Total Knee Replacement the real story

[CrazedDisFan]

My dh is having total knee replacement in November (he'll have just turned 36). He injured it playing football in college and subsequently playing volleyball. He has had multiple surgeries on the knee and now all that can be done is total replacement as it is bone on bone with severe deterioration.

What I would like to hear are candid opinions on the post-surgical pain and care. I know what all the brochures and pamphlets say, but I'd like a real life experience opinion.

I am a person who likes to know what to expect worst case scenario so I can ready myself for helping him through this. So please if you have first hand experience as a patient or caretaker of a patient that's had total knee replacement, please share your thoughts with me.

Thanks!

 

[Equidae]

My mom is just over 60 and had both of her knees replaced last year at the same time. The worst part was the recovery for her. After the surgery she spent several days in the hospital and then was relocated to a nursing home to recuperate. She was there for several weeks before she came home. Once she was home a nurse came several times a week for physical therapy. It has taken almost a year, but she can now walk comfortably without a walker or a cane again. She was in horrible pain for several weeks though and it was hard to see her that way.

 

[powellrj]

I was told last month I also need a total knee replacment and I am 46. When I went to the Dr, he said I have knees you would expect to see in someone in their 70's. Right now I am going to PT 3x's a week and wearing an up-loader brace to try and put it off as long as I can. I have taken every medication there is and they have pretty much stopped working.

I would also be interested to hear about the surgery.

I wish your DH luck. Its no fun to be in pain all the time.

 

[Christine]

One co-worker (age 56) and my aunt (age 65) have had it done. The co-worker had one knee done and my aunt has now had two knees done.

Plan on being out of work for 6 weeks. The recuperation goes well as long as you totally commit to physicial therapy. If you don't do your physical therapy well, then it will go badly.

My aunt is quiet overweight but was still able to handle it and get back to work within 6 weeks (even though her other knee was so bad). She has done much better with the second knee. I've never heard that anyone regretted the surgery.

 

[mickeyboat]

My best friend's mother had hers replaced last winter. It was a long time (6 months) until she was able to say that she was glad she had them done. Recovery was very difficult and very painful.

Denae

 

[CrazedDisFan]

Thanks for the reply! I am glad to see your mom is now getting around better. Dh's surgeon says he will be in the hospital for 3-4 days and then he will come home for me to care for. I am not a nurse and have no medical training. I am very nervous about this prospect and I have expressed that to the surgeon. He stated that sending patients home is the usual course of treatment. My dh does not handle extreme pain well.

We will have a hospital bed in the living room, physical therapists coming daily, a nurse coming every 3 days to draw blood to check the clotting factor, other than that I am on my own. All this and the Christmas holiday less than 4 weeks after his surgery.

 

[Christine]

Thanks for the reply! I am glad to see your mom is now getting around better. Dh's surgeon says he will be in the hospital for 3-4 days and then he will come home for me to care for. I am not a nurse and have no medical training. I am very nervous about this prospect and I have expressed that to the surgeon. He stated that sending patients home is the usual course of treatment. My dh does not handle extreme pain well.

We will have a hospital bed in the living room, physical therapists coming daily, a nurse coming every 3 days to draw blood to check the clotting factor, other than that I am on my own. All this and the Christmas holiday less than 4 weeks after his surgery.

CrazedDisFan,
My co-worker that I spoke about (56) is a bachelor. He had to have is 75 year old mother come and stay with him for 2-3 weeks after surgery. She had to fix his meals and drive him to his follow up doctor's appointments. I think it will be a lot of work for you but I think you can probably do it. They will also give your DH painkillers for awhile.

 

[rascalmom]

My dad had his done in January 2004 - he was 65 at the time. He would be the example you don't want to hear - complications in the hospital with the pain meds & keeping his oxygen level where it needed to be post-surgery. He is quite overweight & is diabetic. He ended up having to stay in the hospital for almost 3 weeks.

He has & is still having a lot of pain with the replaced knee. His original surgeon thought that he had a bone infection, which was going to lead to another replacement. Dad went for a second opinion & the new doctor thinks that is a nueroma (?) and has been treating him with medications & injections. He may have to have surgery to have the nueroma (described to be a tumor or bundle of scar tissue right on his nerve) removed. It has been a very tough 18 months for him - he uses a cane most of the time & an ECV when any extensive walking is required. He needs to have the other knee done too, but is hesitant until the first one is doing better.

One the other side of the coin, my uncle had a knee replaced several years ago. He was probably almost 70 at the time. He did great - no complications, stuck right with his PT schedule & today he has no problems, except that he really can't kneel down. He manages quite well. Best wishes for your husband - it's no fun to live with pain & I hope he is able to get the relief he needs.

