Knee replacement surgery

Bosco,  you can do his this e all did.  Everyone is different and every surgery is different.....so recovery is different.  I moved my bed room to 1st floor.  Went upstairs only for showers fo a month.  My recovery becam my job.....listen to your body..do push yourself...but don't be miserable.  I took pain meds regularly for 3 months.  Ice and elevate, hydrate your body, and exercise.  It is not easy but it is doable.

i clean houses and returns to work at 15 1/2 weeks.....won't say it was easy, but I made it work.  Now I am 15 months into recovery.....would do it again if needed.  NEVER thought early on I would say that...keep your chin up.

you will need to have pre prepared meals,and some help when you first come home.  I could not of made it without my hubby.  Check to see if your insurance will cover some help if u live alone....or find someone you trust to help out.

take care and good luck

pam

Everyone experience pain different. However, all I could say that for me it was the worse pain that I ever had in my life.

I chose not to go into a Rehab. So my husband use to take me to my PT at the hospital everyday for 2 weeks after surgery. Then I continue at another hospital closer to where I live.

It has been 7 months and my knee still hurts and I have not reached 120 bend, which is what most surgeons want you to accomplish. Good Luck. J21370

Are you in uk, with nhs, or elsewhere? Asking because different systems work in different ways.

Hi Bosco,

Yes I agree with everyone else, the hospital asks you if you've got someone at home to help you otherwise they will keep you in for a bit longer. I had my teenage daughter, who unfortunately sleeps for Great Britain so I sometimes struggled in the early days. I'll explain in more detail! When you're on two crutches it's impossible to carry anything so on one of my first mornings home I decided to make myself a coffee which is my usual wake up routine anyway I made the coffee ok ish but I couldn't carry it into my living room to drink it and I couldn't stand long enough to either! So be prepared for all eventualities... I decided my coffee would have to wait and had bottles of water by the side of my sofa plus snacks to last me until my teen woke 🙄

Tv was a godsend, actually Netflix ... watched so many films and series on there while napping in between. Btw sleep is a must ... give your body time to heal and listen to it.

All the best and please keep us updated, this forum was the best thing I found as no one and I mean no one can possibly understand what a TKR is like unless they've been through it

Hi Bosco, The things I was worried about was the pain I would wake upto and seing the scars. I had both knees done at the same time. I woke up with a head acke. The pain they can control with Codene, Paracetamol and Ibroprofen. So stock up on Paracetamol and Ibroprofen before you go in. I only had morphene twice. when in hospital at night. They do give you a bottle to take home as back up, but never used it. As the nurses said you dont need to be in pain,

 

Alot will depend on where you are . . UK, USA???  Nerve blocks, oxycodne, which someone mentioned sound like USA to me.  You could do with talking about this with your doctor before you go in, and don't be like me. I assumed that I would be given prescriptions for decent pain control after leaving hospital, but in fact when I repeatedly asked "can you let me have a prescription" they finally gave it to me. . .for paracetamol! (Acetominophen )  Believe me, that is about as useful as a packet of polo mints.   Not being able to drive I was unable to get any decent pain killers until I could get to me GP, which was a couple of weeks later. don't let that happen to you!Preparation is important.  get in paper pates and glasses to avoid having much washing up or dishwasher loading . .plenty of ready meals in the freezer if possible   get yourself a pair of shoes which are easy to put on and a little bigger to allow for swelling, a cross body bag for carrying small articles around, like glasses, books (difficult when using walker or two crutches!  a trolley is useful for transporting drinks, but not essential.  The over toilet thing which someone mentioned is a huge improvement!  SOFT trousers or jogging pants which wont rub on the scar, and allow you to reach the knee for massage etc. without taking them off every time. A leg lifter is useful in the early days to help lift your leg up on to the bed. I'm not sure if you are a man or a woman???  If a man, you may think it worth buying a bottle to use during the night, if you have to get up several times for the loo . . a lot easier than the trek to the bathroom . . .An ice machine, or at least some flexible ice bags  . . Not sure when you are due for the op, but don't forget your upper body will take the strain of the crutches, so any exercise to strengthen muscles is good. . . and although it's not a walk in the park, it's worth it in the end!  good luck and keep in touch. . . 

Bosco, what you're feeling is quite normal ... I think we all go into panic about having a TKR and the unknown. 

please don't stress yourself about the pain either when you're in hospital or out, I was given Tramadol, paracetamol and ibuprofen to go home with. Whatever they give you make sure you keep them topped up as told by the hospital. Do not ever let the pain over come you by not taking them at the prescribed times.

You can and will do this and we will all be here for you afterwards. This forum is amazing and everyone genuinely cares and understands and will give you all their personal knowledge. 

I'm not going to lie to you by saying it's a walk in the park because it isn't, it's a long hard road to recovery but it will be worthwhile in the end.