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Twelve weeks post op and still in pain

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Granmum

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Good Morning. I am twelve-weeks post-op total knee replacement and have completed eight weeks of out-patient PT and continue at home with daily exercises. My OS had told me that recovery time was 12 weeks. It has been twelve weeks but I continue to have pain, pressure and stiffness in the knee. I have resumed all of my normal activities (housework, driving, shopping, etc), but I am getting discouraged. It is difficult to deal with constant pain. Is this normal?
 
Hi, Granmum, and welcome to Bonesmarts

No-one can say that recovery takes 12 weeks or any other time. We all recover at different rates.

It also depends on how we define recovery time. Normally, it's something like 6 months before we feel "recovered" and it keeps improving for another year or so. There isn't a "magic" switch which tells us it's all over, it's a long, gradual recovery.

So don't get discouraged, you are perfectly normal.

What concerns me is that you have resumed normal activities. You can't start this just because someone tells you that you should. Back off the activities and the pain, stiffness and swelling will go. You are plainly abusing your knee which isn't ready yet, and it's this abuse which is giving you pain. I hope you haven't stopped taking your meds and icing, have you? :skp:

You aren't alone in this, most of us did exactly the same:D

Be more understanding and gentle with yourself, you are right on course for a full and proper recovery, but this abuse only delays your recovery
 
Hi, Granmum...welcome to BoneSmart! I'm glad you joined our forum and happy to hear that you have a brand new knee.

If you do some reading here in the LIBRARY and post-op forum you'll see plenty of information that backs up what Tykey has told you. From your surgeon's perspective, maybe you are "recovered" at 12 weeks. But from a real-life standpoint it takes much, much longer.

Joint replacements are very big and major surgeries. A person doesn't usually just bounce back from them like other operations. Granted, some lucky people report that they DO actually get back to normal in 3-4 months....but that is really NOT the norm.

So what you're experiencing is perfectly normal for this time in your recovery. Tykey is right that you can improve your pain and stiffness (that's swelling and related to your pain and inflammation) by scaling back your activity a little. It doesn't mean you have to lie around all the time (that's NOT good for you!), but just reduce the discretionary activities each day....like household chores. Those things will always be there for you later.

One thread in the library in particular that you might want to read has a chart that describes how long it takes the various parts of the body to heal. I think this will help you see that you are about as normal as a person could be!!

Please let us know how you are getting along.
 
Thank you Tykey and Jamie. You've given me some excellent ideas--I was actually wondering if I was "doing" too much too soon. I'll take your advice and see how it goes. I'll stay in touch. Granmum
 
You'll know if this is the issue fairly soon. Within a day or so of dropping back on your activity, you should start to have less pain. I'm betting it will work!
 
Granmum said:
My OS had told me that recovery time was 12 weeks.
Click to expand...

Hi Grandmum:
Welcome to our happy little 'family'

Are you sure he didn't mean 12 months???

I was very sure I was going to be totally fine at the 6 week mark. Got a big reality check on that one.

At 6 months, better, but definately not pain free, but back to my usual activities.

At 7 months, even better, but still not pain free (I push myself a bit too hard physically), but my day to day stuff is improving. Yet another "reality check"

Tykey and Jamie are right, we all heal at different times.
There is no "set" time for the pain to go away and for us to consider ourselves "healed".
There are some people here who have had very little pain in their recovery, and even some who venture to say they were healed at 6 weeks. Whatever, good for them. Most of us take a much longer time.

There is nothing wrong. My OS admitted that the recovery is intense and they kind of 'gloss over' how long it actually takes.
This in turn, gives us false hopes and expectations and we think something is wrong.

I've been there, and that is when the OS told me "this is a 12 month gig".
It wouldn't have changed my mind about doing the surgery, and I wouldn't have needed an "attitude adjustment" at the 3 month mark, and then another one last week!!!

Just be patient. It will heal, on it's own time table and you don't know what that time frame is. Neither does your OS. Backing off some of the stuff you are doing should improve your pain.

Best,
Sandy
 
It was at 6 months post op that I finally had not stiffness and minimal pain with regular activity stairs were another deal that took 1 to 1.5 year before I could go up and down with no pain, hesitation, single steps etc.
 
Hi Granmum,

Welcome to Bonesmart! I am 12 weeks post op tkr of right knee and I am just like you in regards to pain, swelling and stiffness. I think we are just normal.

