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Bilat - second thoughts?

I had bilateralalmost 5 months ago. It was really tough and you will wonder often why you did it. However if you can be patient and don't compare you recovery to anyone else you will get a point where you will be glad you did it. For me it was about 4 months. I saw my OS today and he said complete healing can take up to 2 years but mostly it will take 12 months, so I know I still have a ways to go.
 
This is how I get down on the floor (and back up again) my "before" ;)
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Sent from my iPhone
 
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@nensi You are very lucky to have the strength in your upper body to get down and back up the way you do. That strength will really help you in the early days post op. Some patients struggle just to get down and up from a seated position!
 
Your leg strength too will stand you in good stead. I too could still get up and down from the floor like you can, though I pushed up onto one leg and favored the other, and my strong legs really have helped my recovery. Anything you can do to strengthen your upper body, core, and legs can only help you down the road.
 
Thanks @SusieShoes and @Jaycey ! I am looking for all and any positives, getting a little hyperactive the last few days. This time of year in Belgium we have almost 18 hours of daylight and nearing the longest day of the year, June 21st, and all that light and the proximity of my operation is creating some weird kind of nesting behavior - trying to get all my projects (just house projects, not ALL my projects) done. It's like I'm imaging myself falling off a cliff or something.
Well anyway, at least I won't have to keep looking at the picture I propped up on the buffet years ago - it's hanging on the wall !
 
Save a few sedentary projects that you can do while you're resting after your surgery. They will help to stave off some of the boredom many of us feel.
 
As someone who is doing them staged, I wish I had a bilateral. It wasn't an option with my OS and for me personally and my family, me coming home the day of surgery was a good thing, and being able to drive sooner with the end of the school year madness. So there were reasons. But I'm starting to feel great at 8w and now Im facing down starting over from scratch. Ugh. So Id stick with the BTKR.
 
@nensi I had my knees done 4 weeks apart. Same surgeon, same everything. For one knee, I was taking Tylenol as needed before I left the hospital and if that was the only one, I think I would have been riding my bike in two months! No problems! The second recovery did not go so well but I honestly think it was the effects of having my second major operation in a month! So another reason for one surgery! I am single and had someone with me for two days after each surgery, then I was fine by myself. With your family there and everything you've done to prepare, I think you'll be fine. The only thing you can't do anything about before hand is the anxiety and second guessing. That is possibly the worst part -- other than afterwards when you are feeling better and you want to do more than you know you should. Being patient was the hardest part of recovery for me!
 
@nensi, You can do this...! Will it be hard? Yes, the first two weeks are tough!! Will it be worth it? Absolutely!
I just posted my 8.5 month update on the recovery forum. I am so glad at this point I did both at once and I now have my life almost back to normal....! My OS did not want to do bilateral but I could see no advantage to dragging out the recovery. I had second thoughts many times before the surgery but couldn't be happier now!
Just don't push and take your time and Heal! I did very little PT, did only what I could do, or felt I could. Most of my PT came in the form of just living life. Moving about the house, walking my dogs, etc. When I left PT my therapist said that my extention was not 0 and I would limp the rest of my life....ha! Wrong...I am just fine...the leg bends and straightens better than it has in years....
Good luck to you and don't look back
Blessings,
Lene'
 
@nensi I just saw your video on how you get up and down. That is exactly how I did it for months AFTER my TKRs!
 
@Celle, you bet about saving sedentary projects - those are the kinds I have had no time for, seems like forever ! I am a bit concerned about what kinds of things I can follow with a fogged up painkiller brain - so I'll be sure to have some easy stuff - not that cable sweater - :D Hoping to do a lot of reading too, never seem to have enough time to read until the book is done...
 
@lene' - thanks for the encouragement - I'm gonna do this ! My subconscious is playing games with me, though - I dreamed that I woke up in recovery and when I checked my bandages my OS only did one knee ! So I am sure that is going to the first thing I check once I can move my arms.
 
@kayak59 - Patience ? Right. I am patient with pretty much everyone, except for me. So it's great to have you guys as my reality check team - just reading and following has me already scaling back pretty much everything and going into - " Let's just wait and see" - mode. So thank you all and keep it coming - counting down ! My daily meds for thryoid condition come in a foil wrapper 4 weeks x 7 pills - I circled the OP date, so every morning I really get confronted with the time to blast-off :)
 
@nensi Regarding the "brain fog" -- I did not really have that. What I did have after almost all the surgeries was almost like ADHD I think. I didn't want to do too much of any one thing for too long. So maybe that cable knit sweater might not be something you will do for long periods of time, but I bet you'll keep coming back to it. What about binge watching a TV show? I found watching episodes of a series satisfying. Seemed to lose interest in movies half way through but individual episodes kept my attention. My main post anesthesia effect has always been short term memory loss. That sometimes lasted a long time and I had to be really good about writing things down. Good excuse at work though! :-)
 
The curse of people with good memories is that they have not learned all the tricks and techniques. This is me - right about the time I went back to work after our youngest boy was born, three kids and a full time project leader job - so having a team at work that was sometimes harder to manage than the two toddlers and infant - I was forgetting so much that I consulted our family doctor, convinced there was something seriously wrong with me neurologically speaking. She pretty much laughed in my face, quizzed me about all the stuff I was juggling and reassured me. Good advice about the sweater !
 
I haven't seen many references to CPM machines. Are these being used ? When, how often, etc?
My PT is going on vacation to Canada for 3 weeks. i'll be in the hospital most for the first week and the second and third week she has recommended a replacement PT. Since my PT will be on vacation, she is bringing her CPM machine to my home next Tuesday and will adjust it for my legs - so since I have a personal machine I want to make sure that I do not overdo it. Any advice ?
 
Don't panic :smile2:

As long as using CPM doesn't hurt or make your legs stiff, no bother.

Start slow, build up time very slowly.

Finally; healing happens at its own pace, there's little we can do to hasten things. Plan to relax and watch telly. This IS your time to be self indulgent, on the day of the operation and then for at least two months, it's ALL ABOUT YOU. Let others worry.
 
nensi said:
I haven't seen many references to CPM machines. Are these being used ? When, how often, etc ?
Click to expand...

I used a CPM machine for the 3 days I was in the hospital and then had it at home for the first three weeks. My doc recommended 4-6 hours per day per leg, using it 2 hours at a time. In reality, I used it the first week a total of 4-6 hours per day, with only 60-90 minutes at a time per leg. Before switching legs, I would usually get up and use the restroom, walk around the house a bit, and exchange ice bags. During weeks 2-3, I only used it 4-5 days per week, and about 1-1.5 hours per leg per day.

In addition to the advice you already received, my other advice is to put it on a yoga mat or other nonslip surface. I initially had problems with it sliding around, but the yoga mat fixed that.
 
I had a CPM machine the first 24 hours after my surgery....I HATED it!!! It felt like a torture device! I was nearly in tears toward the end...they would put it on for 2 hours and off for 2 hours. In hindsight, it seems stupid to have to use one right out of surgery! That is when everything hurts THE MOST. I did not get the "good" pain meds until I went to rehab after my 6 day stint in the hospital. Seems like the CPM might not be bad after you come home but not right out of surgery! When they took it off me, they set it in the corner of the room and I made a fuss until they took it out...(lol) I just don't get the need, they had me up and walking the next day anyway!
 
I'm being told that I will only be in the hospital for two days. That seems short to me with getting both knees done. They say I will be sent home with a CPM machine and then I start PT exactly one week after surgery.
 
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