Bilateral TKR Mamamoe's Recovery Thread

Mamamoe

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Hi Everyone,

Tomorrow is my Bilateral Knee surgery. Anxious to get this over with so I can start a better quality of life, also very nervous which I know is normal..
 
I hope everything goes well, @Mamamoe .

Here is your copy of our recovery guidelines:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. Try to follow this

6. Access to these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
Welcome to the recovery side, @Mamamoe. If you would like the name of your recovery thread changed just let's know what you would like.
 
Best wishes!
 
Thanks everyone for the well wishes, I will be back on as soon as I can. My surgery is at 2:30pm tomorrow...
 
After I get out of the hospital and I want to post my recovery where exactly do I post that at?

thanks
 
Best of luck today! Keep us posted on how things are going.
 
After I get out of the hospital and I want to post my recovery where exactly do I post that at?
You continue to post right here. We started a recovery thread for you. Here is where you keep all your updates and questions. It is almost like keeping your very own journal here on Bonesmart.
 
I hope everything went well. When you can't sleep, get on here and let us know how things are going. I'm 6 months out and so happy I did this. I didn't feel that way for a while after the surgery. It's really tough, but it will get better.
 
Hi everyone
Well I had my bilateral knee replacement and honesty it was not to bad. Most of my pain is in my upper thighs for some reason. I have ice on my knees continuously and that helps some. My hemoglobin was low so they had to give me blood. I did good in P T at the hospital. I walked the steps and did everything they asked me to do. I can home from the hospital on Thursday but I am still kind of dizzy when I go to get up to walk to the bathroom. They thought the blood they gave was going to help that.

I am supposed to have PT at home today but if I’m dizzy I don’t know if I can..

Let me know your thoughts...
 
I am supposed to have PT at home today but if I’m dizzy I don’t know if I can..
If you don't feel up to PT, cancel the session. You don't need PT this early out.

Please be sure and use your walker if you are still dizzy. Slow and steady!
 
Thanks, I just felt like I needed to do this PT so I can eliminate some of the stiffness. I probably will wait and see how I feel later, if I’m still dizzy I will probably cancel.. I just got home yesterday afternoon...
 
You will have stiffness/tightness for quite a while, the surgery caused a lot of trauma to your whole leg.

Many members think PT is needed to alleviate tightness. Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue is healing...and full healing takes a full year or more.
 
Swelling is a natural occurrence after a surgery such as this. Your doctor cut into your knees, cut into your bones, removed them and added new implants. All that caused trauma, and your knees are now in recovery mode from the abuse that is a TKR. The tightness is a result of swelling, both internal, which you can't see, and external which you can see. Even if your knees haven't yet begun to swell visibly, they are swollen on the inside and will likely begin to swell on the outside at some point.

Doing PT this early will only increase the irritation to your knees. If you do decide to do PT, I suggest you keep it to gentle motions and some walking for now. But, if you choose not to, which is your right, then you have the right to cancel the appointment.
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/saying-no-to-therapy-am-i-allowed-to.36688/

Don't allow the therapist to push or pull your knees to try to force a random ROM number; not only will it cause your knee more distress, but any number achieved by the therapist forcing your knee is not a true number. Only that which you achieve on your own without being forced is a true number. But in these early days. I wouldn't even worry about ROM; until your knees settle down from the trauma they just went through, you won't see a ton of bend.

Over time, as your knees settle down, your ROM will improve, but forcing it, or heavily exercising them to try to force a bend now is counter-productive. Your new knees are in there, ready to bend, as soon as your tissues, etc, recover. For now, a lot of icing and elevating, and some walking around your house, along with some gentle stretches, are all that's necessary. Over time you'll begin moving around more, and adding more activities.

https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/activity-progression-for-tkrs.14334/
 
@Mamamoe About all I did the first few days after I got home from the Hospital is Ice, elevate and sleep. I did walk around once in a while to go to the bathroom. I gave my body the opportunity to heal.
I am 2 weeks out, and doing well. I think that first week of total rest was the perfect thing to do.
Every day is one more day closer to recovery, and getting your life back!
 
Listen to these wise people, don’t push yourself if dizzy! The pt’s worth anything would not make you do things if you are dizzy. I had that problem in the hospital and they came back the next day.

I hope you are doing better, remember it is not a race, one knee recovery is kicking my butt so I cannot even imagine having them done at the same time. Continue to rest, ice and elevate!!
 

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