Well having waited for my appointment to see my orthopaedic surgeon for about12 weeks I'm now in pieces. When I originally saw him privately in February he looked at my xrays and was surprised that I was in so much pain with my right knee as it showed only mild OA whilst my left knee which was much less painful showed much worse OA. He transfered me to his nhs list and had further xrays done and then referred me for an mri. I finally saw him today to discuss the results. I feel that both my knees have deteriorated since the last time I saw him probably due to my holiday in Dubrovnik where we had to walk down a steep hill and 180 steps to get into the town and then the same trip in reverse to get back to our apartment. I now can barely walk more than 2 or 3 yards without being in agony which means that I am pretty much housebound now. I am only 56 and can't imagine how I'm going to manage to live like this. Anyway to get to the point he, the surgeon said that the mri only showed a lot of debris so a new knee wasn't appropriate. He said that he would do an arthroscope and repair a torn meniscus. I've read several reports which say that arthroscopies usually didn't work and most people then had a knee replacement anyway. He said that he'd seen many people like me who were in terrible pain, had a tkr and still had the same pain even after surgery. I must confess that I was in tears and asked him why I was in such pain if there was nothing obviously wrong. He said he honestly couldn't say. I asked for a further xray to see if there has been any more deterioration which he agreed to. I went for my xray and am now waiting to hear from him. I know that having a tkr if it's not necessary would be stupid but I can't bear this pain for much longer. Have any of you had an arthroscopy and had a successful result? Sorry for the long post!!
Oh grandmaDylan I do feel for you. I was fobbed off with arthroscopies years ago and suffered for it. Finally got my tkr this year. You were right to stand up for yourself !! If you really only need arthroscopies so much the better..... But you're right to insist on finding out.
Sending you hugs and best wishes x
I had an arthroscopy and it lasted 15 more years before I had a tkr. I am now 4 months in at 71. It was worth it for me.
Thanks for this positive post, jeanne
Just because arthroscopy wasn't great for me, doesn't meant it won't be for you, grandmaD. I'm glad jeanne has pointed this out x
I had an arthrosphy which lasted 7 years before I had a tkr last year. I was 53 when I had the op. If you do need one it will probably give you a few years before you need a tkr. Recovery from an arthrosphy is a lot quicker and much less painful. Good luck with whatever op you need. 😉
Thanks for your support. I made the mistake of reading an article in the dreaded daily mail (my daughters said I shouldn't believe anything I read in there! It was my mothers paper) so I had already made up mind against it. I'll have to see whether there has been further deterioration and if not I'll go for the arthroscopy and hopefully be back on my feet within the next few months. When I last spoke to the waiting list lady she told me that although the guidelines are that surgery should be within18 weeks of being listed the wait times were nearer 6 months.
My sister in law had a scope to repair a badly damaged meniscus about a year ago. Within 6 weeks she had virtually no pain and hasn't had any problems since. You have to do what they say and rehab it properly. If you try to beat the game you'll more than likely lose.
BTW....she was 75 at the time. She still works with her flowers and volunteers 2 times a week in a state owned estate and garden.
Ha ha ... yeah never believe what you read in the Daily Mail!!!
I had a tkr almost three years ago. Both knees were the same-bad oa. The followinng year, I lost over 40 pounds and the left knee rarely gives me a problem. The right knee with the tkr hurts every minute of every day. So no more surgery for me. I'll use a wheel chair first. Please try the easiest first. No guarantees either way, but arthroscopy would not do as much damage if it didn't work as well. You can always have the tkr later if necessary
I had several arthroscopies on both knees, they are short procedures and really helped.
During one, I also had microfracture, which was brilliant and gave me a few more virtually pain free years.
If there is debris showing in your knee joints,it can jam and get stuck and cause terrible pain.
The longer you can put off TKR the better for you long term.
I have since had both my knees replaced, though not at the same time.
So try not to worry, you never know, arthroscopies might give you a whole new life.
Hi
I have had two arthroscopic surgeries in the past and both were a huge benefit to me. I have now had to have a TKR but the arthroscopies took away the pain for quite a while. I am 47 and had the surgery about 10 years ago.
Hope his helps.
tracey
Hi grandmaDylan,
I so feel for you. I have had so much surgery on my knee for the past 15 plus years. I too was refused a partial or total knee replacement. The reasoning all those years ago by the consultant was I was too young and that knee replacements only last around 10/15 years before needing replacing. I remember being in floods of tears and almost begging him to go ahead with a pkr at that time. The pain in my mind was unbearable and I was furious and disappointed with his decision and nearly said how can you leave me in so much pain. I have to say though that the arthroscopies and micro fracture partially worked for me. They made the pain bearable for a couple of years at a time so the consultant was correct.
