TKR I now have a matching set!

My wife and I just took a short trip to visit family and I found it interesting that just a few days away from my walking and stretching routine caused my knee to stiffen up. I guess that it will serve as a motivator to stay active.
 
Keeping active doing normal things should be enough to keep your knee moving. Sitting around will cause it to stiffen up at only 8 months. Mine will still stiffen some the next day if I do too much and then rest too much. It's a balancing thing. But, before you know it, you won't be noticing it as much. Stiffness is one of the last things to go.
 
Good afternoon everyone. Wheeled into surgery at 7:00 AM yesterday. Into recovery at 8:45 . Up and walking at 11:00. Didn't sleep much overnight. I got home about an hour ago. It feels wonderful to be in my recliner. Time for a nap.
 
Welcome to recovery, @Chemist .

Here is your recovery reading:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now; they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?

Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key

Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly

Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

Please don't be overwhelmed by the list. The articles are not long and they and contain information that will answer many questions and help you make your recovery much easier on your knee and on you.

We are here to help in any way we can: answering questions and concerns; supporting and encouraging you from start to finish.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Thanks Celle.

amazing how therapeutic home is. I couldn't sleep in the hospital because of the noise and the routine of checking vitals and drawing blood etc every hour or two. Came home and slept for 4 hours .
 
Good morning! I feel remarkably well this morning. I am already comfortable walking laps around the house. After my RTK I didn't move much for a week or so. I think some of the difference is from knees reacting differently to the surgery but a lot of the improvement this time comes from applying the things I learned by reading this forum. THANKS
 
At this point I wonder if I should change my thread title to "I now have a matching set!"
 
I did change your thread title. If you'd prefer something else, just say the word!
 
Good Morning. Day 3 of the recovery marathon. My new knee continues to surprise me. I felt good enough yesterday to work in the kitchen a bit. I have been sleeping in the recliner so when I got up this morning I closed the bedroom door so my wife could sleep a bit longer and then went about making coffee, feeding the cat etc. Is there a suggested amount of time to use a walker? I feel steady and my knee feels strong - I think I would do well with a cane. Have a great day folks.
 
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Oh the simple pleasures of life. First post surgery shower and I managed to do it pretty much by myself. That is one big advantage of a walk in shower.
 
You only need a walker until you don't need it. In the house is a good place to try using the cane, particular for short trips like to the bathroom (and especially if you have walls or furniture around in case you find yourself unexpectedly unsteady). I used a cane in the house a good couple of weeks before I was officially "cleared" to use a cane by my PT. It just felt right, so that's what I did.

Congrats on the shower! They feel so good after surgery, like getting back to being human.
 
I hope my next recovery goes as well as this one is going for you!
 
Hi Jockette: I hope you have an easy recovery too. I am very glad that they went in this order. It would have been difficult if I had this easy recovery followed by a tough one like my first one.
 
Just tried doing laps in the house with my cane. No issues so I guess I will use it in the house and the walker outside . :)
 
Just not too many laps! Don't get too ambitious too early. You want to maintain this good recovery!
 

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