I had shoulder surgery. I was told to not take mtx for 3 weeks. No Celebrex 2 weeks before, to 10 days after. I was given opiates for pain. good luck with the surgery, it will be worth it!!!!!!

I had my right knee replaced three years ago. This was when I only had the fibro diagnosis. I don't know if I had RA going on at the time or not. I suspect I did, because when people told me "oh this will help cure all your pain," I would think "how is this going to help the pain in my feet?" So I believe I had RA in my feet at that time,

Well, I digress.....my one piece of advice would be to discuss your pain meds ahead of time with your doctor. I found out too late how unsympathetic my surgeon was! He was actually a jerk and expected everybody to progress at the same rate, regardless. I tried to explain to him that my fibro made my recovery more painful and difficult, but he made no accommodations for me. He also had me going to therapy five times a week, which according to the therapists was too much.

I discovered a wonderful website for knee replacements, called bonesmart.org. I would highly suggest you go there now and begin reading. Those people are so wonderful and I owe my sanity during that time to that site. It is managed by a former orthopedic nurse, or it used to be.

I hope I didn't frighten you, and I've heard of so many people who did great with no problems. I think I had a difficult time because of my fibro and having an unsympathetic surgeon, who demanded I be pushed at therapy to achieve a certain range of motion in an unrealistic amount of time. After he released me from therapy, I began doing better, because I was able to work on it at my own pace, and I now have range of motion that is just fine for my lifestyle. It can take some people longer to achieve it than others. My doctor didn't understand that.

Best of luck to you. I'll be praying. Please keep us posted, and you can message me anytime. Do check out that website.

I have had RA forever it seems and I had my first knee replacement when I was 49. I know I was younger then most are but all went well... I waited through about 10 years of pain before having surgery. So if I waited 10 years I know you have guess I really hate surgery. After the surgery my doctor said my knee was really a mess and that he didn't see that on my xray. I did have lots of problems walking before the surgery but as I said I hate surgery. I did some exercises in my bed every morning and every night for a few months before surgery... don't know if that helped but I like to think it did. Sure I had pain... the pain right after the surgery was bad but my doctor took care of that real quick in fact I was sort of out of it for the first two days and after that I was up and walking every day. Sure there was pain after that but my pain meds helped a lot with that. I went to PT 3 days a week for 6 weeks. I would do it all over again and never go through the pain for years this time. I understand you asking about hand pain because now my hands are really bad so that might be a problem but lets hope that the pain meds will help you with that also. Hoping all goes well for you.

HI...I'm Jen and I had both knees replaced in 8 hours of surgery almost 17 years ago. I LOVE my knees. Here's some answers to your questions and suggestions.

You can't take NSAIDs before or after surgery as they tend to make the platelets sticky and cause clots...a huge problem after surgery that can kill you!!

Most docs order walkers after surgery but with bad hands you have 2 good options. The first is platform crutches where you put all your weight on your forearms. I'd strongly suggest you ask your ortho's office to order them ahead of time and you get them at a medical supply pharmacy so you can get used to them in case they are still too hard on your hands. If they are, you can have specialized crutches made up where they attach platforms to regular crutches so you have the underarm support and can literally use them "hands free" as they have straps to hold your arms in place. This is what I did as my hands and wrist were really bad. But beware, they are very heavy. And again, need to be made up ahead of surgery.

Pain meds can make pain worse and be inflammatory but trust me, you'll need them. A TKR is like having the femur and tibia all broken....they do cut off the tops of the bones and until it heals, it hurts!

Having had 2 done at once, I distinctly remember the recovery process......it goes in 3's. The first 3 days are hell so just hang on and it will get better. We can all get through the worst 3 days...can't we? Then it jumps to 3 weeks...the bones start to grow into the implants and you feel better. At 6 weeks, the muscles have really started to heal and you should be able to start getting off all the pain meds....you'll sleep so much better that it's really worth it for that deep restful sleep. At 9 weeks, you should be off the pain meds and walking hopefully with no support except maybe a cane.