Last Christmas the pain suddenly went to being unbearable. I struggled with everything from getting in and out of the bath to climbing stairs to using the loo. I was embarrassed in shops as if there were a few stairs I'd have to use the lifts and the looks I got from mums with buggies as if I had no right to use the lift was horrid
I'm 51 now and three weeks ago had a tkr carried out by the same consultant. He still classes me as being too young but the knee had to got to a point where an arthroscopy was no longer an option. Looking back I'm so glad he made me wait as what I classed back then as excruciating pain was nothing compared with the pain I was feeling three weeks ago before the tkr. My 84 year old mum had a tkr 18 months ago and she said that although the pain is gone it's not the same as having your own knee which I'm starting to understand. After all this I think what I'm tring to say is believe in your consultant. They are the expert. They can read your MRI better than anyone. Should they think an arthroscopy will help I would say go along with what they say. Accepting their decision is sometimes so hard especially when you've been up all night in pain. I believed a tkr back then would lead to my being pain free. Now it's been carried out I'm not totally convinced this is going to be the case but watch this space. It's early days.
Good luck my friend with the future, I wish you all the very best x
Oh, you sound in despair, hugs!!! Maybe some of these posts will make you feel more positive? I had a tkr ten weeks ago, and it is probably THE most painful op to recover from. Hip replacement some years ago was a walk in the park, pain wise. Please explore all avenues, wishing you well xx
Lucky you. Quick note, I had a meniscus cleaned up in 1985, and just had the tkr seven weeks ago! I've had a rough few years recent. 7 yrs ago I had a clean up on my left. So you should be good for a few years.
Thanks so much to you all. I've calmed down now and having spoken to my youngest daughter who put it all into context and read all your words of wisdom I am thinking that the arthroscopy is probably the best option. If it isn't successful I've got somewhere else to go ie the tkr whereas if I have the tkr and still have this horrible pain which the surgeon says he has seen several times I'm stuffed! Thanks again all. Deb
I skipped over the arthroscopy and straight to the TKRs because I got frustrated and quit doctors for four years THEN really needed the TKRs!
My daughter-in-law's mom had her arthroscopic surgery following damage done when she fell from a ladder. She's doing really well five years later.
My best friend had arthroscopic surgery five years ago but is now in lots of pain again. She is thinking it is time to have a TKR but is reluctant to do it.
It is hard to know WHAT is the best choice, but pain is pain, and we all just want RELIEF!
Hoping you get your pain OVER very soon!💗
Good info and experience all around. Went straight to PKR and TKR later. Yes, the surgical recovery pain is frustrating but I will say the pain of the OA was gone immediately! It does get better with time whichever way you decide to go. Good luck!
Hi
I have arthritis in my full spine but operation isnt a option as its too dangerous at my grading but when it gets worse they may have no choice apparently, yet i am in agony with only pain dullers to use and the occasional epidural. I now have oa in both knees diagnosed by xray only. My gp has already gave me 2 steroid injections but no referal to ortho. I am in a lot of pain mainly in left more than right but the injections helped the stuffness. I also have what appears to be rotator cuff tendonitis, im getting an ultrasound in 2 weeks and gp believes this could be caused by oa also. As you can imagine, the build up of pain is unbearable. Do you think i should ask gp to send me to ortho especially if shoulders show arthritis too? Im not sleeping and seriously struggling, i use 2 crutches but have to revert to walking sticksto try aand help me but even they are hurting my shoulders. I do have a mobility scooter mainly for if my family are going somewhere which would involve a lot of walking but i must admit i am now using it for my weekly shop otherwise i wouldn't manage. I am 54 in September and and had what they called muscular skeletor issues dating back to my late 20's i am grade 1 spinal stenosis
I also have oa in my spine and hips, and have had both knees done, my last being last August.
I only needed a walking stick in the house for the first few days.
Going outside for short walks, I still need one as my hips are painful
But I am glad I got my knees done, before everything else got too bad, I could barely walk for the pain, so if I were in your position, I would have my knees done, but one at a time, because if you're struggling now, it will only get worse.
If you can then get to the point where you don't need crutches- and you should do, it will take a lot of pressure off your shoulders.
Knee pain is so debilitating, and after surgery, should only get better.x.
Thanks Laura
the injections are helpful but ik I know its only temporary so i think i will ask gp if i can see a surgeon for advice. Xray only shows mild but i know an mri shows better