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Bilateral TKR Bear2005's Recovery

Mine has been so bad after this. I highly recommend what the pic I attached. I know it's weird but it's helped me tremendously! Even put on my feet because for some reason they have been getting really achy. Probably because we walk different now that our knees are right
 

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  • [Bonesmart.org] Bear2005's Recovery
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@Bear2005 ... My restless legs acted up really bad after my first knee replacement. I placed a heating pad at the small of my back when I went to bed and slept with it all night (I know....you're not supposed to sleep on one, but it's what worked). I also took 1000mg of Extra Strength Tylenol at bedtime and another 1000mg dose if I woke up during the night (at least 4 hours after the first dose). I do think that there can be some low level pain that causes your body to be stressed and restless, especially after knee replacement surgery. This problem should go away with some time, but hopefully you'll find something that works for you.

The other really good thing was to do about 5 minutes on my exercise bike. That little bit of slow motion movement seemed to help my restless legs settle so I could go back to sleep.
 
Jockette, Jamie, Celle, Minnie77, thank you all so much. i have to add something. a little over a week ago, at about 9 weeks post-op, i joined this site. i was in pain, i was frustrated, i was angry, i was confused, i was feeling alone and concerned about my recovery and a slew of other emotions. today, after taking advice from complete strangers, but loving and caring people, i have much less pain, i have peace of mind, i have hope, i have focus, i have people who understand and people who have knowledge and experience. people who are committed to sensible and truthful health care. the improvements to the quality of my life, thanks to you all and others, is intangible. to say you are a blessing is an understatement. all of this free of charge, no doctors, no prescriptions, no doubts, at my fingertips whenever i need you 24/7. thank you is never enough, but thats all i have. thank you my invisible but real and caring friends. you are no longer strangers, but a vital part of my recovery and my life. blessings and safe and timely healing to all of you
 
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I felt the same way when I found Bonesmart, and now I spend a lot of my time helping others through this difficult recovery, that our medical teams don’t adequately prepare us for.
 
It’s free of charge, but not free to run the site. Did you know you can make a donation? Once I wrote to thank one of the Forum Administrators or someone for the help I was getting, and she kindly explained how I could make a donation.
 
Thank you so very much for the kind words! They really touched my heart as you've realized exactly why all of us are here with BoneSmart. We truly want to help our fellow joint replacement warriors get through whatever challenges they are facing.

@Helizabug is right. While we understand not everyone is in a position to make donations, if you are able to help out at some point with even a small contribution, it will be much appreciated. Although we have some corporate sponsorship for special events like Joint Replacement Awareness Day (our annual online conference on May 9th this year), we depend heavily on member donations to keep BoneSmart up and running.
 
sistersinhim, Jockette, Celle, Jamie it's been awhile since i have been on, but i have always found your guidance, and others, to be most helpful. i had bi-lateral TKR a little over 4 months ago. I can't even say that my knees are better than pre-surgery conditions. although i have noticed obvious improvements, i have basically stopped any PT because of the ongoing discomfort in both lateral collateral ligaments. going up and down stairs is rough. my surgeon just says, time, time, time, but that was over a month ago. i just feel like i should be much further along by now. i know everyone is different, but after 4+ months, i feel like i should be in a better place. thoughts? as always, thank you all, for all that you do.
 
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@Bear2005 I'm afraid I have to agree with your surgeon. Four months out is still early in a process that can take 12 months or more. I'm glad you stopped PT - sounds like it may have aggravated instead of helping.

Are you icing and elevating still? Please don't worry about going up and down stairs. This will come with time.
 
Thank you @Jaycey . still elevating, but haven't been icing. i guess i need to get back to that
 
You had a bilateral. That takes even more of a toll on your body. That means more time to heal. You can not speed up your healing, but you can set it back by trying to do too much too soon. I agree with Jaycey, when you are not walking around, ice and elevate. This will aid in keep the inflammation down so your knee can concentrate on healing.
 
I wasn’t doing great at 4 months, there was no way I could do steps foot over foot, etc.

I had a lot of improvement in my second year post op, so don’t give up.
 
I'll have to second the opinion of your surgeon. Bilaterals can take a bit longer for recovery and it's not uncommon for even a single knee to still be a bit tender on stairs at 4 months. Try some ice when you have pain. And hold yourself back from pushing too hard to do stairs normally. It's more important that your knees have time to heal fully and all the soft tissues can gradually adapt to a normal position. Your knees didn't get bad in 4 months and complete recovery won't happen that fast either.
 
@sistersinhim good morning. i was re-reading some posts and i took another look at your history. geeeez, what the heck did you do? were you a stunt-woman or something? thats a heck of a lot
of repairs on your body
 
@Bear2005, I was born with birth defects in my knees. Growing up I had a lot of discomfort and was told it was just growing pains. My kneecaps began to pop out of place in my preteens. Once independant and working at a job that had great insurance, I decided to see a specialist, an OS. That's when I learned about my birth defects. My first knee surgeries were in 1983, doing both of them about 4 months apart. I was told that I would have to have TKRs eventually, but not until I was in my mid-50s or later.

Back then they thought scoping the knees were the things to do instead of replacements, so all those surgeries started. Today, they would have done the TKRs instead of all those other surgeries since they know the surgery lasts much longer than they first thought. A replacement would have been so much better, but praise God, this one is working great and my old knee is hanging in and not doing too bad.
 
@sistersinhim oh, my. what a journey. i shouldn't have asked such a personal question. please forgive me. i hope after all these years and multiple surgeries you are in a better place and enjoying life with minimal discomfort, i hope.
 
Oh, there's nothing at all to forgive. I have nothing to hide. My experience makes it easier to relate to others so I feel that my history is being used for good. I can hike, ride my bike, do my yard and housework and take care of my cats. What more could I ask for?
 
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