How are you managing Knee pain?

I gotta keep moving, but the pain is getting more and more intence every day. My knees are burning. I'm planning to see the doctor later, for now am wondering what you all are doing to keep moving that are suffering from the same thing. I have to take a break from riding my horse..I love walking but the pain is getting unbearable. I know there are arm exercises. I want more.. I am watching every little thing I eat now so I don't regain any more. I have put on 5 lbs in the last 6 months..Hurts to even do leg lifts in bed. I do get brain dead and just need to read about some ideas then I get moving. Thanks a bunch.. Wendy

Honestly? I'm not. I'm trying everything I can while I await a time when I can take the time off I'll need to get a double knee replacement. I've had injections done, which did't make much difference, but a least a little bit. On bad days I take Advil liqui-gels but most days, I just tough it out.

Bette, if you are doing both knees at the same time, do you either have someone at home who can do basically everything for you for a couple of weeks?  Or, can you go into a rehab facility for a week or two? Otherwise, please have them done one at a time.  I know you didn't ask for advice but it is hard not to in this.

(laughs) It's so weird. I have had people who tell me to do one at a time, others who say do them both and get it over with. Either way, I'm only 3 months into a new job and won't have the time to get either of them done for quite a while.

Before I had my knees replaced, I did lots of icing them and took a combination of Tramadol and, when needed, Vicodin for my knee pain.  I did what little I could do as far as walking or using my recumbent bike (MUCH easier on the knees than walking or using a normal bike or an elliptical machine).  I also did steroid injections and Synvisc One injections on a VERY regular basis.

Some people find tha****er aerobics of swimming is good exercise when you gave bad knees, but my left knee was so bad that just the action of flexing it, even without ANY weight at all on it, was painful most days.

Also, an orthopedic surgeon should be able to tell you, based on your individual physical condition, what exercises would be least uncomfortable (and will not further damage the joint).

The reason that I decided to go ahead and have my knees replaced were that I realized how much the quality of my life was diminished by the pain and physical limitations, I was concerned about the tolerance I was developing to the pain meds, and it was going to have to happen eventually.  (I also decided to go ahead because I was concerned about the future of healthcare coverage, and I wanted to be sure I COULD have it done without having to jump through a lot of hoops, and could use the surgeon and hospital of my choice.)

Lora

Hi huskergalWsD,

Here is a great thread that was on the forums a few days ago about the same subject.....

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/5263561/Knee-injectio ns-and-knee-replacements/

Wendy, PLEASE go see an Orthopedic Surgeon!  If your knee needs to be replaced and you have the insurance to cover it (I paid NOTHING for both my knees), you will honestly kick yourself for not doing this sooner!!  You will be back riding sooner than you can imagine!  But you MUST do the physical therapy afterward!  You have lost the weight, now get your life back.  PLEASE!

Edited to add..Wendy, I went back to check but you did read that thread that OH is referring to.  Honey..WHY are you waiting?  I seriously care about this issue.

Well to be very honest, I get so confused how to handle this. I hear negative and I hear positive on this subject.  I was just at my doctors office and mentioned this situation, she gave me some patches called "Flector Patches"to put on my knees, they last 12 hours for knee pain.Sample trial package. Some say its better to get a knee replacement done asap. some say prolong it as long as you can. Doctor also said she would do some cortisone injections , said it lasts for 3 to 6 months to relieve pain..I have read about both of these remedies to help with pain. Now its up to me what steps I want to take. I hate this confusion..

It's pretty simple.  As I said in the older post, most insurance companies want to know that you have already tried the cortisone injections and / or Synvisc injections before they approve knee replacement.  And yes, cortisone can last anywhere from 3 months to a year or more per injection.  However, with every new injection, that relief time gets shorter and shorter until they just don't work anymore.

At that point, you need to seriously look at replacement.  Who knows, the injections could buy you a few more years.  But...when people tell you to wait as long as you can..that's old wives tale stuff.  Why should you put up with that when you could be absolutely pain FREE?  Nobody can tell you what to do, nobody should have that power over you.  you had WLS to improve your life but the thing you enjoy most, you can no longer enjoy due to the pain.  Pain patches, pills, all they do is mask the pain so you can function.  How long do you want to deal with that?

The biggest reason to wait might be her age (potentially... I don't know how old she is).  A knee can only be replaced twice because of the process, and the expected lifespan of a new knee is currently about 20 years (depends on what knee hardware is used, ho waive the person is, etc.), so if she is only in her 30s and has a TKR now, she may need another one in her 50's, and then what happens when that second knee wears out and she is still living and trying to be active in her 70's?

I agree with you that far too many of us wait too long (usually out of fear of the unknown, as in my case), but there is also no guarantee that someone else will have the same very positive experiences that you and I have had.  So although I am happy to tell people that my experience has been very positive, I don't push and push and push them to do it.  If they do and then they have a negative experience, I won't want to feel responsible for giving them expectations for outcomes that I could not guarantee.

My best friend's husband still has significant pain in one of his knees and a friend of mine has just as much pain (and more swelling) after her TKR than before (and she is almost a year out from the surgery!).

Lora