Yes, Jamie is so right that joint replacement is a big surgery. The recovery process from this surgery took me by surprise' I thought I would be totally "recovered" at this point. I have to admit I do too much and pay for it the next day. My pt told me I was a turtle, slow and steady in the healing process. Every week I feel improvement in small increments. My rom is improving by my own observation. I am only going to pt once every other week to monitor my progress.

Tykey, you are a dear. I love your encouraging posts!

I wish you the best while in recovery mode. Hopefully soon we both will be jumping for joy!
 
Trainwreck said:
Are you sure he didn't mean 12 months???
Click to expand...
But surgeons often do say 12 weeks. Some even say 6 weeks! It boggles the mind why they would set up their patients to have frustrated expectations like that.

Granmum, I had what many referred to as a 'stellar' recovery - ROM at 100 in the first week, independently active about the house in week two! It was amazing. But I was still experiencing pain (like a vice around my knee) some swelling and night time discomfort like you wouldn't believe. It was fully three months before I stopped pain meds altogether and another 3 months after that before I was walking about relatively normally. Then a whole year before I got through almost a whole day of work and stopped suddenly to realise - I hadn't thought about my knee all day!! :thmb:
 
Thanks for the info. I think I'm a lot like you. I did the same thing. I'm right 8 weeks from surgery and I'm amazed at the progress I've made. I get better every day, but I still have a lot more pain than I thought I should have at this point. Your posts have helped me a lot understand what's going on. I am SO looking forward to the day I don't think about my knee.
 
hello there! And welcome to BoneSmart. Your day will come eventually, have no fear!

Why don't you start a new thread and tells us a bit about yourself so we can get to know you?
 
Hi, Corleymom!! Welcome....yes, DO start a thread for yourself! I'd like to hear more about your recovery!
 
Yesterday was twelve weeks for me too, and since discovering this site a few days ago, I thought I was far behind the eight ball. I had the erroneous belief that I'd be "recovered" by 6-8 weeks. Thankfully, however, finding this site and reading many of the posts here, I am amazed at how well off I am at this point - little to no pain, sleeping through the night, managing stairs and more. I am encouraged greatly by hearing what others have written here and understand now that my particular experience falls into a rather wide range of experiences. So Granmum, at twelve weeks post-op, you and I are still just beginning our recovery. Apparently, and hopefully, and perhaps with a few bumps along the way, it only gets better from here on.

Marcus
 
Welcome, Marcus! I'm glad you found BoneSmart and have been helped by the information here. It's always a relief to know your recovery is in the "normal" range.

Why don't you start your own thread in the knee recovery forum and tell us a little about how you got to this point. I would like to know you better and I'm sure your story will help those of our members (and lurkers too!) who are contemplating surgery.

Let me know if you need help starting a thread.
 
Hi Everyone: I want to thank everyone who has responded to my post. I feel emotionally so much better knowing that I am "normal" at this point. My fear has been that something was terribly wrong or that I was going to spend the rest of my life in pain. Your support and encouragement mean so much. I'm glad my daughter found this site and this support group!

I am trying to not do as much and take more time to rest and ice. I see my surgeon for another post-op visit on Friday--I'll let you know how it goes.

Granmum
 
I am six months out. I agree with what has been posted here. It was quite a shock for me when I realized what was involved with the recovery from this surgery. Mine is a PKR. Every day gets better and I am doing some things I did before I needed the surgery. However, I am still very aware of my new knee. The nerves still "kick" up as they try to reconnect. From this board and others who have had this surgery, I think I may be about a year before the sucessful reconnection is made but I am not putting a time on myself as it will just cause frustration if it does not happen when I think it should. I find I am very stiff in the morning but it eases as I become mobile during the day.
I would say that it is good not to put a date for your recovery. Your body is unique to you alone and your recovery will be unique to you alone.
You will need to give it time.
I found it very helpful to read the chart that Josephine put together on this site concerning the various body layers that are affected by the surgical procedure. It was such an eye opener. It helped me accept the state that my body assumes as it recovers.
I wish you well.
 
Glad you're feeling better, Granmum! I'll be eager to hear what your surgeon has to say on Friday.
 
Welcome Granmum and Marcus! I am coming up on 4 months post-op. It takes time and patience but you will get there!
 
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