How are you managing Knee pain?

In my experience, cortisone lasted exactly one month. I've had injections with Euflexxa (sp?) that ended about a month ago with some relief, but not a whole bunch. My new insurance will cover everything but a $500 copay, but I'm currently unable to have the time to get replacements done.

slight hijack:  be careful.  "FLECTOR" patches are an NSAID patch.  Even though they are not administered orally, the danger of NSAIDS for post-op RnY's is  systemic.  You may already know this - I just want to point it out for other postops or those considering an RnY who may not be aware.

And, I totally relate to your knees.  Mine are bad too, the right one is bone on bone.  How do I manage it?  Oxycodone. Heat.  And going back and forth in my head trying to decide when to have the replacements.  For me, losing so much weight helped considerably for awhile.  But all good things must come to an end and here I sit.

They told me I had to be 50 years old, which I am this year.  Now, they say the optimal age is 60.  They don't want to have to ever replace the replacements so I understand the thinking.  Basically mine are so bad now that it's up to me to pull the trigger.  And I fear the post op pain and rehab more than I hate the pain and limited mobility I deal with now.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.  Sucks getting old.  ;)

Amy, I cannot guarantee that you will have the same experience that I did, but I had the exact same situation and fears about TKR that you have expressed, and now that I have (finally) had both knees replaced (one at a time), I REALLY wish I had not waited until they got so painful -- and tolerated the pain for so long -- before I pulled the trigger on the replacements.

Yes, the first three weeks are horribly painful -- gonna lie about that! -- and the physical therapy is no fun, but if you time your pain meds so they kick in at the beginning of your therapy sessions, it really helps make the exercises quite bearable. 

I still have some discomfort and stiffness some days on the most recently replaced knee, but I can walk any distance I want without pain for the first time in almost 15 years, and it is wonderful!  PM me if you want to talk more about it.

Lora 

Thanks Lora.   I  am actually leaning toward getting it done this fall.  Just to get it over with. 

I  have a weird question though.   Having just gone through five months of utter hell until the surgeon decided to open up my abdomen to see if they could find what was causing unbearable pain (turned out something WAS wrong in there - my intestine had thickened, causing sporadic blockages, and I had open ulcers all over the outside of that same piece of intestine.  I felt so much better after surgery that I didn't need pain meds after the first day - even though they had to convert to an open surgery mid procedure) how would you rate your post op knee pain in comparison to your abdominal pain before they went in and found out/fixed your issues with the mesh, etc? 

Of course I realize they are completely different issues and even if they weren't we are completely different people, but do you have a way to quantify the pain of those two experiences? Quite frankly, I will never be able to voluntarily put myself in that much pain for any reason.  I've never had such terrifying, prolonged pain.

The open surgery I had to fix the mesh issue -- and other open surgeries I have had such as my hysterectomy and appendectomy -- had a pain level that was what I consider "typical" for an open surgery (for me, obviously).  The pain I endured before they fixed the abdominal issues was much worse than the recovery afterward! That pain was much closer to kidney stone pain in intensity! 

Yes, knee replacement is a completely different kind of pain.  My abdominal pain (and the pain from kidney stones) is very sharp whereas the pain from TKR is a duller, pervasive kind of pain. I broke an ankle in middle school, and the pain from the knees was much more like that pain (even if greater intensity). Two of the kidney stones I have had to pass hurt a LOT more than my knees did!

Please keep in mind, though, that your surgeon should provide pain meds for the first couple of weeks that will keep you reasonably comfortable.  You will likely not spend very much time completely pain free for several weeks post-op, but if you take the pain meds regularly at the prescribed interval, it is bearable.  Staying "in front of" the pain, though, was key for me.  When I didn't (like at night in the hospital), it was, admittedly, very difficult to get relief.

I found that, psychologically, it helped me a LOT to keep in mind that the pain from the knee replacement was temporary and that the reward for enduring the pain and doing the physical therapy was the absence of knee pain down the road! 

Lora

Thank you Lora. =)

I agree with the suggestion of seeing an orthopedist.  Soon.  

I turned 57 last June. I don't plan on living to my 80's and more. I was also recently diagnosed with an illness that is destroying my immune system. lots more to consider, I want to thank each and every one of you ladies for giving me your input on this very serious issue..

No load bearing exercise will help build muscles to support your knees and increase circulation. I use a recumbent bike and swim to help with this. Cortisone and Synvisc didn't help me at all. Neither did arthroscopic surgeries. If I walk or stand too long, I get more pain and swelling. So if I am on my feet for too long, I try to ice 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off several times when I get home. I also use Active On (a topical analgesic) that sometimes helps. Both my parents swear by a prescription topical called Voltaren gel. I haven't tried it yet because my prescription meds are already too high.

im still hoping my next 80 pound weight loss will improve my knees. If not, TKR is in my future.

I just went to ortho last week to ask about knee replacements - I have terrible pain.  But he wants me to lose more weight before he does the surgery - I'm just three months out and have a long way to go.  Got a cortisone shot, but it hasn't helped (he said it could take a week before I felt results).  Also said to ice my knees.  Also seeing another ortho for my back pain next week.  (Anyone feel the same way I do?  -- Orthos are "too" specialized -- I saw one doctor who handles trauma injuries, another one for knee pain, and now another one for my back.  Also seeing Neuro for neuropathy, and he ordered MRI of upper spine.  Geez.)  

Thank goodness I don't work any longer -- it seems keeping my medical appts. is a full time job.  First it was pre-op and post-op visits for the surgery, now three ortho doctors and neuro, and cardio, and PCP monthly, and eye doctor to do glaucoma check, and sleep apnea doctor, and let's not forget the "yearly" female exams, and the x-rays, mris, blood work, etc.  And PCP wants me to have a colonoscopy. Add gym visits, and then there's the counseling I want to start, and menu planning and logging my food intake...........YIKES!!!  BUT, I'm still glad I started this journey -- life is good!