Here We Go Again - News From The Holler

[diferg]

@Paul st1300 Buy your wife an Iceman cold therapy unit around $200.00 on amazon! My wife had knee replacement and after surgery took nothing stronger than 650 mg Tylenol during all of rehab and at home. It is amazing how well the cold therapy works, but like Uncle Phill said "you have to stay ahead of the pain!"

 

[GGely]

I picked up an Ossur Coldrush unit for $90CDN at a local pawn shop.

Really helps my knees and my wife’s shoulder.

 

[Slammer]

Oh for freaks sake, I am so scared just of the thought of any kind of surgery, I know that at some point I am going to have to get something done, knees is a good bet to start with. Having said that I have restarted going to the gym and since then the niggling ache is gone, same as the shoulder. However I now know that thumb arteritis is a bitch.
Methinks I will hold of until I become a quivering heap of jelly.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Methinks I will hold of until I become a quivering heap of jelly.

You may want to rethink that strategy, depending on what body part it is of course, as having things like knees replaced becomes a bigger hardship as age advances and recovery is much more of a hardship.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Oh for freaks sake, I am so scared just of the thought of any kind of surgery, I know that at some point I am going to have to get something done, knees is a good bet to start with. Having said that I have restarted going to the gym and since then the niggling ache is gone, same as the shoulder. However I now know that thumb arteritis is a bitch.
Methinks I will hold of until I become a quivering heap of jelly.

The problem is that if you wait too long, some repairs are not possible (See Mondo's thread about it).
My 'rule' is when every time I go to do something and my first thought is "How is this going to affect (fill in body part)" I start looking at surgery!

 

[LaurieC]

Methinks I will hold of until I become a quivering heap of jelly.

I'm with you on that one !!
Laurie

 

[TourNut]

Sure glad I finally got my hip joint replaced ! Would have done it sooner if it hadn't been a covid issue with the hospitals around here . The last 2 months pre-op were bad with the stabbing pains !

 

[Slammer]

Thing is there are so many things I want to do after I retire. Buying a ex-lifeboat from a Turkish shipyard and sail it where ever the wind blows for one. These are things you can´t do with not a lot of money and artificial joints.

 

[Uncle Phil]

These are things you can´t do with not a lot of money and artificial joints.

Well, I have a 'few' artificial joints and about the only things I ain't supposed to do are run, jump, and lift a lot of weight!

 

[ReSTored]

You may want to rethink that strategy, depending on what body part it is of course, as having things like knees replaced becomes a bigger hardship as age advances and recovery is much more of a hardship.

I would second this. We have a neighbour who was very reluctant to have surgery and needed to have both hips done. He delayed and delayed scheduling the 1st hip until he was in agony and could barely walk. His recovery process was long and painful. Having learned nothing, he did the same with his second surgery and, IMHO, suffered needlessly.

If you need a joint replacement get it done and move on. If you delay the surgery you're just delaying your recovery.

 

[Uncle Phil]

The biggest thing you notice (after the recovery) is the joint does not hurt like it used to.
They told us in 'joint' class that hip replacements were one of the few ones that you can get instantaneous relief after the surgery.
I can say that right now, 4 days after my right shoulder replacement, it hurts a lot less than the OEM did and I am already off pain pills.
Rehab will be painful, but that's just part of the gig and you deal with it to make the new joint fully functional.

 

[Slammer]

Ok, but when is the correct time?
At the moment I don´t feel a thing, I can walk for a few kilometers, climb stairs, swim, do everything I used to be able to do, just not for that long mind you. At some point when the day has been long and the work hard the twinges kick in and in the evening I can feel a dull ache. But I don´t feel the acute need that something must be done as soon as possible
However the doc has told me that I will need to have knees done... And that is putting the willies up, I know what the score is and with every little "ouch!" I ask myself "is it happening, do I need to have that operation right now?"
And that is the worst part.

 

[Uncle Phil]

As my 'knee' doctor told me, we'll wait til you come in and say 'replace' it - and I did.
A I said, when it comes to the place it affects your everyday quality of life, that's the time.
When any motion causes constant daily pain you'll know it.
Knee replacement is a major surgery and not to be rushed into.
There are cortisone shots, 'chicken combs' (Synvisc) and other stuff they can inject that might buy time.
They can also do orthoscopic 'clean ups' (I had two on my right knee and one on my left) depending on the damage.
You also want an ortho doc that is not 'cut happy' and sees surgery as a last resort - not a source of funding for his next vacation.

Uncle Phil - Knee Replacement

 

[diferg]

I find that getting old is not hard (its automatic). The trick is Staying Old! To do that well takes commitment and early actions. Multiple cancer and aortic stints survivor. {edit) Uncle Phill is showing the way to do it successfully!

 

[Uncle Phil]

Uncle Phill is showing the way to do it successfully!

Well, at least a way!

 

[Sterno]

Hey Slammer, been down a small piece of that road, for me it was time when after lying down for bed at night it was then a full time everytime nagging pain issue that made it hard to fall asleep. Kinda like Uncle said-you know when you know! Take care all... G

 

[Uncle Phil]

I was riding for a while with a walking stick strapped on board.
Riding didn't hurt - just everything else I tried to do did!

 

[Peppermint]

Merci for the shout-out to my home turf, Uncle Phil!

 

[Uncle Phil]

Merci for the shout-out to my home turf, Uncle Phil!

That picture was from a ride to QuebecSToc - that you attended and had a part in!

Uncle Phil - Canada 2011

 

[Peppermint]

That picture was from a ride to QuebecSToc - that you attended and had a part in!

Uncle Phil - Canada 2011

Lol. I not only attended it, I hosted it with @RaYzerman. The one and only QuebecSTOC so far. There may be another, one of these days.