I’m scheduled for knee replacement but read so many negatives ?

@missy4242 yes I ended up with the $159 cold therapy machine from Amazon. I tried ordering the Polar Ice machine off Amazon but there were a hundred and one delivery issues with it so I just cancelled the order; I am not the first buyer to note delivery issues with it from Amazon. I debated up until I was being wheeled to the OR whether I was rushing this surgery and was my pain really that bad and so what if I fell a couple times when my knees locked was it really that big a deal? I am glad I had it done while I am still in good health minus my weight and can get out and enjoy life without fear of falling again. I am hoping the weight comes off as I leave my couch potato days behind me.

@kudzu ,
No, because I have been doing my exercises at home but now my pain is so much worse, that I do have orders for physical therapy so I am going to start next week for sure. But my right knee has shifted and has caused me to be knock kneed because of that. I do have phone and Bone and no cartilage. I also have a huge meniscal tear bilaterally the one on the right which shifted has what they call a bucket handle. But I will definitely be hopeful in regarding physical therapy if I can do it. Because currently I can't even do my exercises Faithfully Monday through Friday due to the pain. I am not normally active. I wasn't as a child even. I have a hole in my heart and I think that was probably my body telling me not to run so much or do so many physical things as a child. I did not need surgery for it but it certainly still affects sometimes when I am short of breath.

@momma2lucy
Thank you!
I don't want surgery but I need surgery. My pain is intense everyday. So it's time. But I know I have to do my hips first before my knees. Did you find your ice machine on amazon?

Very unfortunate to place your faith in the practitioner's. Trust your original parts until the pain is absolutely too excruciating and you have exhausted all the alternatives, of which there are very many now. There is no going back once you have this procedure. I really hate being a doomsday guy because I am optimistic by nature but the outcome is not predictable and if I can discourage just one person from this elective surgery I will feel that I have helped humanity in some small way….

This might be a silly question, but have you tried PT first? I’ve had knee issues and got some amazing results by religiously doing the exercises. Strengthening the muscles around the joint will do a lot.
I had excruciating knee pain back in 2013, large tear in the meniscus, plus potholes in the cartilage, and unstable joint. I didn’t want surgery as I’d already lost the other meniscus.
Dr dubiously said we’d try PT for 30 days. I went at it faithfully, and at the end of the month he was amazed at my function and lack of pain. He said he really had had doubts that it would work. I was able to take a long section hike on the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire, wearing a knee brace but without issue.
Reading this joint replacement forum and talking to other people, I seem to notice that no matter which joint it is, it’s the more active or athletic people who are most likely to regret the surgery. Don’t know why, except that we are the ones who demand the most from our bodies and are most likely to notice issues.
Best of luck, please just give it a lot of thought.

@momma2lucy
A good ice machine is an essential part of the early recovery process. Ice packs don't stay as cold and don't provide periodic compression.

The Rolls Royce of ice machines is the NICE machine. If you can find a rental and it is affordable, that is the one to get. My surgeon provided me with a two week rental of the NICE machine four years ago when he replaced my left hip. Seven months ago he provided me with a two week rental of the Game Ready machine for my right total knee replacement. It worked equally well but was less convenient as it did need ice and the NICE machine did not.

Let me reverse the Nike Statement here to say JUST DONT DO IT. And I am not being flippant here. Most definitely worst decision of my life. 14 years of pain much worse than my original condition.
And the docs? They shrug their shoulders and disappear- because they know revisions are even less likely to work. I have seen experts from 5 states and NOBODY wants to go back in there.
Keep your original parts and try to deal with it. You have at best a 50% chance for success regardless of the false promotions from manufacturers and docs.
You will most likely not have results you hope for and the post-op recovery period is extremely long and painful.
For background I am , or was, an excellent athlete, doing tri’s, long distance cycling and tennis and basketball. Since the surgery I cannot walk without pain to the refrigerator - yet I can bike 40 miles- biking puts less stress on my on knee and I can compensate with good leg.
But even on bike it’s painful and I just grit my teeth and deal with it- as I swear at myself for volunteering for this horrible surgery…..

I had a total right knee replacement syrgery in 2012 at the age of 59. My knee is still performing well. After tolerating years of debilitating pain, I chose total knee replacement, & I consider it to be the most positive decision that I could have made at the time. The recovery was painful & a real challenge, so please be sure to encourage yourself & have encouragers around you. Physical therapy was an essential part of my recovery. It was a challenge but in the end I was able to walk & move without pain. I call the process a success.

I had my bilateral knee surgery done. 12 years ago at 66. For me. It was the best thing I could’ve done. It changed my life. I’m back to doing everything. I was able to do before the surgery .Make sure you have a good surgeon and go for it. You should be very happy afterwards.

I had a TKR at Mayo Rochester 10 days ago and never took the Oxy. I did take tramadol day 1 and 2 as a precaution for my five hour drive home. I am only using Tylenol and an edible before bedtime. I ice after any activity for 20 mins. By end of first week I was doing 1800 steps a day. On day 9, I went to Kohl’s and Culver’s. I am only using a cane outside the house. I do the exercises PT gave me before discharge at least three times a day and the three months prior to surgery I religiously did the exercises given to me. I had less pain the day of surgery and since than I have had the last ten years and I am not even sure if I would call it pain that I have had since surgery but more achiness. Words of advice is if your hotel room or house does not have a chair height toilet to invest in a toilet seat riser. If you don’t have grab bars by your toilet turn your walker around and back it up to the toilet tank to use as hand rails. I do need help getting my leg up onto the bed, I do have swelling and tire easily some days but my experience is no where near the horror stories I read. I am 69 , overweight and was never an athlete.