P.S. The physical therapist that my dad worked with in the hospital strongly suggested that my dad have grab bars installed in the bathroom at their house before he went home. They put them near the toilet & in the shower. My dad is a large man -over 6', former semi-pro football player. The bars were really necessary - my mom is too much smaller than he is to have been able to support him & a fall right after surgery could have done a lot of damage.

 

[Snowysmom]

My dad had a knee replacement done in May. He is 87. The one thing your DH needs to do is keep ahead of the pain. He should be discharged with pain meds and he will want to take them for a while especially before physical therapy. Also, grab bars in the bathroom are a great idea as well as a shower chair or stool. My father is just beginning to think it was a good idea. Before the surgery he was in so much pain, he would almost lose his balance and fall. Now, using the walker, he is much better with no pain in the knee. Of course, your DH is much, much younger so he will have a much better, quicker recovery. I hope everything goes well for all.

 

[mom2grace]

All this and the Christmas holiday less than 4 weeks after his surgery.

Could you postpone the surgery until after the holidays? MIL had one knee replaced and it was a very long road. She thought she would be driving after 2 weeks, it was more than 2 months!

 

[Saphire]

Hi, I am a Physical Therapist and work in a short-term rehab department where we see many knee replacements. My oldest patient was 93 years old...he wanted to play golf again! Your DH has his young age on his side, and should do quite well. However, the first six weeks after surgery can be difficult. The pain associated with bending the knee can be challenging, depending on pain tolerance. Pain meds are important those first few weeks, especially before seeing his therapist. As the weeks go on, the pain and stiffness decrease. I don't think you need to worry about how to care for him, the home nurses/PT's will guide you through that. He really will be up and walking around quite soon after surgery. Going home after a few days is the norm, unless you are older and need more care. Best wishes, I am sure he will do fine and be glad he had this done!

 

[CrazedDisFan]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I truly appreciate your thoughts, experiences and good wishes.

I have another question... does anyone have any experience with a continuous passive motion machine (CPM)? We recieved information in the mail from dh's surgeon about this machine. We have to have on delivered to our home for post-surgical care. He will need to use it at home for at least 2 weeks.

Thanks for any in-sight!

 

[Zurealsoon]

I think the biggest problem my Mother-in_law had was being overweight,that just adds more burden to the knee joint.

 

[heart4pooh]

I know three people who had total knee replacement. The one who had the continuous passive motion machine sent to her house has had the best recovery. The other two took a long time to rehab and were not aware that they could have the machine at home (only used it in the hospital). Actually, the one who had it at home said she had less pain when she was using it than when she wasn't, so it encouraged her to use it as often as she could. She is now looking forward to her other knee being done after the holidays. She said it was a lot of pain, but in the end well worth it.

 

[Griggle]

I had my knee replaced 5 years ago at 35. I wish I had read Saphire's advice to you prior to having mine, just so I was prepared - which I wasn't. I figured I'd already had two knee surg's, 3 c-sections...how bad could it be? Well, it definately wasn't a walk in the park.

I started using the CPM the afternoon of my surgery - do not - do not - let DH not do it - take no excuses! It will hurt, esp those first few days - but better the pain from that, then the knee stiffening.

My only advice - don't leave the house with DH in that thing! Sounds like a duh kindof thing to say but my DH left me in it in front of the TV (I had mine on the living room floor) to run out and get Chinese food....5 minutes after he left, I had to use the ladies room. I was still in a lot of pain and just didn't have the mobility to get myself out of it - so, I was stuck in it! I kept thinking, what happens if the house goes on fire....I'm stuck in this thing! Lol moment now - but a duh moment then....

Good luck with everything!!! Hoping it all goes well and DH is up and running around before Christmas!

 

[Galahad]

DW had total knee replacements in her mid 40's. It took about 6 months to really get through the recovery, but she was moving pretty well at 6 or 8 weeks. The bad news is that the pain never really goes away for her. One reason may be that she is very small (5'3" and <100 pounds) and they should have used child sized knees and they did not, so the ones she has are really a little too big for her bones. Also, the sooner you get yourself off the narcotics after the better. She did not have the CPM machine but had the surgery done while in the Army and went to Physical Therapy in an Army hospital for several weeks. Today, several years down the road, here range of motion and such are pretty good, but she still has painful days. It may be partly because she has rumitiod arthritis and not just osteo arthritis.

Good luck though! As the spouse, I thought the recovery would be a lot more difficult than it was but he should do fine - especially if he's otherwise in good shape.