TKR One knee done in March; other one in August

(What was most painful about today was sitting in the car. Something about the angle of my knee and lack of support made that really hurt.)
An acquaintance of mine who had her knee done a few months before me suggested putting a small pillow on the floor of the car to rest my foot on. So I did and was happy with it. There’s not a lot of room there to get your foot up much but I found that every little bit helped. And the pillow acted as a sort of shock absorber when we went over a bump. Being a sewer, I made my pillow, it’s about 12” x 8” and several inches high.
 
You're doing so well, of course your surgeon was pleased. :) You've been sensible and are having a smooth recovery, with little pain, and things look good. In fact, you're doing so well you can see a pain-free knee on the road ahead, and that's so wonderful! It's a great feeling, isn't it? After all those years of knee pain and now it's pain that's going bye-bye. That new knee is letting you know how really bad that old knee was, if it's already your better knee.

Continue to be stow and steady with your recovery, and you will be happy with the results. The pillow idea is good for car rides longer than five minutes. It'll be a while before your knees don't grouse after being down for a bit.

Getting your left knee done in August is a reasonable plan. You can recover over the winter and face the next year with two strong, able new knees! And you'll even feel really good by the holidays. :)
 
Kudos on a great check up! Sounds like you are doing great if you already want the next knee done. My recovery has been such that I cannot face getting the other one done ever! But I may change my mind. As for sleeping, I slept in a recliner the first five weeks. My husband put a thick sleeping bag on it and with lots of pillows I had a very comfortable nest. I was kind of cocooned so moved very little. I also take ambien because narcotics make me unable to sleep. So I slept quite well from the beginning, like 8-9 hours a night. I moved to my bed after five weeks because my back was starting to really bother me. Now I am only sleeping about six hours even with the ambien (which I continue to take though I am off narcotics) and my leg hurts more when I first wake up. But my back feels better. :shrug: But for that first month my cocoon was so cozy and comfortable!
 
As for sleeping I just used a pillow under the length of the leg. After a few weeks I also could sleep limited amounts of time on my side, using a pillow.
 
@Jockette and @katchmo, I'm so sorry for your difficulties with your knee procedures. I headed into mine pretty much dreading it, doing all I could to fend off panic, but as I look back from now, what I remember most vividly is the sense of elation I felt in recovery, as soon as I woke up. So very much elated it was over, finally. It hasn't been easy the past two weeks -- it will be two weeks since the surgery as of tomorrow -- but not as bad as I imagined it could be. Worst now is sleeping comfortably in bed at night. I will try various arrangements of pillows and see how that goes. Am typically a side sleeper and that's hard now. @kneeper, thanks for the tip -- will try it.

My enthusiasm for getting the other one done is just to get past all of it. Very much looking forward to being able to walk normally, pain free, great distances. For the first time in a long time. Whatever it takes to get there, I want to be there. I'm so grateful for the wonders of medicine and surgery and caring community that will help get me there. (Also for Medicare and our back-up health insurance, without which it would not be possible.)
 
I’m glad you are having such a good recovery and I hope the next one goes as well!

I was a side sleeper before surgery also. I am now a back sleeper. I sleep with both legs elevated on my wedge and have become very comfortable. I also have an adjustable bed so I elevate the head part just a little, enough to take the pressure off my lower back. Unfortunately my operated leg does not like the angle of the bed even if I elevate the foot end as high as it will go. That’s a shame because my wedge is wearing out, it was not designed for 2 legs, and it definitely does nothing for my decor!

I was worried about my head falling to the side and aggravating my neck issue, so I use a small narrow roll type pillow under the end of the pillow that my head is on, and it props my head up nicely.
 
@yesyvonne, what a wonderful recovery you are having! You have great determination. If things continue to go well, why not get the other one done? After my #1 in Jan., 2017, I asked my dr. to do #2 when I saw him for my six-month appt. He said it wasn't quite ready and I would know when it was. Well - I got overzealous walking and kind of blew it out in Oct. Now I have two good knees and could not be happier. I'm still not as strong as I want to be. My left quad was just so weak before surgery but I'm getting a lot of help at PT to help me strengthen it. Great job on your Fitbit! I put mine back on two weeks ago. Isn't it fun to watch our step increases? Kind of like a pat on the back. As far as the sleeping problem, I'm afraid it's just something we have to live through. At two months, I can kind of sleep on my side but the leg does wake me up. Usually I can go back to sleep but also nap in my recliner. I am so thrilled with your amazing progress. Keep your positive attitude. I am convinced it helps!
 
You’re doing great for early in recovery. The first weeks are the toughest. Recovery is a long haul, so you’re entering the Frustration Zone. As you (as a whole you) start feeling better, it becomes frustrating that the knee is still being a baby. But you have a whole community to help you through that part!

I’m a side-sleeper, too, and wasn’t happy at all to have to sleep on my back. I did it for five months, legs up on my foam wedge, before I could side-sleep reliably once more. That I had both knees done at once may be the reason it took so long. I used the pillow long-wise between the legs idea for another few months, and also sometimes a smaller pillow, alternating for whichever worked best that night. Now I’m ten months out and don’t use a pillow at all. Side-sleeping away!

