happy to be alive, grateful to be an American

J. Yuma said:

how did the surgery go?

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Went well I'd have to say, no prior surgery for comparison. 48 hours in I'm pretty impressed with how little pain there is. I've been advised that it's coming.

It's like that rollercoaster ride once I was strapped in I was there for the whole thing.

in_a_silent_way said:

In times gone by bad joints rendered most people permanently crippled and was often the short track to poverty and an early grave. The rocking chair on the porch used to be more than decorative. My great grandfather was fortunate to have thirty years of service with the Illinois Central. When he could no longer walk, they transferred him to a position as switch yard foreman. My grandmother, from age 8, pushed him in a wagon close enough to the car so he could get in. She drove him to work every morning. Using a lane IC cleared they pulled up close to the tower and scooted him into the hoist. A few IC employees would haul him up to the crows nest where he stayed for the day until my grandmother picked him up after school and his shift. Modern medicine has its faults, but the alternatives weren't very attractive.

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my Mrs. took this yesterday.
I think that since it's my 3rd surgery, I kinda know what to expect.
I'm not a doc, and everyone is different, but if you're living in pain, and healthy enough, it's way better than suffering.

Hertervillian said:

Went well I'd have to say, no prior surgery for comparison. 48 hours in I'm pretty impressed with how little pain there is. I've been advised that it's coming.

It's like that rollercoaster ride once I was strapped in I was there for the whole thing.

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do the rehab exercises, you must re-establish your range of motion.

Had both hips done along with a spinal fusion With the hips one was done and I was up and walking one hr. after surgery and home driving the next day. Same with the other hip done months later. No meds after the surgeries on the hips they were total replacements.
The surgeon was a Walter Reed surgeon.

The back was another story laid up for 6 months.

Stay safe and walk.

I've had full knee replacement surgery on both knees, but not at the same time. My surgeon absolutely would not even talk about doing both at once - said the only real problems he'd ever had from knee surgeries was when doing both at the same time. I had one done in 2014 and the other in 2017. I've hunted the Colorado mountains for elk since then (twice) and can do about anything I want to do - or at least my knees are not the limiting factor. I had a great surgeon (same guy did both surgeries) and I worked really hard at the rehab. If they said do 30 reps I did 50. Got great results.

jack black said:

Had both hips done along with a spinal fusion With the hips one was done and I was up and walking one hr. after surgery and home driving the next day. Same with the other hip done months later. No meds after the surgeries on the hips they were total replacements.
The surgeon was a Walter Reed surgeon.

The back was another story laid up for 6 months.

Stay safe and walk.

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was walking 4 hours after they sent me to recovery, and can't drive. I do walk 60 minutes a day in 3 20 minute sets, but I also enjoy my wife waiting on me .
If I ever fell, I'm 265 lbs, I think she'd just leave me there.

6GUNSONLY said:

I've had full knee replacement surgery on both knees, but not at the same time. My surgeon absolutely would not even talk about doing both at once - said the only real problems he'd ever had from knee surgeries was when doing both at the same time. I had one done in 2014 and the other in 2017. I've hunted the Colorado mountains for elk since then (twice) and can do about anything I want to do - or at least my knees are not the limiting factor. I had a great surgeon (same guy did both surgeries) and I worked really hard at the rehab. If they said do 30 reps I did 50. Got great results.

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my brother in law is 76. He had both knees done at the same time, I can't imagine him trying to sit on the throne.

Been lifting weights since 2019 (hell, since 1967) and was getting back to some (light) deadlifts after the first hip.
The upper body strength helps when standing up and sitting down.

I had both done at once back in 2005. I had been at the point of barely being able to walk 100 feet, with a cane, before being stopped by the pain. Now I still walk about an hour every (or most every) morning with my dogs. My Mom had both her knees done when she was 81, afraid that if she had just one done, she would chicken out from getting the other done later. I thought if she could do that at 81, I could handle it at (then) 62. At the time, most of the ortho docs would not do it, but mine was willing and there were no complications. The rehab was tough, but not unreasonable. After almost 19 years I have been told that my prosthetic knees are still in excellent condition.

ole442 said:

I had both done at the same time. Recovery wasn't bad but next time, I'd have it done in the spring when it's warm out. Limited activity in the winter months sucked. They're not the 22-year-old knees I'd hoped for and they still ache but they're better than the OE ones I got!

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when i got the knee done in 2011, the doc suggested a stationary bike for rehab.
I'd been able to do everything except jogging. Before the first hip, I was doing deadlifts with 350 for 5 reps.

vito said:

I had both done at once back in 2005. I had been at the point of barely being able to walk 100 feet, with a cane, before being stopped by the pain. Now I still walk about an hour every (or most every) morning with my dogs. My Mom had both her knees done when she was 81, afraid that if she had just one done, she would chicken out from getting the other done later. I thought if she could do that at 81, I could handle it at (then) 62. At the time, most of the ortho docs would not do it, but mine was willing and there were no complications. The rehab was tough, but not unreasonable. After almost 19 years I have been told that my prosthetic knees are still in excellent condition.

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Wow, I hope my knee holds up like that!

J. Yuma said:

Wow, I hope my knee holds up like that!

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Getting my knees replaced forced me to give up two activities that I had greatly enjoyed, running and skiing. I had never been a runner until I gave up smoking after 20 years of heavy cigarette use, but running then became my new addiction. For several years I was running about 40 miles a week. I ate all the junk food I wanted and stayed lean and strong. I took up skiing in my mid 30's and while I was never competitive, I became fairly proficient. But I was warned by the ortho docs that the prosthetics could not handle the pounding of running, and the twisting of skiing could end up destroying the prosthetics. But by the time I had my knees replaced I could not run or ski anyway so I know I am far better off with the fake knees and able to walk without undue pain and do it for as much as I want.

vito said:

Getting my knees replaced forced me to give up two activities that I had greatly enjoyed, running and skiing. I had never been a runner until I gave up smoking after 20 years of heavy cigarette use, but running then became my new addiction. For several years I was running about 40 miles a week. I ate all the junk food I wanted and stayed lean and strong. I took up skiing in my mid 30's and while I was never competitive, I became fairly proficient. But I was warned by the ortho docs that the prosthetics could not handle the pounding of running, and the twisting of skiing could end up destroying the prosthetics. But by the time I had my knees replaced I could not run or ski anyway so I know I am far better off with the fake knees and able to walk without undue pain and do it for as much as I want.

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I was a runner myself, and came to it later in life also. I had always lifted weights, but had unfortunately fallen into eating "like I was going to the electric chair."
I was called in by my boss and told I would be fired unless I lost some weight. (ah, the old values!) So I started jogging and loved it.
Anyway, I ran for years until a knee scope finished my days on the trail. Ten years later, the right knee was replaced.
I retired in '19, and began lifting 3 days a week, stopping only for these hip surgeries.

8 weeks after my first hip, my doctor cleared me for "all activity." I went home, jumped on my motorcycle, and went for a spin. Still a bit wobbly, I was turning left after a stop and fell over directly on my surgical hip.
Other than a huge bruise, and some minor bike damage, it was all good, and I somehow managed to avoid divorce.