Looking for any tips before and after total knee replacement surgery

Buy an ice machine and use it when relaxing or after any activity , get a toilet seat riser, make sure you have handrails or grab bars at every exit point in your home to the outside, get a yoga strap not only for PT exercises but for helping get your leg on your bed and into your car, and use your walker to shove it forward over the toilet seat toward the tank to use as an aid in getting on and off the toilet the first couple of weeks. Disregard the horror stories you read about; it was the best decision I made and recovery has gone smoothly. TKR was 6/29/26. It is a lot of work with PT and home exercises but there are days you wake up and feel subtle positive changes and know your sweat and hard work is paying off. Take those afternoon naps when you get tired; your body needs them to help you heal.

Start the PT exercises BEFORE the surgery - leg raises, foot slides, bridges. I can’t remember them all but your surgeon or PT will have a printout. If you can’t do them prior to surgery don’t expect to reach your PT goals after. I had complications after one surgery due to an over zealous PT so know your own limits.
Practice the bed roll BEFORE the surgery. There are videos.
Get Senna tea and have a liquid diet ready if you get constipated by opioids, like I do. The constipation was worse than the surgery - lol.
I don’t know how old you are but I have mild urinary incontinence when I have a lot of pain in my legs so have pads available. It will take effort to move around so you may not get to the bathroom in time.
Everyone is different, and every operation is different so how you handle the pain, etc is personal. I have had 2 TKRs and 2 THRs - all different - even the ones with the same surgeon. Because I get constipated with opioids, I just take NSAIDS and they work well enough for me - but I accept the opioids for when the pain peaks. The opioids don’t work as well for pain for me but they make me feel “happier”. Scary, right? I avoid them.

@mayo99824 Just curious as to why you changed surgeons and after which procedures?

Costs mostly. I live in a relatively remote location with few options. Our hospital has odd billing practices and some doctors open practices here to make big bucks. Most doctors here are millionaires in no time.
My insurance also offers financial incentives to save money by going “outside” for expensive surgeries. They only support doctors who have a high success rate in the type of surgery offered. My last two (THRs) were done by the same doctor in Dallas. I would go there again. The doctor belongs to a consortium of doctors, Legent, who own their own hospitals together and he showed real concern for patients and outcomes.
Both my knees were successful in the long run, but different. For my first knee I had to pay thousands of dollars in doctor and PT costs and the hospital hounded me for a year to pay $30,000 (before insurance). When the hospital and insurance finally reconciled, I owed only $500. There was no way (except emergency) that I would ever go there again. That experience also left me in the ICU from cardiac issues when the PT pushed me too hard and the doctor prescribed pseuepinephrine after being told that I cannot tolerate it. I wonder if the damage they caused will be permanent?
My bill for the others was $0 - fully covered by insurance including surgeon, hospital, hotel, meals, transportation for myself and one companion - and the insurance still saved thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of dollars.

@mayo99824
Before using any NSAIDs I’d first check with your doctor

Are NSAIDs Blood Thinners?
NSAIDs are not classified as blood thinners. However, they can affect the blood clotting process. Here’s how:
Interference with Clotting: NSAIDs can slow down the formation of blood clots, which may increase the risk of bleeding.
Increased Bleeding Risk: When taken alongside prescription blood thinners (like warfarin or direct oral anticoagulants), the risk of bleeding is significantly heightened.

@mayo99824 Thanks for the complete explanation. Here in Arizona more and more of the best doctors are dropping insurance. My neurologist now no longer takes insurance and charges by the hour. In his case I completely understand. He rarely actually touches me during a session; we just talk a lot and the insurance companies typically only allow 15 minutes for a session. So I have stayed with him.

I had a great pain doctor who gave me a caudal steroid shot in my back more than a year ago and it stopped the pain and the pain hasn't come back as yet. But he went concierge and there was another highly rated pain doctor in my general vicinity who took my insurance. So I am hoping that he truly is as good.

My hip/knee surgeon was withdrawn from Medicare and doesn't take insurance. But his fee is a relatively reasonable $5,500 which is less than a Nano Knee (e.g.,) and my insurance covered everything else. With a hip replacement and a knee replacement with no post surgery pain either time I stick with him. I could go on.

The most cost effective medical insurance program in the US, by far, is Medicare. We should offer Medicare for all as an option. But that would require our government to actually care about us rather than the rich folks building data centers who fund their campaigns.

I (70 years) had "Jiffy" knee joint replacement in April 2026. I live remotely, and was on my own as far as care goes. Jiffy is a brand, and uses the same hardware as traditional but there is one incision above the knee and towards the inside leg. A month before, I had an appointment at the hospital where they did a nerve blocker, and reviewed all of my prescriptions, and gave me a time schedule for prep. Also a month before, my doctor sent a link to the app Force Therapeutics which had specific daily exercises to strengthen the leg.

Before surgery, I ordered the Polar Active Ice 3.0 Cold Therapy Ice Machine System with Programmable Timer, Shoulder Compression Pad, Lightweight 9 Quart Cooler Freeze Kit off Amazon and set it up in advance next to my bed (on a puppy pee pad over the carpet). Love it and still use it as I still do have constant swelling almost five months out. I bought eight small 500 mil small water bottles with short necks (easier than ice) and two spares, because the bottles can split. Four in the cooler, at a time, filling the cooler to the water line with water. I used a gallon water jug to carry water and a plastic shopping bag to move bottles back and forth to the freezer. You want to clear a path from the bed to the bath. The hospital should fit you with a walker or crutches (we had a choice). If you smoke or drink alcohol, stop if you can at least two weeks prior. Both, but especially smoking, interferes with healing. Also, the fewer pounds you carry takes weight off the joints. My surgeon had a regimen of non-narcotic pain meds for the first two weeks, Journavex (with a discount coupon) being the primary med. Tylenol at key moments was sufficient after the fact. My dogs were in a kennel, and having no one to get them, I drove there about five days after surgery. The folks at the kennel had them ready to go and brought them to the car.

I also stocked up on a lot of canned camping-type food prior to surgery, that I still haven't eaten, because I was able to get to the store and get fresh veggies and proteins.

After surgery, I started PT four days later. We have a good local dial-a-ride and did that for the first three trips, but was driving the second week (and on non-narcotic pain relievers)—our town is small so very feasible. PT was three times a week for the first two weeks, then down to two a week for eight weeks, but I had to do the exercises every day in addition. The PT people switched me to MedBridge app. I still do the exercises every day and walk two miles. Still swollen; warm to touch; popping and catching.

Everyone's recovery is different.

@steveinarizona
Amen to Medicare for all. I am a dual citizen and the Canadian medical system isn’t perfect, but is much better than US. I still remember the many years in my youth in the US that I went without insurance because of the costs. At that time there were free clinics for folks like me. I don’t know if they still exist. One doctor at a free clinic made me feel more like a friend than a patient. Best doctor ever! I don’t have that experience with my current doctor, that I have had for 20 years. I feel like, for many things, I am on my own medically. I go to my doctor mostly for prescription refills.

@steve161
Not all NSAIDs are blood thinners and my doctors let me know what is safe - as far as they “know”. The lists of drugs that I have been prescribed, but are counter-indicated for conditions that I have, are long and scary.