My grandma used to say “All things come to those who wait” and that’s certainly true of TKR recovery!
 
Yesterday (Friday) was my final in-home PT (two weeks times three visits a week, which started immediately after I got home from the hospital). That therapist was great, very gentle and encouraging. Did work some exercises with me that I think were helpful and not painful.

At my first post-op this past Wednesday, my surgeon referred me to a specific out-patient PT practice near where I live, for 12 sessions at the pace of two a week. Yes, of course I do understand BoneSmart's stance on PT, but I'm still curious about opinions about this idea I have. Which is to wait another week, or maybe even two weeks, before calling to set my appointments with this new PT place. The primary reasons for wanting to wait are to have more time for gentle at-home exercising at my own pace, walks around the neighborhood as I feel inspired, and plenty of time for elevating, icing, napping, healing -- and most importantly for giving myself time to get off Tramadol so I can drive myself there on my own instead of having to beg rides or call a cab or Lyft or something.

I was very definitely needing both Norco and Tramadol early on, often, but now haven't taken Norco at all in several days. At this point I'm only taking 2 Tramadol 50s (with 2 Tylenol 500s) twice a day now: at bedtime and with breakfast. Doc told me I can drive again when I'm off both Norco and Tram and can confidently move my right foot from gas pedal to brake and back without issues.

I don't think I want to skip the PT offered, as some of you advocate, both because I think it will help my right knee recovery and because I will begin thinking about pre-op strengthening of my left leg, too.

Your thoughts?
 
I started outpatient physical therapy 15 days post op. There are vary point of view for PT. You must do what is best for you, it is your knee and recovery. I benefited from PT, but everyone is different. I also chose where I wanted to attend, my OS just gave me a script.
 
I was cleared for driving at about 2 months with the proviso I would only take a Tramadol at night. Also I stopped PT quite early because my stitches were abscessing and leaking, and my rom was 120. I did find when I first started driving that I felt a little unsure and kind of nervous. I stayed on surface streets for several trips until I felt more confident, and then I was able to jump on the freeway.

Although I am not a medical professional, I think your plan is excellent. Give yourself a little more time to rest and heal, and then try the PT. Sounds good to me. :)
 
The primary reasons for wanting to wait are to have more time for gentle at-home exercising at my own pace, walks around the neighborhood as I feel inspired, and plenty of time for elevating, icing, napping, healing -- and most importantly for giving myself time to get off Tramadol so I can drive myself there on my own instead of having to beg rides or call a cab or Lyft or something.
I think that's a very good idea! More healing before starting pt is good for your knee. You'll probably be swelling less and your knee will be less traumatized.
 
I agree with your plan, @yesyvonne
It make sense to me. Your knee will have more time to heal, before you stress it with additional exercises.

It's not exercising that gets you your Range of Motion (ROM) and rehabilitation anyway - 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.
 
I did outpatient PT 2x/week and thought that was good amount for me. But I did have to beg rides. Luckily I had a couple of retired friends who were willing to trade off and actually volunteered ahead of time so it wasn't quite begging. It was also good to get out of the house. But I was very glad when I could drive myself.
 
Hi all, I've been doing as I said, lots of elevating, icing, taking it slowly, a few short walks. Reading novels! Not a lot of exercise per se, just ADLs. Sleeping's getting a little easier. I'm using my LoungeDoctor and a couple of pillows. Down to one Tramadol 50, with one Acetaminophen 500, at bedtime, and that's all the pain med needed now -- a couple days shy of three weeks out. Soon I think I'll try cutting the Tram in half.

I called yesterday to set up my outpatient PT appointments starting a week from today, so that will be starting at almost four wks post-op. Twice a week times six weeks. I specifically asked if they push their clients hard, or whether they are gentle and respectful of what hurts. The latter, I was reassured. I'm looking forward to it at this point.

The continuous passive motion machine (CPM) has been sitting in a corner neglected for what seems like a long time now. Will be picked up on Friday. I only used it for about the first week I was home.

The most vivid memories of the whole experience:
1. Waking up in recovery feeling so elated it was over. Of course little did I know it was just beginning, the whole recovery process, but still... I had been so afraid of the surgery and it was DONE. Euphoria.
2. Feeling so blessed by all the help and support, visits, singing, prayers, meals, errands run, by friends and neighbors. I am so deeply grateful. I think it would be quite difficult to do this journey alone, without support. And of course some of my gratitude goes to those of you who are watching the postings in this forum and responding so helpfully. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
 
Glad you’re doing well. Sounds like you’ve done your PT homework. I didn’t use my CPM machine much either. Found out by getting a letter in the mail, that my insurance wont pay for it. I thought for sure that is was pre-approved.
 
I liked my CPM, not that I know if it did all that much long term, but it loosened my knee up and felt good as long as I ignored the advice from my PT and didn't try to push the numbers.
 
What a good report! You’re doing well and managing a sane, gentle recovery. I liked PT mostly for getting me out of the house. :heehee: Work on balance and gait there. It’s a good place to build confidence.
 

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