Knee Replacement Surgery

Left bone is my right knee. It is clear that I am bone to bone on the inside edge.

Picture of my knee at the end of February 2026. My right knee (on the left in the picture) has been bone on bone for some time now. My longtime surgeon from Orlando Orthopedia just didn’t want to perform the surgery so I changed doctors and went to Rothman Orthopedic for an evaluation. While in the middle of my pitch to beg for a replacement, the dr. stopped me and said – at this point you are out out therapy options – you need a total knee replacement in both knees. We started with the right knee on Tuesday; June 16, 2026. About 3 months from today, we will replace the second one.

After years of talking about this, I discovered that there is much very bad information out there from friends, family and the internet. Here are the facts as I see them:

A BMI of 40 or less much be achieved before the Dr. will perform the surgery.
- This appears to be a policy of Rothman Orthopedic and not a guideline at all Orthopedic’s
- After surgery wont put strain on your new knee, but can cause other joints to be sore during therapy.
You cannot have both knees, done at the same time
- Now that I am out of surgery, I can’t believe that surgeons will do this on both knees at the same time. You need a good knee to help rehab with.
- My Surgeon says that it is much less of a shock to your system when only one at a time is peeformed.
I arrived at 9am and walked out (with a walker) at 4:30pm – You only stay overnight if you fail their tests.
- Walk without dizziness
- Be able to pee (if you had the spinal anesthesia)
The post surgery pain is from major muscles in the lower calf and upper leg. Nobody explained that to me.
- Expressions like “Going to get worse before it gets better”, “The pain will be worse after surgery than when yo went in” were not a helpful description to prepare for post op.
Have to sleep on your back for 2 to 4 weeks. I won’t be able to do that often. [UPDATE: not going to happen, side sleeping started on day 3]
Nerve blockers (needle in the spine) have several benefits instead of general anesthesia.
- Pain relief for 18 to 36 hours after surgery – average of 24 hors.
- Targeted pain relief from the waist down – allows patients to breathe independently and avoids grogginess (going home same day)
- Reduced opioids use, can reduce by up to 70%
- Retain 92% of muscle strength
- Walking within an hour or two after surgery
- Reduces risk of blood clots, pneumonia and muscle stiffness
My throat was very sore due to tubes inserted. Cough drops helped and plenty of water

Day 01 – [Surgery Day] Tuesday; June 16, 2026

Sharon off until Friday

My post-op prescription list:

Journavx 50mg – every 12 hours
oxyCODONE 5mg immediate release tablet – every 4 to 6 hors
Aspirin EC Adult Low Dose 81 mg EC Tablet – am and pm
Bisacodyl 5mg – stimulant laxative
Colace (Docusate sodium 100mg )

Taken inside the hospital just after waking up and then leaving to go home

Day 02 – Wednesday; June 17, 2026

The swelling has begun. It’s pretty bad. From the top of my thigh to the tip of my toes. Began my exercises and icing every 4 hours. No longer using my walker to get around. The meds work….o.k. The stool softener is not working. The stiffness in my calf and thigh is extensive. A major setback for my PT at home. Last #2 in the bathroom was the morning before surgery. Did not sleep last night. Got in bed around 9pm and was back in my office 20 minutes later. I just didn’t see the point. Did much research on side sleep because back sleep is not going to happen. I don’t think I have ever back slept, as I can recall. Just stayed up all night. Distalic blood pressure is 50. It was 60 in the hospital.

Day 03 – Thursday; June 18, 2026

Finally got some sleep. Took a 5mg Oxy just before bed. Slept until about 2am when I awoke with a nasty pain in my inside knee. Purple bruise was pancake sized. Iced my knee while sitting at my desk. Walking around was much easier. I have gas which makes me have the sensation of wanting to go #2 . My wife convinced me to take the oxy every 4 to 6 hours whether I think I need it or not. The general theory behind that is that it is much easier to keep the pain away than try to recover from it once it has arrived. Continue to take the experimental drug Journavx. Again, not sure what it would be like if I was not taking it.

Cleaning the area around the dressing with Huggies Aloe & Vitamin E [Fragrance Free] Wipes. Works very well, Will continue this on the daily.

