Knee Replacement Surgery

[Texas53]

Has anyone on here had knee replacement recently? I have 20% cartlidge left and am taking Halgon shots for the short term. I have to get it done this year as my insurance benefits may drastically change next year.

Have no room mate or significant or insignificant other, no family and am worried about my kitty while I recuperate.

Any info will be much appreciated. :)

[Pauli]

I didn't have replacement, but my dog totally blew out my knee... wiped my meniscus out..it was torn completely loose and turned in a different direction.. When it happened I couldn't stand at all, it was like there was nothing below the knee. They had to completely rebuild when they went in to do surgery.

I had the surgery.. I was up walking around on crutches that evening.. I was able to get around enough to feed dogs, and self.. use bathroom etc.. i was off crutches in just a few days and doing rehab. I was out of work 8 weeks though..

[Texas53]

I didn't have replacement, but my dog totally blew out my knee... wiped my meniscus out..it was torn completely loose and turned in a different direction.. When it happened I couldn't stand at all, it was like there was nothing below the knee. They had to completely rebuild when they went in to do surgery.

I had the surgery.. I was up walking around on crutches that evening.. I was able to get around enough to feed dogs, and self.. use bathroom etc.. i was off crutches in just a few days and doing rehab. I was out of work 8 weeks though..

Though our situations are somewhat different, you give me much hope! :)

[Pauli]

They will get you back and doing rehab within just a few days after your surgery.. I think you will be surprised as how well you will be able to do. You just have to make sure you don't over do it.

ETA.. it also depends on the extent and what type of replacement... and how long you have to remain in the hospital. They will have you up and moving by the next day after surgery.. Once the knee is able to support your body weight you won't need crutches or anything else for walking.. that's just a general idea, i know all cases are different.

[gramvof14]

Has anyone on here had knee replacement recently? I have 20% cartlidge left and am taking Halgon shots for the short term. I have to get it done this year as my insurance benefits may drastically change next year.

Have no room mate or significant or insignificant other, no family and am worried about my kitty while I recuperate.

Any info will be much appreciated. :)
Texas my sister inlaw had knee replacement and did very well/ Is your kitty an in door kitty with a litter box and does your kitty eat dry food. if indoor kitty use 2 litter boxes and if kitty eats dry food put a hugh bowl of food down and a hugh bowl of water unless you have someone to watch the kitty while you are in the hospital.:love0085:gram
hope that helps

[TeeOne]

Texas, my mom is 85 and has both knees and most recently hip replacement surgery. I was very surprised at how fast they had her up and moving.
Just be sure to tell your doctor that you will be going home with no help and that you will have to take care of you cats. As long as they know that, they won't send you home if your not ready. Just a thought!

[Ross]

My brother just had knee replacement surgery Feb.12th.,he is 67.He was in the hospital for 2days after the surgery,then moved to the rehabiliation dept. of the hospital for two days ,so they could not just watch his progress but give him exercises to do at home.He also goes to a rehabiliation clinic three times a wk.
He tells me things are going very well but until he gets more strength in his leg he is using a walker.

[Topaz]

you can rebuild your knee... with SAMe. That is what I did in 1999. I still take it daily.

SAMe is made by our bodies, but declines with age. It is formed from B12,
B6 and folate on homocysteine. (this cycle failure also leads to heart and blood vessel damage/stroke).

SAMe has been used in Europe since the mid 1970's by injection. When it was brought here, it was reformulated into a tablet (enteric coated) that is not destroyed by stomach acid. Vets are using it now for animal arthritis and liver damage too.

SAMe does 3 things... 1) helps with joint maintenance, 2) improves liver functions, 3) improves mood.

I posted a long post at IS board on the Health section, you can search that for the links.

I had an MRI and was told my knee would need a replacement, but I had some cartilage left. Within 2 years on daily SAMe, I no longer need my brace, and I have little pain (sometimes I get an ache there but not often).

Many knee issues occur as we age do to the imbalance of the quads (the front of thigh) and the hamstrings (back of the thigh). Proper exercise of the quads can help realign the knee and prevent damage to the ligaments and
cartilage wear. You can Google quad type exercises.

There is a subset of people, who if prone to autoimmune disease, will react to joint replacement as a foreign element and escalate. I know a woman who developed Sjogren's syndrome and severe pain, 3 mos after her knee replacements. If you have Lupus, or MS, or RA, this is a risk, very small, but still a risk.

It takes time to rebuild the knee. But it can happen. Some doctors can even grow new cartilage for you (this is very expensive) and inject it back into your knee. There is a doctor near me who does this.

I have also found that using Lidoderm patches behind the knee when you have severe pain, helps tremendously. Using NSAIDS for more than 6 weeks actually impedes your body's ability to heal itself...since NSAIDs suppress Cox-2 cytokines, some of which are healing and some inflammatory. Using Lidoderm for pain, is a better choice.
Here is an example:
http://news.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-2/First-head-to-head-study-to-compare-lidoderm-patch-and-Celebrex-in-treating-pain-12-1/
I cut one patch in half and put only 1/2 behind the upper thigh part of the knee..that is where the nerves impact--just above the bend. (Not on the front of the knee where you feel the pain). Placement is everything with Lidoderm..wrong placement leads to failure.


NSAIDs do not heal anything, and should be reserved for acute short term issues, IMO. I think alot of chronic damage to joints comes from overuse of these...and I was guilty of this too. I have had arthritis since my early 30's.

So I keep my daily SAMe at 600mg first thing in the morning and I have my knee back too. I started at 200 and moved up slowly and found that 600 worked well for me. If I go off of it... pain returns in a few days.
I buy brand name NatureMade (they developed the patent here), and use the buy one get one free sales, I redeem the Wellness points and get a $7.00 off coupon and also use Costco whose prices are lowest. If you buy generically only purchase blisterpacked type SAMe. Loose tablets are inferior, and SAMe is very moisture intolerant and foil packaging is essential.