After knee replacement surgery

Hi @beatricefay. Sorry to hear you are having a difficult recovery process! Here are two existing threads on Connect that you might find interesting: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/knee-replacement-with-osteopenia-and-osteoporosis/ and https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/im-having-knee-replacement-l-on-june-20th-any-suggestions-on-how/. I think you'll find the second one particularly helpful.

I'm also tagging @dawn_giacabazi, @mendeztrumpet, @niazumbanut, @dorsey, @julieannejp and @flor who have posted about knee replacement in the past and should be able to provide some insights and support.

Here's hoping your recovery takes a turn! Please keep us updated on your progress.

Hi Beatrice!! I had right knee done. Make sure you ice ice ice.

Beatricefay, I had a total knee replaced many years ago and it took me a year to fully recover. I was especially bothered with night demons ( pain) and Mayo said take Tylenol ( I wanted to "kill" Mayo) .My wife had total knee replacement went back to work in a week and 95% recovered in 6 months...she's 5' couch potato, I'm 6'2" athletic but we KNOW women are stronger than men. BUT after a year I fully recover and after 10 years or more I take cardio dance and/or Zumba classes daily ( sometimes twice a day). My last visit to Mayo for review showed no wear on the prosthesis...I was very concerned with all my dancing. My doctor at Mayo told me to keep doing what I'm doing. So be compassionate with yourself, things will get better! Everyone's recovery is different. Also review Mayo websites and Mayo on Youtube for knee replacement protocols.Best to you,I UNDERSTAND.

Thanks @niazumbanut. Great advice! @beatricefay, here are links to some of the resources he references: http://bit.ly/1rsgxhw, http://mayocl.in/1UlrM5K, http://bit.ly/1YugeQJ. Hope these help!

One other thing I forgot to mention...elevate your legs...helps with pain/swelling and its a good thing to do every day for relaxation and health. As a yoga practitioner we call this legs up the wall. Below is link on how its done.If you can't do the posture, raise legs as high as possible above heart. Be sure to use a pillow or blanket under neck to keep you head from tilting back if needed...be comfortable and not intimidated by the posture...my hamstrings are very tight so I have to position my legs somewhat off the wall...experiment and be COMFORTABLE, its a restorative pose.You may also want to use an eye pillow or even a bandanna to decrease the light and increase relation. More info. contact me...its my pleasure to share. Also link for eye pillow.

Thanks for the advice, I've been icing and raising my legs in bed but find they start hurting after a short time. I bought support hose yesterday which was recommended by my doctor. I had it on for about an hour but it hurt my wound too much. Think I'll wait till the wound is more healed, then try again. I see it will be a slow, painful process.

Hi niazumbanut, You sound like you and your wife are doing great. I couldn't imagine returning to work after a week. Amazing. I know that with patience things will improve but for now it's difficult. My knee is still swollen but I feel like I'm getting around a little better. I tried support hose yesterday but the pressure hurt my wound too much so I'll have to wait to try that again. Would love to sleep through the night as I feel tired all of the time. Thanks for your kind words of support. Keep on dancing. That used to be a great pleasure for me.

It will get better,again just be compassionate with yourself.

I have a total knee replacement tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous. So many people respond immediately with
"The first two weeks are the worst, filled with pain" . Nice of them to share : /
Those of you who've had it, are those first two weeks really so bad?
Thank you for the video with legs raised against wall, super helpful.

Ronnie, each person's pain and tolerance is different. You will get through it and in my humble opinion thinking about it may stress you out and make things more difficult. Relax and imagine ,concentrate on how much better you will be...visualize some activity you like that you will be able to do after recovery from surgery. Remember when you where a kid and day dreamed. Try to control your mind with positive thoughts.There are many links on the net about feeding your mind with positive thoughts.