New Knees?

[HotRodZilla]

Don, save your money. I can work you in between your projects. Never done a knee but it can't be any worse than that damn KZ motor. I have stayed in a Holiday Inn before. What could go wrong??

I'm with Ray. Let him do it on the cheap, and save your money for the important stuff like penile implants.

I don't do those after Beemerdons' went so horribly wrong.

FIFY...No thanks necessary!!

 

[FJRay]

Don, save your money. I can work you in between your projects. Never done a knee but it can't be any worse than that damn KZ motor. I have stayed in a Holiday Inn before. What could go wrong??

I'm with Ray. Let him do it on the cheap, and save your money for t

he important stuff like penile implants.

I don't do those after Beemerdons' went so horribly wrong.

FIFY...No thanks necessary!!

FYYFF.

 

[dcarver]

Greatly appreciate all the comments. Both knees now run cortirsone for lubricant although i've heard stp is cheaper. The cortisone works pretty good but only 2x per year for some reason. And it's temporary relief. I can tell the right knee, done ~2 months ago, isn't as magical as what it was earlier.

15 years is along time. I've already out lived every other male in my family so this time is all good. I'm almost 59 - so 15 years is fine.

It's funny. I call the years from 2006 to present 'The FJR' years. Lots of street riding, meeting strangers who become friends who then become life long friends. I'd like to see the 'The FJR' years continue for at least another good 7 years.

Thanks everyone, for posting. I go for blood panel in the AM and meet with the ortho after that.

Don

 

[GinaMcD]

Don, find the best surgeon you can and go for it.

The year we met you at NERDS, it was my husband's last hurrah before returning to work after knee replacement number two. He had the first done in April 2010 and the other in April 2011. If he didn't have a job that required climbing stairs and ladders, crouching, kneeling, carrying heavy loads, etc., he would have been back to work about 6 weeks after each one when he was cleared for both driving and riding. He does HVAC service work and his employer refused to take him back until he was cleared for full duty, so he got an extended paid vacation thanks to short term disability insurance!

He had three surgeons tell him he was too young at 46 and that he needed to wait because the replacements would only last 15-20 years given his line of work. He'd had two prior surgeries on each knee, was bone-on-bone with both and every day the pain got worse. About a year later he finally decided to go talk to another surgeon at the area's best hospital for joint replacements. The doc took one look at his x-rays, turned to him and all he had to say was, "Which do you want to do first?"

The other key to a full recovery is find the best physical therapist you can. They'll give you a bunch of exercises and stretches to do between PT sessions. Just follow their instructions and you'll recover or even improve your range of motion. We met way too many people who blew off the exercises and they had to go back to the surgeon for a "revision" -- going back in to break up all the scar tissue that forms as a result.

Looking back, he kicks himself for waiting so long. Today he can do much more than he used to because he doesn't have the pain limiting him.

Good luck!

 

[dcarver]

I remember you! Thanks so much for replying. Amazing how quickly things can sneak up on you. At NERDS I had no knee pain. When racing MX, my knees and quads were my strengths. Even wore Rx knee braces as preventative measures. Tomorrow is a blood panel to see if the issue might be gout. I guess the doc has to be confident, and the ins co too, that nothing else is the problem.

Today, preparing for fall by covering the air conditioner on the house... the right knee.. almost had me off the roof. I have to first go through a PT regime and what not prior to ins saying yes. At least that's my understanding.

I fully understand the PT part too - I had a meniscus sp? tear fixed and didn't follow through with PT. That was the right knee, which was then my worst knee. Now my left knee has taken that honor and the right knee is the good one.

Of course, I can't sit on my haunches, or fold either leg underneath. After cortisone, I can get along pretty good, but the roof today was a leader indicator.

So good to hear from you again!

Don

 

[HotRodZilla]

Don, before you let anyone cut you, do SERIOUS research. My sister is a scrub nurse, and she has horror stories. The staff all know which doctors are good, mediocre, bad, really bad and excellent. I won't see a or ortho doc for anything without her recommendation.

In 2006, I got dropped off a wall in training and tore my right ACL. Because it was a work injury, I had to see the doctors that were contracted by Workman's Comp. They're a large ortho group, so no problems there. I had a supposed sports doctor that had all kinds of shit on his wall. I was worse after surgery the before. My knee popped, hurt like Hell 80% of the time. I could barely kneel to play with my daughter. That Jackass cut me in early June 2007, before my sis got into her current job.

In late June 2009, I was screwing around and retore it. When I fell, my wife thought I broke my leg. That was some of the worst pain ever. The first tear barely hurt. Workman's comp tried to deny a claim because I wasn't at work. My sis was now at a large hospital and had the best knee surgeon in the SW. I had torn the ACL, did MCL damage and had a bucket tear of the miniscus. He was sure he was going to have to do this thing where they hammer a spike into the top of the tibia to force it to bleed and create cartilage. Would have made me 100% non-weight bearing for 6 weeks. Can't remember the name of that procedure.

