So I’ve had three joint replacements, two knees, one hip.

The hip replacement is three weeks old today as of when I’m writing this. It still hurts and has increased my chance of getting lymphatic cancer.

While the long-term benefits of this surgery are generally good, and if you need it, you need it, my recommendation is… to not need it.

What does that mean?

Spare your joints. Stop when they hurt. Don’t jog, bike instead. Don’t lift super heavy weights, lift moderate weights for higher reps. Avoid any pounding activities. Learn to walk so that you don’t land on your heel for each step.

When your knees or hips first start hurting, back off and take glucosamine and chondroitin, not Aleve or Ibuprofen. This is only masking what your body is begging you to do: stop and let it heal.

In fact, start taking glucosamine and chondroitin now as a preventative. Give your joints what they need to face the pounding they receive every day even doing normal activities.

These surgeries are painful, expensive, disfiguring, and take long periods to heal from. My left knee will never look quite the same but I had no choice, I was bone-on bone on all of these three joints.

So, take care of your joints. Know that once they start to wear out, they can go quickly. My hip went from “not bad” to “OMG, this hurts like hell” in a matter of a few months.

Always seek alternative treatments instead. Do EVERYTHING first to avoid these surgeries, and only use them as a final resort.

I wish I could go back in time and give myself this same advice… I’d be so much better off if I could.