After knee replacement surgery

My surgeon said not to do stem cells and i can see why. It worked and if the word gets out they lose their practice. I called my surgeon and told him to find another line of work. Ask yourself, why would a Dr tell you it works? Unless he is planning to retiree.

@cobweb It may depend on the patient. I tried to get into a Mayo Clinic clinical trial for stem cell therapy for knees but didn't qualify due to age. From what I have read, stem cell therapy/treatment for knees cannot regenerate cartilage if their is none there and I don't think it can regenerate bone tissue either - but I have no medical training or background and it's just gleaned through reading everything I can get my hands on. Here's some food for thought.

Stem Cell Treatments For Arthritic Knees Are Unproven, Expensive, And Potentially Dangerous
-- https://www.acsh.org/news/2019/02/08/stem-cell-treatments-arthritic-knees-are-unproven-expensive-and-potentially-dangerous-13798

But if I had the opportunity and the money my choice of places to go would be Mayo Clinic.

Mayo Clinic uses stem cell therapy to treat arthritis in knee
-- http://medprofvideos.mayoclinic.org/videos/mayo-clinic-uses-stem-cell-therapy-to-treat-arthritis-in-knee

i was 75 when i had my treatment. Fat from hip, 10 days of R and R and later on i had platelets injected. I was close to bone on bone but so far it has worked. I will do anything to avoid another tkr. I no longer play tennis but i garden, golf etc.
When i learned about stem cells was from a webinar from the mayo clinic on how it works on arthritis. I no longer have arthritis pain in that knee. I know Mayo is doing work on stem cells, but Regenexx was close to me and their research is published by them on line. What i have learned is stay away from Drs who buy their stem cells and from those who are not qualified.

What I have learned is that I have advanced degenerative arthritis with bone on bone and no cartilage left so my hope is slim and none for stem cell therapy treatment for the knees. I wished it were different but it is what it is so I am having a TKR this Friday at Mayo.

@coweb So you went to Regenexx? I had my right knee replaced on 1-23-2019 and still recovering. It's been such a hard surgery, I really don't want to go through it again. I'm thinking of trying Regenexx as well. You stated that it has helped you and even if I can put on another knee replacement for a couple fo years, I'l take it! Awful surgery.

Hi @auntb1947 - I feel for you on the knee pain. It definitely does get better. I had a knee replacement on 1/29/19 so I'm a few weeks ahead of you. At three weeks post-op I had a reaction to Celebrex they were giving me as an anti-inflammatory. They took me off that and my pain meds. It was AWFUL. I was not ready. After a few days, they let me re-start oxycodone and I took it until I was 5 weeks post-op. I stopped that on my own and they gave me tramadol as a transition. By 8 weeks, I wasn't taking anything. If you feel like sharing, can you sleep w/o the pain meds? That was a big issue for me. I have a feeling you are going to get lots better in the coming weeks. Best of luck!

@debbraw I had my knee replacement on 1-23-2019 (just a few days behind you) and I am still on pain meds and will probably start wearing off once I hit 12 weeks if I see improvement. My recovery hasn't been one of the easy ones I've read about and I always take a pain pill an hour before going to sleep because if I don't, I wake up with knee pain. My knee still looks like a small grapefruit but I hear that's normal. ROM is 110 or 115/0 depending on what day it is but I think that 120 and above might come with time but if not, I can live with what I have. I do need my other knee done but am going to go the injection route until it doesn't work anymore. I've never had a cortisone shot or any other injections in either of my knees so I'm hopeful I can stall for a couple of years. I don't know how people can go through this surgery without taking narcotics. I understand the concerns but if constipation is managed wisely (I stay on top of that) and meds are taken as prescribed and then weaned off when the pain lessons, I see the benefits far outweighs the risks. Hope you are feeling better.

yes, it helped me. I had friends who did not listen to the dr and were out playing tennis the day they had the stem cells injected in the knee. Did not work for them. Nice thing is the recovery. No pain pills and lay around for 10 days. I had mri done and took that t the dr. He said i was a candidate. I did not want the experience i had with the tkr. 5 years later i still have pain and now dr thinks it may be fractured and wants to do it again.

@dkapustin - I am in total agreement with you regarding the pain meds - the benefits definitely outweigh the risks for me. In fact, I could get on a soapbox on that issue. I think its just plain wrong the way they are so stingy with oxycodone. On my first knee replacement, I was taking oxycodone until 10 weeks - and tramadol for another two or three. On this surgery, my doctor used a robotic arm assisted technique. He said it made the surgery more accurate and that accuracy made the recovery faster and less painful because didn't have to remove as much bone. He was definitely correct. It was less pain and a quicker recovery. You might want to check into that technique for your next surgery. I know you are not ready to even THINK about it now. Your recovery has been so difficult and I feel for you. When you are ready to look into it, here's a tip. I learned the hard way that they cannot do the operation within 3 months of your last cortisone shot. So bear that in mind in terms of timing. Hope all goes well for you. And congrats on your ROM!!

@dkapustin When you start getting injections for the other knee, they generally start with cortisone. When you get to the point where that is not helping, they go to Hyaluronic injections -- either synvisc or Hyalgan. I had synvisc numerous times and it did help a lot. Here is a link to more info about these injections:
https://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/where-it-hurts/knee-pain/treatment/knee-injection.php

@debbraw Sleeping was my thing too. I was only taking the drugs at bedtime after a short while. I never even took them before PT but when I would go to bed, the pain would suddenly hit me.
JK