He got in there and realized doc #1 had fucked me up something good. The constant pain I had was because the lower anchor he installed was wearing an oval hole into my tibia. The tunnel for my new ACL was at the wrong angle, which caused the popping. It was "borderline malpractice" but not quite bad enough to sue for it. He told me the first doc would claim different styles and beliefs on technique and get away with it.

So the new doc did my knee again. Didn't have to make knew cartilage and put me back together. That was the worst pain I've ever had. It was awful. This time, he had me in PT in a week, I was running in 2, unlike doc #1 who made me sit around for 6 weeks and gain 30 lbs I can't seem to lose.

Doc #2 wrote a scathing letter to Workman's Comp, so they laid for surgery #2 also. Bitch is, my right knee still has pain. There's no fixing that. Then I was off that knee for so long that my left knee hurts. Sooner or later I'll have to have something done to each, because my first surgery was bad!

I say all this to make you understand you have to ask everyone you can about your doctor. Infection rates, return rates, healing time, general skill. He may have great knowledge and shitty technique. If he drills holes that are bigger than necessary, it makes follow up surgeries harder.

Do NOT let your insurance dictate anything. **** them. Bitch at them until they agree to pay for the best of what you need. I have an $1800 custom carbon fiber knee brace because the cheap off-the-shelf brace they tried to force me to wear rubbed sores into my skin.

My father in law had his knees replaced and was way better off. Recovery was a bitch, but he did it and felt better. Good luck man. I'm sorry you hurt. Knees are awful when they hurt.

PM Joe (Tucson Joe) he had one replaced and I'm sure has good advice. He's tough as Hell and can probably give you some good pointers.

 

[juniorfjr]

Don,

My Eye Clinic is on the ground floor with Orthopedics above us. See many patients coming and going from knee replacements. Most turn out well and the folks are happy with the results. But as AJ said get the best you can get your insurance to pay for. Some don't turn out well and they are miserable forever. When I had both shoulders done, I asked the physical therapists who to go see. They're are the ones that see you after the procedure. Get as much imput as you can.

Good luck and I expect to see you at these get togethers for another 15 years at least.

Fred

 

[Pterodactyl]

Do not, under any circumstances, watch a video of a hip or knee replacement. They are floating around out there and they are not pleasant to watch. Once the joint is out the Doc can move the leg in some unnatural ways while he/she pounds on the new part with a hammer to get it seated. If you saw a mechanic do something similar to your FJR you'd punch him right square in the mouth.

 

[RadioHowie]

Do not, under any circumstances, watch a video of a hip or knee replacement. They are floating around out there and they are not pleasant to watch. Once the joint is out the Doc can move the leg in some unnatural ways while he/she pounds on the new part with a hammer to get it seated. If you saw a mechanic do something similar to your FJR you'd punch him right square in the mouth.

SO true!

Only thing uglier than watching knee or hip surgery....is observing circumcision surgery. YIKES!!!

 

[HotRodZilla]

Hip and knee surgery is brutal. I was contracted to hospitals years ago running an auto transfusion setup. Knees, hips and backs were all clean enough that the blood could be recycled, so I was present for tons of them.

The OR sounds like a car garage with air tools, impact wrenches and saws. Every now and then we'd get an intern who didn't have the stomach for it, and since I wasn't scrubbed, I was the designated catcher. Haha...

 

[BkerChuck]

My late father in law had both knees replaced. I can tell you from seeing him the PT is one of the most critical parts of the whole procedure. After his first one, he did a pretty good job of doing the exercises, stretching, and generally doing the things he was supposed to do to help regain range of motion and strength. Second time around he was a few years older and several pounds heavier. He didn't want to do the exercises. He didn't want to stretch. He wanted to just sit around and have people wait on him and baby him. Needless to say the results the second time were nowhere near as good. I have no doubt it's painful and that you're not having fun but I also know that as with most things in life we get out of it what we put into it.

Good luck and we'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

 

[CA G-Man]

Just chiming in to give you more food for thought Don. I happened to be playing golf with a business acquaintance (I think about 65 yrs old|) this week who had both knees replaced at the same time about a year or year and a half ago. He too said that he regretted not having it done sooner and that he was very happy with the results. I asked him "if you could go back in time, would you get both done at the same time again?" He paused to think about it, and then said "yes, I would." For him it prevented the psychological harm of thinking about the second one coming up while recovering from the first, and he also avoided the risks of a second general anesthesia (which I understand increase with age). He said the surgeon insisted that he start walking that night after the surgery.

Best of luck with the knees, whichever way you end up going!

 

[yamafitter]

As you probably already know I had my left knee replaced in the fall of 2009. Two things that went in my favour. I spent lots of time in the gym before the surgery and lost some weight and got the leg as strong as possible before the surgery. Doing this reduced my recovery time greatly. I was off the crutches after two weeks and was back to 120o range of motion in 5 weeks. The 120o is the magic number that allows you to go up and down stairs. As others have stated getting the right surgeon is essential.

I was one of the lucky ones that I had very little pain after the surgery. I was in the hospital for three days and never used any pain meds after that.

Good luck with the surgery and hope to be riding with you at Red Lodge next summer.

