Guest guest Posted August 8, 2004 Report Share Posted August 8, 2004 Hello to everyone, I am a 40 year old retired firefighter. I first hurt my knee fighting a house fire about 12 years ago. I had arthroscopic surgery about 6 months after the injury. My knee wasn't the same, but I could work on it. About 4 years later I hurt the knee on a fire again. I had another scope done and was worse after the surgery than before. Luckily, the doctor moved out of state and I was able to get another doctor. He scoped my knee again. This time I came out better. After working a few more years and injuring my other knee, I was retired from the fire dept. I have been on a steady decline with the mechanics of my knee to the point that I am bone one bone in one, and the other is following along the path of the other. I am in pain 24/7 even though I am in pain management. I don't understand why the meds don't do a better job. I can relate to the other people in the group. The post about grieving really hit home. I wasn't aware that others experience a grieving process. I thought that I was just being weak minded. It is a relief to know that I am normal, if that makes any sense. I look forward to getting to know that group better. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hello Steve I believe there simply reaches a point with knee deterioration when you have to consider knee replacements. There isn't any pain medication that can relieve the pressure and rubbing when it comes down to bone on bone. There are leg exercises to help strengthen the tendons and muscles. A physical therapist could teach these to you. I had bilateral knee replacements done in 2001 when I was 46 after working in nursing for more than 20 years. Unfortunately I ended up with nerve damage to my upper legs and am worse off now than I was before the surgery. My left leg is not as bad as the right. This very rarely happens but it is something you will want to consider when deciding on this surgery. I regret that this nerve damage has occured but I still feel that the surgery was worth the risk. You will want to shop around for an excellent surgeon and mine was excellent. I do recommend that you get both knees done at the same time. It is a good six month recovery and those first few weeks are tough. The surgery will not take your pain 100% away but your function should increase tremendously. Your knees will be very sensitive to cold since the replacements are metal. Welcome to the group. I hope this information is helpful to you. Kaylene ps 40 is not " too young " to have knee replacements done. I have been on a steady decline with >the mechanics of my knee to the point that I am bone one bone in >one, and the other is following along the path of the other. I am in >pain 24/7 even though I am in pain management. I don't understand >why the meds don't do a better job. > >Steve > > _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hi Kaylene, My doctor is telling me that I am too young for the replacements. He seems to think that 50 is a magic number. It may be a W/C thing, though. I went for a visit the other day and told him that I am suffering. He told me that unfortunately there is nothing that he can do right now. I suppose that I really should quiz him more thoroughly. Steve Kaylene Goyette wrote: snip > 40 is not " too young " to have knee replacements done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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