Henry Rifle Forums

OK, pardon requested for beginning this thread with a pun ..​ .. for the last few years I've had problems with a heart arrhythmia and arthritic deterioration of my left knee .... shortly after last Christmas the arrhythmia was taken care of by cardiac ablation surgery .... next month (August 21st) I'm scheduled for knee replacement surgery .... getting to this point has taken a bit of effort .... over the last few years that combination made it increasingly difficult to move around very much .... as a result, I put on considerable weight .... by April 12th, when I had my first appointment with the orthopedic surgeon, I'd ballooned to 330 lbs .... during that visit he told me I needed to drop 55 lbs before he could safely do the surgery .... I told him I would do so by my next appoint which was today (July 13th) .... he offered to refer me to a doctor who specializes in weight loss but I declined .... today when he walked into the exam room with my chart in his hand, he was clearly amazed that I'd done what I'd promised and had dropped 55 lbs .... following another exam where he quickly but his thumb directly on the spot in my knee that hurts the worst, we begin talking about the replacement .... its an interesting process .... he commented that if I continue to drop some weight between now and the surgery, it will make the recovery process easier .... that sounded good to me .. .. next step ( to end this post with another pun ) will be to attend a "Knee Class" next Tuesday

Thanks to my careers, I've had nine knee surgeries. ALL on the right knee. A couple points I can make here.
...pay attention when the doc is talking and if you don't understand, ask questions. Take notes if you are like me, and forget.
...write down questions that occur between visits... so you don't forget THEM.
...do the presurgical exercises if the give you any, they will help during recovery.
...give as much as you can in post surgical therapy... no pain no gain really applies here, to a point. Don't over do it.
...if they tell you don't do something... don't do it. My surgeon was very hot one day.. another patient, six weeks post total knee, skydiving... duh... blew out the knee on landing and tib/fib break. Look up D/A in the dictionary... see his picture.
...just a tip from uncle Jim... if you can, when you can... range of motion work IN a hot tub... seriously. Lol.

Btw... great job on the weight loss, try and maintain after the knee surgery.
I went from 270+ to 230ish after my fall in Sept by watching what I ate. I am stuck there for now... love to see 200 again, but would be very happy with 220.

your suggestions based on personal experience are most welcome and appreciated .... I'm sure they will cover a good bit of such info next Tuesday in my "Knee Class" but having input from someone who has been there is invaluable .... decades ago I had to have shoulder surgery .... unfortunately, the surgeon ended up in drug rehab a few days later, never saw him again after the operation .... he messed up the surgery which negated the post-op therapy .... I asked the fellow who will be doing the knee surgery if he's on drugs and he assured me that he isn't .. ... hopefully things will go better this time ..

JEBar wrote:I asked the fellow who will be doing the knee surgery if he's on drugs and he assured me that he isn't .. ... hopefully things will go better this time ..

Pretty sad state of affairs when that has to be a question at all.

Great work on the weight loss, JEB - that's really impressive!

I'll be having my right knee replaced a few days before you - on the 15th. I had both hips replaced in 2007, so at this rate I'll be like the bionic man soon. All I really need now would be a brain transplant, so I can remember the things I've forgotten to remember.

Les wrote:Great work on the weight loss, JEB - that's really impressive!

I'll be having my right knee replaced a few days before you - on the 15th. I had both hips replaced in 2007, so at this rate I'll be like the bionic man soon. All I really need now would be a brain transplant, so I can remember the things I've forgotten to remember.

if you get a line on a doctor that has good results with brain transplants and can remember it, please let me know .. .. I've been told that hip replacement operations are much more involved than knee replacements .... kind words about the weight loss are appreciated, I hope to drop another 10 - 15 lbs before the surgery .... in theory, after the surgery with all of the physical therapy I should be able to loose some more .... hopefully, reasonably shortly thereafter I should be able to walk much more than I can now .... that also should make it easier to lose more weight

Les wrote:
I'll be having my right knee replaced a few days before you - on the 15th. I had both hips replaced in 2007, so at this rate I'll be like the bionic man soon. All I really need now would be a brain transplant, so I can remember the things I've forgotten to remember.

Just out of curiosity, what did it cost you for your hips and what will it cost you for your knee? Health care is currently a huge issue in the states, as you might know.

Congrats on taking the weight off Jim. Thats not easy I did much of the same thing but I wasnt 330 when I started. Im not where I once was but I have been cycling for the last 5 years steady and have put on some leg muscle as my legs were already on the larger side. In the summer Im at 150 miles plus a week. I feel good for not far from 65. But believe me that weight loss thing aint easy its work and dedication. Good luck with continuing to lose more and get those knees fixed. Al

Al,

I hope to get back riding my recumbent, I had been doing very well, and a series of health issues put a crimp in that. The fall in Sept raised a lot of questions, but things were looking up, but since the recovery... lots of severe pain in the right knee, and pain in the left. I still plan to try before summer ends. It will either reduce the pain... or make it worse. If it reduces the pain and I can continue to ride, I should lose weight as well. Win/win.