@trayus, deciding on replacement at such a young age is such a huge decision. I had end-stage arthritis in my knee by the time I was 12. By the time I turned 19, my knee was so deformed and worn that the decision was made for me. Every morning I woke up, my knee was "locked" in a bent position so tightly that I had to use my arms to "snap" it loose, something that took me up to 15 minutes to build the courage to do so. I finally woke up one morning and decided I couldn't do it anymore. I had a full replacement in 2006. In 2016, I had my 10-year checkup and my surgeon said the knee looked the same as it did the day after the replacement, meaning after 10 years of use, it was still in great shape.

What I learned is that "toughing it out" during your younger years to wait until you are older and potentially less active can have both a physical and mental health affect. I was miserable. The replacement and recovery were hard, but they improved my life drastically.

@trayus, while you consider your options, have you considered altering your activities to those that are less impact? Perhaps running could be replaced by cycling or swimming? When I started lifting weights, I made sure to not do any jumping or high-impact workouts on my lower body - primarily sticking to leg presses and static extensions (sitting position, leg extended and setting a weight on it and holding - no bending involved).

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