My poor mum

Hi Nadine....I had a knee replacement 5 weeks ago. I can tell you what your MOM will go through BUT just as important is the mind set of her caregiver! Be ready. How old is your Mom? The pain and healing sometimes feels like it 's as slow as I don't know what. Then you have good days a few weeks post-op where you feel the healing......sleepless nights, mood swings and frustration are things I go through. The bottom line is........"it's no walk in the park"

hi cecelia thanks so very much for your reply my mum is 67 so hopefully it's not to frustrating for her as far as me caring for mum I have a pretty thick skin ha ha which is good for me haha.. Maybe I will do some more resurch to see how I could try make things a bit better for her. Are you now walking with out help or do u still use a frame or crutches ?? Also thanks so very much for all you have told me so far 

Hi Nadine, having a total knee replacement (TKR) is a major operation which takes a long time to recover from. I suggest you browse through discussions on this site and you'll soon become familiar with the sort of problems most people encounter. I had mine done 14 weeka ago. I can do what I was doing before the op now - driving, shopping, short walks but have yet to achieve my goal of walking comfortably for an hour or so. I was in hospital for 6 days, walked with a frame on the first day, used 2 crutches for a week or two, then one crutch for a few weeks. I've been walking unaided since about 7 weeks. The first few weeks are the worst when you need help with preparing meals, shopping, personal hygiene etc. I'm sure your mum will cope if she really needs it done but she will appreciate some help at the beginning I'm sure. I would have found it very hard without my husband as my "carer" . This site is great if your mum needs to get advice or reassurance about anything. Jen 

hi nadine ... i can only concur with jennifer, really do your research on here. there are so many of us on here daily who have just had a TKR (total knee replacement) and are sharing our experiences. please do remember though that each and every knee is different so there is no telling really what will happen. if your surgeon tells you the opposite, he is deluding himself!

i had my knee done 7+1 weeks ago. i had not been on here and generally went into it all very naively. since joining this site, i have learnt SO much. but would i have wanted to know all this prior to the op? it might have scared the living daylights out of me. personally, if my mum was having it done, i wouldn't tell her too much. let her have it done and THEN go - go - go!

what do i mean? the op is the most difficult thing i have ever had done in my life. i don't think anything can prepare you for the aftermath. basically, every day throws something new at you for weeks and weeks and weeks. you will see on here that we all go through it. physically and mentally. and i was unprepared for the amount of pain and discomfort i would suffer. how "handicapped" i would feel and still do in some instances. it has been a huge learning curve regarding pain medication (what works and what doesn't), exercising even if it is really painful, pushing yourself the whole time, workarounds and ... and ... and. so, my top four tips:

1. make sure you have an experienced surgeon, one who can listen!

2. pain medication - make sure your mum gets enough (paracetemol will NOT cut the mustard!!) and the right amount. if necessary, kick up a fuss at your gp's surgery to make sure you get what she needs

3. physio is a MUST. discuss this with the surgeon / gp and possibly even go and talk to the one they recommend to make sure the chemistry is right. the physio will carry your mum through the worst and make sure she gets the bend she needs.

4. exercises ... make sure your mum has a pamphlet or something showing what she needs to do and make sure she does them. it can be very painful at the beginning but it is a must.

tell her not to have BOTH done at the same time. she will have enough on her hands with just one. it becomes a full time occupation!

good luck.

Hi Britta thank you so much for your openness and been strait down the line with me now I have a much better idea on what to expect like u said everyone knee's are different so very true I think I will keep the pain said of the reco to myself and only tell mum the good parts for now your top 4 tips seem to be spot on the money with doing your resurch before going under the knife so thank you once again for all your help also all the best for the rest of ur recovery take care