53 years old. Getting knee replacement surgery next Thursday. Those of you that have been through this ….. any advice, tips, what to expect, etc. would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

I'm 60. Had total knee replacement last June. Get ready for some suck. But after 3 months it was better.
Rehab! Rehab! Rehab! Do everything they make you do and more on your own time. You will recover faster and stronger if you do.
Keep lots of ice packs handy.
I'd say my knee is 95% now.

I'm 4 months post- TKR, was in great shape, and did PT prior to surgery to help post-op rehab, so your experience may be different. Just some quick thoughts:

1. TAKE YOUR PAIN MEDS! Cannot stress this enough. Stick to the schedule, do not play catch up or be a tough guy: the bone pain is for real (for about a week or so in my case and quickly gets 'better').
Making sure you take them is also imperative for starting PT. There is a new drug, non opioid, called Journavx, you can talk to your surgeon about. Worked well for me after I stopped the opioids. Honestly, the opioids prescribed help tremendously, but the constipation is also for real, so make sure you take the miralax or whatever he prescribes.

2. Ice and elevate (ie knee above the heart) religiously to mitigate the swelling. (I thought I could get away with just sitting in a chair with knee up on a coffee table a couple weeks after, but my lower leg/ankle swelled like a champ and when I went back into PT, he said I HAD to elevate above heart as that swelling can lead to blood clots.)

3.Get PT scheduled ASAP if not already. The most important thing is getting that knee moving: bending/straightening. So at home, do the heel slides, quad sets, the ankle pumps etc often per surgeon direction, and using your walker, slowly walk around the house practicing walking correctly. It will feel weird as heck, as your quad has shut down, and all the proprioreceptors in you knee have been screwed up, so focus on flexing that quad when you take a step.

4. It is a slow process. Its crazy how long it takes for the quad to 'wake up'. Don't get discouraged as you will see progress almost daily. Don't be afraid to move it; you won't break it. Yes, its gonna be tough and uncomfortable, even painful. As my PT says, 'motion is lotion.'

Good luck!

My dad had one knee and my uncle had both. Do all the PT and get moving as soon as they advise you to. Both of them had major improvements in functionality and quality of life.

Had one replaced end of May. All above is good. You will walk the day of surgery. Nerve blocks will wear off then there will be some pain. Use your meds to preempt the pain, don't let it get ahead of you. Ice but not too much. Elevate. Every recovery is different

If you do Facebook here is a link to a group. Some scary crap there BUT remember there are over 800,000 of these done Every Year and most turn out good.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DaTAcpm8B/

Some really good advice here...a few additional thoughts/comments:

I had TKR surgery 18 months ago...my knee was in bad shape after trying everything...I really didn't want to do it, but knew I was out of options. I will now say, without a doubt, it was the best thing I could have done!

For me, this was more difficult mentally than physically. Yes, there is surgery related discomfort, but you need to accept the reality of the recovery duration. A lot of sitting around which can be frustrating if you are active. Give your self some grace...this is a big deal

Find a PT therapist that you "like"...meaning you will spend a lot of time with this person as a coach and motivator. Don't hesitate to "fire" an assigned therapist if you aren't happy with them. Mine, BTW, was a former Longhorn cheerleader and we laughed/joked about the rivalry during every visit.

Get an ice machine if you don't have one already...game changer...I wore it every chance I could to include sleeping with it...you don't want to switch out ice packs. If you are in the DFW area, I'm happy to let you borrow mine.

Get your living/sleeping arrangements underway before the surgery...stairs won't be an option early on.

Move/move/move...bend your knee! You don't want to have a follow-on procedure called MUA...look it up.

The only thing I now feel, is what I don't feel...meaning some of the nerves were compromised and I don't have the touching sensation on my new knee. Zero pain or discomfort with the new knee!

Summary...I can do everything I want to do...I play a ton of golf and walk/carry with zero pain or restrictions.

Good luck...you got this!!

Corp Turd reminded me about that circulating ice cooler-
Hopefully the hospital will let you take it home.
So this week, buy a case of those tiny water bottles, take the labels off and freeze them.
My wife would just change out 6 of those bottles at a time in the cooler. Saves you money and trips to buy bags of ice, or using up all the ice from the icemaker.