Pam, not being able to predict can be frightening. I, too, need a knee replacement, and have gone through what you are describing. I just do the best I can, listen to wise doctors, and do what they tell me, listen to people who have gone through similar experiences and I read medical journals because the treatments change rapidly. There comes a point that I have to trust my doctors and not let a legitimate concern morph into toxic anxiety. That's a difficult one for me, but I keep practicing.

There is a woman on here who has had her knees replaced, and she is full of knowledge about your questions. Actually, there is a lot of collective wisdom on this board. I know you'll get excellent information and supportive feedback.

Sad you are going through all of this.

Thanks for your reply. I don't know where else to ask but here. My doc may just give me info to keep me out of worry but as i will have to live with this after surgery i really need to know what i should be careful with. I live in the countryside in the South of France and have 4 cats and a dog and down herethere are all sorts of little creepy crawleys, that don't scare me but they do bite and i just worry about infections getting to the prosthesis. I will wait and see if anyone has any experience with this.

Okay now, Pamela57, I have to say this you live in France!!!! Oh, my, On my profile I wrote about things I like and one was "all things Paris!" I had some of the most fun times of my life there. My regret, I didn't spend time in Southern France. I did go North and visited Versailles, and had so much fun that it's impossible to capture it in words.

My new knees went in 17 years ago this past Feb 1st...they were also 10-15 year knees and are just fine. I hope to never even need a revision.

As for infections, you need to TREAT any and all infections and try to avoid them by using antibiotics before any kind of invasive procedure. So I take antibiotics prior to every dentist appointment and anything where they might induce germs. They have to catheterize your bladder....get antibiotics. I even got them prior to a vaginal exam by my OB/GYN. When don't you need them...when getting blood work done.

How do you avoid a bladder infection? Wipe from the front to the back....#1 recommendation. Use cranberry juice periodically to avoid a problem or take cranberry pills if you are prone.

But I ended up in the hospital with possible bi-lateral knee infections 6 years ago and learned a lot. Big news....if you are going to get an infection, it will most likely be in the first year or maybe 2. After that, it is 1 in a million chance you'll get you implant infected. Even with Ra and a biologic drug and MTX. Mine turned out to be Ra hitting my 2 new knees(even longer odds).

So the docs overdo the infection problems just to scare you into reporting anything in that first year after surgery.

BTW....best question to ask your doc prior to surgery.....What is you post-op infection rate in TKR's? Also ask what the hospital's post-op infection rate is for TKR's. Tells you how clean the hospital is and how diligent your doc is. It's the worst possible outcome so you need to know the stats. Average percentage for hospitals across the US is 2.75% of TKR's get infected. You can call the ombudsman for your hospital and ask for the percentage. I knew one doc who was thrown out of a hospital because he had such a high rate of infections.....turned out it meant a ton more money for the doc so he didn't care!

I LOVE my knees....even with Ra in them.

hugs.........Jen

Hey Jen (51percent). Thankyou for your reply. It has lifted my spirits so much. I was supposed to have this op in January but it was posponed because i have a gatric ulcer that is still Healing. At that time i was so excited and rearing to go. But of course time and waiting now i get to thinking more and need more answers. Your reply has really helped and i feel a lot better. My daughter just told me abour cranberries so i will start on them right away. I need to drink morre too. But i was just so worried as with the cortisone and mtxt i thought, how can i be sure of avoiding infection. Of course nothing is predictable but we need to know we can live almost normally to some extent. Thanks again :)

Journeythru......I'm glad you enjoyed France . Health care is pretty good. We don't have as good support groups as this though.

Pamela, I had my knee replaced on May 1, 2012, so almost four years now. I agree with what Jen said about simply staying on top of any infection that happens to pop up. Quite frankly, I just don't even think about it. I seem to remember reading or hearing about the first year being critical, but even then you just take care of anything that crops up.

I know it doesn't help when people say, "don't worry about it," but that's what I'd tell you...lol! I don't know, I just feel like that's way down on my list of concerns. It will all be well.

Please keep us posted on how you're doing. Btw, I have to share an awesome website for joint replacements. This site, with it's people and support, plus sensible way of looking at the whole healing process, literally saved my sanity. It's bonesmart.org. Please go on there and become familiar with it. People post on there all the time about how they feel before their surgery and get their questions answered. I discovered it after my surgery, and it was absolutely a game changer for me.

fibrolizzy.......someone who has been through it and tells me not to worry is so different from someone who hasn't been there. I'm grateful for your reassuring post. Yes i'll get back to tell how it goes. :)

When I had my knees done, my surgeon gave me 2 cards to carry(one for each knee) and it tells people like TSA, that I have metal in my body in the form of a knee replacement. On the back it lists what might cause an infection in a replaced knee. It says.......
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The possibility of infection in your artificial joint may exist in the following situations:

any dental procedure
sigmoidoscopy
any infection
tonsillectomy
bronchoscopy
liver biopsy
gentourinary instrumentation
prostate and bladder surgery
kidney surgery
vaginal exams and GYN surgery
barium enemas

Notify your physician or dentist for antibiotic treatment prior to these and other medical procedures.
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So I carry those cards and always remind my docs that despite them being 17 year old knees, I need antibiotic coverage. A few will resist but I just tell them I will call my ortho and get them if they don't write a script! Works pretty well.

No infections so far, just knees full of Ra.

hugs.........Jen