Knee replacement at 36. Tell me how it went for you, please!

Do it. Below is a patient story I wrote for one of my clients. This woman waited 17 years to have a knee replacement because her doc told her to wait as long as possible. By the time she finally had it done, she was in constant pain -- even in bed at night. She had to literally crawl up the stairs in her house. She could not stand for more than 5 minutes. She could not stand up to cheer her son at his graduation. She couldn't go shopping because she couldn't stand long enough to try on clothes, or walk through the mall. She couldn't take walks with her husband. Travel was out of the question. She kicks herself for wasting precious moments of her life sitting on the sidelines.

“I Feel Like a Bionic Woman”
In 1998, Lynn Edwards of Bakersfield fell and tore the cartilage that cushioned and stabilized both knees. Surgery to repair the damage left her with bone rubbing on bone. Her surgeon told Lynn she’d eventually need both knees replaced, but encouraged her to wait; she was only 44, and at the time most knee replacements lasted just 10-15 years.

Soon, the pain of bone rubbing on bone robbed Lynn of a normal life. She quit work. She could barely walk, and crawled up the stairs in her house. Sunday School classmates in their eighties grabbed chairs for her because she couldn’t stand. Her husband and son helped with everything.

“I never dreamt life could get so hard,” Lynn said. “I’ve gone through cancer, but this was worse.”

Lynn endured the pain for 17 and a half years. Finally, in December 2015, she had her right knee replaced by Thomas Ferro, MD at San Joaquin Community Hospital.

Fifteen minutes after being wheeled back into her room after surgery Lynn was walking, with the help of a walker and a physical therapist. Less than 24 hours later she was climbing stairs. Three days after surgery she walked five blocks – all without pain.

“What a beautiful gift to be able to walk beside my husband again,” she said. “I’ll be able to dance at my son’s wedding. I feel like a bionic woman.”

Lynn plans to have her left knee replaced soon. “I can’t thank the staff at San Joaquin Hospital and Dr. Ferro enough. They’ve given me a new life.”

I have not had one (yet, but it is in my future) but my mother had both knees replaced with great results. They key is to do your rehab exercises faithfully. Mom did and she was back to normal motion and no pain in half the time most people take.

Fit4LifeAR wrote: »

I had severe knee pain for years, and doctor after doctor told me to lose weight and the knee pain would go away. The pain actually started years after I lost the majority of my weight, but I could still stand to lose another 25-30 pounds, so I understand the advice. I knew my knee pain wasn't solely weight related though, not considering it hurt for years. About three years later and 4 doctors later, I finally got a doctor who took me seriously, and ordered an MRI. He thought I had a meniscus tear, but the MRI showed three areas on bone-on-bone. One of the areas was particularly bad, so I was scheduled for a relatively new cartilage regeneration surgery. During the surgery, the doctor discovered 4 areas of bone on bone and a torn meniscus. He cleaned up what he could and did not move forward with the other surgery. He told me that he has approved me for a knee replacement, as soon as I am ready.

Fast forward almost a year, and my knee constantly hurts. It is getting much worse, much faster, and my goal was to hold off as long as I could. Now I am beginning to wonder if holding off is the best option for me. The risk of having a knee replacement at 36 is that the knee will only last 15-20 years, but what is the difference of replacing the knee now, or a year from now, at this rate. So, I was wondering if anyone has any experience in getting a knee replacement at a "younger" age, or at all. How was the recovery? My recovery for the first surgery was brutal, much worse than I ever thought, but the doctor said that was normal considering all of the areas they worked on. Even though it was horribly painful, I worked through it and recovered much quicker than they anticipated. I wonder how the pain is after a knee replacement? We are also going to Rome over Thanksgiving, so that would be 5-6 months later. Is that a reasonable amount of time to be able to walk around Rome comfortably?

I went in for knee pain for years and had a number of different diagnoses. The first was that I had a tumor in my knee that I decided to not get checked out right away. It turned out that it was just scar tissue. I went to pt for years and my hip was hurting like crazy with the knee hurting. so I seen a hip specialist and my hip was all kinds of jacked up. Bad impingement that lead to a hip scope where I lost 100% of my labrum. Still had the knee pain 1 doc said I would need a knee replacement and got a second opinion and it turned out it was not an issue in the join but instead it was a mass the size of a dime of scar tissue. He suggested a F.A.S.T Procedure in December. I got it done and now it feels 80% Better. yet I have worse pain in my hip.

I am to this day unable to do situps or run and after being on my feet all day i am in excruciating pain.

Basically I am saying you may wanna get a second opinion.

I didn't have knee replacement at a young age, but I had hip replacement at 39. It was bone on bone and it got to the point where I couldn't sleep through the night because of the pain, so I had the replacement surgery. For me, it was a great decision. From what I hear, recovery from knee replacement is harder than hip, but I was back in the gym 6 weeks after surgery. I did follow the physical therapists instructions and did my exercises. It's been 5 years and recently had it checked out and the doctor said it looks great.

youngmomtaz wrote: »

Many people feel less pain a few days out of surgery than they were feeling before surgery.

With my hip, I woke up from surgery in less pain. The incision hurt, but the joint no longer hurt.

Fit4LifeAR wrote: »

**Update**

It is now almost 4 months since my knee replacement and I am back at the gym and doing pretty well. I still have daily pain and I think that is to be expected, but Tylenol usually does the trick. I have a few weeks of Tramadol left, but I am trying to not take them unless I am having a really rough day.

I have become so restless and impatient though, I really want a hard workout but I am so limited at the gym. I've been riding the bike for a few months and recently starting adding the elliptical, but my body craves a good, hard workout. It's amazing the mental funk you can fall into when you can't workout like you used to.

How long does it take before you start to feel "normal" again? I will be 4 months out in about two weeks, so I hope I get there soon.

Swim. Get in the water and swim or find a water cardio class. You'll have the workout you're looking for. And if everybody in the class doesn't look as young or fit as you, so what? Make it what you want. Best workouts ever.

@Fit4_LifeAR Friend me please!!!! Would love to speak to another with a knee replacement!!!