OT: Can anyone give me the symptoms of possibly needing a knee replacement

Prior to surgery I started having knee pain  Left knee, behind my knee.  I had just assumed I had gotten heavy enough that my knees were getting the brunt of it.  Thankfully I would e having surgery in a few weeks.  Well fast forward 6-7 weeks.  PAIN  .  I had xray.  NOTHING.  Today I had PVL.  I am expecting NOTHING.  But the pain is sometimes breathtaking, and not in a Hawaaiin sunset kinda way.  Ya know.  Pain from my knee all the way down to my ankle.  I am looking for a good Ortho to consult next week,  I am just trying to get a heads up.  I just had a major surgery.  I don't know if I can handle another one just yet.

I have severe osteoarthritis in my left knee.  It showed up easily on an x-ray.  The ortho dr said a knee replacement is the only cure, but losing weight helps.  For every pound of weight that we lose, 4 times that is the pressure taken off of our joints. I'm only 2 weeks out from surgery and I can already walk easier. It sounds like you may not have osteoarthritis, but I would get the ortho consult---something is wrong if you are in pain---find out what it is. Good luck.

Pain is THE main symptom.  And not being able to put weight on that side when you are standing.  IE, you will start limping, even though you may not notice it yourself right away.  One of my symptoms was that my kneecap started popping out of it's joint and my patella prolapses (BIG, BIG owie. You wont be asking any questions if that happens, hopefully it won't).  I didn't have any pain or symptoms before that started happening.

My ortho guy won't do a replacement until I'm at least 50.  But losing the weight has helped tremendously.  Now I only have the stupid kneecap thing once every couple of months.  Before my surgery it was so bad that I got a disabled parking permit so I could park in those stalls close to the store.   I couldn't even walk without holding onto the grocery cart in the store!  One of my NSV's was being able to go into the grocery store and not get a cart, just walk around on my own.

Anywho, your ortho guy will tell  you more.  I just hope your pain is manageable and that you feel better soon.   =)


edited for spelling

The best way to diagnose knee pain without a specific injury...MRI scanning, then get yourself to an ortho doc asap. I've had 2 knee surgeries for tears, and my PMD said ortho docs were the best docs to treat. Could be something that physical therapy might help, but you need a definitive diagnosis. Good luck, and maybe a good supportive knee brace (like you find at Walmart, or Target might help too)