Hi Tri,
I’m glad I came across your thread. We have cycling & running in common. It’s good that you got onto this site pre-op. There’s good info here that varies from other sites.
I’m 5 weeks out of left TKR and have been trying to figure out the balance of progressing as well as possible without overdoing it. ugh -not easy. My brain is hardwired to work as hard as you can +push +push yourself.. but NO!!! Being an athlete, you’re used to needing a rest day here and there, but this requires hard-core REST for a very looong time. Think of rest as a new sport to master. And course I expected a lot of pain, but not this much for this long. Whaaa I feel like a big baby.
My surgeon sent me home with an immobilizer to keep the leg straight overnight, w instructions to wear it for 6 weeks. The first few nights I was able to sleep on my back w it on, most likely bc of opioid pain meds. But in <week I couldn’t take it anymore, and stopped using it. My PT keeps checking that my knee joint can straighten and says it’s fine.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Lots of luck on your surgery,
~Beth