jamesdak 

A little late to the game but I can add my experiences from my first TKR done in April.

Recliner is what I used for recovery but yeah it can be a bit tough to get in and out of at first. Mine is actually a wingback chair that reclines, the foot/leg support starts at the top of my calf but does not fully extend my leg. You want that full extension as you rest to help with rehab and so you don't wind up walking with a limp. I just kept a pillow under it. Same principle while sleeping, pillow under lower leg/foot to keep the knee extended.

Pain meds....yeah take them. I tried to stop the small dosage of oxycodone after the third day. Big mistake, stay on them. Most docs are diligent about not getting you hooked now days. I can't speak for what the docs are using on you on terms of the hardware and possibly doing damage. Mine was done by the VA and the parts are bonded to the bone now. They told me I couldn't damage the replacement parts doing anything. I was actually walking on the knee within hours of the surgery. So no, I don't think taking the pain meds are going to lead to you damaging anything.

On a side note, my PT tech wanted me to schedule my meds for an hour before her visits the first two weeks.

Get a good no slip mat for the shower and rails if you can. I didn't get rails but used the walker to get in and out of the shower. The VA glued the wound and put on a bandage that stayed for two weeks. It was supposed to be waterproof but I still covered with with saran wrap and tape when showering. Didn't want to risk an infection. I am surprise how unnoticeable the scar is. You'll want to work the scar with your fingers as soon as the wound is healed to break up the scar tissue and to help with your flexibility.

12 oz water or soda bottles are the trick for the ice machine as mentioned already. 4 of them will fit in easily and you can just keep rotating bottles. I used the ice machine a lot to include sleeping with it.

Sleep is one thing they did not warn me about. I had a really hard time sleeping for a couple of months. Doc's said that's pretty normal even they are not sure why. My pain med guy had me start taking 3mg of Melatonin and that helped a lot.

If you can get on a stationary bike do it as soon as you can. Don't worry about full rotations, just get the movement you can going forwards and backwards. Once the flexibility improved I found that if I started full rotations backwards first for a few minutes I could then switch and get going forwards. I think I was out on my dutch bike in about 3 weeks with the saddle higher than normal and then back on a regular road bike by 6 weeks. Had a full summer of riding and almost got back to my normal pace.

I still have loss of feeling in the outside of the knee, the outer quad and upper calf feel off too. I think they are still adjusting to the leg being straighter again. All the docs say it really takes at least a full year to get to feeling pretty normal.

Pt is crucial, do it and do it hard but listen to thier advice.

Another thing I noted as temps cooled down the fall is that the fixed knee doesn't like riding in temps under 50 degrees without at least leg warmers, sort of burns inside. I guess that makes sense with the metal in there.

Anyway, I'm having the other done next week and am looking forward to a full and regular bike riding year in 2024.

Good Luck!