Total knee replacement. Any tips?

[liverpoolnana]

I'm shortly to have a knee replacement due to arthritis. Does anyone have any tips to share , please? Obviously anything directly medical I'll go by what the hospital says, but is there anything else you found useful to know?

My mum's medical team gave her the leg lifter in hospital, along the the raised toilet seat which she was then given to take home.

The cryo cuff is was recommended by her surgeon as it wraps around the entire joint and gives ice water at regular prescribed intervals.

I think it's important to listen to your medical team, OP.

Like you, my DM went privately. She's had an excellent experience.

Seeing her - I don't think a frozen bag of peas would have done the job of the cryo cuff, if you can afford it.

Ive had both done one year apart - echo what everyone has said. Icing very important before exercising and after.

i also did hydro exercises as well for 2-3 weeks after.

good luck!

I had one -in my 30s so pretty unusual- totally changed my life, but the first 3 weeks were hellish. For the first month you need to be in a loop of painkillers, physio exercises, rest and ice, repeat..

My tips.

• Get a 2 metre charging cable for your phone for hospital - charging point will be behind you and impossible to get to in the first few days. Also take prunes to snack on - pain meds are seriously constipating.
• Cryo cuff is the best thing ever - the gravity fed bucket is good enough- you don't need the powered one.
• Shorts are the easiest thing to wear post op, and lightweight slip on shoes that have a back on them (not mules)- like skechers go walks
• Getting on and off the toilet was no more difficult for me post op than it was pre op but I was in a very bad state pre op and was on crutches for a year before the op.
• You can use a dressing gown cord or folded towel as a leg lifter - you don't need a special leg lifter gadget. I was mystified by the leg lifting thing but it really was impossible to lift my own leg for about a week post op. It's because of the high pressure cuff they put on your leg during surgery so they can operate in a 'bloodless field'

Good luck.

Yes the pain is rough for the first two weeks, so take all the painkillers. Also you will wake up at 5am every morning because the painkillers will have worn off.

I found that a good trolley was brilliant for getting food from the kitchen and back - they gave me one of these

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1313625878/vintageretro-3-tiered-drinks-trolleybar?clickkey=c38a01135bcda2acadf1a72b78652ffa70d6395d%3A1313625878&clickksum=2924f198&gaorder=mosttrelevant&gasearchhtype=all&gaviewwtype=gallery&gasearchhquery=hostess+trolley&ref=listinginngrid-1-8&frs=1

You may consider a commode for the first few days if you don't have a downstairs loo.

Echoing PPs, do the exercises religiously, and try and get private physio if you can.

After the first two weeks the pain begins to lessen, but it took around 12 weeks for it to dissipate.

Good luck!

I had a total hip replacement 2 years ago.

I have heard knees are more painful. My neighbour who has had a knee replacement swore by his reclining armchair. He slept in it for a couple of nights. He was a very keen cyclist and his recovery was slower than he would have liked, even with religious rehab/physio.

I definitely found a raised toilet seat helpful. What was also extremely useful was a very thick/heavy duty garbage bag. If I needed to get up for a pee in the middle of the night it helped immensely with the “swivel” to get my legs in and out of bed. DH would pick up my feet and slide me round.

And a grabber. Handy for helping pull up sweatpants for the first couple of days.

A floor excercise bike thing. Allows full motion and really made a difference to my mum. Set an alarm to take your painkillers at night at the beginning. Dont stiffen up with pain

You don’t need any extra gadgets other than the ones the NHS will provide free such as something to help you get off the toilet initially. Exception to this, for me, was a bath seat which I bought from an online pharmacy. Don’t know if this is still true but when I had my ops I was told that as I had a shower above the bath and not a walk in shower I shouldn’t try to get in the bath and just wash my hair in the sink and have sponge washes for a few months. This was never going to happen for me so I found the bath seat very useful for sitting under the shower. My husband helped me in and out of the bath and I incorporated the movements into part of the exercise regime. Ignoring the advice about not getting into the bath has not caused any problems for my knees and made me much happier and cleaner.
The painkillers will make you constipated at first so get some laxatives from the supermarket. This goes away after a while.
It can be very painful straight after the op but I found the painkillers worked well. I was on two Cocodamols (average strength) and two Tramadols to be taken every six hours. Different people are offered different drug combinations, this worked for me.
I was back at work twelve weeks after each knee replacement, off painkillers and walking without sticks. Thinking about it, I was off painkillers after eight weeks.
A few years later I still walk well, but have to be careful not to overdo things and I can’t carry anything heavy, even a medium bag of potatoes as the weight makes my knees ache. I also find that certain foods make my knees ache such as citrus foods and juice, including tomatoes and red wine.
Hope this helps.

