I'm almost 4 months post TKR!
My knee feels good. Strong. Occasional stiffness. No real pain. I haven't used ice or Tylenol for my knee in a few weeks. I do realize I am still early in a year long recovery.
Here's a bit of reflection on my recovery and what I've learned about this scary, painful, necessary, amazing journey.
Everyone's recovery is different. Newbies.....when you are told that, it's true! Concentrate on your recovery, not the person who was playing 18 rounds of golf at 10 days post op. Or say they did.
Aggressive physical therapy did not work for me. Fortunately, I learned that early. Like after 3 tries. Thank you, Bonesmart. I did my best to adhere to to the recommended list of ADL's. At 4 weeks I found a pt who worked with me according to how I felt that day.
It's ok if you land in the ODIC at times. We all over do at times. If you're nominated as president it's time to rethink your activity level. When a forum advisor suggests your pain is from too much activity it's time to listen up!
This recovery is like a roller coaster. Physically and emotionally.
I had a setback between week 8 and 9 when my husband landed in the hospital. He was my caretaker and did the housework, shopping and heavy lifting. Roles became reversed and walking around the hospital then caring for him at home really became painful for my knee. That pain is gone now. I survived.
And, more importantly, he is going to be fine.
I was a very active person pre tkr, but became very limited by my knees. I put this off for years. Putting aside 3 months of my life to recover seems like a fair trade off. Going through this again for the right knee is inevitable. But, first I'm going to enjoy this new lefty.
That's my story in a nutshell. Yours will be different. My recovery has been average IMO. Roll with the punches then get up and fight back.