Seriously Considering Knee Replacement Surgery

I think I have to face the reality that my old knees are not going to keep me upright much longer. And this issue is having an increasingly negative effect on the quality of my life.

So I talked with my FM and the HR department about this and found out about the FMLA law. I qualify for 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave and my job is protected for when I can resume driving. That’s the good part.

If I pull the trigger on the surgery, I have to empty out my beloved truck and turn it over to another driver.

And since I live in the truck full time, I would need to find a temporary living arrangement with someone to assist me in the recovery phase. I have no family to help nor would I want to stay with any of my relatives. That would be a fate worse than death.

My doctor is putting me in touch with the social worker at the hospital. Hopefully, there is a solution, but I haven’t had that conversation yet.

Anyone here have any advice or ideas for me?

I'd advise doing one knee now and the other next year. It sucks to have to go through all of this again, but physical therapy for both knees simultaneously sounds worse.

Discuss with your medical provider as my medical license is only valid in certain truck stops.

I'd advise doing one knee now and the other next year. It sucks to have to go through all of this again, but physical therapy for both knees simultaneously sounds worse.

Discuss with your medical provider as my medical license is only valid in certain truck stops.

Thank you, Dr. Banks!

And you are probably correct, one knee at a time. My doctor and the surgeon both recommended against doing both at once. So I doubt that I could even convince the surgeon to do both at once.

Some orthos recommend against it, others hands are tied by insurance companies. My mom, god bless her, had very high pain tolerance, and wished she had just done them both at once. Her friend had to do it that way due to insurance, and seemed to have less gait issues after rehab.

As for where to be, you can find a short term rental, that is month to month, which would be way cheaper than hotels. Also, some temp agencies have CNAs that they can send out as "post op babysitters" which could be an option for the day of surgery.

Also, I suggest you pay out of pocket for a cryotherapy pack. Work Comp is the only insurance that automatically covers them, but they work way better for post op joint recovery than a standard ice pack. After my ankle surgeries, I was off daytime opioid pain meds by day three, and nighttime by day 7, with the exception of PT days until day 14. Def worth the $. I have the DonJoy Iceman Clear3.

Knee replacements typically result in the largest amount of blood loss among surgeries where there is no open wound going into the surgery. One of the largest arteries in the human body, the femoral artery, is involved with a knee replacement, thus the cause of significant blood loss. The difficulty of rehabbing two knees at once, as Banks pointed out, plus the amount of blood loss, I would be surprised if any doctor were willing to replace both knees at once.

Do you have long-term disability through your employer with an insurer like AFLAC? If you do, they may have suggestions for you on places you may be able to go for recovery. I don't know if a nursing home would be a possibility, but without family members or friends with whom to live, that may be the last option.

My friend, a truck driver, just had one knee done. I think he was out 6 weeks.

My wife had both knees done in the same year. That way the second was free since the first met the max out of pocket on my insurance.

The first week or two are the toughest with pain. After that it slowly gets better.

Good luck to you.

FMLA isn’t all it’s cracked up to be but if you can get back to work in that 6-12 week time frame, you’ll still have a job. I had my knee worked on (more extensive than a knee replacement) three years ago and I’m still dealing with the consequences. Before the surgery, I couldn’t hardly walk so the fact that I can now is worth the price I’ve paid. I was with the company I was working for for 6 years when I had to go out for surgery. Day one after my 12 weeks was up, I got the phone call that my position had been terminated. That’s also the time I ran out of STD. Long story short, it cost me my job, my savings and almost everything else. Do everything you can to be back to work before that 12 week mark, you don’t want to have to deal with the long term disability stuff. As for a place to stay, the nursing and rehab centers are a good option but do your homework before you choose one as a lot of them have staffing issues and poor patient care.

Some orthos recommend against it, others hands are tied by insurance companies. My mom, god bless her, had very high pain tolerance, and wished she had just done them both at once. Her friend had to do it that way due to insurance, and seemed to have less gait issues after rehab.

As for where to be, you can find a short term rental, that is month to month, which would be way cheaper than hotels. Also, some temp agencies have CNAs that they can send out as "post op babysitters" which could be an option for the day of surgery.

Also, I suggest you pay out of pocket for a cryotherapy pack. Work Comp is the only insurance that automatically covers them, but they work way better for post op joint recovery than a standard ice pack. After my ankle surgeries, I was off daytime opioid pain meds by day three, and nighttime by day 7, with the exception of PT days until day 14. Def worth the $. I have the DonJoy Iceman Clear3.

NaeNae, thanks for the cryogenic suggestion. I’m seriously checking that out, it looks promising.

From what I’m reading about it, I could use it for pain management even if I don’t have the surgery. Good tip, thanks!

My Wife has had both done, at different times. I took off of work to be the caregiver. I can only offer the following;

1. If at all possible, have someone you really trust be your caregiver. You'll be dealing with the challenges of rehabilitation and you'll need someone to stay on the things you can't do, like fixing meals and tracking when you took meds. You're also going to need someone to go to the store for you; YA GOTTA EAT.

2. I agree with the others about a short-term rental as opposed to a hotel.

3. You will likely need someone to transport you to physical therapy, unless you have it done at home. I believe this will vary by insurance provider.

4. Stay "ahead of the pain." You'll have post-op meds and instructions for pain management. If you're not super strict on schedules, make a written one and follow it. I did this for my Wife and it helped. I couldn't always remember which pain med she'd taken and writing it down each time made it easier to administer the next one.

5. When having the right knee done, you may need someone to transport you for a longer period of time. That's your primary driving leg and it may take a little longer before you can safely drive yourself places. With the left knee, you can get away with driving (your car) a little sooner because you don't need that leg to drive. Of course, don't drive while on meds

But seriously, I hope this helps and you have a smooth experience.

Mine has more than paid for itself. I used it with both ankle surgeries, left knee surgery, and other random strains over the years.

My sister in law used mine when she broke her femur, and brother used it for knee surgery and back surgery.

I use loose ice cubes when I need super cold, but the trade off is that you can't use it very long, or risk frostbite damage to the skin. When I need cold for longer duration, I use frozen water bottles. One bottle in the tank results in cool, two to three is cold cold. The surface area touching the water is less, but the cold lasts longer. This may be a good option on the truck, vs buying ice cubes all the time. Of course I have a fridge with a real freezer in my truck, so there is that logistical issue if you use it for pain management before surgery.

Some orthos recommend against it, others hands are tied by insurance companies. My mom, god bless her, had very high pain tolerance, and wished she had just done them both at once. Her friend had to do it that way due to insurance, and seemed to have less gait issues after rehab.

As for where to be, you can find a short term rental, that is month to month, which would be way cheaper than hotels. Also, some temp agencies have CNAs that they can send out as "post op babysitters" which could be an option for the day of surgery.

Also, I suggest you pay out of pocket for a cryotherapy pack. Work Comp is the only insurance that automatically covers them, but they work way better for post op joint recovery than a standard ice pack. After my ankle surgeries, I was off daytime opioid pain meds by day three, and nighttime by day 7, with the exception of PT days until day 14. Def worth the $. I have the DonJoy Iceman Clear3.

NaeNae, thanks for the cryogenic suggestion. I’m seriously checking that out, it looks promising.

From what I’m reading about it, I could use it for pain management even if I don’t have the surgery. Good tip, thanks!