Colorado Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
KSun (Or anyone else in the know)
My mom is scheduled to have her knee replaced next month and my sister and I were wondering what to expect for her recovery. Can anyone clue us in on what it's going to be like for her please?
Re: KSun (Or anyone else in the know)
It can really vary a lot by person, and by knee. Best case scenario, 2 weeks later she's as good as new. Worst case scenario is adhesions, nerve damage and a lot of pain. Honestly, 1 person can have both knees done and have completely different recoveries with each.
In general, expect around 6 weeks of therapy for range of motion and strengthening, moderate pain and need for a walker. Each surgeon has their own recovery protocol and it may include the use of an ice machine constantly for a week or so, and the use of a CPM (continuous passive motion) machine that she will need to be on 8-12 hours a day which will help her to increase the range of motion in the knee. Not all surgeons use both or either. I'm a big fan of both.
Her pain could be anything from very little to excruciating, but the best thing she can do is to stay moving as much as possible to help increase the range of motion. Most doctors want to see close to 90 degrees after 2 weeks. This also helps to prevent adhesions, and if she takes a lot of pain meds it can help prevent too much constipation.
Hopefully she will be a best case scenario, but know that it truly does vary even knee to knee on one person. Good luck!
Katie Talks About...
I probably fall into the category of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing," because my only real experience was when Flossie had her knees replaced.
Is she having one or both knees replaced?
I know she is going to have to get cleared for surgery by her cardiologist.
Is your mom on any blood thinners? If so, she'll have to get cleared by a hematologist.
My mom was lucky enough that she was able to stay at the hospital where she had her surgery (well, one of her surgeries) and was able to do in-hospital rehab for about a week before getting discharged home.
After one of her knee replacement surgeries (or maybe it was a hip), she developed a DVT and had to stay 2(?) weeks in the hospital post-op.
After another knee (or was it hip?) surgery, she was sent for in-patient rehab for a week at a separate rehabilitation center.
I don't know if my mom was able to receive home health care after getting discharged from the hospital or the rehabilitation center, but it would definitely be something to look into to see if it's covered by her insurance.
*Flossie has had 2 knee replacements, 2 hip replacements, and a spinal fusion (I'm probably forgetting a few surgeries) in the past 10 years. All of her surgeries start to run together.
Katie Talks About...
I rehabbed my mom at home two years ago when she had her knee replaced. My mom had previous surgeries but was not prepared for what she was going to go through. She was in a ton of pain. I recommend that someone be available to stay at the hospital with her (even overnight). My mom was so out of it she didn't know what was going on, let alone being able to tell someone if needed. It is a good thing I was there too because as it turns out my mom is allergic to Morphine I had to tell them to give her something else. She was having conversations with people who weren't there, she was itchy, but didn't think to tell the staff this.
If you rehab your mom at home you are going to need some equipment. The hospital sets this up for you. But make sure you have it prior to leaving the hospital (push them to get it to you) because if you leave on a weekend you aren't going to get it until Monday and your mom shouldn't go that many days without it.
They told us we didn't need anything special at home. However we found that having a potty chair, and a shower chair made things much easier. My mom could get up and go to the bathroom but some times it took us a little time to get her out of bed and she walked very slowly that she couldn't make it to the bathroom on time. We bought a plastic tablecloth and put it under the potty chair next to the bed (just in case there were any accidents). My mom also couldn't stand very long (it just wore her out) so having a chair she could sit on when she showered was a must.
We also got her some depends or fancy pants as we call them. For the same reason as the potty chair. Just in case she didn't make it in time there was less of a mess to clean up.
I also found these things that look like shower caps but they have shampoo in them so that we could wash her hair before she was allowed to shower. My mom likes her hair clean and it was an easy way to do it.
If your mom's bed is too tall you might need a wide step for her to be able to get in and out of bed. Try things out ahead of time with her keeping her leg straight, also getting in and out of a car. Some cars were too high for my mom (she is only 5ft tall).
I also bought a foam wedge pillow so she could sit up more in bed, regular pillows weren't cutting it.
I've never seen my mom in such pain. Part of it was because she really didn't think the surgery was going to be that bad. There were times when I pushed her, to eat, to do her exercises, etc.
My mom is likely going to have her other knee done this next year. So I'll be going out to take care of her again.
If you have any other questions or whatever feel free to drop me a PM.
Katie Talks About...
also... with the shower chair, you may want to buy a hand held shower head (Walmart, Target, Home Depot) so that it's easier to shower without the water hitting them in the face.
Honestly... I worked with easily 50 total knee patients this past year - it absolutely varies from person to person. It sounds like Cricket's situation was one of the ones on the tougher side. I have people that within 2 weeks are walking without a walker and acting like nothing happened. It truly varies by surgery and by person.
Katie Talks About...
My parents might actually have the potty chair and shower seat from when my grandma lived with them. Or, more recently from my mom's bypass surgery a few years ago.
ETA: I know mom already has a walker.