Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Knees are nearly bone on bone, now what?

Buy this stuff from swansonvitamins.com

https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-premium-glucosamine-chondroitin-msm-500-400-200-mg-240-tabs

It is proven to help with arthritis.
Also, take gelatine. Buy a little box of Knox gelatine at the grocery store, 4 little envelopes. Put one envelope in a glass of OJ, or else V8 juice, take one a day. The cartilage in you knees is composed of gelatin and this stuff will rebuild your cartilage.

If this stuff is so good, you may ask, why didn't your doctor tell you about it?
Because if you take these simple cheap supplements and they work, your doc will not get a big fee for total knee replacement surgery.
Sorry if I sound so cynical about MDs but I have been dealing with them for 30 years and I have very good reason to be cynical.j

You have nothing to lose this stuff is cheap and no side effects. Try my stuff for two months, and see if there is an improvement.

You'll know when it is time to stop hoping for a miracle cure when the cortisone shots quit doing the job. I know people that the shots worked for for several times. (,I think approx 90 days required between shots), Including myself. Then try the Rooster comb, which I also did and when those remedies quit working, the bone to bone condition was still there.
And then you discover that the time you were easing the pain, the bones have started really grinding together.
I have found that with my new knees, I can again go up and down stairs, hills etc. ,which I couldn't do before, Also mowing the yard is no longer painful. I can even get in and out of my pickup box when that brought tears to my eyes before. There are things I stay away from like running, crawling on the floor with my grand kids,.
I think the longer you wait, the harder the recovery / rehab.will be. I was not told how long my knees will last, but the doctors said I am not pushing them too hard. He does suggest I don't start running though.
I honestly think that unless somebody comes up with a better cure, the total knee replacement is a good cure for a miserable pain that will rob you of years of enjoyment.
You have to be willing to keep using your knees after rehab. , but it is worth it.

Ken
PS I am not related to an orthopedic surgeon!

6-40 years is quite a range for longevity of a new knee.

I'm 52 and have been dealing with bone on bone for a few years now. My ortho told me to go about as long as I can before doing TKR because even though they have "30 year" knee replacements, he says as active as I am that I won't get close to 30 years out of them. SO I've been getting the hyaluronic injections/synvisc in both knees about every 8 months and I take glucosamine daily. I'm not over weight of which my ortho tells me to keep it that way, and don't do any running. My exercise is on a stationary bike only for my legs.
From what I understand, the injections don't seem to help everyone. So guess I am lucky. I can go just about pain free for months and then they really start bothering me, so back in for injections.

All of these miracle remedies sound great, but most of them are a waste of time and money. Stem cell is great, supposedly, expensive, and not covered by insurance as many have stated. Like I said before, when it starts hurting bad enough, cortisone/synvisc doesn't work, you'll do something about it, and that means not using those miracle treatments.

As far as longevity, there is no reason a new knee shouldn't last 25 years or more nowadays. Your lifestyle may have to change, maybe not. My doc told me I should not play basketball, jog, squat up and down repeatedly, no high impact stuff. That's fine with me as I don't participate anyway. All I wanted was a normal, no pain in the knee joint, lifestyle.

I was X-rayed at age 60 and told I had no cartilage in either knee. Plus I had sciatica and couldn't walk very far without pain. I underwent therapy and cortisone. Nothing really worked. Finally, I just started walking (and stopping). Also cycling. After awhile I could walk indefinitely. I started to work out with a personal trainer, built muscle, and also lost 75 pounds a few years ago. Now I'm healthier than any of my friends my age and have no problem power walking with weights, etc. I'm 73 years old.

There is no shortcut. Forget the magic snake oil stuff. Just get in shape. Knee replacement should be a last resort.

Uh huh.Talk about cynical. This is about a double dose of horseschittt, Simon.

29,000 posts doesn’t correlate to good health? Hmmmmm🤔

Visited the Dr this morning. Cortisone shots still provide minimal relief so we agreed shots to get me thru hunting season then knee replacement of the right knee. Left knee replacement a year or so later.

