Yes, I remember childbirth, not terrifically painful, just seemed never-ending. And the only major surgery I've had is my kidney transplant. They urge you to easy on the pain pills afterward. I was allowed 4 pills a day, but I stretched it out to 2 pills a day. And when the docs offered a refill prescription, I was able to say "No, thanks." Hope your surgery is 100% successful. Enjoy trying out your new knee!

I hope your recovery goes well, jkayd!

I had a knee replacement in September. The best advice I can give you is to take your pain medicine on schedule, elevate, and ice. I found a neat way to make ice bags. I use a gallon size plastic bag and filled it with 4 cups water and 2 cups rubbing alcohol. I then put this bag into another ziplock bag, and seal. Pop them in the freezer, and they freeze in a slushy mixture, and last for quite a long while. I made three of them and would rotate them. And don't let your physical therapist push on your knee to the point of it being terribly painful. I had a therapist who pushed hard and it just made my knee swell uncontrollably. And when it swells, it will inhibit getting your range of motion. I switched therapists who worked more on my range of motion and strength training. And take your pain medicine on schedule - don't take it when it starts to hurt because you need to stay ahead of the pain. Once it starts to hurt it's hard to then relieve the pain. And be faithful in doing your physical therapy because you want to get your full range of motion. People often skimp on the PT because it 'hurts' - well duh, you've just had major surgery so of course it hurts.

These are my pearls of wisdom for the day.

I've had two knee replacements...8 weeks apart. My suggestions are the same as others, take you pain meds and do all of your exersise and put ice on your knee afterwards.it will help with the swelling.
Good luck with your new knee..

What a blessing it is that you have such a good care giver at home. That makes the recovery process so much easier.

I've never had a replacement, just lots of reconstructive procedures on the left knee. I vividly recall feeling better every day....especially after going through my therapy sessions. That includes doing what you can at home.

Are you keeping a pillow under your knees when you lay down? Not a big fluffy one....just enough to keep the knees ever so slightly bent.

Sephia, your helpful hint sounds like a gem! Love it.

My hint is that a pair of BBQ tongs can help you put your underwear on when you can't bend your knee! :-)

Gosh, we have some tough folks here! I'm hoping I won't have to have 'new' knees to go with my hip replacements, but I will be taking steroids for my asthma forever, so who knows?

I'll second the commandments to keep up with both the pain meds and the PT exercises, even though hips are so much easier than knees! After all, we still have 'miles to go before we rest' -- want to be up to it.

Healing thoughts!

jkayd, I'm happy the worst is over for you and each day will be tiny bit better. Surgery is never easy and lying on your back to sleep is difficult. Try and stay in a relaxed stress free mode as stress causes your muscles to tighten up and, in turn, creates more pain. The more you elevate your knee, like 3 pillows under it, the less pain you'll feel. I wish you good luck and give your guy extra kisses for being so good to you. I'm sure you'd do the same for him. Keep us posted so we WILL remember you. lol

Last year I had both knees replaced at the same time...best decision I ever made because I got it over with in one surgery and one recovery.

Follow the instructions your surgeon gave you. I'm sure different surgeons offer different post-surgery instructions but mine told me NOT to sleep with a pillow under the knee. One of the goals of physical therapy is to get your knee straight again and keeping the knee bent can prolong that. I did find it easier to sleep with my entire leg slightly raised.

I think that getting comfortable at night was the worst part of the surgery. Progress may seem slow at first but it does improve. I was in the hospital for 5 days and then in an in-patient rehab center for another 6 days. I had in home PT for 2 weeks and then I started out patient for another month - that's when I started making rapid progress. I was even able to ride the stationary bike.

I had my first knee replacement 19 years ago. At that time, when you woke up from the surgery, your leg was in a CPM machine (continues passive motion) and I have wondered if that is still in use now? Did you have it?

After the surgery, it was routine to go right to Skilled Care, in-house, for 10 days .OH! The torture! and then home. The CPM went home with you. I've forgotten all the details, but the CPM was to be used a certain number of hours a day . It was painful, but appreciated, because very few if any, would get that much exercise otherwise. It stayed hooked up on my bed, and I could put myself in and out of it by myself. I used it a lot at night, and believe it or not, I did sleep quite a bit with it on.

At home, it was my choice to stay by myself. (My DH died in 1982) I preferred to rest, eat, and sleep whenever I chose to, and not have to be disturbed. Family and friends made sure I had food, and all required goodies, and came by from time to time in the early evenings. Six weeks following surgery it was physical therapy at the gym.

Had the second knee done ten years later. Same routine.

Ice packs? Before you have the surgery get a couple large bags of frozen peas, and put them in the freezer, ready on demand. Doctor recommended.

After all these years my knees do cause pain, but without that surgery I probably would be in a wheel chair.

Hang tough!

maire_cate, just read your post. When I had my first one, I asked the surgeon to do both; he wouldn't, and back then no other surgeon would either. You did really well.

Sue

Sue - I'm so happy - yes it all went well. Many surgeons are still reluctant to do both knees. I opted to go to NYC and had the head of the department perform the surgery. I was concerned about the length of the surgery, specifically the amount of time the tourniquet would be used so I wanted someone who does many hundreds of these a year. My surgeon did explain that he'll only do a double knee if the patient is in good health, of a reasonable weight and under 65.

I did have the CPM while I was in the hospital but not when I did in-patient rehab. I learned that not all surgeons use it.

I go for an MRI on Wednesday for my right knee. I may be looking at a replacement too. I am hoping I can get by with just having it scoped. I injured my knee in falls on hard surfaces. I have had horrible pain with it sometimes and three times in the past year, I have ended up in a wheelchair or on a walker for a week at a time. Good luck with your recovery. Keep us posted. I am glad to find out what to expect from so many people who have had it done.

My wife has total knee replacements in both knees. First the worst one was done and then two years later, the other one. It was no picnic, but she is much better off than before. Before, the cartiledge in her knees had worn through and split allowing bone on bone, and that hurt mightly and was not good for the bone ends.

Physical therapy after sugery was critical for recovery and range of motion. A flexor machine was loaned to us for 2 weeks after sugery. It was my job twice a day to position the machine under her leg and set the range of motion. She had a controller to set speed. She was also sent to a sports center for more flexing of the joint to increase range of motion, and then she got to spend time in a whirlpool, full immersion bath for relaxing and flexing. She enjoyed that oversized jacussi. Later, pool time was added to start light load bearing on the joint and more leg motion. She is a water baby and looked forward to those pool days.

That was several years ago; The results have been good.

I had a total left knee replacement in Oct.,I didn't know there were so many others here that had the surgery. After the hospital I went to an adjoining skilled nursing care unit for a few more days to make sure I could take care of myself (hubby has health issues of his own) I had physical therapists come to the house but didn't need to go to any other sort of therapy after that.... Glad you are on the mend...

You're on the right side of that knee replacement. How nice that your DH is helpful. Pretty sure mine will be too, but I'm concerned it may get old quickly. :)

In the process of learning about hip replacement and the different procedures, I came across this website. It's for people on both sides (pre-op/post-op) of total knee and total hip replacements. Started and monitored by a retired orthopedic nurse, it's another friendly forum with a good source of personal experience. Nice to have you back, and healing nicely.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bonesmart

I should also add that even when the official physical therapy is over most patients would benefit from continued exercise. My PT center lets us continue for as long as we want for $40.00 a month. We don't get the one on one that we had when the insurance paid for it but the therapist does monitor us and adds additional exercises and weights. I found that to be very helpful. I also joined the local wellness center where I can do water exercise too.