Recovery on knee replacement & back surgery question(s)

[EPC Guy]

Smitty,

I have a friend in PA who had both knees replaced (he's about your age)...he was up and going strong in 5-6 weeks after each surgery. His only thought on the "downside" was that it's likely the replacements will need to be replaced in 10-12 years...which is probably the reason that the doc said to hold out as long as possible. However - my friend says that he's never felt better!

As to back surgery...I have degenerating discs in my back as well....3-4 years ago the pain was so bad I could hardly move. The doc tried an injection therapy (not sure of the medication - but he used a scope and monitor in order to inject the treatment in my spine). He told me at the time that this was the last course of action before surgery...I have not had any problems since the treatment - and plan to hold off on surgery as long as possible - just because back surgery is such a crap-shoot.

All the best, Smitty - I know these are some difficult decisions you're having to make.
Shawn

[padmaster]

I had hip replacement 5 years ago at age 43. Didn't have a choice. I was diagnosed with Avascular Necrosis. The ball of my hip was deteriorating fast. In the recovery room after the surgery, when I woke up I had the strangest sensation my leg was detached from my body....gave me the willy's. I was in the hospital for three days, up on crutches in two weeks and back to work in three weeks. You will most likely have to take massive doses of blood thinners for several weeks to ward off any clots. The blood thinners caused me to get a severe case of Gout in my left foot. I thought my foot was going to fall off. If you've never had Gout, you don't want to. Talk about pain!!!!! I do have some minor limited movement in my leg and that leg isn't as strong as the other leg. I just have to be careful about putting too much stress on that leg. The doctor told me if I ever dislocated the prosthesis it would be like having a steel rod rammed up my @#&#@ and the surgery to fix it would be worse than the original surgery.

Good luck, hope I didn't scare you too much

P.S. I ran my detector over my hip once and got a solid dollar reading!!!!

[IndianaSmith]

Thanks guys! Seems that my current "problem"....is finding 2 doctors who agree But I guess that just prolongs the amount of "milking" getting done to the insurance company. Thursdays office call (after making me wait more than 1.25 hours past my appointment time) was $250....no tests, no pics....just talking & poking for 30 minutes.

It's my opinion the longer they prolong "fixing" things, the more they'll make.....I'm just looking to get rid of some pain and being able to MD when the weather permits. They've already offered the shots in the spine (pain block)....told 'em "no thanks", most I've talked to who'd had them they didn't help anyway. If I'm geting anything done to my back, it'll be "fixed", not having a band-aid put on every few weeks.

Padmaster, hope you're doing well, and thanks for the info. lol......I'm not smart enough to be scared of much

Smitty

[Crazy_Ed]

Most folks I know who have had knee replacements and hip replacements have done pretty well and the surgery has benefited them. The backs are a different creature altogether from what I have seen. A lot depends on what kind of surgery you are looking at on the back, With the herniated disc and copression on the nerves most folks I've seen have had s laminectomy, and they take a piece off the hipbone and fuse it to the backbone, so there is a loss of range of motion. I seen some folks improve with this type of surgery, but I've seen others not.

If you have a gimpy leg and limping it would have your back out of line, creating additional stress. It might be such a thing that once the knee is fixed, the back wont bother you as much.

I have Degenerative disc disease, and was told 5 years ago that I was a candidate for surgery. I walk a lot (actually lost 12 pounds this summer with the metal detector) this really seems to help. My back feels a heck of a lot better than it did 5 years ago, and surgery is the fartherest thing from my mind. Weight also seems to have a large factor on back problems.

[IndianaSmith]

I've got another appointment with the knee doc in a couple weeks. He claims I'm too "young" for knee replacement (whatever), but I agree it's adding to my back pain. When I go back I'm going to tell him I want it done, (age shouldn't matter, if it's shot it's shot) and if he doesn't want to help me, I'll find someone who will. I don't want to be having it done in June while I'm doing nothing over the winter.

Also, of the 2 prescriptions "offered" (this time), 1 was Skelaxin, which I've taken before.....can't keep it down. The other was Naprelan....side effects can be ulcers & internal bleeding.....also says "may cause death". Yeah....I want to take that alright Also tried Bextra, Neurontin, and a few more I can't think of at the moment. Already have severe acid reflux (eating baking soda is the only think that helps)....and I can't tolerate medications very well.

Smitty

[IndianaSmith]

Already have an 8" scar down the front, a 3" one you can see inside of my knee, and another 2" one on the far side......pretty ain't it ....and it feels worse than it looks.....


Smitty