upcoming surgery

Yes it will be painf but you 'll get drugs for that and yes it may be a long old slog but it 'll be worth it in the end.

Some of us on this forum sail through it others take a while longer but we all have one thing in common a sense of humour. Hang on to yours and it will all fall into place good luck with the op and drop in from time to time to tell us your news or woes

With regard to your upcoming TKR, the most important piece of advice I can give you is to make sure your leg muscles are as strong as possible prior to your surgery - it will make your recovery so much better. If you havent already started, I (and probably lots of others) can let you know the sort of thing you need to be doing.

I wont lie to you, if your other knee needs doing, it will complain about having to do all the work for the first few weeks - I'm in the same situation, had my right one done in March, and will be having the other one done in October or November. Again, ensuring that your muscles are as strong as possible will help. 

Everyone has different experiences with pain, but my advice is to medicate by the clock - dont wait for the pain to get its teeth into you, as it will be difficult to get it back under control.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate - dehydrated tissues wont heal well.

REST - I cant emphasise how much resting is important - of course you have to balance this with your exercises, but your body will have been through a heck of a lot and will need to recouperate. TKR mantra - "Dont stand if you can sit, dont sit if you can lie down, and dont be awake if you can be asleep!". Keep this in mind for the first few weeks, nearly everyone struggles with sleep, especially in the early days, so rest/sleep whenever you can.

Thats probably enough info for me to fling at you for one night. Make sure you keep popping on here - no question is too silly to ask, and chances are its been asked by one of us before.

Take care

Terrixx

Take on board everything everyone tells you on this forum......they are compassionate, helpful, make you laugh........and they save you from thinking you are the only one suffering.

I can't stress enough the need to take whatever medication is offered, even if you think you can manage without it, take it regularly, do the exercises (even though at first you'll wonder why you can't lift your foot off the bed.......you'll know what I mean the first time you try!!), rest and elevate, and most importanly ICE (I keep 2 medium sized bags of frozen peas in the freezer ready to use......BLISS!). Also remember to keep well hydrated and sleep when you feel you need to, never mind what time of day it is! 

If Old Fat Guy responds listen to EVERYTHING he tells you - he is one of the most calming and knowledgeable people I have ever come across.....and he's experienced more TKR than most of us can ever imagine.

Good luck and keep us posted.

No sense downplaying it the exercises are difficult at first.  Take your pain meds and lots of water 1 hour before and that will allow you to push yourself a little.  Concentrate on you and don't worry about the house.  The dust will still be there when you feel better or maybe you have great help.  My husband doesn't dust!!!!  I've been back to work a mth now and both knees hurt at the end of the day.  I will probably get the other one done next year.  Best of luck and log on here when you need to.  This site saved my sanity in the first few weeks.  Best of luck.