At 12 weeks, it's all up hill but a slow recovery. Most orthos will tell you it takes a full year but in reality, it's 2 years. Takes a year for the body to stop remembering you have fake knees in there!

And as soon as you can, walk, walk, walk...speeds the growing of the bone into the implants and muscle healing. Expect bad pain to pop up now and then as they do cut nerves and they take 8-10 months to heal and will let you know when they have healed with bursts of pain...their way of saying hello, I'm back. Muscles are the 2nd slowest to heal, 6-8 months so you will have spasms off and on for that long.

Hope this helps.

Jen

PS....use lots and lots of ice!

Thanks for your input. I am more prepared for knee event but scared to death what the RA will and is doing now. They said two weeks on Coumadin so no mobic but maybe will do cymbalta in mean time to try and help. Hands not so painful last night finally slept but they cannot grip and are so weak. Today my ankles are sore and now can' t do much today either. This part is getting me down.

Remember, the pain meds they give you post-op will help the RA pain too so don't think that's ll have a ton of RA pain. Pain is pain and the drugs help.

One more thing for the ladies here, they give you a lot of powerful antibiotics during and after surgery and I get vaginal yeast infections at the mention of antibiotics. So if you are one of those who gets bad yeast infections when you take antibiotics, get whatever you use in the house before surgery as you'll need them after. My MALE ortho never said a thing.

And I agree with Buddhacat...ice for the joint itself and heat on muscle spasms to increase blood flow and remove the lactic acid that is causing it.

Jen

Hi Reneelouise, Wow Nov. 17 is right around the corner actually tomorrow. Wishing you lots of luck. I had a RTKR 2 years ago. I have had RA for about 12 years and have been on almost all of the biologics. I was on Rituxan when I had my knee done. Since it is given at 6 month intervals it was not difficult as to when to hold it. I was on a lot of pain medication as I have a lot of break through meds so when I had my pre-op done, anesthesia decided to cut back on my Butrans patch by stopping it days before the surgery. I have a pain management MD monitoring my pain management situation. I was on Nucenta for pain and that actually helped me post op, but once I got home the pain of the TKR and RA started kicking in and bothering me so ortho had to switch me to Oxycodone. I visited my pain management doctor after a week or two post op so that she could manage both TKR and RA pain.

As far as a walker was concerned I rarely used it as I did not really need the walker after a day or two of being home. I would use it then forget it behind in the kitchen or bathroom. The doctor had PT come to my home the following day after I arrived home for 2 weeks and I did very well. I was very nervous going into the surgery, but now I see, I did have a slight set back where my knee was stiff soon after I went for my 6 month check up so my ortho doctor ordered PT. PT said I would need to do some sort of exercise at least a few times a week for the rest of my life. I find my knee is sore in general many days even now, especially with the rain or snow. That does not happen to everyone I am sure.

The site that fibro lizzy recommended bonesmart.org is a true lifesaver. I too highly recommend you get involved with that group. I am still involved with it and have met a few lasting friends on the site. There is even an area to chat with those who have RA and a replacement part. Go through the site as there is a plethora of great information. Again good luck to you and keep us posted!!

Hello I am back and three weeks after surgery. It went fantastic and I am very happy with myself, lol. Surgery was Tues. the 17th, home on the 19th, used a walker for two weeks and now on a cane. I do forget my cane off and on and find myself scooting around without it. I had no weight restrictions. My hands were horrible the night before surgery but have been almost perfect since. I was a good girl and used my pain meds on schedule and now only taking Tylenol around therapy. Just finished home therapy and will start outpatient this week. No more pain in walking and I can straighten my leg out which I haven't been able to do in years. Was a great choice for me and looking forward to the future.

This is such great news!!

Glad everything went well and you are walking well. Keep it up. The more you walk, the faster the bone grows into the implant and it will secure your knee faster.

Congrats on the success!

Jen

Reneelouise. Thankyou for your testimony. I also will have the op in April.....2016. I am going to have to start a discussion myself because i have so many questions. But your testimony and experience has bucked me up today. Thanks a million
Pam