Proposed bilateral knee replacement

I am two years out from having bilateral tkr. my reasons were pretty much the same as yours. I am so glad i did. I was up the next day walking. It really was not that bad. I never experienced sever pain like some people say they have with a tkr. the worst part if the whole process was being very weepy and not bring able to sleep....major insomnia! But that all goes away as you heal. I did have to sleep on the coach or recliner when i did sleep. My husband was the biggest part of my healing. Make sure you have someone to help you 24/7 at the beginning. I was out of work for nine weeks during the summer, then went back to teaching when school started. My legs did feel very tight and heavy but that also eventually gets better. I would do it again in a heartbeat. you will be so glad you did both. I have a few friends that need their second knee done but refuse to have the surgery again.

just a side note....your knees will not heal the same. I had one that did great from the beginning, the other was behind. It also takes about a full year or more to be healed.....I can even tell a big difference between year one and year two.

I wish you the very best. You will be glad you made the decision.

Hi. I am 3 years out bilateral knee replacements as of last month. will say up front...yes I would do it again. My knees were bone on bone and I was weeks away from a cane or walker. I decided to do both because I couldn't see going under twice and going thru the pain twice. Unlike some who only need 1 done, both knees would be in pain and I think my bad knee would have negative affect on the one healing.

The worse pain I think was from the nerve blocks wearing off. I was used to so much pain for over 5 years that post surgery was not as hard as I thought it would be.

I had home therapy for two weeks then went to wellness center for therapy 2-3 times a week. The therapist said I did even better than most people who had only one knee done. it just felt good to walk. The first day without my walker and cane were triumphs. One day I was walking to my car from the store and I shouted and almost danced. My cousin was with and he looked at me like I lost it! lol. I said you don't know how good this feels after 10 years total in pain. I was 59 when I had surgery, glad I did not wait.

You will be told to do exercises before surgery to strengthen muscles...it helps. Also to do them well after. I still do a few.

I hope this helped. Good luck!

GOOD LUCK with your procedure. I am bot quite where you are , and only had my first arthroscopy on right knee, but really wish I had done two together.

I have heard of people who only needed one done, and after the recovery they needed another one doing due to extra pressure placing on the good one.

So I believe you have made a good decision. BEST OF LUCK .

KEEP US UPDATED.

2 or 3 years ago my brother had both knees replaced in a single surgery. Just as you say, both his knees were horrible and he had limited time off from work and was caring for his elder wife who was immobile. After surgery he refused all pain meds other than tylenol. He did fantastic. I was amazed at his recovery. Best of luck to you!

If you've been a good healer and come back quickly after prior surgeries, or are in relatively good shape, you can usually get back to life in about 6 weeks...It's not super easy, but it's worth it if you can get through it! Make sure you get into the best physical shape possible (just endurance-wise) prior to your surgery and you'll seriously have a much higher chance of success!

Hey,

I hope you're well. I was wondering how your surgery and recovery went? Did you end up getting bilateral knee replacements?