Jim, why not do both at once? I ask because I am seeing the Dr in a week and if it goes as I think it will I will be in that discussion, one or two and when. Several people have recommended if you need em both, do them together and be done with it.

I had TKR in the right knee 11 years ago. What a world of pain.
I am not a wimp. I would never do both knees at the same time, do one and wait a year.

Try Ozone Gas Discosan before you resort to surgery.

Avoid steroid injections - while they lower inflammation, they actually degrade the cartilage and bone.

Tyrone: Indeed "steroid injections" REPAIR nothing in a ruined knee!
But you know what Tyrone, the "steroid injections" greatly diminish and relieve the constant and aggravating pain of arthritic knees, cartilage "free" knees, bone spurs and various other conditions I and millions of others have suffered immensely from!
I am the worlds greatest avoider of prescription drugs (and Doctors) and the like - but I worshiped the relief that Cortisone injections gave me.
I strung out all the Cortisone injections I got "at the end there" to 120+ days apart.
Again the relief from those injections was just amazing and wonderful.
Again no improvements in any conditions I suffered from other the the relentless ongoing agony and sleep depravation!
Let me give YOU an example!
I drove over to Missoula, Montana about 3 years ago to the knee specialist Doctor who was treating me - its a 175 mile drive each way.
I got out of the car in the Doctors office a bit trepidacious about my first Cortisone injection. I could barely walk with my one BAD knee!
Let alone the time it had taken to wriggle out of my car with just one functioning knee.
I hobbled across the lot in a moderate snowfall in my short pants with bare legs showing there under my "Bermudas".
I go visit the Doctor and his female physicians assistant and they inject my knee for the first time.
Off I go, still hobbling, and drive to the Cost-Co store across town.
Still in a snow squall and still in my short pants I grab my shopping list and hop out of my car and stride across the parking lot - almost instantly I realize I am virtually completely free of the agonizing pain and limited movements that had PLAGUED me for several years!
I am not afraid to admit it I began crying there in the snow and the parking lot as I walked - I have never felt such elation and relief in my life!
And this amazing transition took place in about an hour - from agony to wonderous relief!
People in the lot were staring at me as I cried and walked by in my short pants - but I could not have given a flying [bleep] less!
Poo-poo the "steroid injections" if you care to but "I" am a believer!
If a person is on the path to a knee replacement I absolutely endorse Costisone shots for amazing relief and aversion from agony that haunts seriously injured knee owners - like I was!
And the few years I got away without the knee replacement due to Cortisone use I did pretty well resuming endurance Hunts and backpacking.
And those years of "putting off" the inevitable knee replacement got me that much closer to the end of my life and having to face the misery and painful recovery from knee replacement just the one time.
Amen, and thank you Jesus, for Cortisone!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I think it's all tradeoffs. If you wait a year, that's another year with pain doing simple life things, like walking. Where if you do them both, you get a huge HUGE suck fest to live through for a couple weeks, then you improve.

Bon H in NH: I know three people who had BOTH total knee replacements done at the same time - NONE of them endorse doing so now!
All were/are working people and they SUFFERED!
My one friend tells this story on himself after he had both knees done he crutched his way to his patio and laid down on his lounge chair/bed.
He tried to take a nap but "nature called" to him after a while.
He could NOT get out of that chaise type lounge chair to relieve himself no matter what he tried!
He had to call 911 for help as his wife was at work and could not leave to come home and help him.
By the time the Police and Fire crew got there to assist him he had already relieved himself - he relayed to me how that was one of the worst moments/incidents of his life.
He laughs about it now but it was not funny at the time.
My sister-in-law is a supervisor of supervisors of nurses at a large hospital in the Puget Sound area.
She had both knees done (replaced at the same time) at age 62 it was over 180 days until she could resume her mostly desk duties due to the pain and recovery from atrophy and weakness.
My sister-in-law is a workaholic and had never used a days sick leave in all her time at that hospital - she just could NOT manage even simple duties for 6 months - she had MUCH difficulty attending her physical therapy classes and of course had to be driven there and back each session (three times a week!)!
If I had to have both knees done (and knowing now what I know!) I would NOT even consider doing both knee replacements at the same time.
"Suck fest" is exactly what the operation and recovery should be described as!
Story on myself - I think it was week 5 of my recovery and I decide I will take a Jacuzzi bubble bath in my master bedrooms tub.
Hadn't done so in months.
I get in and that was not to difficult/painful and I turn on the jets and soak there for 20 minutes or so.
Once done soaking/relaxing I could not slither my way out of that tub!
I tried everything - I let the water out, I put a towel on the edge of the tub for traction, I tried to upend myself into a forward kneeling position no luck!
I had to call in the VarmintWife with a foot stool and put it under my ass and then "bailed out" over the edge of the tub onto the better traction carpeted floor where she helped me to my feet.
Two total knee replacements at once - wouldn't even consider it!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Ask your surgeon if they are using an ERAS protocol for pain relief after surgery. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery includes nerve blocks, spinal block, medication regiment, early ambulation, etc. The results are dramatically better than just a few years ago. Some facilities are doing TKA on an outpatient basis.

