My Only way of getting out is becoming a problem!

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As some of you may know my wife has a part time job and has the car then. So I do not venture out then. But of late my knees which have Rheumatoid Arthritis are giving me some serious gip. They have been giving way on steps and the stairs and are becoming even more painful at night. I am finding changing gear or slowly releasing the clutch is becoming unbearable. I love driving as it something I can do outside the house and still keep warm and dry and feel independent.

I am hoping this is just a weather thing or is it my lung/heart conditions supplying less O2 to the joints? My other arthritic areas are more tender too.

My knee joints were damaged when I was 11 years old while cycling I slid on the stones in a newly tar and stones resurface. but got some stones lodged in my knee joint which the A&E removed and then disabled my Left Leg for 6 weeks. After this time I was told by the specialist to exercise the leg as much as I can to get it back to normal. So on my bike I get! I was a boy with no fear or memory it seems as I did exactly the same thing on another road that had just been resurfaced but this time to my right knee joint. So once more I was disabled on the right leg for 6 weeks.

I was very much a sport participant when I was not having chest problems and working a physical job and took up Martial Arts. But had times I could barley walk with the knee pain and put it down to overdoing it. My GP put me on to specialist who took xrays and showed me the grooves I have in my joints as a result of the bike incidents! I was in my 30's then, I did do an intensive physio course which helped, my quads pulled my knee cap back more. However the specialist did say that in time this will become unbearable and until then they do not want to do anything as my only option would be replacement knee joints! Which he said could be when I am about 70? I was a lot fitter then and as a fifty-nine and three quarter year old has it been bought forward? I know joint replacement techniques have improved over years but his comments back in the day were "It may be 6 months retaining to walk again", haunts me.

Anyone had a knee joint replacement recently? How did it go?