Advice wanted on knee replacement recovery and returning to work

[peachescariad]

I'm having replacement knee surgery next week, either partial or full depending on what surgeon sees when he opens it up.
I'm after any advice e.g. leading up to surgery, recovery and any post surgery tips etc, from fellow MNers who've undergone the same.
I'm 60 and plan to go back to work 6/8 weeks after, I work in a school science tower block of 4 floors and our lift is only a goods lift, so I'll be expected to go up and down the floors several times a day and I'm wondering if this will be feasible so soon after surgery?

I have had both knees, total knee replacements:

Take painkillers regularly as directed. Don’t wait until yr in discomfort!

You must do the excruciating exercises regularly. You absolutely must.

The new joint is inanimate it’s just the traumatized tissues & ligaments that hurt like hell. If you don’t do the horrible exercises you will never regain full mobility!

Make sure you get offered post operative physio in the local NHS gym. Ask about it. Mine started 4 weeks post op’ for six weeks.

Ice, ice & more ice packs. Look on Amazon for suitable gel ice packs to wrap around the joint.

Look on Amazon for a waterproof “shield ” to keep wound dry when you shower.

Rest with leg elevated but do your stairs regularly. Don’t sit about. Walk a bit outside on your crutches every day with a companion. Lengthen the walk every day. You’ll need to rebuild muscles. Keep moving. I was up & out on my crutches after 5 days. (I’m very determined.)

My office made sure I had a leg support stool for under my desk. I was put on a “return to work” part time hours for a month. Your workplace should make allowances for your return. Ask before you leave work for the op.

Im ancient but I swim regularly and use the gym. My knees have made an amazing recovery. “Mind over matter! Mind over matter!”

Good luck.

Second everything previous poster has mentioned. Exercising a must along with regular painkillers every 4 hours and regular icing to keep the swelling down.

physio in a pool if you can find it - private hospital near me offered it if nhs doesnt.

good luck

I was just about to post a long reply, but I see the first poster has covered the lot!

I also want to emphasis about the importance of the exercises. Start now with some straight leg raises just to get used to engaging the correct muscles. Also squats now too.

Good luck, I have no regrets at all. I can walk for hours now, instead of just 5 mins.

Do your physio exercises, even though they are painful. I sat with ice pack on for 20 minutes and took painkillers before I did my exercises. It also helps to have encouragement. My friends did the exercises with me. I had to do 20 repetitions of each and when I wanted to stop at 11 they encouraged ( bullied ) me to carry on. When they were exceptionally kind they let me stop at 16 !
I had to climb a flight of stairs in the hospital gym the day after surgery. They insist on this before you can go home.
My physio first walked with me about 2 hours after surgery. I had a spinal rather GA. It meant I could start recovery almost immediately. Spinal was fine , even though the thought of it terrified me.

It is a painful procedure but I am now pain free and can walk for miles again.

Oh yes, I forgot... if you can have a spinal instead of GA, take the offer. The recovery is so much easier! I had to be talked into it as I was scared, but it was fine. So fine in fact, I've had a hip replacement with spinal since the knee.

Great advice already, exercise is key! Early days just aim to sleep, exercise, eat, rest, repeat. You will be tired and don't want to skip exercise so don't plan to do anything more.
I would say 6 weeks is too soon to return, you will be absolutely shattered and likely to overdo it and not continue your recovery as well as you might. You want the best result so taking time to recover fully is worth it in the long run.
All the best.

You'll probably be discharged with a cryocuff which goes around your knee for compression & cooling. Consider hiring or buying the full set-up i.e. with the bucket or ask if any of your friends have one you can borrow. We bought for my parents as both have had knees done and now lend it to friends. Use the iced water cuff regularly as it really helps. If you do get the bucket (needed to refill the cuff, you don't need ice cubes just freeze the correct size of tupperware filled with water and then you have an ice block to cool the water in the bucket and can refreeze again afterwards). Without the bucket you put the whole cuff in the fridge but that requires more space and is less effective.

Stairs - good luck, you'll be doing them slowly, but multiple times a day is pushing it. Can they not make a temporary exception for the lift? Surely they want you back teaching asap?

@peachescariad Had a tkr in June and will shortly be having a second one.
Here were my timelines
They get you walking with crutches same day
Pain was not as bad as I expected after reading horrors on the internet
They check you can go up and down stairs before discharge but it is difficult at first
Within 2 weeks I found myself ditching one crutch.
After 4 weeks I was allowed to drive
By 6 weeks very seldom used crutches at all and could pedal well on stationary bike, also walk up and down stairs more normally but holding tight to rail.
You must work hard to do the physio to get it to fully straighten and bend- I am on a 125 bend now but still exercising to push that with squats etc (made difficult by other leg being rubbish) however I am you age and I trained for the operation trying to maximize my leg muscles.
Pain gone now- just a bit of a clunk!