My knee hurts. Sprained it nasty about 20 years ago and several times since. Ain’t been right since I was 18. I was in the shower this morning (yeah, ladies, Inigo was nekkid and thinking of you–run for your lives!) and my knee started hurting halfway down my shin.
Sure enough, come to find out it’s gonna be 6 degrees by noon today, -7 tonight. Tomorrow will top out at 8. That’s all Farenheit for any furriners out there. So that means the knee and the elbow, both of my estranged’s hips and my right shoulder (long story) are gonna be shot through with invisible ice picks.
The joints will need replacing before we’re dead. So, why not do it now? As a voluntary surgury while we’re still relatively young and free of complications? Think I’m gonna propose it to the folks at the HMO. They might go for it. Or they might laugh so hard coffee comes out their noses. Either way, I win.
do it now while you’re still able to walk a bit. If you wait until you are incapacitated by the pain, you will not be able to fully participate in the physical therapy afterwards.
Also - find out what exercises they will be giving you after the surgery and try to do them before going in to build up muscle memory
I was 40 when I first sought a surgeon. He told me I was too young. so his solution was for me to spend my 40’s in severe pain until i was “old enough” to have the surgery (no quality of life there, folks.) I finally, at 42, found a surgeon who understood that pain has no age limit. My hips work great now. My knees need replacing, too. I’m waiting til I’ve lost some more weight for that tho.
Seriously, though, if you can find a doctor that says it’s medically necessary, then, as far as the insurance companies are concerned, it’s not elective. Try to find a sympathetic doctor.
IANAD, but I believe that your supporting bone structure can only accept 2 or so joint replacements, and those artificial ones have a limited lifetime. So, if you get them replaced too early, by the time you are 60 you’ll have to deal with whatever is in there for the rest of your life. Would you sacrafice limited mobility now for no mobility later? Clearly, a orthopod would be needed to discuss the details.
the newer models, the ones made of titanium like mine, have a “life expectancy” of over 50 years. I think he’ll be fine.
And with the ever improving technology, the supporting bone structure is less and less of a deciding factor. A reputable surgeon will be able to determine how much hardware needed. here is some valuable info regarding hip replacement
FWIW - My dad needed hip replacement forever. He suffered from femoral neck necrosis as a young teen, and had an abnormal joint from that time on. A replacement was first seriously suggested when he was in his late fifties/early sixties. He’s pretty much doctor phobic and refused to even entertain the idea until it was either replace the joint or live in a wheelchair.
Finally, when he was 85 (with established arthritis in his back and other hip and heart failure) he had the procedure done. He’s had nothing but complications since. The immediate complications prevented any timely rehab, and the leg remains extremely weak and he can barely get from one room to another even with a walker.
In retrospect, he would have been MUCH better off to have had the replacement 15 years ago when his overall health was much better.
My dad had his hip replacement 8 days ago (he is in his mid-60’s), and he is doing great. He is getting around with a cane, including stairs, and was walking the same day of the surgery. Very little pain as well. It’s the cool new titanium one.
He felt very strongly about doing it sooner, rather than later. His ortho surgeon and PT guy agreed.
I would follow up and get more information, definitely.