Knee Issues, advice needed
I've been having mild knee achiness for maybe 2 years. Hasn't stopped me from doing my job(firefighter) or section hiking the AT(do a week every year, since 2006). Doctor Google had me thinking I had a medial meniscus tear. I finally got around to going and having it looked at today, and got some bad news. I do indeed have a medial meniscus tear, a big one, that's been there for at least 2 years. On top of that, severe arthritis in the knee. He said while my knee joint is not bone on bone, I will eventually need a total knee replacement.
I dont limp. I work out. I do all our hard fire dept training and have been in many fires over the last 2 years. I carry patients down stairs. I backpacked 40-50miles last year on the AT in Virginia, with no issues. I started at Springer in 2006 and have inch wormed my way to Atkins,VA annually, over the years. I had no qualms about doing Atkins to Bland this May. This isnt life altering or debilitating. I consider it nuisance pain, I take ibuprofin and live my life. I'm 47 yo, getting old sucks, wear and tear, whatever. But.....
And it's a big but. I CANNOT have a total knee replacement for another 8 years. You cant be a firefighter with a total knee, due to the prosthesis mfg not "signing off" on that kind of physical work. And I cant retire for another 8 years. THEN I can get one.
So. To those who have been in similar situations, what did you do, what do you wish you did or did not do? Should I keep hiking the AT? Would that "wear out" the knee faster? Priority one is my job and family. Thx
Surgeons don't want to do surgery unless it's necessary
> When a surgeon doesnt automatically WANT to do surgery, I respect that!
When I tore my meniscus seven years ago, I knew something was wrong when I started limping after a mile or so of hiking. Like you, there was no trauma that caused this tear; it just happened over time. My family doctor sent me to an orthopedic surgeon who had been in the business for forty years, who estimated that he had done 5000 surgeries. The FIRST thing he asked was whether I could handle the discomfort, stating that he didn't want to do surgery unless I thought I needed it. The reason is simple: ANY surgery carries some risk of intensifying the hurt or even of death, and doctors GENERALLY want to avoid that risk if they can. Thus, the fact that your surgeon doesn't want to just rush into surgery means that he (I presume your surgeon is male, forgive me if she's female) wants to avoid this risk IF POSSIBLE.
I told my surgeon that I wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail, and we jointly concluded that surgery was the best option. To say there were no complications is an understatement -- after getting a prescription for opoids ("If necessary for the pain"), I didn't even need acetaminophen for even a minute. Thirty days later I was back on the trail, noticing (and nearly panicking from) EVERY wince of discomfort in my knee; but basically without pain. I've since done 1000 miles without any trouble, and figure to finish all 2190 miles within a few years.
I heartily recommend the surgery simply because eight years without pain is a lot better than eight years with pain that you can "handle."