6 days until total knee replacement

Yes I encourage you to do tkr . It will improve your qipuality of life and you'll be back to life with no pain and great surgeon makes all the difference.

it all about a better quality of life. 

When your ready and decide to live better and talk with others here who have had tkr you will have lots of encouragement from many others who have had tkr. 

Hi

It's a painfull Road but you will be better in the long term.

Hopefully your ice packs or knee wrap are ready.

Good healing

If your knee is causing ou so much pain that it is seriously limiting your enjoyment of life and your ability to do what you want, then you are probably at the point where the TKR is a good idea, provided you have tried any other possible ways of improving it, like injections, etc.  the first week or so I am sure you will curse the decision to have it done, but htings will get better, and one day not so very far from now you will have a pain free knee, and you'll be glad you decided to have it done.   six days. . not long enough to do much in the way of prepration, but just in case you haven't thought of these things, a few hints.  Paper plates and cups to avoid washing up, lots of ready meals in the freezer, a large cross body bag for carrying odds and ends from one place to another while using crutches, a seat for the toilet which will raise it and make it easier to get up and down, ice bags or an ice machine, pain killers , a chair which is high enough to sit and get up easily (also helps with the knee bending exercises) some shoes which are a little larger than usual as your foot may be swollen, and are easy to put on . . difficult to reach to tie laces up for example . .  some very soft trousers, not wool or rough cotton . . and a good supply of patience and sense of humour!  And let the forum know hw things are going. . .

TKR is a last resort.  Usually recommended when: a. there's nothing that another arthroscopy can fix; and b. SynVisc and other injections will not provide much or any relief.  If you're at that point, then, yes, a TKR is what's left in the ortho's tool kit.

It's nothing to be afraid of, although you must know in advance what you're getting into so you can prepare for it physically, mentally and spiritually.  The docs tell you little to nothing.

Here's some expansion of Martin's advice...

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-tkr-experience-or-wish-i-had-another-kidney-stone--524499

A lot of people call this operation and recovery "brutal"...it is.  However knowing what's coming can help prepare you for those first days/weeks and not take you by surprise.

Lots more posts and great advice on the forum...

Hiya Bozzy,

Well it depends on how much pain you are in right now and how much of a junkie you have become with your pain control meds. I suspect quite a lot !

?Yes you are doing the right thing - but - don't expect miracles - ain't gonna happen anytime soon. And yes - and I am sorry to be so brutal - the surgery is 'butchery'. BUT JUST SOOOOOOOOO WORTH IT.

?I am in UK and was operated on in a private hospital by a brilliant surgeon as an NHS patient. Hospital policy was not to send you home until you got at least a 90 degree bend in the knee ............. and that is a big plus. It meant when I was home I was already at 90 and all I had to do was concentrate on getting to a 130 degree bend. Acting on independant advice I had extensive massage therapy on my incision line and surrounding area. So, when my incision line was healed, dressing removed and declared infection free I started this therapy. The objective is to prevent scar tissue forming - this is a non negotiable absolute. If it forms it will prevent you from doing your regular PT exercises effectively, and will cause all sorts of drama. Do your exercises exactly as prescribed and get your pain relief sorted and in place from the moment you 'wake up' and take it according to the directions - exactly.

?At your age you've got nothing to be afraid of apart from fear itself. I was 71 when I had mine done (in Nov 2015) I have a heart arrythmia which includes taking an anticoagulant (warfarin) to prevent a stroke - which I had to come off for surgery leaving me vulnerable to a stroke but I was fine. Off crutches at 8 weeks and back at work driving a bus (manual shift change) at 11 weeks.

?All that said, we all react to surgery differently, we all recover differently and we all handle meds differently, so do remember that.

?I live in Cornwall and love nothing more than to get out on the rugged, hostile South West Coastal path walking, I can now take the paths from beach (sea level) up 400 ft cliffs, winding and twisting, no problem.

Yes - it is sooooooo worth it.

May the force be with you.

John

Hi Bozzy

Yes you are doing the right thing. You can't live the rest of your life in pain, being unable to do the things you would like to!

The operation is brutal, the recovery hard work but oh so worthwhile! Just think after the pain of the op is gone, you will, hopefully, be pain free!! As I now am.

Good luck on your forthcoming operation.

Marilyn

XX

Yes it's a no brainier to have it done. I had knee accident 9 years ago, followed by arthroscopy, then injections. Knee then getting worse and more knock knead by the week before Xmas so no choice --- had to go for it! Now 5 weeks post op. Not that much pain, and nights not that bad but struggling with bend, which seems to be the case for some. Yes, ready made meals in freezer. Good books/Kindle! Visitors to relieve boredom and bring you treats! A long scarf to pull your foot in to help with bend while sitting on upright chair. Bendy ice pack things, which I got from hospital physio. Good luck, and remember we're all different. Come on here regularly.