egg?

I sure hope my PT goes well.
I'll keep you all posted.

 

[462]

Jon,
600,000 knee replacements per year in the U. S., you will be 600,001.

I hope it all goes better than planned.

 

[Ian]

Hope they get it all worked out for you, Jon. The insurance can be a bigger ache than the surgery.

 

[JWFilips]

Hi Jon,
My wife plays tennis So she is hard on her knees. Her left knee has been giving he trouble for years ( Actually I think since right after she broke her left leg in 1998!) She recently had cartilage removal micro surgery ( about 2 years ago) and she was doing good however she started having problems again and has been getting shots... 3 now They work for a month or so but now after 3 shots she is a candidate for the "gel replacement" injections according to our insurance. They told her that this may be a way out of replacement surgery....We shall see
Jim

 

[JonB]

Update:
Last Thursday (the 20th), I had an appointment with the surgeon. He didn't think the insurance would pay for this. The attending Dr did. She recommended to make some necessary appointments for when the insurance co approves it. They approved it the next day (Friday). I had an MRI on Monday. They pushed the surgery date out to the end of April, due to the custom hardware that needs to be made. Now it's just a waiting game for me until the two appointments I have one week before the surgery. I'm gonna try walking more, to get the muscles in the best shape possible.

 

[Winelover]

Best of luck with the upcoming surgery, you'll be glad you did. If your active and in reasonably good shape, which I suspect your are, I don't think strengthening the muscles is going to make much difference. After all, the surgeon will make a 6-8 inch incision and compromise those muscles, anyway. Knock yourself out...............can't hurt.

 

[Rally]

My Dad had both knees replaced at one time. His legs were so crooked he gained 1.5 inches in height after the surgery. They had him walking in a couple hours and only one night stay in the hospital, but my Step mother was a retired nurse, and really had to crack the whip to get Dad to do the therapy. He got pretty grouchy with her and I helped intervene, but he saw it was helping after a couple weeks. Recovery will depend on your doing the therapy for the best outcome. Good luck.

 

[Bret4207]

I've had several older friends from church get knee replacements. A couple are farmer types and both say the same thing- the new knees run cold, eg- they always "feel" their knees are cooler than the rest of their legs. Sorta makes sense I guess. One guy wear wooly long johns into summer because of it, the other wears wool pants below 40 or so. Both say the new knees are way better than the old ones! Best of luck with it!

 

[JonB]

Best of luck with the upcoming surgery, you'll be glad you did. If your active and in reasonably good shape, which I suspect your are, I don't think strengthening the muscles is going to make much difference. After all, the surgeon will make a 6-8 inch incision and compromise those muscles, anyway. Knock yourself out...............can't hurt.

I am pretty active for the typical fat man, if you recall the large Oak tree cutting posts from last fall. But I am overweight...just under 3 bills, I carry all the extra weight in my torso, my legs and arms are mostly muscular. I've been overweight all my adult life, and trying to rectify that has been a failing struggle for 30 years. The Surgeon pointed out my BMI is 42, He says anything over 40 is a added risk to infection of Knee after replacement. The regular risk is about 2%, and each BMI point above 40 is a added 1% risk of infection. So that's not crazy serious, but it is serious enough. I've been on a diet since the first Dr appoint(2 weeks ago.) I weight myself daily and the weight goes up and down, but it does seem like I am down a couple pounds.

 

[Bret4207]

Jon, as a guy who was a fat kid, a fat teen, a fat Marine, a fat Trooper and bore the brunt of a million fat jokes, let me say one word- Atkins! Dropped 60 lbs in 3 months (2 1/2 actually) and was never hungry. It was dead easy, a bit expensive and boring, but dead easy. I kept the weight off for years and even now I'm only about 10lbs more than when I retired. I'm sure a lot more of it is fat these days than muscle and I really should go back on it seriously for a couple months. But for most guys Atkins, I mean the hard core "meat, eggs, cheese and nothing else" works. The guys that can't do it are the ones addicted to sugar, beer, or pizza and fast food. It's fast, your cholesterol and BP will drop like a rock, acid reflux will be a bad memory and you won't lack for energy like you do on those ladies diets where you eat rabbit food.

Just my 2 cents and first hand personal experience, I'm a believer!

 

[JonB]

Brett,
I won't go into a long schpeel about it, but that is what I am doing now. I used Atkins about 5 years ago, and lost about 40 lbs in 6 months...but I couldn't keep that diet going. I've gained about 35lbs of that back. I hope to be able to keep it up this time.

 

[JWFilips]

My Wife and I use Nutrisystem from time to time ( I think I need to use it now ) The first time I lost 25 lbs in 4 months ( I'm a small guy BTW 5"5") got down to the weight I was in 1977 when I got married ( 148 lbs ) super easy and I love the foods also and easy to continue the life style when you leave the program! You learn not to over eat! The little ladies seem to need about 6 months to reach their goals! the thing I like it is normal foods not like the fad diets.

 

[Ian]

Adkins worked out a whole life plan. You have to have some carbs and after you're done using the bulk of your body fat to supply them you add them back into your diet in moderation. There is hunger and then there are cravings...not the same thing. Carb cravings are the toxic kind of gut bacteria clamoring for the foods they need and your brain craving comfort from serotonin production. Adkins and a selective bit of the advice from Dr. Gundry about not consuming chlorine, antibiotics, alcohol, or anything else that wipes out the good gut bugs and perhaps some intensive daily probiotics will help those carb and sugar cravings, eliminate gut inflammation, and restore healthy gut serotonin production so you can feel good.

The other thing that is a whammy with burning through even a few pounds of fat quickly is processing all the toxins stored with fat, particularly if you were stressed and depressed when gaining the weight. That stuff gets released and you have to deal with the stress and depression all over again.