Thank you everybody for all the excellent tips.

theBeeeeeeeep, can i ask, why shorts? Is that for during the day or instead of pyjamas? Should I take dayclothes, by the way? (I am only in for three days, all being well, but I know I will need going home things).

And to everyone stressing ice, is there a time limit for having an ice pack on?. I read somewhere 20 mins but that was for temporary injuries.

I recently had a hip replacement for arthritis (I'm in my 40s). I'm guessing there's a similar issue in terms of post surgery mobility.

Things I found helpful:

• raised loo seat (they come in different heights and they're a bit grim but a life saver)
• the grabber sticks (I had two from Amazon) which meant I could dress myself from day 1 (bar the compression socks)
• cutting the feet part of the compression socks. Spent a week with my toes popping out of the hole, cut them off below the compression part and game-changer (the foot part isn't elasticated)
• agree with long charger leads and also my nurses tied them round my bed rail which was great but you could buy those Velcro cable straps
• having an easy chair to get in and out of at home

I guess the benefit of shorts would be that you don't get too hot with the sweaty compression socks on.

Hope it goes well for you.

Not me but my husband who had a partial knee replacement in July. Yes definitely do the exercises.

He actually didn't find it too painful but he did meet people in the hospital when going back for physio who did, probably a matter of luck/skill of the surgeon. But take whatever painkillers are on offer, it will also help you do your rehab.

It was a great success for my DH - even if it doesn't improve any more than it already has, he is a lot lot better.

If you can afford it, I would hire a Hilotherm, they are a souped up ice machine and made a big difference to my husband's comfort. He kept it for four weeks post op. www.hilotherm.co.uk/

Watching this with interest as I’ve just been told at the tender age of 53, I’ll. need both of my knees totally replaced as I have stage 3 and 4 osteoarthritis.
10 days ago, I had a hyaluronic acid injection in my right knee which has been so painful and caused even more limited mobility. Hopefully in the next two weeks it will start to improve the pain.

With regards to going to the toilet, I found using a she-wee really useful. However, I do appreciate that is only useful for one sort of bodily function!

Friends of mine have had knee surgery and they have both said that physio is one of the most important things to get right. Don’t skimp on it, even if it is tough.

Any idea how long the wait time is on the NHS as I’m not even on it yet?

Now off to Google some of these gadgets to make life easier….

2 years on the NHS.

Some people who have knees done in my nhs trust only wait a few months depending on severity & other co morbidities.
The key thing when you have had a knee replacement which I have heard surgeons, patients & physios say is take pain relief then keep doing the exercises during the days weeks & months post op.

How are you doing, OP?

My DM is around 5 weeks post-op now, and doing really well.

Don't get discouraged when the shape of your knee still doesn't look like it's supposed to after a few months. It took me a year before the shape went back to how it used to be. Having said that, I was cycling in the Alps 3 months post op... Force yourself to do the physio exercises. It's essential!

Just had LTKR 6 days ago. Paid privately as 2 year wait here and I'm on the wrong side of 70. I was in hospital for 2 days. Obviously, there is pain but I've been living with that for years anyway. What I wasn't expecting was the nausea. For 2 days couldn't eat or drink anything. Hospital wouldn't prescribe antiemetics. I think because I'd had oxycontin and oramorph. Stopped retching today and had small amount to eat and drink. Feel much better and knee sore rather than pain. I'm behind with exercises but can bend 100°. I have very little strength in lifting leg. I found ice machine marvellous for pain relief, leg lifter and slide sheet to get in and out of bed. Raised toilet seat helps. I have an electric fleece on the sofa to keep warm. Wish I'd thought about blanket raiser! I can walk on crutches around the house. I go back in 10 days to see physio again and consultant. Just wish I'd known about nausea!

@Listening2U I sometimes wonder how so many people become addicted to medically prescribed opiates as anything other than a low dose makes me throw up. I was on fentanyl patches while in hospital after my first knee replacement and had to be taken off them after constantly vomiting. My GP prescribed anti sickness medication to take along with Cocodamol when I returned home after surgery and after a while I didn’t require it any more.