Day 04 – Friday; June 19, 2026

Side sleep helped. Went to bed 7pm and woke up 1am. awoke to significant pain in the knee area. Possible I may be twisting my knee while sleeping. Once I get back to my desk and take a single 5mg oxy. No pain. Just trying to keep my mind active to remove focus off my knee. Got an ice machine and it was a complete fail. Temp on the wrap never got below 62 degrees. Complete waste of time.

Missed my PT and icing in the evening and went to bed early.

First PT appointment at Advent today at 315pm. Looking forward to it. The app sucks and two of the exercises are unrealistic for tall people.

Samara at PT gave me new exercise and she agreed the app stinks. Evaluation went well and everything looks normal. There is some discharge from underneath the bandage, Samara took pics and sent them to the Dr.

Possible discharge from under the dressing. The beginning of the reaction to the adhesive is visiable.

Day 06 – Sunday; June 21, 2026

Discontinued all meds from the Doctor. A bit of pain last night and this morning but the constipation from the Oxy was maddening. Ate an entire bag of sugar free candy: consider the colon cleansed. Now have a rash.

Oozing from the incision appears to be getting worse. Samara at PT sent Dr pics last Friday. Never heard back.

Day 07 – Monday; June 22, 2026

PT went well, good exercise and my range of motion is getting better. Ray was the PT rather than Smara. Swelling remains significant and the discharge is not slowing down. More pics to the Dr.

Dr. office called and asked me to remove the bandage and send pics. Incision looks awesome but it appears I am having a reaction to the the adhesive on the bandage. Replaced with gauge / tape from my med kit. All good now.

Dr finally called around 130pm. They requested that I remove the dressing and send them pics.

Day 08 – Tuesday, June 23, 2026

3rd PT at Advent. Good work out. Everything going well.

Day 11 – Friday; June 26, 2026

I think I am getting sick, no fever but have a terrible head cold. My voice changed when I woke up and mentioned to the staff at PT that I felt like I was getting sick.

Day 12 – June 27, 2026

Bad day. My knee is progressing well but is the least of my worries. I have several issues going on unrelated to my knee.

At some point last week, I ate a sandwich and toasted the bread. One bite in particular scraped the gum around the last, lower, right tooth and has become inflamed. The best way to describe is a cartoon balloon of throbbing. I’ve have tried many things. Oragel seems to block the pain but only on a temporary basis.
Continue to experience terrible gastrointestinal issues. Sugar free hard candy, chewing gum and the overdose sore throat lozenges are certainly contributing. The result of this has become a nasty rash on my butt checks. Aveeno is my saving grace. Works immediately, just feel a little gross “down there”.
Woke up Saturday morning with a full on head cold. Congestion is terrible but no nasal drip. Full on ingestion of everything that has worked in the past. Elderberry syrup every 2 hours, Sudafed, Tylenol, Hot toddy’s. One of the side effects of all this is a terrible head ache.
As a result of the skin reaction that I had with the adhesive on the bandage from the hospital, my skin is very itchy. It is very dry in Central Florida these days. Outside my bandage has become very itchy and the least amount of scratching causes blood to surface. Again Aveeno to the rescue.
Planned on resuming my Mounjaro. Grabbed the next injection pen in my box from the refrigerator and performed the injection. The needle ejected into my skin but did not retract. The medicine appeared to still be in the vile. I normally feel the cold of the medicine in my skin along with an irritation on my skin. Neither happened. I have an extra injector but unsure if the medicine went in at all. Will have to wait until next Saturday to resume.
The gout in my foot appears to be less inflamed but still present. The side of my right foot still hurts and the pain under my big toe is getting less.
Woke up with a terrible sore throat, decided not to take any Cepacol lozenges. Made coffee and slowly got better. Had a Hot Toddy and now throat feels very good.
I have swelling in my right nostril and continues to be quite painful. Sensitive to touch on the inside and outside. Regular spray of Fluticasone

Weight is 318 – one pound over where I was when I had the surgery. Vitals remain good this week.

The results of the adhesive reaction still visible. Incision is dry and in good shape.

Day 14 – Monday; June 29, 2026

Heads cold appears be be gone now. Tooth ache is the worst. Went to see Dr Patel. He is on vacation. Nurse sent xrays to him in London – he thinks I have a fractured #31. Cannot have it addressed until Monday 6th. Resumed oxycodone to help with the pain. Knee is very good. Skipped Advent PT and and skipped home PT.

