Knee injections and knee replacements

I'm sorry to hear of your spine and neck with osteoarthritis.  I've had similar issues too. 

Before making my post, I was very fearful of the knee replacements.  After the replies of information and experiences, I feel more assured and relieved.

I had my first knee replaced in 2005 and the second in 2010.  My suggestion to anyone needing replacement.  Try the injections yes but they will only work so many times before it just doesn't take care of the pain at all.  I had it 3 times, also did the Synvisc and that didn't do a thing for me.  The injections of cortisone worked for a couple of years only.  After having the first knee done, for about 2 months, I didn't think I would go through it all again with the other knee.  But, by the third month, I KNEW I would do it!  Do NOT put this off because of supposed pain and clicking!!  It is one of the best choices in the world!!  I promise!!

The clicking you are describing is because your leg/knee muscles and ligaments have been moved, pushed, twisted around to accommodate the surgery and they are royally pissed off!   However, after physical therapy and months of doing exercises at home, they begin to tighten around the prosthetic knee and accept it.  This came directly from my surgeon and physical therapists.  Do not even consider that you won't need physical therapy!!!  you will!!  You will learn to take every chance you get to bend those knees and a desk chair is one of the best for that.  And you will learn to ask yourself why you waited so long to do this??

The deal is...take your pain meds!  If you let pain get ahead of you , you will surely regret it.  Do your exercises!  Stretch every time you get a minute!  Stairs are scary.  Get to them as soon as your physical therapist tells you it's ok and practice, practice. 

If anyone has questions about this as this OP did, ask, please!!  It is so worth it.

Okay! How long was the hospital stay? How much rehab/PT and how long out of work? That's the stuff I have to consider as I'm considering having it done.

I was in the hospital for 3 days (4 days with my first one because my labs came back funky and I needed to get several units of blood), and was off work for 6 weeks for both.  I also went back to work half time for a week after the first one because of swelling and muscle spasms (that leg has considerable vascular damage from DVTs).

I had in-home PT three times a week for the first three weeks (plus exercises I had to do on my own 3-4 times per day), and then twice a week for the last 3 weeks (only 2 weeks with my second knee because that leg was much stronger). 

I did not have to do any other PT because I was able to meet the goals for flexion and extension by 4 weeks post-op.  (If I had not, it would have meant going to a PT facility twice a week for a couple of weeks until I met the metrics.)  I continued to do the "on your own" exercises twice a day for about another month and then just once a day until I had gotten all the flexibility I was going to get and most of the swelling and stiffness were gone.  I still do some of them on days when the one knee is still stiff.

I work remotely from home so other than PT (where I can flex my work schedule to fit in) and doing the in-home exercises during non-work time, I'm thinking (hoping) that I shouldn't have to be off work for that long. 
Thank goodness for PTO! 

You, along with the other members that have posted replies, have made me feel much more optimistic....THANKS!

Long post: PRINT THIS;   I stayed in the hospital 3 days, discharged on day 3 for the left leg.  The right leg is your driving leg (for driving on the right side of the road) and was my first done.  I stayed for a 4th day on that one because that surgeon actually cut through my quads so the rehab was much more than for the left leg where that surgeon did not cut the quads. Plus the fact that the Doc said I was stoned on the morphine (I didn't know)  and so the day after surgery when I was supposed to get up and walk, I was too nauseous to stand up. But on my discharge day I was wheeling up and down the hall waiting for the paperwork to get finished!  8 weeks of out patient rehab.at 2-3 times a week depending on the Physical therapist.  Take all you can get! I was in accounting and went back to work part time at 4 weeks.  HOWEVER...I later found that I should not have because I was still on vicodin and found I had made frequent mistakes.  Thank God they were not substantial mistakes!  At the time, I had no idea that was happening, I found them later on.  So, in that case 6 weeks is a good standard.

Some people say they can go off the meds earlier but the real deal is that if you let the pain get ahead of you it will be bad and isn't necessary.

IF they cut the quads, your leg will feel like a log that doesn't belong to your body for a few weeks.  You have to do the exercises to help your body understand it DOES belong and it will begin to accept the leg.  It sounds worse than it really is but having that understanding is very helpful.

Most do not cut the quads... on my left leg.  I rehabbed so fast it wasn't funny!  Altho my surgeon (not the same as before) would not release me to drive for 6 weeks because of the narcotics, since it was not my driving leg, I was driving at 2 weeks after surgery. Short distances.  Driving too far is a bit uncomfortable and your knee will stiffen up badly. I lost my job shortly before this surgery so had no schedule other than PT.

What you will find is that every day after the first week brings a baby step of improvement that you would normally not even consider.  But, since your knee was just cut out, you will take the baby steps for the miracles that they are in healing. 
Every day gets you a bit closer to no pain.  Your leg will continue to swell for 3-6 months and if you try to elevate it after work, a little during work with an under desk foot thingy, and ice it when it needs it is very helpful and necessary.  You will need to ice it at work!!

At about 2 months, you will be bouncing around but maybe with a cane just for stability. You will already be so happy you chose to do this!!

If there is one thing I can not stress enough it is YOU MUST DO THE PHYSICAL THERAPY.  If you don't, this is what you risk:  your knee will not bend or straighten as it should.  your knee will stiffen in place.  you will go back into surgery and the surgeon will re-open that knee, manually massage it and put it into motion again, and you will go through this whole thing all over again but it will hurt more because you JUST HAD A KNEE REPLACEMENT STUPID!    

If there is anything else you want answered, please ask!! Everyone is different, just like WLS and you have to work for what you want.  IT IS SO WORTH IT!!!!!  The pain you have post surgery is NOTHING like the pain before surgery.  I Promise you.

Printed!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU for this:

"If there is anything else you want answered, please ask!! Everyone is different, just like WLS and you have to work for what you want.  IT IS SO WORTH IT!!!!!  The pain you have post surgery is NOTHING like the pain before surgery.  I Promise you."

Agreed!  I really wish I had not been too scared to do it for so long and endured so much pain unnecessarily! Thanks for the info on things tightening up and the clicking going away.  I was not sure how much of the decrease was the clicking/popping disappearing and how much was me just getting used to it.

I didn't find stairs scary EXCEPT for the one time that I tried to use the folded up walker as instructed in the hospital.  My stairs are MUCH narrower than the sample ones at the hospital, so I immediately dumped the walker in favor of crutches.  Those were SO much easier and not scary at all (but I have used them before, so am not sure if they would be scary on steps for someone who had never used them... but I don't remember being scared when I used them on steps the first time...)

Agreed on the walker!  Crutches are considered more dangerous on stairs but I thought the walker was!  I HATED doing the stairs but now, just a bit slower is all.

Along with other members' replies, your post helps me so much. 

My WLS was one of the best decisions in my life so you saying the same thing about your knee replacements makes me feel much better. 

Thanks for sharing your experience and suggestions.  I'm saving all of these reply posts.