Hi everyone i have just found this page and hope it will be a godsend for me,i am due my TKR in 4 weeks time and im scared big time.Have read all the leaflets ect,just fear of the unknown i expect,have been waiting about 9 months for this to happen,will just be so pleased to get back to normal-ish.
It is a great place for help and support I had mine done 9 weeks ago and I was terrified I had the spinal block and sedation didn't no a thing till it was done went back up on the ward and had a cup of tea and a sandwich had a morphine pump for the first 24 hours then they gave me medication it is painful and hard work but so worth it . Everyone is different and have different experiences
Hi, the leaflets don't really tell you to much, , it's all good though, obviously, some pain, but a different pain, a pain you no will go,. Just remember to ice, massage and do your physio, then come on here and have a good moan , cry or what ever you feel like, there's loads of support on here, and there's always some one that will be able to give you advice, or reassurance, a really good site. I've had one pkr, and am waiting for the second. Good luck.😀
It's not a lot of fun, but neither is having a bad knee is it! You might want to think of investing in one of those seats for over the toilet. . makes sitting down and getting up a lot easier! Also, a large bag you can put across your body for transporting things around for the first couple of weeks while you are using two crutches. . It's so difficult to even take a book from one place to another! If you can remove any loose rugs it's a good idea. . and perhaps a couple of pillows on your sofa to bring the height up . .makes it so much easier to get up from sitting! I didn't realise what a good idea it would have been to exercise before the op . .strengthen muscles, and not to forget strengthening arm and shoulders if poss. . it's quite a strain on that part of the body to begin with. Make sure they give you good pain medication, and don't forget to drink lots of luids, rest whenever you can, and forget about the dust . . don't try to do to much too soon, and think that in a couple of months you will be feeeling so much better!
It's not a lot of fun, but neither is having a bad knee is it! You might want to think of investing in one of those seats for over the toilet. . makes sitting down and getting up a lot easier! Also, a large bag you can put across your body for transporting things around for the first couple of weeks while you are using two crutches. . It's so difficult to even take a book from one place to another! If you can remove any loose rugs it's a good idea. . and perhaps a couple of pillows on your sofa to bring the height up . .makes it so much easier to get up from sitting! I didn't realise what a good idea it would have been to exercise before the op . .strengthen muscles, and not to forget strengthening arm and shoulders if poss. . it's quite a strain on that part of the body to begin with. Make sure they give you good pain medication, and don't forget to drink lots of luids, rest whenever you can, and forget about the dust . . don't try to do to much too soon, and think that in a couple of months you will be feeeling so much better!
Hi lou1982
Have a look at the thread I started today called "What's the point?" ~ it is full of very positive responses and has certainly helped relieve my fears. Good luck!
Lou 1982 I am five weeks TKR I got back to my ortho guy on Monday. When I first had my surgery there hardly any pain. My knee were wrapped and iced.. I came home three days later with PT three times a week. The second week home I had pain that horrible. When the doctor took the stiches out it was much more bendable. But still painful. The scar is healing well. I used Palmers cocoa butter on it several times a day. It closed up good, still a little scaring , but I continue to use the cocoa butter; sometimes vaseline. I am only at 103° and its not completely straight, but I am working on it with PT for a nother week and I myself do stretching exercises. Today it was so sensitive I could not put any blanket or covers on it. I am working at my speed, not wPTwhat the PT keep telling me where I should and old habit. I was have knee problems over four years before I becided to have the surgery. So I think k I am doing good seeing it was bothering me and week for over a year. I will start in house theraphy next week.
Hi Lou , it's 3wks tomorrow since my TKR and already I feel it's been worth it. You will have highs and lows,. You will be tired and in pain but it's a different pain and one you know will gradually ease. Remember , RIME . Rest, ice, massage and exercise !!!