Day 15 – Tuesday; June 30, 2026

Weight is 317, despite monjouro injection failing. Appetite is still low. Knee is great, flexibility is increasing and my walk is getting back to normal. Wife sees a noticeable difference. Wife calls back to Dr. Patel and asks if we do have an infection in my back tooth and why only the amoxicillian on day of crown for Monday. They called in Amoxicillian 875mg / 3 times daily for 10 days.

Day 16 – Wednesday; July 1, 2026

PT at Advent today. Milestone, knee bend was measured at 117 degrees. Also, Full rotation on the bike for 5 minutes – Very comfortable. Swelling is almost gone. It is clear that the swelling was holding back my flexibility. Don’t see a reason for the ice down’s anymore. Will continue work outs at home, however. I drove to Advent PT, no big deal – flexibility is good.

Post-Op appointment at Advent. Cleared for driving and shower without the cap. Came home and took a shower with out cap and it worked out very well.

Full on pain in my back tooth. Whenever I have something to eat, it triggers the need for aspirin every 3 hours. The swelling is getting much worse and the inside gum line is curling up over the top of the tooth at this point.

Woke up at 1am Thursday morning (which is now) and felt nothing. It appears that the Amoxicillin 875mg is working and the infection was the source of my pain. Going to discontinue the use of heavy amounts of aspirin at this point. Will resume my normal routine of daily vitamins.

Wife tested positive for Covid. More than likely, that is what I struggled with on previous weekend and I gave it to her.

Day 17 – Thursday; July 2, 2026

It turns out that much of the scabs around my incision were actually remnants of the adhesive left behind when I removed the original bandage. This is quite evident particularly under the knee cap on the left. Aveeno continues to work very well for the itching.

Day 18 – Friday; July 3, 2026

Continue to struggle with flem coming up. Wife insisted on giving me a covid test and I tested positive.

Cancelled my PT at Advent today. Don’t want to spread any covid around. July 4th weekend, will re-group on Sunday night.

Knee continues to improve. Drove to grocery store yesterday and did quite a bit of walking around. chilled out on the sofa all afternoon as Wife is very sick with Covid. I am sleeping very well now – Averaging 8-9 hours a night.

Weather in Central Florida continues to be very dry. My skin is very susceptible to itch, using Aveeno helps very much. Be letting my leg “air-out” more and more. The middle of the incision shows signs of what is to come for the rest of the wound. No issues with the knee, it is everything else that continues to be a struggle.

Day 21 – July 6, 2026

Continue to struggle with the effects of covid, in particular the exhaustion. Spent all July 4th weekend indoors and on the coach. Wife experiences the same issues. Have waited patiently for this morning to come so I can get My tooth fixed. Dr. Patel’s office called at 7:15am and cancelled because his plane was delayed from England and he won’t be back in the office. Rescheduled for Tuesday; July 7th 11am. We shall see.

No Advent PT as they cancelled due to Covid. I believe I am back on track for Wednesday. Swelling continues to shrink in size and knee generally feels good. stiff around the joint and I can feel tightness in the tendons but no pain like before.

Day 22 – July 7, 2026

Finally had my appointment with Dr. Patel. New permanent crown was put in and no return visit needed. I am being refereed to an Oral surgeon because the sore on my lower gum turned out to be an exposed bone. Dr. Patel says the bone is dead. A surgeon just needs to remove some bone and stitch the gum together.

Day 23 – July 8, 2026

Returned to PT at Advent, from being out with Covid. Had an excellent workout. My knee extension percentage is at 124%. We are starting to focus on tendons and muscles now that I have almost full recovery on extensions and flexability.

Day 24 – July 9, 2026

Mowed the lawn today, front and back. Had Culvers Fish Dinner for lunch – very good. Rested the entire day. Previous return to PT and mowing the lawn made my knee quite sore.

Day 25 – July 10, 2026

Had a terrible night. Was sick for several hours. Once everything was out, took Pepto and sleep until 5am. Woke up not feeling great but not in the bathroom every 5 minutes. Weight is 313 lbs. Thinking this can’t be right. Oh well.