All I want for Christmas is a new knee

It's been a while since I posted an update, so I thought I would take a few minutes to do so.

I am doing OK. The next eight days will be hard because I am off my arthritis pills, Diclofenac/Voltaren (pain relief and anti-inflammatory). Since I quit taking them last week, I have been in a lot of pain. My bad knee is swelling up and I feel like the Tin Man when I get up in the morning. I am off the meds because they are NSAIDs, and I have to stop those 2 weeks before any surgery. On December 7, I am having a left knee replacement. The procedure will be outpatient if you can believe that! I am not looking forward to a surgery, but I am looking forward to the benefits of not living with a knee in constant chronic pain. If you would like to read about the procedure, you can do so here.

I feel the best I have in the 5.5 years I have had this stupid disease, so I am really hopeful of a good outcome of the knee replacement.

I hope all of you are doing well, and that you have an amazing holiday season.

Merry Christmas @MikeG-2012!! Hope Santa brings you a fully functional knee and a speedy and full recovery!!

Merry Christmas, Mike. Praying the surgery will be successful and that you will have a perfect new knee. Meantime, for the joints pains try hot packs. Please update us.

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Originally Posted by Alysia

Merry Christmas, Mike. Praying the surgery will be successful and that you will have a perfect new knee. Meantime, for the joints pains try hot packs. Please update us.

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Hot packs do work, in the evening. During the day is when I need them, but as active as I am at work, it is hard to use them all the time. I am a Display Technology IT Specialist at a college, and I do about 3-4 miles on my feet a day supporting classrooms and our conference center.

Thanks for the tip and the well wishes! I do appreciate it very much!!

Thanks for the update, Mike. This has been a long time coming for you. I hate to think of you doing without the meds in preparation, but look forward to hearing that it's done and you're on your way to functioning normally and pain free again! Merry Christmas!

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

Best wishes for success with the knee surgery. My wife had a knee replacement in July and the results have been great. Hoping for a speedy recovery

Mike,
I'm sorry you are having to go through so much pain before you can get your surgery. I know you have endured the knee pain for so long now and will feel like a new man afterwards.I pray that all goes well and keep us updated on your progress.
I use a rumb on called Activon on my joints, along with an ice wrap on my knee,that I can walk around with.Please take care!

All the best of wishes for a great 'pain free' new knee Mike.
Hopefully one day, the scooter can be ditched for good and the motorbike will take its place.
December 7 is not too far away now, so my fingers are crossed for the current pain to ease off for you.

UPDATE: 12/8/2017

Small sore on my operative leg postponed my surgery until December 21. Real bummer! To keep infection control minimized, they will not operate if there is even a pimple on the operative leg.

So I get to wait 2 weeks and be off all my nsaids again. I am refraining from using topical pain relievers too on my knee as to not inflame any skin.

Yesterday, I did 4.5 miles of walking and went 3x my projected goal for 30 minutes of exercise a day. My boss and I pulled network cable for our new phone system all day yesterday. So according to my watch, I did 12 flights of stairs yesterday, and all of those (and more) were on 12 foot step ladders. I hurt last night--a LOT!!!

I am not looking forward to now being incapacitated over Christmas, but if it means I will fell better soon, I'll do it.

Hang in there everyone! As the sign above my office door says: "You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have"

@MikeG-2012 — That sucks!! Hope the infection clears quickly.