Knee #2- am I ready?

Hi there, You are a brave soul. I had my right knee replaced on 1-23-2019 and just like you, my other knee is taking a beating. I know I'll need it replaced but considered a couple of things you might want to consider before scheduling your other knee. 1: How many outpatient days do you have in a calendar year? ( also inpatient in case you need it and outpatient) 2. Understand that every surgery is different even if it's done by the same surgeon, in the same hospital, and on the same person. Your TKR might have been easy sailing but the left may cause you a bit more of a headache! Do you have enough rehab to cover what you'll need? I would say as soon as you go over everything regarding insurance and feel confident that the right knee is recovered, schedule your other one. I plan on getting cortisone shots until next year. I've never had them so I feel they should help until I reach a new calendar year for insurance's sake. How is your 4th week doing? Thursday will be week 7 for me and I am just now transitioning to a cane and my ROM is 0/110. Not great but we're working on it.

Thank you for your feedback! I am feeling somewhat better starting week #5. I've been off the walker since week #1, and I often forget my cane now so I don't use it all the time. The stiffness and swelling continue to need rest and managing while PT is still challenging. But I sleep better, know how to ease up on my knee earlier, and can shower without a chair now. I did cortisone shots for 5 years leading up to my surgery and it no longer worked for me. Hence, I'm going to do the other knee. My deductible is met for the year, the DME (commode, shower chair, walker) is all out, paid for, and ready to use, and I'm in that mood to just keep plowing through even though I know the other knee may be easier or harder than this first one. ROM is 113 and extension is 0. I've been holding there for a couple of weeks now. I didn't go to rehab even though I live alone. I would hire a home aide for housework this next time.

I am 8 weeks out and have been walking without a cane for 3 weeks, going to the gym to use the recumbent bike. I have terrible IT band pain and it makes me not want to walk at all. My PT says it's from weakness in the outer glutes, which should be what powers the leg to go forward in walking. Since I've been walking abnormally for the last 2 years, I am having to learn all over again -- heel, toe, heel, toe ---
my other (now the bad knee) is really hurting too, but I don't think I'll have the courage to do this again before a year. Maybe in a few months I'll feel differently, but ...

Hi @harley105 - Welcome to Connect. You and I are close in our recovery. I am 6 weeks out on my second TKR. I agree with you regarding courage. My first TKR was April 2017 so it took me two years! Do you have constant pain or just when you stress it with PT? I'm hoping the best for you. Good luck!

@amytro Lots of good advice, but I would wait a bit longer. As has been said, every TKR is different. I would want to be pretty much totally better before embarking on doing it all over again. Bottom line though, I would talk to my surgeon about it. If you are confident of him/her you should take the advice given to you. They want their patients to succeed so they do have your best interest at heart. Your doctor may be fine with doing it soon but may want to delay it longer. Around here none of the top surgeons will do two knees at the same time, but some do and some patients are very happy with the outcome, so doing it soon may work out great for you.
JK

Thanks, JK. While ideal, I don't think I can wait a year on the second knee. In fact, it was a toss up for me as to which knee to replace first. I have a huge overseas trip in November- my alleged reward for getting through my TKRs- and I want to be walking well for that trip. (not cancelling!!!). Doctors here won't do two at a time either but will wait only 3 weeks (I'm in Massachusetts). I am meeting with the surgeon soon and I agree- I will listen to him. That is if I even get to see him or if I'm stuck with a PA again!! thank you for your thoughtful comments. This is a bear- but while I'm growling- I'm going to take the hill!!

@amytro I am in southern NH so go to Boston for most of my medical care, and my TKRs were done down there. As I said, I had a very sudden recovery after my second TKR and had to go to NYC for my daughter's wedding. We went a couple of days early and I walked all over the place! I was amazed. A couple of weeks previous to that I never thought I would be able to do much while there.
Good luck with this, let us know what your doctor says. Is he/she in the Boston area?
JK

I scheduled my knee replacements 12 weeks apart, the left knee in April and the right knee in July. I started flat trail bike riding 8 weeks after the first knee. My thoughts were that the second knee does take some abuse while you are rehabing the first knee. I wanted to make sure that the muscles around the second knee were back in shape prior to the TKR. The bike riding was low impact excerise that helped with both knees between TKR's. I kept a timeline of my process so that I could track my progress. My first surgery was on April 14th, 2017 and the second knee was done on July 10th, 2017. I have a note that I was walking between 3000 and 4000 steps a day on August 28th, 2017. A couple of other tips that helped me are: Try not to do too much too soon. When you think you have iced enough, ice it more. Be dedicated to doing your therapy routine when the therapist is not with you. It has been 23 months since I started this process and I still do my knee exercise routine everyday. Everyone is different and my timeline is an just an example. Pay attention to your own body/knees and adjust your schedule. Good Luck!

Hi Debbra - no, not constant pain, but some days are better that others, as everyone knows. I'm doing IT band stretches like crazy and using the foam roller (ouch) but it does really help. Sciatica is also a problem, but I've found a fantastic chiro down the street from my PT and go to both on the same day. Again, some days are better than others. Yesterday I went to the gym, went to the store and did a small amount of gardening. And today I don't feel like I want to die. So that's good progress.

@harley105 - I think you (and I) are both going to see a real difference even another month from now and certainly when we are 6 months out. You are doing all the right things! Does your chiro do any special treatment? I'm doing acupuncture twice a week and that is helpful for me in managing the pain. Best of luck!