Major Knee problems/trip in Oct

[connie1042]

anyone out there have experience with bad knees? Here is the news I got today. Severe arthritis, degenerating ACL, a tear in the menisci, and a piece of cartilage floating around. I just got back from a trip over the 4th of July. It hurt then ,but I brushed it off. Now I have a trip with the grandkids in Oct. If you had surgery or have a clue what they might do for this, I sure would love to hear about it. This in is my left knee only.

 

[BriarRosie]

You can probably get a lot of tips and advice on the DISability forums. My only thoughts were that you can rent an ECV from a private company (probably listed in an FAQ sticky thread on those forums).

 

[Willow1213]

My DH has problems in both knees (chondromalacia). We have taken 3 trips with bad knees. We make sure to take it slow, rest when necessary (mid day naps). I always carry a small pill pouch with advil and his prescription meds.

The best thing we did on this last trip was getting a GAC card. He has a LOT of trouble with stairs and we were able to bypass the portions of the queue that involved stairs. It made a great deal of difference for him.

As far as surgery/fixes, well. We go back to the ortho on the 10th and surgery is likely to be his suggestion. We are looking into offsite scooter/wc rentals to make him more comfortable.

 

[Kaa]

I have very bad knees. I had surgery on my left knee several years back. I am about to have surgery on my right knee at the end of the month. I use an ECV to get around the parks most of the time - especially EPCOT. I tough it out sometimes at the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. If you want to ride Toy Story Mania, I highly suggest the ECV. I can't handle stairs and you don't have to do the stairs if you have an ECV. I usually park the ECV and stand in lines when possible, but there are those few rides that have queues that make the ECV necessary.

I am just waiting for the day my doctor says I'm old enough for knee replacement!!

 

[disneyfan19712006]

Call Walker Mobility 1-800-SCOOTER I always use then and it beats punishing my knees and nights full of pain.

 

[Disneydonnam]

I have had 20 knee surgeries on my left knee. 15 of them were just with the scope and the other 5 were big.The last one they removed the patella. I think I have tried everything to help with the pain especially when I am in Disney. During the day I wear a knee brace. Two years ago I got the Don Joy brace and it is AWESOME. I don't even feel like I am wearing anything. It is so small and light. I also got a prescription for Voltaren Gel. It is like an anit-inflamatory but you rub it on your knee. Also at night I will use the Lidoderm patches .

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would suggest going over to the disABILITIES Forum. One of the first threads is the disABILITIES FAQs. On Post # we have a lot of information for people with mobility and/or stamina problems. To get directly to the disABILITIES FAQs from here just click on the link in my signature.

 

[DSNY4ever]

I have had 20 knee surgeries on my left knee. 15 of them were just with the scope and the other 5 were big.

Yikes! I'm so sorry!

Anyway, it's like I wrote this post myself! We have a trip coming up in October to the DLR and my husband now has to get another ACL replacement surgery done before we go . He had it done once when he tore his ACL in high school, and he just recently had a small surgery with the scope done at the beginning of this year, but it has gotten worse and he has been on crutches for a week and just had an MRI and is waiting for a new surgery date.

Depending on when the surgery date is and how his recovery goes, we are going to look into renting an ECV cart because we planned on walking from our hotel. I am hoping this doesn't make for a crummy trip , but I hope this is the last surgery for him too!