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mopa

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Hi, I found this site and the information available is great.

I am scheduled for a TKR on Sept 28th. I am a little nervous about having surgery but look forward to be able to get around like I used to. I have been retired since 2012 and now my wife and I want to RV around the country and a successful knee replacement is definitely needed before we venture on our travels.

Thanks for this site and I look forward to learning more about knee replacement.
 
Hello @mopa - and :welome:

Are you having your right knee or your left knee replaced?

Here is some reading to help you prepare for your surgery:

If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:
Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic knee?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?

If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:
Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?

Regardless of where you are in the process, the website and app My Knee Guide can help you stay organized and informed. The free service keeps all the information pertaining to your surgery and recovery in one place on your smartphone. It is intended to be a personal support tool for the entire process.

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced knee, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:
Stories of amazing knee recoveries
 
Hi @mopa! My father got knee replacements after he retired; he wanted to travel and see the world. Which he went out and did. Road trips, cruises. He and I hiked around old cemeteries looking for the graves of ancestors (found plenty of those) and explored the trails around Snoqualamie Falls. He really enjoyed those knees. I thought of him often when making the decision to get my own knees replaced.

This is a great forum for asking questions, should you have any, leading up to and also after surgery. Our members all have had, or are soon to have, TKR, so there’s lots of experience!
 
Thanks for your replies and providing so much resource to learn about knee surgery. I am having the right knee done with total replacement. I injured it originally at age 16 playing high school football and it healed with no problems but I tore the same inside meniscus in 2014 and it healed with PT. In may of this year I fell on it and again the meniscus was torn and no alternative treatment worked to relieve the pain.I had it drained along with shots of pain killer and lubricant. My Doctor did a MRI and it showed the inside meniscus was torn and shredded almost bone on bone.

He wanted to do a partial replacement but wanted to hand me off to another surgeon. I thought this was odd because I was confident in him with great reviews as a sports orthopedic surgeon having operated on several well known college and pro athletes. I was not confident with the new surgeon and decided to get a second opinion. I chose to see a well reviewed surgeon who worked in an Atlanta hospital with the highest rating of successful knee operations. After looking at my MRI and X-rays she recommended a total replacement because she noted a lot of cartilage damage behind the knee cap and I concurred with that because I did have severe pain behind the knee cap with certain movements.

She tries to do outpatient surgery because of risk of infection while staying in the hospital and said she was sure I would go home the day of surgery. I have been cleared for surgery and had my pre-surgery appointment this past Wednesday. I will have to do a Heparin bridge because I take coumadin for an artificial heart valve. I am looking forward to successful surgery but am a little nervous anticipating the pain. I have already been given a 90 count prescription for oxycontin to start after surgery every four hours. Thanks!
 
For what it's worth, I think you made a wise decision to go for TKR instead of a partial. Partials can work very well, but you have a second opinion from your current surgeon that says you need a total for quite sound reasons. Two knee compartments are affected, it sounds like, which could mean a partial would not be a long-term solution. A TKR is.

Also, you were smart not to go with a surgeon you are not confident with! It's so important to know your body and your health are in hands you trust.

Sounds like you're well-prepared and have a great medical team that's thinking about good pain control. While you will have pain after surgery -- TKR is a major surgery and involves a moving part -- that pain won't be unbearable. With good pain control you will be comfortable. The knee hurts mostly when you move it, so resting in bed will probably be comfy enough except for when you reposition your knee. Same for when sitting in a chair for a short period. It's the getting up and down that will hurt a bit. And best of all... your post-surgical pain will eventually go away. Just be prepared for full recovery to take a while, up to a full year and possibly more, though you will be very happy with your new knee long before that. :SUNsmile:
 
I agree! Too many problems with partials! Best of luck to you, mopa.
 
Thanks Josephine! I read thru your threads and found them very interesting on how you progressed over time. I am very surprised you had such a good outcome with no exercises. My surgeon and her nurse have told me that I would be up and walking doing therapy right after surgery and that they expected me to work hard.
 
that pain won't be unbearable. With good pain control you will be comfortable. The knee hurts mostly when you move it, so resting in bed will probably be comfy enough except for when you reposition your knee. Same for when sitting in a chair for a short period. It's the getting up and down that will hurt a bit.

So far...and I know it's been a short time...this has been the truest thing ever ^.
I can get completely comfortable pretty quickly sitting there...it's the "moving." But even then, if I plan and do it right, that seems to help a lot. Overall, it's a good time for learning how to improvise, and how to use one of those long claw-grabber kind of things.
 
My surgeon and her nurse have told me that I would be up and walking doing therapy right after surgery and that they expected me to work hard.
It's not necessary at all to work hard at Physical Therapy (PT), in order to recover from a knee replacement.
It's not exercising that gets you your ROM (Range of Motion) - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.

My surgeon doesn't allow any PT at all for the first month after a knee replacement. He says your knee needs that time, to start on its journey of healing. For that month, we rest, ice and elevate our leg, and walk around the house.
After that month, we just go to PT once every 2 weeks, where we are shown a few new exercises to do at home.
His patients all do well and achieve good ROM, as I did, and he hasn't had to do a manipulation to help with ROM for the past 4 years. I think that speaks for itself.

If you go to PT, be aware that you have the right to control the sessions. You can tell your therapist STOP if the exercise is hurting. Painful exercise is counter-productive, because it keeps your healing tissues angry and inflamed.
Don't listen if you're told you have to "Push through the Pain". Painful exercise is bad, because pain is a warning sign that you are doing too much for your new knee. Gentle exercise is good.
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
 

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