Hi Lou- I am 71 and 5 days post TKR . Don't be scared. Some people have great experiences and so far I'm one of them. Everyone is different and i would never have believed I would be so mobile so soon. Do some quad strengthening exercises now. You'll be doing them after but the more prepared you can be the better the chance of a speedy recovery. Good luck
Gail
You have time to strengthen your quads and that is certainly helpful. A couple of weeks ahead of time start hydrating. Additional water every day will help give the tissue more elasticity. Understand that there will be pain and you can't avoid it. I go in 3 weeks from Thursday to have my 11th surgery and 3rd knee. I've been doing leg lifts with light weights. I havent been allowed more than 40% bend for 3 months so working with I've got is very important
You are lucky to have found this group so early lou1982. I found it a month or two after my bilateral TKR. I didn't get any leaflets before hand and was actually a little fearful of knowing too much ahead of time. I've been working in India (from the US) and just knew that this was the place and time to do it. I was transitioning between jobs and had the time. And after waiting more than 9 years and recently unable to bend the left leg when I walked, well, you get the picture, there wasn't another option. I'm 7 months out and I'm so glad I did it. It's a lot of hard work and tears. The first 3 weeks were complete hell. Just plan on it...and know there is light at the end of the tunnel, unlike folks who decide to not have the TKR. Accept that you will have cat naps and be a little grouchier than normal (lack of sleep and pain does that). Take the time now to prepare your body. Exercise those quads and abdominials by holding the leg out in front of you and lifting it high (I like doing this on the bed). And celebrate the relief is on the way!
Yes, good call on the toilet lift. With my bilateral operation, I wouldn't have been able to survive without it. You gave some great pointers here.
Sleepylu, glad to hear the responses were able to calm your nerves. 
Lou, where are you located? You will find what is a given in one country is not in another. I'm in the U S and here you automatically are started on therapy the day after surgery and it continues either as in home health care until you are able to get to out patient. Then it continues for 2 to 3 times a week for several weeks or even months. You are sen t home with a walker, commode/ shower chair combination. Other countries the therapy starts much later and you have to buy all the supplies yourself.
The 1st thing my therapist told me., 15% of the recovery is what I teach you, 85% is you doing the work. No matter how many times I've gone through it, the formula is the same. Start with the basic leg lifts, bends and extensions. Get that working good and then add something new each time. Learn early on to pace yourself. The eagerness to get going again often causes overdoing and creating difficulties. The body will set its own pace and restrictions. One of the most difficult things to comprehend is the understanding that healing takes time and it isn't a personal weakness to need more rest than you have ever needed in your life. Don't worry or get caught up in this outside mentality of you needing to be at some point in the process because someone who hasn't been through it thinks you should. Learn quickly the value of pain meds. Take them as prescribed not when you suddenly feel a pain. When you rest, elevate, that keeps the blood flowing properly a high in turn helps soft tissue heal. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Dried out tissue doesn't streatch and you have to streatch to rehabilitate. Good luck and stay with this group....they know what you are going through
Everyone of us has been in your position and are here for you day and nights (night seem to be our speciality)you have lots of time to prepare yourself so make the best of it, If I could do one thing better in my preparation I would have gone all out excercising my "bad" leg, the stronger you can get the muscles now the easier your physio will be, we will all have our little gems to share with you so make sure you use us , best wishes and please stay in touch
think your point about getting caught up in the "outside mentality" ought to be carved in wood and framed in all houses, the one thing that really got me down ( and still does) is the feeling that I am not making the progress I feel I dhould be or even worse, am not making the same progress as others it really is bonkers isnt it ?at the end of the day its neither a competition nor a race we will all get there in the end best wishes to you
I modified the idea of a large bag for moving things around and used a tool belt, it worked a treat, truly the more tips you can pick up now the smoother things will go at a practical level
It's so true that we all progress at different rates. I've just been for my first physio group session, 3wks today post op. A man came who had his op 1 day before me who could hardly walk and had virtually no bend. After 20 mins in the gym he was ill, needing oxygen again whereas others could manage most of the exercises with aide. As I get fed up of hearing, everyone is different. But it's true. We will all get there in the end, some like a hare and some like a tortoise. But it will be worth it in the end.