Time to Take the Leap

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Minions would be great, but don't they also cause mayhem?

My husband used to put some frozen gel packs in a chiller beside my bed at night, so that I could change the thawed ones for cold ones when I woke during the night.
 
If you go with ice machines freeze some me water bottles to use instead ice cubes. It's easier than replacing all the cubes each time and I thought it kept the water colder longer than ice cubes. Jus have extra frozen water bottles you can switch out.
 
The allergist cleared me of nickel allergy, though he did note a very mild irritative response, which he put in the report. He also determined I am allergic to gold. Hmmm. I'm pretty sure I won't be getting gold (solid or plated) prostheses put into my knees. How impractical would that be? (Though part of me thinks it would be awesome.) On the plus side also, I'm not allergic to any of the other implant metals and plastics, samples of which, per my OS instructions, were taped to my arm for two days. We'll see what the surgeon determines by way of replacement parts. If I pass the rest of the medical clearances later this month, I should be good to go.

At this point, with a month to go to BTKR, should I be doing more in the way of exercises? The instructions I got gave me gluteal squeezes, pushing the knee down onto the bed, and heel presses (press heels down onto the bed). I've been doing those. I can't really walk for long distances, but would it be of any help if I walk what I can each morning without severe pain? Half a block or so? Or would I be better off babying my knees until surgery? I am working on my (admittedly pathetic) upper body strength. Yay for armchairs!
 
It's a good idea to keep walking as far as you can without increasing pain, but don't do any exercises that hurt your knees. You don't want to go into surgery with them upset and inflamed.
If you can do them without pain, straight leg raises are a good idea too.

Keep up the arm strengthening.
 
I would definitely concentrate on upper body strength. That will make a big difference as you will be using your arms to help you stand up. If you can walk then that's fine.
 
I agree with straight leg raises. They were difficult for me after surgery and since you're having a bilateral you won't have a good leg to help (som can lift the TKR with the other leg) .
 
I'll add leg lifts to my exercises starting now. I'm willing to work hard as long as I know I'm not causing damage.
 
I'm a little less than a month from surgery now and doing what's needed to get there. Had the abscessed tooth extracted and also the other tooth of that failing bridge, and bone grafts put in for implants in about four months. I've been down the dental implant road before, and my OS said to do it this way. I'll be in double healing mode. But because of the bone grafts, I had to stop taking Aleve, which helped my knees somewhat. I wish I could say Tylenol picked up the slack, but... it hasn't. I'm in more pain and am a lot less fun than I was before. Not that I was the greatest show on Earth to begin with, but at this point you can just call me Gimpy. :sorry: My poor husband. I'm sure he sees the writing on the wall: he will have to do everything soon enough. I go for my pre-op testing on Monday, and see the cardiologist the next week. Easter should be fun, though!
 
Oh, we'll be fine. He's being great about everything. I guess I'm the one who's feeling a bit unanchored. The article is very helpful. Thanks!
 
It truly is team work. I am sure he doesn't mind. I have been talking to my hubby about the same things.
He let me know that he is ready to do what is needed. He is even getting some of his own recipes together for our dinners. Talk to him about how you feel. I am sure it will help. That can be a help in the healing process.
 
The first few weeks when my knee was so hot, I found the ice packs didn't last much more than about 20 minutes each. I had an ice machine from my shoulder surgery that I hooked up and that worked and lasted much better! And don't try and use the clay ice packs until a few months down the road. They are too heavy and quite painful. I love the ice machines so much that I bought another one for my bedroom so I wouldn't have to keep lugging the one from the recliner to the bedroom. I had a rolling walker that I set the ice container part on and rolled it to the refrigerator for the ice. I also froze bottles that water came in to put in the machine along with bowls of water. These lasted most of the day and night. Bagged ice that you buy lasts no time at all and gets really expensive.
 
Had my pre-op testing today. The nurse was wonderful, funny and helpful. We bonded over Italian-American Easter recipes and she told me about her husband's BTKR and how well it went. She's a big advocate of giant bags of cheap frozen corn for keeping knees cool. LOL She reassured me that if her 300 lb. husband could get up and down the stairs early on, so could I. Oh, and I've lost 4 pounds this week. The new knees will thank me.

I made sure to fill the medical staff in on my bad wound healing experience with another surgery and how that went down. I feel confident after talking with them about it.
 
You should be shown how to negotiate stairs before you are discharged from hospital, SusieShoes.
 
I am going to need that instruction, Celle. Right now only one of my knees does stairs. I just like hearing other people's success stories. It's like "Yeah. That will be me!"
 
Hello SusieShoes! I'm in the same boat as you, having a bilateral TKR on 25th May. My right knee is worse, but its mate is catching up fast. I've seen my surgeon early in March, and he is happy to do both at once. I realise we'll have discomfort and pain after surgery, but at least when we recover we'll have both legs working well. I'm already restricted, and have been for some time, with walking any distance, and I avoid steps if possible. If I have to do steps, it's a matter of hanging onto the railing and pulling myself up! Thank goodness my local railway station has lifts! I am divorced, but still have a daughter living at home. I'll show her the information in here about recovery times too, so we can both be prepared. I'm stocking up the freezer with pre-cooked meals, and will do the grocery shopping on-line after I come home. Thank you to everyone on this forum for your advice, which I have been avidly reading.
 
Hi there, @Faele! We're both May Marvels, aren't we? Since I'm going first, I'll let you know how it turns out. :smile2: Like you, I've been restricted for long enough to be beyond happy to move forward. I was thrilled when my surgeon said he would do both knees at once. You sound like you have a worse problem with stairs than I do, because I have one half decent working knee and leg (though I do a bit of pulling here and there as needed). We become expert, don't we, at locating elevators and economizing on shopping. It's wonderful you have a daughter at home to help you. I will have my husband, who really is the world's best husband, and I'm sure he'll do whatever is needed. My fly in the ointment, so to speak, is my demented 93 year old father in law, who requires care himself and might not understand why I'm not up and about, but we'll deal with that. I'll be focused on my healing. I've prepared the family for my being the special-est of snowflakes for as long as I need to get back up on my feet in good order. My family nickname is Susie Sunshine, so... we'll see how long that holds up! This is a great forum for advice and I've been reading all the articles. Every one of them. And following a great many of the personal recovery journeys, too.
 
SusieShoes, can you get to a pool? I try to go a couple of times a week to do exercises. I find it easier to do them in water. I built up the time in the pool gradually, starting from ten minutes, and now do 45 minutes. If I haven't been for a couple of weeks, I drop back to 30 minutes so I don't get over-tired. I can't walk too far either. I go in the indoor pool which is the same depth each end.
 
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