I had a total knee replacement on my left knee in September of 2007. The pain would not stop after surgery. I was told that I wasn't exercising enough. Finally, in November, a therapist discovered the kneecap was dislocated. I saw my surgeon; he was going to do another surgery to repair it. Then I started getting signs of infection. The pain of getting up and down and walking makes it necessary to take pain meds regularly. On Monday, November 3, 2008, I am scheduled to have surgery to remove the knee for three months to get rid of the infection. This has been a nightmare for me. I am a 54-year-old female who lives alone. People don't want to help me. I can't drive. I can walk a short distance with a walker. I am in constant pain. I had no idea that I could have these complications. I had heard such great things about knee replacement. Now I have to have it removed because of infection that I probably got in my first surgery. If it doesn't work: amputation. That is what they tell me now. I would not recommend that anyone go through knee replacement until there is no other option.

My mom is 77 years old and had a total knee replacement six weeks ago. She still is in severe pain and the leg and knee are swollen. She has been to see her doctor many times, and he seems to think everything is fine. She is having so much pain and had to spend four weeks in a rehab clinic with no great results as of yet. She typically is very active but walking is now out of the question. The pain continues to be so intense that most days she is just trying to get through it. Her doctor felt she should be able to drive by six weeks, but at this point, it would just be a miracle to make it through the day!

I had a total knee replacement on Oct. 28th. The surgery went great, but I was discharged after three days in the hospital, and I am trying to get around my home. I may be expecting too much, but my knee is so stiff and swollen. The physical therapy (PT) person said to exercise and bend it as much as I can. (In fact, she wants me to be able to sit in a chair and bend it under the chair like the other knee bends.) It's really hard to bend it enough to use the toilet. I have PT tomorrow, Monday. I think it is swollen more than it should be. I also have not been able to have a BM since the day of surgery, which was five days ago. I know the pain meds are the reason. I feel that I am constipated but not uncomfortable.

In November of 2004, I had a total knee replacement done on my left knee. The hospital stay was terrible. I had lots of pain and lousy nursing care. (Mind you, I work in this hospital.) I went home in three days. I had so much pain more than I had before the surgery. I went back to the doctor several times. I went to another doctor who was a great guy but who couldn't find out what was wrong. He sent me to yet another doctor who put the picture up on his screen and said he could see what was wrong. It turns out that the first doctor cut the bone too short. In other words, the bone was kind of hanging and the replacement wasn't doing anything. I did better with recovery; I had lots less pain. However, now three years have passed, and I still have adhesions, lots of swelling, and pain. To make matters worse, my right knee needs to be done again. I'm chicken though! I now have pain that goes down both of my legs on the shins. My doctor told me some people have swelling after a total knee replacement. I would love to be able to go for a walk. I work in the local hospital, and it's very hard to work. Some days I am near tears!

I am a 54-year-young woman. I had gastric bypass about two years ago. My knee was shot because of a torn meniscus years ago and years of carrying 120 extra pounds on my frame. I am only about two weeks out from surgery. So far, I have to say that this is the worst surgery I have experienced; it's actually worse than childbirth in my opinion too. I know it is still very soon after surgery, and I know each day will get better. I am a little frightened about how I will manage pain if it doesn't improve a lot, as I cannot take Advil or NSAIDS. One day at a time, I guess! All I can say to everyone is: Take care of your knees!

I was 46 when I had both knees replaced (two months apart). I am so happy that I had it done and did the five months of physical therapy that was recommended. I have never had any problems since. It is nice to go through a cold winter and not have any excruciating pain and swelling like I had. I was not going to live on anti-inflammatories and shots in the joints. For anyone that is worried about having them done, it is not painless at first. As you heal, you get better and better. There are no restrictions for me now. Get them both done and make sure to do the physical therapy as required, otherwise you will still be stiff and in pain.