 

[Niehart]

 

[mcatrophy]

Many people in the UK who want elective surgery usually find it significantly cheaper to go to some country on the European continent, have the operation, stay for however long is necessary, and return home. However, a small but significant proportion have subsequent problems that would not have occurred had they had the surgery at home.

As with many things, you tend to get what you pay for.

For the record, the average cost to have a new hip replacement done privately in the UK is about £11000, $16850. Of course, we have the option of having it done at no cost under our National Health Service. The surgeons are the same, the quality of the operation is the same, but waiting lists are longer, and you won't get a private room during your recovery. My Better Half went privately for both of hers, the cost mostly covered by private health insurance.

 

[Niehart]

I'm sure my friend, DC, has good benefits where he is now gainfully employed so his out of pocket cash should not be to bad.

I have a little surgery coming up and my out of pocket will be about $6000.00. Freaking ouch.

 

[juniorfjr]

I'm sure my friend, DC, has good benefits where he is now gainfully employed so his out of pocket cash should not be to bad.
I have a little surgery coming up and my out of pocket will be about $6000.00. Freaking ouch.

Not going to use the VA?

 

[yanktar]

Don,

I can't give you much more on knee replacement than anyone else here has given you, but I've seen a number of them since I've both hips replaced (a big piece of why I haven't been around here much). Most people are far better off after the replacements IF they do do the PT. I knew from falling off the FZ1 in 2004 that PT needs to be attacked with abandon. I call it "Treat PT like it's an enemy you have to defeat and destroy!" Push as hard as you can--you want your therapist to be telling you to slow down or do it easier, not egging you on to work harder and push more. Then be prepared to baby it. No running, no martial arts, never high impact. That doesn't mean you can't work out and work out hard! I do. The two guys I know who have NOT had success with their knees, BOTH worked outdoors. One runs a landscape business and even the revision (official term for re-doing a replacement) gives him a lot of pain. The other was the best sprinkler tech I've ever seen--and was on his knees all day, even after the surgery. Oh--there was a lady, very heavy, who, in the PT room with me (after my 2nd hip) who looked like she was never going to be OK because she didn't want to do the exercises--they HURT but you just have to put that aside.

How will you know when to do it? Well, every doctor says, and I agree, "You'll just know!" And you will!

For me, I was in agony with my left hip and walking on a cane when I went to the doc I SHOULD have used for both hips. I didn't know it, but my right, despite no pain, was nearly as bad as the left. After not being able to walk much on a vacation, and struggling to keep the house powered during the blackout of the Halloween "FrankenBlizzard" of 2011, my family said "Do it!" I ended up with a different doc, at the hospital that does all the NY Jets surgeries, and he's done 4000 hips. He had been AMAZING with my back pain, giving me exercises nobody else could that worked. Yet.....

So I committed myself to losing weight--almost 40 lbs, doing lots of cardio (swimming and arm bicycle--couldn't use a treadmill, bicycle, etc) and a TON of upper body work just in case I had to carry myself with my arms. Lucky I did....The surgery went smoothly and the next day I was walking on it. Then they moved it around and, I let out a yelp. I couldn't walk on it, but they didn't x-ray it, instead, sending me to a stepdown rehab where I spent the next 12 days. NOBODY thought to take a simple, no-brainer X-Ray, either before I left the hospital or at the rehab. I went back to the doctor for the 2 week followup. They X-rayed it routinely...it had been dislocated for nearly 2 weeks and I was going through PT with it! I kept asking "How come it hurts so friggin' much? How come I can't put weight on it?" I was back in surgery that night for a "reduction" of the dislocation (no cutting needed). I was able to stand the next morning. But now the soft tissue was all stretched and damaged, so PT was very painful. But I kept at for 2 months before going back to the gym. More and more exercise worked it out but it still flairs up 4 years later. My wife investigated a malpractice suit but no lawyer would call her back. DESPITE that, I'm still far better off than I was before the surgery and I'd STILL go through it again if I had to!

After about 2 years the right hip was now hurting like hell. Between it being "cartilage free" for years and the left being just about 1/4" longer, i couldn't sleep. So I went to the doc I SHOULD have stuck with, at a fine, but less prestigious hospital. This went FAR better. For a month after I had a lot of pain, and lived on ice and pain-killers. Weirdly, my right knee hurt like hell and I wondered if I had damaged it. Nope. It was just temporary. The physical therapist came to the house for about 5 visits, then I went right to the gym. I've been great because I kept up the exercise and there were no "adverse events". Now, 2 years later, the difference in leg length gone, the right rarely gives me even a twinge. It's not that I skimped on PT, it's that I did it myself having been through it already.

Do not let anyone talk you into a metal-to-metal joint. Now the liner for hips and knees is irradiated cross-linked polyethelene, whatever that is, that wears far more slowly than previous liners. 15 years was the AVERAGE life, but now most are expected to last ON AVERAGE 20 years. But you must become and stay active.

And you'll NEVER go through a metal detector again without setting it off. So ask them to put you through the body scanner and it's much faster!

YT