[Virginia Therese]

I am scheduled to have knee surgery. The surgeon has told me that I will need something to help me walk at least for a few days after surgery. I should preface my question by stating that I am a clumsy person! I was given a choice of crutches, cane or walker. Crutches would not be my choice. I feel that I would prefer using a cane but, having never used one, I question the support that a cane would give me. Can any of you give me some suggestions as to what might be the preferred appliance...what your experience may have been? I would appreciate any thoughts that you may be able to share.

Thank you
Doreen

[burckle]

Doreen:

I had knee replacement on March 4. The day after surgery they had me up and walking. I was sent home a few days later. I never took to the cane; it always seemed to get in the way and the crutch seemed like over kill. My preferred aid was the walker from which I gradually weaned myself. This took several weeks. Physical therapy, my own exercise program all helped to free me from the walker which is now in the garage. Good Luck

Lloyd

[Sasha]

I had a broken foot a few years ago and found that a walker provided the most stability and was easiest to use - also I had a basket and could carry my stuff round! (I was working at the time)

[pkell]

I've had three total knee's done (one done twice, i don't actually have three knees). The first two were done two days apart and unknown to me, when they hammered the prosthesis in my right femur was broken, so it caused a lot of pain. I used a walker for a couple of days after that but found it was easier to hold on to door jams and furniture. I spent about two weeks pretty well confined to a small bedroom adjacent to a bathroom. About a year and a half later I had the broken knee redone. That time I didn't need any aids to walk even from the first day.

You didn't say what kind of surgery you were having, but I've also had three arthroscopies and they did not require any aid to walk. For balance a cane might still be helpful.

Good luck with the surgery. Also, I told my doctor but did not tell the floor nurses, that I would take care of my own Parkinson's medication. He agreed and it worked out much better for me. He simply left the orders for that medication off the chart.

One more caveat. I was sent home with Oxycontin and Oxycodone with three refills allowed. When my husband went to have them refilled my pharmacist warned him that they were highly addictive and to be very careful. My pharmacist is the best. I decided not to take any more and spent the next three days with severe chills, nausea, dizziness and headaches. This was after a month of use so be careful. No one at the hospital including the doctor warned me about these drugs.

[Virginia Therese]

Doreen (my pwp) was unable to access NeuroTalk, herself, and she has asked that I write to thank all who responded to her post related to knee surgery...some very good advice given to her before undergoing the surgery, and she very much appreciates your input. The surgery is scheduled for early Friday morning. She has an appointment with our internist, today, to go over all the pre-op reports. He added some tests to the surgeon's required tests, e.g., bleeding time rate in that she has a condition knowns as venous stasis in the leg where the surgery will be done. This is a condition wherein the blood flow is insufficient so that our internist added a Doppler test to be done to rule out any blood clots that may be present. It seems that no matter how many specialists we see (either for me or for Doreen), still, we have the most confidence in our internist who really knows our medical histories; whereas, the specialist focus on just their area. We'll see what the internist says after reviewing the various test results. At this point, Doreen is not keen on having the surgery because her knee feels fine! I guess this is akin to times when we have a toothache, but when we reach the dentist's office, it seems to have disappeared!!! Again...thank you to all who responded to Doreen's post.

Doreen and Therese