BTKR Surgery date set. I have a few questions about stairs

[KarriB]

I did not have a recliner, but wish I did and may have one for my next knee. You can use a pillow to elevate in bed at night. Even with a recliner you'll need to elevate with pillows/pillow. There's a particular one that works and there's a photo of one in a link somewhere. I propped my leg up on pillows and had no problem with extension because I stretched my leg out between the chair and ottoman a bit every day. My OS didn't say to keep it straight at night.
Sleep was an issue and I napped whenever I could because our bodies need sleep to heal.

 

[referee54]

I do not believe that your knees are supposed to be straight. Mine were propped up on the recliner with pillows, and I always had a slight bend to them after my BTKR.

@Josephine has a great picture of what your knee should look like properly elevated.

 

[Bubbles]

I'm also getting some great advice from everyone here. A riser for my recliner is in the works and I'm reconsidering a rehab facility. Infection is something we all want to avoid. I'm most concerned about those first few days at home. I will be on my own most of the time and thought I'd just go to rehab until I felt confident taking care of myself. I won't be so eager for a rehab facility which might be a good thing--wait and see how I do. I'll go only if I really need it. I'm no whimp but this is one big surgery.

My home isn't easy to get to so I'd prefer to go to PT as soon as possible. What's a realistic timeline for driving myself? Can I do home rehab on my own in the beginning or is it important to get someone at home? My doc says I can drive as soon as I can hit the breaks and I'm off Rx'd pain meds. I'm thinking I'm dreaming about driving soon.

 

[MartialKnees]

I'm hoping a one month riser / recliner rental will suffice then I can get back in my bed. I'd love to buy one but too many other things I'm going to invest in - including a recumbent bike that I've been told is great for recovery. I'm just flat going to refuse a rehab facility. I've heard stories from actual patients after Clipless pointed out infection...but I will not go into detail as I don't want to scare anyone unnecessarily. Nothing is a guarantee when it comes to infection but I know I can CONTROL my home environment better so that is what I will do. One word of advice from my mother who was there with my father in a facility. WATCH YOUR CARE WORKER. Insist they wash their hands again if they touch anything which is not in sterile packaging....like answering their phone...picking something up off the floor etc.... Everything carries bacteria. They know this but like all humans can be forgetful. Just nicely point it out! Just my 2 cents....

As far as driving I've heard 4 weeks post op is not unreasonable if off the meds. I would not recommend it but I had a friend 5 weeks post op from BTKR drive from Illinois to Arizona to attend a funeral. He did say it was extremely difficult.

 

[referee54]

would not recommend it but I had a friend 5 weeks post op from BTKR drive from Illinois to Arizona to attend a funeral. He did say it was extremely difficult.

Having had a BTKR as well, I could certainly second this without even contemplating doing it!

 

[KarriB]

My OS pushed for rehab due to the 13 stairs I had to climb to get to the main floor of my ranch home (Pittsburgh is very hilly). My PT worked with me on climbing 13 stairs both up and down while in rehab. I refused rehab at my surgical consultation, but in the end I was glad I went. My pain was managed very well at rehab.

 

[Celle]

My home isn't easy to get to so I'd prefer to go to PT as soon as possible. What's a realistic timeline for driving myself? Can I do home rehab on my own in the beginning or is it important to get someone at home? My doc says I can drive as soon as I can hit the breaks and I'm off Rx'd pain meds. I'm thinking I'm dreaming about driving soon

You need to be off all narcotic pain medication before you start driving, you need to be clear headed, and you need to be able to do an emergency stop easily. For most people, that's at least 4 weeks. Don't come off the pain meds prematurely, just because you want to drive again.

Yes, you can do home rehab on your own - or it could be arranged for a PT to do in-home therapy.
All you need to do is walk around the house a little and do a few Heel slides and how to do them

In the UK, people often don't go to PT, but are given a print-out of exercises to do. They recover just as well as people in the US who have lots of PT. I did no PT at all for my latest knee replacement and my knee recovered just fine. So, I'm sure you can do your own at-home PT.

 

[Josephine]

I'm most concerned about those first few days at home. I will be on my own most of the time. My home isn't easy to get to so I'd prefer to go to PT as soon as possible.

I was 'home alone' from day 3 and coped pretty well on my own. I was also doing stairs to get to the shower from that day too though I did pay for a carer for 30mins each day just to have someone there though I dispensed with that after about 5 days.

Can I do home rehab on my own in the beginning or is it important to get someone at home?

I recommend you read my recovery threads to see what exercising I did!
First knee. Knee recovery - UK style
Second knee. Josephine's 2nd knee story - short version where I did even less!