[quote=simonkenton7]I had TKR in the right knee 11 years ago. What a world of pain.
I am not a wimp. I would never do both knees at the same time, do one and wait a year.[/quote

Err, scuse me, Dude but didn’t you just pimp the wonders of gelatin and Swanson vitamins one page back?

If both knees hurt and diminish your quality of life, a year is way too long to wait.

Some people have had bilateral TKAs, but most nurses reco against, and most surgeons will not do doubles. It more than doubles the risk of complications and ..... death (sort of a serious complication).

My doc would not do doubles (I asked, but was for information only). They want three months minimum between sxs, so you have a 'leg to stand on' after each. mine were Nov 2, 2017 and Jan 30, 2018. Did great after each one, but i had an excellent surgical team, a wonderful PT, and hit the PT hard. you know you're hitting the PT hard when you get told to 'take it easy - it's a marathon, not a sprint'!

I feel 20 years younger.

I did mine 3 months apart. You know it's going to be a month of pain, then it gets better relatively quickly after that.

I had my left knee replaced 4 weeks ago on 5/22. I will have my right knee done on 7/9. The surgery is considered an outpatient procedure, with one night in the hospital. I am 70 years old and have weighed around 300 pounds for most of my adult life. I guess I did pretty well because they lasted 7 decades. I investigated the possibility of getting both knees done at once, but we decided to do them 6 weeks apart because of the lower rate of complications.

The surgery was done using a spinal block and sedation. This is supposed to promote a somewhat faster recovery for the first few days. I was asleep during the procedure.

The pain was becoming debilitating prior to getting this done, and I had a pronounced limp. The left knee was more painful, but the right knee looked worse on the X-rays.

When I awoke from surgery, I was pleasantly surprised that the pain was moderate and tolerable. It has never been excruciating, but of course it has not been a recreational experience by any means. I was able to stand briefly the first day and walk with a walker on the second. PT began the second day and has been 3 days a week so far. The PT has been easier than I anticipated, but certainly not fun. I now have a 110 degree range of motion on the operated leg. I take prescription pain pills at night and before PT, but Tylenol most of the remainder of the time. I started driving at 2 weeks. I have been able to ride my zero-turn lawnmower for the past week.

I can walk reasonable distances and do carry a cane but don't have to rely on it. For example, I can make a shopping trip to WalMart with a good level of comfort.

Hopefully I will be functionally able to enjoy the fall hunting season.

The first day I had the distinct impression that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, because when they had me stand up 8 hours after the surgery, I felt pain from the incision, and the muscles and tendons that had been abused, but I did not feel ANY of the bone-on-bone pain and grinding that were such problems before the operation.

I live alone, but did have company for a few days after the surgery. However, I have been able to take care of myself without help almost from the beginning.

I can't say I am looking forward to getting the right one done, but I definitely AM looking forward to being able to walk normally next fall. My advice is as follows: If you need to get them done, go for the gusto. If I can answer any questions, feel free to PM me. Best wishes.