hello everyone, I've been reading posts for a while and the support and advice given helps give new perspective and some really useful views. Most of you are so warm and kind to each other.
I wonder if any of you have long-term experience of elbow replacement and advice for me? I have had one a few months ago which was successful and greatly improved my life. I am now considering whether to have the other elbow done and my hesitation is because my consultant points out that the 2nd op may not be as successful and it is best to put off as long as possible. If it were as good as my first op, I know short term, life would improve. But what about long term? Elbows apparently need replacing much sooner than hips (approx 10 years), and I am 49, hoping to live for a good while longer! Ideally someone is reading this who has had an elbow done some years ago and can tell me what state they are in now.
well mine aren't all that old but the first one is 2 1/2 years and the other is 7 months. Except when I try to lift something too heavy I don't even know the first one is there.
I know there is a risk of early failure in them both but I also am counting on improved technology when the next set is needed. I had to take care of the here and now. The 2nd elbow was rapidly fusing in an unusable position
buckeye,
My elbows are terrible. I am thinking about replacement surgery. I keep being put off because of the 10 pound weight limit for lifting.
Right now I can 'pull' with my elbows. I can get out of the tub, off a very low stool etc as long as I have something I can pull myself up with.
I can't push at all with my elbows. No crutches, no wheel chairs, no canes, no pushing up against the arms of a chair to stand up ... my elbows collapse in very painful ways.
Would I lose my ability to pull? My knees are rotten - I need to be able to pull!
I do not nor have I attemptd to support my body weight on my elbows. I have on very rare occassion exceeded the weight limits but never on a consistant basis. My wrists are fused or nearly so, I had already had my shoulders replaced, and my hands are at a barely functional grip strength so on a daily basis watching what I lift is habit.
I don't do real low, my knees just don't bend that far and I won't use my upper body to support me. I have functional knee range of motion just not extreme. And I work out specifically to strengthen my lower body and abs so that my arms don't have to do the work of the other joints.
They will not generally perform elbow replacement until your elbows are non functional for the activities of daily life..eating, grooming, hygeine. Using them to support or pull yourself is normally considered an expendable motion
Have you consulted with a surgeon yet on your elbows? Are your knees ready for replacement also, if so you might be better off doing those first but a surgeon can advise you better
buckeye - thanks for the info on your elbows. I think my second is in same state as yours prior to surgery and ultimately I'll just go for quality of life now and the future is unknown. Glad 2 1/2 yrs later its still OK. Was your 2nd as successful as first one? I'm seeing the surgeon in a couple of weeks so this is all useful, and even writing about it helps me sort out what my priorities really are. I'm lucky my hands are'nt too bad (excellent occupational therapist and hand splints have made a difference) but like you my wrists are fused or as good as. How are your shoulder replacements? - again I'm lucky, my shoulders are not a problem - although my neck is!
marian - I was told by my surgeon that they prefer to work upwards in terms of treatment, so it would be knees first for you. However, an issue I have is that although a hip will need doing soon, how will I get mobile again if my elbow is so bad I can't use crutches? In terms of what I can do with my new elbow- by the end I could not pull eg out of the bath, but neither could I carry anything like a 10 lb weight, so although 10 lbs is now a limitation and I can never use my arm like I used to, all pain has gone and I can do a great deal more with my arm (eg throw a ball, eat, brush hair etc), and my life has generally much improved - oh yes, and I can pull myself out of the bath.
Tree; I have no experience with what you are facing....but I wanted to welcome you to AI.
Sounds like you yourself have a lot of experience that you could share with our group here.
Glad you're here. Again; Welcome.
lovie - thanks for the welcome. yes, I have some experience but also plenty of ignorance - its mostly variations on the same theme as everyone else but I will try and be a bit more of a participator than I have been. I think we are lucky here in the UK to have the NHS and not have to deal with funding our own treatment. I noticed on someone's post that getting orthotic foot supports was an issue and I know that the ones I have (provided by the NHS) do help me to continue walking quite well, and I have been told that this in turn helps knees and hips.No doubt you've got a lot to share. Jump right in.....we could use your advice on a lot of this stuff.Welcome to the board! Sorry no elbow experience here, but can only begin to imagine what you are going thru with that. Hopefully things will work out for you.
Jump in! Your experience may come in handy!!!
ok, lovie, briefly -diagnosed approx 15 yrs ago, but problems only really got going after birth of daughter 11 yrs ago. Have had surgery on rt hand for snapped tendon and both wrists to shave off the knobbly bits, hip replacement 3 yrs ago, elbow 6 months ago. Currently probs with other elbow (pain, stuck in L shape), neck (forget which partic. bit of spine but its near the top), other hip a bit, knees stiffening up and sometimes swollen (always rush off for cortisone injection), left foot and all 10 toes.
From my perspective, my main advice which I bet you all realised a lot sooner than me, is don't ignore what you have and pretend you haven't got it, educate yourself to realise how bad it can get so that you can do more to prevent it in the first place, and don't (as I did) ignore advice from your doctor to go onto stronger medication - I was advised to go on to methetrexolate when things went downhill and I didn't because I was trying for another baby and then later I didn't like the idea of doing without alcohol, and it is only now when just about any movement involves pain in some part of me that I have to accept that RA isn't happening to someone else, its happening to me. - oh yes, I'm on 25mg mtx now (and a glass of wine each evening)
The newer elbow is still in the healing phase but it is essentialy painless and has much more motion in all directions than before. The right side is weaker than the left but that is probably due to the coditions of the other parts of the arrm more so than the elbow.
The replacements in the shoulder are doing ok. The joints are painless which was the goal of surgery. Sleeping in a recliner because of the shoulder pain was the pits. I do have some serious loss of ROM but that is due to unrepairable rotator cuff tears, the cuffs are essentially shredded. But even with the tears because of the replacements I probably have more functional ROM in the shoulders than I did pre replacement
buckeye - what is ROM?Tree, I believe ROM is "Range of Motion"honey - durh! - thankssorry I've lived with joint replacement acronyms for so long that I forget that some people don't know what they mean