Anyone have a parent with a knee replacement?

MrsRebecca · December 2009

Or have one yourself?

What can you tell me about recovery and the experience in general?

m00n_fire@hotmail.com · December 2009

My grandfather had both knees done and was out of rehab in 5 days. he had to take it easy for a while but is doing great now and he is almost 80!!! I know younger people heal faster.

MrsRebecca · December 2009

m00n_fire@hotmail.com:
My grandfather had both knees done and was out of rehab in 5 days. he had to take it easy for a while but is doing great now and he is almost 80!!! I know younger people heal faster.

5 days, wow! That is encouraging. My mom is 61 so hopefully she'll have an easy recovery. I know she'll be in the hospital for 2-3 days.

Do you know if he had a lot of pain?

fenway2010 · December 2009

My mom had her knee replaced earlier this year (she is 60). The actual surgery was painful, but they had her up and about very quickly, and the rehab was not as bad as she had heard...she was back to doing yoga in 2 month, and she is much more mobile and pain free than she had been for quite awhile.

Linzyxo · December 2009

Father in law had a knee, hip and shoulder (all at different times) and my uncle just had his knee done.

Recovery has been different between the two of them. FIL had some complications with scar tissue and had to be put back under to stretch it out. Once they got thru that he was fine. Was layed up about 3 weeks initlaly and then went thru 12 odd weeks of rehab. Now he's back to his old self:)

Uncle is still in recovery (had it done just after turkey day) and is doing well. He's got another 2 or 3 weeks layed up and then can start rehab.

In both cases they were happy they had it done. Now they can both walk without pain and can get back to their lives (both were very active prior to replacement surgery)

MrsRebecca · December 2009

This is so encouraging...it sounds like this won't be as bad as I had feared!

My mom is a kindergarten teacher and has been out of work since the first week of school due to a pretty bad fall she took after tripping over a broken piece of concrete in a sidewalk. She is worried that now she's going to be out the entire year...but it sounds like if they can get it done pretty quickly, she might be back before the year ends!

fenway2010 · December 2009

Is your mom's replacement the direct result of the fall? Because my mom's was actually the result of an injury, and not just long-term arthritis. And that actually made her recovery even easier according to her doctor. When you have long-term pain, that you have been dealing with for years, then your ligaments and muscles tend to be pretty atrophied, which can make the PT afterwards painful and difficult. With my mom, because it was the result of a more traumatic event, she'd only been immobile for 3-4 months. She had her full range of motion back within 10 days or so of the surgery, and breezed through PT. So maybe your mom would have a similar experience.

Good luck to your mom!

MplsBoomer · December 2009

My dad had a double knee replacement last year when he was 59. I'd say the recovery was kind of long (at least a couple months) before he was 'normal'. It is SO worth it though. He is like a new man!

Skruffy · December 2009

my mom suffers from severe ortheoarthritis and she is having a knee and hip surgery both in 2010. They told her recovery time will be extensive, like 4-5 months.

m00n_fire@hotmail.com · December 2009

MrsRebecca:

m00n_fire@hotmail.com:
My grandfather had both knees done and was out of rehab in 5 days. he had to take it easy for a while but is doing great now and he is almost 80!!! I know younger people heal faster.

5 days, wow! That is encouraging. My mom is 61 so hopefully she'll have an easy recovery. I know she'll be in the hospital for 2-3 days.

Do you know if he had a lot of pain?

He handled the pain really well ( and he's not super tough or anything like that )

Mrs. Gizzles · December 2009

My dad had both knees replaced, at the same time, when he was 59. Recovery is challenging, but as long as you keep on top of the pain and get moving as soon as possible (RIGHT AWAY), it's fine. He was walking around Disneyland within 6 weeks, and walking better than he had walked in years. Aggressive physical therapy is crucial.

jacodi · December 2009

I had one a little over 4 years ago. I got off to a rough start because I had a 'spinal headache' and everytime they got me up to move I was in a lot of pain from that. Finally had the blood patch done and was good to go. Took about 2 months before I could really move around and surgery itself just knocks the wind out of you anyway, but the knee recovery was well. I was more tired from the surgery itself and strengthening my leg again than anything.

One thing is that people that have total replacements need to worry about infections - mine got infected somehow when I was 10w pregnant and I ended up having to have emergency surgery to clean it out, replace a part and was on IV antibiotics for 8weeks 3x a day and since then have been on 500mg of azithromax and will be for the remainder of the pregnancy. Not fun.

I do not have complete range of motion as my other leg, but have about 120 degrees which is way better than it was prior to the replacement. I have rheumatoid arthritis, which is why I needed the replacement.

swimrbride · December 2009

I work on an inpatient rehab unit (rehab from medical issues, not drugs) and we see a ton of knee replacements. It honestly varies. Typically if they are coming to us it is going to take a little longer because there is usually another isses (weakness, older, other med conditions). But there are some people that are in the hospital 3-4 days then go home and do outpatient therapy and typically they are using some sort of assistive device (walker, cane) for walking for about 6 weeks.

After the rehab period though most people are back to their normal activities. We have a nurse that has had both knees replaced and the way she runs around here you would never know!

saphire0917 · December 2009

My dad (he's 46) had both knees replaced in June. At first it was pretty tough as far as pain goes. He used a walker and his doctor arranged for a physical therapist to come to the house. After about 3 weeks he stopped using the walker and switched to a cane. 5 to 6 weeks post surgery he was walking short distances with nothing assisting him. At the time of the surgery I hadn't had an ultrasound yet and he swore I was having twins. He kept saying he needed to get better so he would have 2 new knees to bounce 2 new babies. I'm not having twins, but I think the idea of a new baby kept his spirits up. Now he's 6 months post surgery and you can't even tell he had surgery. He feels great.

Jibbelle · December 2009

My dad (61) just had a double knee replacement 2 weeks ago (he played college football and his knees have been a disaster for decades). Honestly, he was MISERABLE the first week. Once they got him on pain meds he could tolerate, he was doing more therapy, getting around a lot more, swelling started going down, pain went down, and he started feeling better. I think he still has good days and bad days, but he doesnt regret having the surgery at all!

He will be off work a total of 5 weeks (but his job requires that he stands/walks almost 100% of the time.

Jibbelle at hotmail dot com if you have any questions!!

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