After knee replacement surgery

I am in my 6th-7th week after bilateral total knee surgery.I found the first 2 weeks far better than other weeks cause the anaesthetic drugs aren't worn off yet and whilst in hospital they consistently dose you up pretty good. After rehab and when home I hate it. They gave taken me off tablets too soon I feel , sleepless nights nausea, etc I am at 112 both knees though and physio is going good

@dementmt Hi, I have no idea what knee replacements cost, my Medicare and supplemental paid it all.

I have had two knee replacements, done at different times. My doctors will not do bilateral. I did very well after the first one as far as pain and recovery were concerned but I never got the flex in my knee that I hoped for. It's very functional, just not quite as good as I had hoped. I blame the PT I had that time for that, and that I did not do the exercises at home as much as I should have.

I had more discomfort after the second knee replacement but that suddenly lifted, almost overnight, and now the knee feels great.
I have no regrets at all about doing either of them, even the second one despite the fact that at that point I had exercised a lot and that helped my knee because the exercise strengthened the surrounding muscles. So when I went into surgery that knee was not in tremendous pain, but it did prevent me from walking long distances.

I would definitely advise you to exercise the knee as much as possible beforehand, it will help with your recuperation -- my ortho loves water exercise, basically water jogging, and the recumbent bike. Also, if you are overweight by much I would try to lose some weight.

Good luck with it, and do not be afraid of it. If your knee is painful you will be happy with the results. I assume you know the surgeon has had good results. You may also want to know what knee he uses. That can make a difference.
JK

@stretchystretch They do not let you stay on the opioids for long these days due to the opioid crisis. There is a general feeling that people get as much relief from ibuprofen as they do from the narcotics. That was a problem for me because I can only use Tylenol and that is not nearly as effective as NSAIDs.
JK

Gailfaith: I’m 2 weeks post tkr on right knee. Usual issues, pain, stiffness, but already improving. Current numbers for flex/extension are 114 and 8. Working more on extension now, flex will come along later, based on previous arthroscopic surgery on same knee. BIG question: went to PT today and was told that 125 degrees flex is about the top limit, quote “since implants are not designed to go much above that and may even be damaged or fail if pushed too far”. Did anybody caution you about bending too much? Any problems doing so?

@ellerbracke @gailfaith Gail, your flex is amazing! Were you young when you had the TKR? I think for us who are older that amount of flex does not happen frequently. I am at about 120 on one of my knees, and not quite there on the second one. I thought by doing the recumbent bike as close up as possible I would achieve more but it did not happen, in fact I think I regressed a bit after PT.
I never heard that 125 was max. I know that 120 is the minimum they hope to see patients achieve.

Good luck eller with your PT and don't stop doing it, or let it go. That's the key I believe. I honestly thought I was doing enough but now I realize that I was apparently not. Thankfully though, I do not have any pain from that knee. I have my appointment in October, it will be a year then, and I am really curious to see what my flex is. I never had a problem at all with extension.
JK

I had my left TKR 1 1/2 yrs ago and all is well . I had my right aTKR 6 months ago. All was great until about a week ago. My knee was sore and when I rubbed it I noticed that ther was now a definitive dip in my scar line. There is moderate discomfort when I apply pressure to the indentation. I was released by my surgeon but this is concerning me ??? Any responses?

@ellerback. I know its frustrating not to be able to just walk as you use to but your knee problem didn't happen overnight so its going to take awhile till you can get back to normal The gell wont make you walk anymore then you can now your knee has to heal correctly I hope you listen to P.T. a your Dr. Hugs Linda

3 weeks after tkr I am still working painfully! hard on getting total extension. I am used to briskly walking about 2 miles every morning. Currently only doing 1/2 mile - PT does not want me to do more until knee gets straight. I can feel it in my hips and the sciatic nerve that even with aiming for perfect form, it is not quite right. I’m considering placing a gel insert in the one shoe temporarily to allow me to walk longer distances. Has anyone tried that?

Hi, @ellerbracke - since you posted about the possibility of a shoe insert following your total knee replacement, I've merged your post with this one so you can meet others who've gone through similar journeys.

So glad you met @lioness, and also hoping you can meet members like @moscholl @contentandwell @kdo0827 @cobweb @gailfaith and others here. I trust that they will offer some thoughts on your working painfully on getting total extension 3 weeks after the surgery and also looking at a gel insert for your shoe so you can walk longer distances.

How has your pain been overall postsurgery, @ellerbracke?

@beatricefay Ive never had TKR but back fracture and more I can suggest for inflammation Tumeric is anti inflammatory I like the tea its ginger,-Tumeric ,good tasting and Trader Joes has it .Several people use it on here and elsewhere one lady told me she drinks it at supper then chamomile tea later in evening I drank this after my fracture it relaxes you .Good luck