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out of state PT?

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cheryl50

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Hi,
I am schuduled for bkr in Feb. I also am worried about having it done, but my knee pain is so severe, I am deparate for relief. I am 50 and slightly over weight, but in good shape. I am happy to have found this site and have gotten answers to many of my questions here.

I am wondering if anyone has traveled and been able to complete PT outside of the state that they live in. I live in the Boston area and we have a home in Ft Lauderdale Fla. I was thinking that after the initial 2 weeks, I could drive to Fla and recover there. I have 2 dogs and do not want to leave them or fly them. Will insurance pay for PT out of your residential state? Will I be able to withstand the drive as a passenger?

Also, I am a Pharma Rep and do a lot of driving and lugging for my daily work.
Is 8-10 weeks a realistic estimate to give my boss for return to work?
Thanks!!
 
Re: Double Knee Replacement

Wow--- Boston to Florida at two weeks post BTKR????

Everyone recovers at their own rate--- but I sincerely doubt you will be ready for a car trip of that length at 2 weeks. The first two weeks are very rough and with a bi-lat, just getting into a car may be an issue, not to mention getting around in restaurants, bathrooms along the road, and hotels. You will still be needing to ice and elevate and may be using a cpm machine.

You will have to check with your insurance on the PT in Florida... no idea on that one.

As for work--- Jo has suggested about 3 months with a gradual phase-in following a TKR.....

Just my opinion....based on the experience of many over the past year I have been on this site. But maybe you will be one of those blessed quick recovery folks. I hope so!
 
Re: Double Knee Replacement

I agree--that long a trip at 2 weeks is extremely optimistic.

I had one TKR done in April. I, too, have a job with lots of driving. I did not go back until about week 13 post-op. I could drive around town at about 6 weeks--but long drives were not an option.

Even at 13 weeks, I needed to watch my schedule so I could be sure to stop at least once an hour and walk for a few minutes. I would get very sore and achy after an hour or so of driving. And remember, that was with just one knee done, not both :)

As to the insurance paying for the PT out-of-state, you should check with your particular insurance as they do vary.
 
Cheryl, welcome to BoneSmart! I moved your post into its own thread to make sure you got some good replies to you queries without derailing the other poster's thread.

First of all, I agree with the others, that journey so soon and by car is out of the question. I just Googled the distance/time and it's amost 1500 miles and 24hr continuous driving! You'd be in serious trouble if you tried that. Even by air it would be some undertaking.

Secondly, given the nature of your job, your ETA for a return to work would be a minimum of 12 weeks, probably more like 16. If you tell this to your boss and it turns out you can do it earlier, all well and good, but don't try to be a hero in this. It's really not worth it. A BTKR takes a lot of recovery time even if everything goes smoothly.
 
Cheryl
You have the info on not driving or being in a car that llong .
My thought was would you want to be so far away from your surgeon after major surgery.

Good Luck with it all !!
Judy
 
I can think of a lot of reasons to not take a trip from Boston to Florida two weeks after BTKR but none to do it that soon. I had BTKR in May and I can say without reservation that even if you are one of the lucky ones, and I was one of the lucky ones, who recover quickly you will not be ready or able to undertake such a trip and I doubt seriously if your OS would even consider it. As for returning to work everyone is different and that is what you should tell your employer. My husband works at the state prison and one of the younger guys he works with had BTKR done and took six months off to recover, was told he should take more as he needed to be fully recovered before going back to work but he felt great and went ahead and went back. Now he is having all kinds of problems and having to ask for light duty most days which is a pain for everyone he works with. That is why it is so important to be sure you take enough time to fully recover before you return. Unfortunately there is no way you can predict ahead of time when that will be. Oh, I couldn't agree more with Judy either, there is no way I would have wanted to be that far away from my OS either. This is a major, major surgery and there is a lot more to the recovery than most people realize. Getting through the surgery is almost the easiest part in hindsight. Good luck whatever you decide. Rowdy
 
I think that you can do your PT anywhere. TKR is a fairly common procedure and any PT clinic can deal with it. I think you might be underestimating how major and debilitating a surgery it is (I certainly did). At the end of two weeks you will just barely be clotting (you will have just finished being on coumidin), if you leave your legs down too long they'll swell up and you'll be constipated since you should still be on big time pain meds. (Pardon my bluntness) So I'd consider, if you need to recover in FL do the surgery in FL
 
Hi again,

Thank you all for your replies. After reading what you had to say I am NOT planning that trip to FL so soon. I did find out that my insurance would cover it, but can see that I will not be physically ready for the trip.

I appreciate the imput on the time out of work too because I am nervous about telling my boss I am having this done and will be out. I want to make sure I tell him the right amount of time.

From reading other blogs, I see that some have gone to pre-op classes is this common?

What is the average amount of time to driving a car again after bkr?

How long before you can bath in a tub? I have a hot tub that helps with the arthritis and I exercise in it. Thanks!
 
Driving might happen somewhere about 4 weeks. The two factors
are right leg "usefulness" and pain meds. Using your right leg is
pretty obvious. By 4 weeks you will still need narcotics, but can probably
cut back to naproxen or something during the day so you are not "under
the influence".
 
Re driving--yes you can probably drive at about 4-6 weeks. However, there's a big difference between a 15 minute drive to the grocery and a three hour drive for work. That will take longer :)

Re hot tub, the scar needs to be closed, but also you need to be able to get in and out of the tub. Practice getting up from the floor on your own before you try the tub the first time :) (Unless you have a supportive hubby or don't mind the fire department hauling you out of the tub *grins*)

You're asking good questions :)
 
My OS was very firm about a minimum of 4 weeks before I could use my hot tub. He tends to be conservative--- better safe than sorry. Considering the alternative... I complied.
 
Reminded me of my second trip to the beach after hip replacement. I really wanted to lay on my stomach. I got down without breaking any rules, but could not figure out how to get up. My husband lay down and kept showing me how to get up, but as I watched him, I pointed out the rule he was breaking.
He ended up hauling me up!!!! Good thing the 20 extra pounds of swelling was gone at that point!!!
Judy
 
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