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After knee replacement surgery
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Oct 27, 2021 | Replies (618)Comment receiving replies
I’ll be doing bilateral TKR April 18th. Your knees look great! I’m hoping for similar looking results. John, right now your knees are frightening me a little bit. Too new I guess.
I found this Mayo site a few days ago and was looking for PT tips. Frankly, I think ignorance is bliss in some cases. I was assuming this procedure and recovery would be difficult and painful but hadn’t really talked with anyone who has had bilateral TKR. Now I realize I was unaware of all the complications that might occur. But, I’m going to try to keep a positive attitude and hope that I’m one of the lucky ones.
I’ve been cooking and freezing lots of dinners. My husband lowered our bed thanks to the suggestion made by (now I can’t find the name), I borrowed a walker, toilet riser with handles, a shower chair and a cane. Im rearranging furniture to make sure a walker can make it through the paths.
Any and all advice would be appreciated. As each day nears the TKR procedure I feel anxious and impatient. Afraid of the pain and hard work ahead and impatient to have it over with so I can go on long walks and possibly even hikes with my Husband again. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll be on this site after surgery. I’m glad I found it. Donna
Replies to "I’ll be doing bilateral TKR April 18th. Your knees look great! I’m hoping for similar looking..."
Hi @gobigorgohome - Love your member name! Kind of tells me you have some spirit and can deal with challenges. Don't let my yucky knees scare you. Think of it as a knee challenge - you will do great. I think the key to getting through the TKR is listening to your doctors and following their instructions after the TKR. I'm new to this game and on day 6 after my TKR and feeling fairly good as far as the pain goes but maybe that's just because I have neuropathy in my feet (numbness but no pain with it). I think controlling the pain is key for the initial recovery and rehab. Lots of great members here in this discussion on Connect just waiting to support you!
I wish you the best on your upcoming knee surgery. Here's a video that I found helpful for some of the questions I had going into my surgery.
Knee Replacement Rehab: Top 5 Mistakes People Make
@gobigorgohome I was looking forward to the improvement I would see after TKR. I have a doctor friend who tried to persuade me to not have it done though, and that cast doubt in my mind. Thankfully it turned out great. I was limited in how far I could walk before and now I can walk for miles.
Sure, initially there is pain and discomfort and you do have to work a lot at PT, but it will be worth it. Do make sure you do your PT at home on the days you don't have a session. That's important.
JK
Connect
Hi Donna @gobigorgohome - I am so glad that the picture helped - that's what I was going for. I'm 68 years old and I'm sure that my knees have been looked at more in the last day here on Connect than they have since I was a teenager. LOL.
On another subject, you have done great preparation and I have a feeling you are going to do great with your surgery. I can relate to you feeling a little intimidated reading all the things that can go wrong. I'm a mentor here and honestly, before my surgery in January, I had to take a little break from reading every post because I wanted to keep my spirits up! Just bear in mind that a lot of people who are having problems with their recovery come here to share and get answers. It's wonderful that we have this kind of forum. It's less common for people to log on to post how beautifully their surgery went and how easy the recovery was! Keep in mind that there are plenty of happy stories out there that aren't shared here. I'm looking forward to you posting your first hike with your husband after surgery! We need inspirational stories. Will you do that?