[BILATERAL TKR] MissViv's Recovery

I agree that you should take the walker. It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it! I kept mine in the car for months and the cane is still in there!

 

I think the cruise could be a nice diversion if you mostly relax, physically. (not just mentally) I’ve never been on a cruise but from what I understand is that they offer a lot of activities and off ship excursions, and that’s part of the reason one goes.

But if you limit those and mostly just enjoy things on the ship, still within reason for your abilities, it could still be a very nice vacation.

But waiting until you can enjoy all of it is not a bad idea either. I’m sure it will be a hard decision.

 

The insurance was a good idea, but I hope you don’t need to use it. I’ll cross my fingers that your knees improve markedly in the next month. Once the swelling starts going down in earnest (for me it was around three months), these new knees can make big leaps in things like pain and bend. You’re just now starting to sleep better on your side—something that will become easy over the next several months. For now, though, you’re in the frustrating middle of recovery where things are better... just not there yet.

A cruise is manageable if you feel you can enjoy the time spent considering your limitations. Maybe long walks on uneven surfaces (such as a beach) will be out, but walking on the ship should be fine. You can control how much or often you walk. If you think you might need a wheelchair, those can be arranged ahead of sailing and will be delivered to your stateroom. And of course crew members are invariably helpful for things like arranging easy seating at dining, etc.

And kudos to your husband for those foot massages! A caring and giving partner is the very best recovery aid of all.

 

Even though a cruise ship is large, it was still rock some. Keep this in mind, too, about your trip. If you improve a lot in the next month, then go for it. If not, cancel or reschedule. At five months I would have been happier home and I didn't have a bilateral! But, you have to make that decision when the time comes!

 

Crossing my fingers this swelling is temporary. Do you know of anything you did to bring it on? Often there’s no reason, but it can be reassuring to know of one.

 

Any increase in activities can cause your knee to swell. Try cutting back on what you are doing and rest that knee of yours!

 

This could be it. I used to be a very restless side sleeper, pre surgery. Since needing to elevate my knee in the early months of recovery I became a back sleeper. My particular wedge has a trough cut into it to fit one leg, and it’s pretty hard to move out of it in my sleep, so it kept me still the entire time I was asleep.

It worked so well that I continue, at almost 2 years post op, to sleep with my leg elevated in this wedge, and I can get my other leg on it, just not into that trough. I even fall asleep much faster now than I ever did when I was a side sleeper.

I’ve read other members comment on a lot of pain during the night (more in the earlier part of recovery) and tossing and turning, and I’ve always thought all that movement contributed to the pain.

 

Same here!
But then it’s hard to have something tucked in around the foam wedge!