I have had both knees and both hips done over the last 15 years, i don't remember it being all that painful but i am a tough old bird so maybe its just me. Get a grabber as sods law just when you get comfy you will drop the remote. Get an apron with pockets or a large bumbag or kangaroo top so that when you are on crutches you have somewhere to pop the snacks/ painkillers on your trips to the kitchen, a raised loo seat not really needed if you have a rail to grab, just take it slowly. I wasn't allowed home until i had shown physio i could get up and down stairs on my crutches safely, do use them for as long as they advise, its easy to be tempted to just do that short few steps without them. Use a pillow in between your knees in bed to stop you from twisting it across your other leg as you turn. Yes as pp,s have said, do your physio religiously don't be afraid to bend it once physio have shown you the exercises, keep on top of the pain killers and keep a positive mind. I am ever grateful for all my surgery, best thing ever, my only negative is one knee feels quite numb and has a swollen look but i don't wear mini skirts so i don't care, apparently its nerve damage from the op which is common but the initial numb bits improved gradually. Oh and finally, don't do what i did and use it as an excuse not to do things 😳i got a bit lazy to be honest but years later i am now going to exercise classes 4 times a week, walking miles and going on random trekking holidays.

I just want to add for those who are carers to a TKR patient encourage them do not cajole or criticise. I had my op on Wed and was doing great till severe nausea kicked in due to opioids? It looked like a return to hospital. Fortunately not so. I live alone but family stayed for a few days and bring food and pop in all the time. I felt SO depressed that physio had taken a back seat as I know it's important. My family have encouraged me and I am really trying. I've had a lot of pain as had 2 advanced osteo / rheumatoid knees. I stopped taking painkillers Saturday as couldn't keep them down. Honestly, my knee isn't painful. It's sore and really sore after exercises. Today I did an amazing set of lifts. I'm bragging but I'm so pleased as they have been pathetic till today. I didn't think I'd ever do it. However, because my knee isn't painful doesn't mean yours won't be. I'm just terrified of painkillers now! Cryocuff is my go to. My family got the ice box and hospital gave the cuff. I see consultant and physio in a couple of weeks and if not enough progress will have private physio as suggested here.

My dad had both done (at separate times) and found an exercise bike in front of box sets was a good way to keep up the rehab.

@liverpoolnana how did your knee repair go? I've just been told I'm having mine in 2 weeks so reading everything I can and looking for tips

Not only do the exercises exactly as prescribed, but also take the painkillers so you can do the exercises.

Good luck. My 80 year old dad had a new knee and because he did the rehab he got a great result.

The height of loo seat you will need is based on your height and height of your toilet and general health/ strength in other leg etc. Most toilets are 15/16" from floor to top of seat. Humans obviously vary massively in length!! Sit on a firm chair and measure from behind your knee to floor( this is your popliteal height POP) If it is 15" or smaller, you may well manage with your current grab rail. If it is 16/17" you may want a 2" RTS and over 18 you may want a 4" or even 6" if very tall.
Also check you have a comfortable armchair that is at least as high as your POP, preferably an inch or so higher and also check bed height if you are on a futon or lowish bed. Remember your bed does not have armrests so higher is better for getting up from edge of bed, however post knew replacement, getting your knee into bed can also be a struggle for a while, and the higher the bed, the more difficult that is, so you may find one manoeuvre easier than the other.
When getting into bed, it is easier to first get your unaffected leg up onto the bed, so you may want to get in and out on a side you don't usually use( or you can just put the pillows the other end for a while!!) Once your bottom and unaffected leg are on the bed, you can use your hands to help lift other leg, or use leg lifter, or pull on pyjama bottoms, or use dressing gown cord under foot, or even curved handle of a wooden walking stick.
Good luck x

Somebody has already mentioned a grabber and a raised toilet seat, and I would add an aerobics step. They are about £25 online. Get one that can be gradually adjusted to different heights to get as near as possible to stair height to practise on and build up muscles. . They teach you to go up stairs one legged, but I want to get to doing it normally asap. Another thing I used at the beginning was an adjustable table that I could use with the only chair I could manage to get up from as it had arms. Again, only about £25 online but very useful even now.

I'm on crutches for another month after my recent hip replacement and had forgotten how slow it is doing everything one-handed. Aagh.

I'd add a bag you can sling over your shoulder to carry stuff up and down the stairs and tea and coffee making facilities near you (if you drink as many cups as me!). Yes to the arms on chairs - I've been wheeling my desk chair into the lounge as my sofa is too low.