I would not let some of these posts scare you away from TKR. I found that while there is some discomfort and pain it can be managed. Icing is important as is doing the exercises at home that they give you. It helps to have a spouse or someone to push you to do your exercises when you just don't feel like doing them. I had one knee done 18 months ago and is mostly back to feeling normal. I had the other done 8 months ago and slowly improving. I can't kneel on my left knee but right knee no pain kneeling. Also I think it depends how active you are before surgery. Building up the strength in your quads and legs muscles is very important. Makes recovery quicker. I still have some pain in my knees but nothing compared to pre replacement. I can walk just about as far as I want to now. I have friends that have had TKR and not one regrets it. My Mom had both done almost twenty years ago and at 91 is still going strong. My Dr. at Mayo did a great job. It does get frustrating because recovery is slow but in the end is worth it. I think the best thing is to get moving after and ice often to keep swelling down. I did find that I had some depression after which I understand is fairly common. Some days did not want to get out of bed but you really need to push yourself. I am so happy to be able to go on long walks and hikes now plus I don,t have ugly crooked legs anymore, nice and straight. The scar from my first knee is barely visible. It is s hard road but worth it in the long run.

@cheris I agree, building up strength is a huge factor. My ortho surgeon has said that too. When I was supposed to have this surgery before (but had to be turned away on the day of surgery due low platelets) I had asked him before about pre-surgical physical therapy, having heard that some people do that. When he heard I do water exercise and ride my incumbent bike he said I was doing the best things possible. I am no in-shape person really but I do keep the muscles around my knees pretty well exercised now and it has really helped even without the surgery.
Thanks too for pushing the icing. I really did not do that as much as I guess I should have. How long and how often did you do that?
JK

Before my tkr i was in the gym building up my strength so that i was ready for what followed. Lot of good that did. Pain and lots of it. Yes , i handled PT very well but the actual bowling ball that was put in place did not sit well with my body. Thankfully stem cells has given me life for the other knee.

@cobweb Hi Win, I think the success of a knee replacement is dependent on two obvious things, the skill of the surgeon and the knee used for the replacement. The surgeon I used for the knee I had done a few years ago is supposedly good (he had a high rating on one the rating sites but I find that to be unreliable) but he used the same basic knee he has been using for 30 years! I suspect in that amount of time there have been improvements in these prosthesis. Mine hurts at times and does not have nearly the flex it should but to paraphrase what someone else said "it's better than how I felt before". I was in pain 24/7 and limping badly.
It never occured to me back then to check into the prosthesis also. From what I know now, the two best are the Depuy and the Conformis. I am sure there are others but I believe both of those to be very good.
JK

Had a top rated surgeon. Checked him out. I have noticed he is now referring people to check out stem cells, where as other area surgeons bad mouth stem cells.

@cobweb My surgeon was top rated also, 5 stars on one of those rating websites, but he sure did me no favors with my knee. I took him because his rating seemed to be good, plus I was in so much pain I was desperate and he was the first one I could get a surgical appointment with. Even with him it was a number of weeks. When I found that out I actually cried because I was in such pain and couldn't imagine waiting that long. It's so ironic because I am about to have my other knee done with a different surgeon but the one already done hurts more than the one about to be done.
JK

@mari I was told you have to have some cartilage to grow some more, and I don't have enough to work with. There are places doing stem cells here (Mayo for one; you can find YouTube videos on them talking about it), but most insurance companies don't cover it and it's quite expensive. If you "search" the following phrase on YouTube you'll find them.

mayo clinic stem cell knee

I think you are correct. It's in the future if FDA approves it & insurance buys in - probably cost effective for them.

gym building up my strength so that i was ready for what followed. Lot of good that did.
I THOUGHT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GET REALLY STRONG BEFORE A PROCEDURE? Pain and lots of it. Yes , i handled PT very well but the actual bowling ball BALL?
that was put in place did not sit well with my body. Thankfully
stem cells has given me life for the other knee. U HAD STEM CELLS?
WHERE?
$?
DR.?

Dr Kruse at Wildwood in Toledo Ohio. Cost was $7,000. I have seen costs higher and lower. To me it was worth it. They seem to be affiliated with Regenexx which is on line and shows doctors in the USA. Not advertising for them. I had very little cartiledge remaining but i was willing to take the chance to avoid surgery. So far, so good.