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Hi Joe,
You were probably a great candidate for the knee replacement. You did all your homework and motivation kept you going. I am older than you and wondering how much longer I will live in the first place. So, time is not on my side. With a host of other conditions, it is not likely I will go for knee surgery. I keep on hoping I will wake up one day with a sudden cure. It has happened before with other conditions that have presented as painful reminders of the body's fragile nature. Good health is a balancing act. Some of us have good genetics and a lifestyle that prevents infirmity while advancing through life. Others carry a host of genes predisposing them to issues that may be moderated (or not) by lifestyle. I wonder what I did in my 30's to create my issues of the 70's. Could I have prevented my osteo-arthritis? I wasn't a runner. Genetics? No one in my family had any type of bone and joint problem. So, chalking this one up to fate, luck of the draw, whatever.
Replies to "Hi Joe, You were probably a great candidate for the knee replacement. You did all your..."
I think hormone replacement therapy is the answer. using estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. I am 76 and will soon be getting a referral. I tried to do this for years.
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Thanks Kris. You make a lot of good points.
We've heard it before - some people are just blessed with good genes. For me that has been a mixed blessing. I did inherit a disposition for osteoarthritis (both big toes fused, both knees replaced, next year I'll have my right hip and left shoulder replaced, my lumbar spine is a disaster area and in need, at some point, of multiple fusions).
But I was also blessed with whatever gene endurance athletes have. I could run miles and miles, and did until OA took out my knees at age 48. So now I spin and again, my endurance genes allow me to do what others can't, or at least it's easier. So I don't complain too much.
And age is certainly a factor, as you mention. I feel relatively young at 70 - but if I were in my 80s I'm not so sure I'd want to go through the grind of TKR rehab and rehab.
I wish you the best Kris, and all others who suffer with joint pain. I have to wait three months to get my hip replaced. In the meantime the pain is certainly messing with me, along with my shoulder. Even so I consider myself fortunate.
Joe