TKR CorpHippie's recovery thread

CorpHippie

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I have to say once again how greatful I am for these boards. I am sure I’d feel adrift without all the stories I’ve read here.

PT came yesterday for my evaluation. I have to say I really like the philosophy. While my ROM was not as good my pain level was down. That is considered a win! WHOO HOO! I’ll take anything I can get at this point as the pain is up there this morning.

I’m walking with a walker and it wears me out. But I am moving every hour or so as recommended. The most profound thing anyone has said to me so far was a woman in PT who was watching me fighting back tears. She said “Sweetheart, remember, this is the healing pain. It won’t last.” I keep running that mantra over and over in my mind.I hope everyone here is doing well.
 
Welcome to recovery! Are you home?

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access to these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?

Energy drain for TKRs

Elevation is the key

Ice to control pain and swelling

Heel slides and how to do them properly

Chart representation of TKR recovery

Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
@CorpHippie , I am glad you are doing good! I was, too, up until about where you are right now. I am one week post op and not doing so good with the pain. When the bruising started, I felt like my leg had been through a meat grinder. This morning, I feel like I have been hit with a sledge hammer. I really hope this is the healing pain, because if that's true, I am as healing queen Keep up the good work ☺
 
The most profound thing anyone has said to me so far was a woman in PT who was watching me fighting back tears. She said “Sweetheart, remember, this is the healing pain. It won’t last.” I keep running that mantra over and over in my mind.I hope everyone here is doing well.
Welcome to recovery!
I'm glad things are going well so far.

Remember that PT mustn't hurt. I hope you weren't crying because the exercises hurt, were you?
You don't need to do a lot of exercises this early in recovery. Just walking around the house is all the exercise your new knee needs at this stage.

If an exercise hurts, it's too early in recovery for you to be doing that exercise. Try it again in a few weeks' time and your knee may be ready for it by then.
You don't have to work through the pain.
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
 
“Sweetheart, remember, this is the healing pain. It won’t last.”
What a wonderful mantra and so true! Healing pain will go away, arthritic pain won't. It'll just get worse.
 
I think the first two weeks were painful--but I took pain meds and rarely had any pain at all. Are you taking your pain meds according to schedule? And Celle is right if you are having pain caused by PT, that is not necessary. I never had one minute of pain in PT for either knee.
 
One week update. I feel like this should start off “Captain’s log, update week one” lol today has been rough.

I ran out of the oxy yesterday and was with no pain killer other than Motrin 800 for about 15 hours.

Today I feel like I’m back where I was 2 days ago. SO frustrating. I’ve been doing heel slides and the other exercises as I can trying to keep in mind discomfort vs. pain. Pain = Kelly is not doing that!

I’m really surprised to find that I have NO bruising at all on my leg though. Is this normal? I have bruises up and down my arms from the blood draws and IVs but my leg looks like it did before I went to surgery. Well minus the giant slice down the middle and staples up and down.

I so have numbness on the outside of my knee. Like it’s fallen asleep almost.

My last question for now is does anyone else have an irrational fear of falling? I’m so scared of falling on my knee it’s actually kept me from taking a long shower. Before anyone wrinkles their nose I HAVE showered it just took me 15 mins to get the courage to actually sit in on the shower stool and then another 15 minutes stilling dripping wet and trying not breathe since I was so scared of falling trying to get out of the shower! It’s silly, so silly I know. I’m a 50 year old woman who has been through much more traumatic events other than a dang shower. Lol

Is all of this normal? Not brusing and the numbness? These are the only 2 things that I feel like I’m not seeing a lot of from the board. The rest I’m in the same boat with everyone here. Not sleeping well, napping when I can, ice elevation, things like that.
 
I bet you every one of us were afraid of falling. I sure was. The new knee is so weak, that falling is a real possibility. Be sure and use walking aids until you're more secure with your knee.
 
I agree, we’re all afraid of falling, especially early on.
 
@CorpHippie

Good description of the fears and process of those first showers :) yes, it sounds about right.

I had bruising for my first TKR, but absolutely zero bruising for my second.

I kept waiting for it to appear but it never did. Who knows.
 
I so have numbness on the outside of my knee. Like it’s fallen asleep almost.
The numbness is normal and inevitable. It's because some nerves have to be cut during your surgery.
This article explains:
Numb area after TKR: how long will it last?

I’m really surprised to find that I have NO bruising at all on my leg though.
Most people do experience some bruising, but you're one of the lucky ones who doesn't. YOu must have had a gentle surgeon who didn't allow much blood loss.
My last question for now is does anyone else have an irrational fear of falling? I’m so scared of falling on my knee it’s actually kept me from taking a long shower.
Yes, I think we're all afraid of falling. Lots of people do fall, and suffer only soft tissue bruising. The implants are very tough and you're unlikely to damage them.
 
So lucky you have no bruising! I was bruised so badly this last time I still am at 3 weeks out! I envy you. I was also worried of falling as my leg is still weak, I make sure I’m fully dry after my shower before leaving bathroom.
 
When I asked my surgeon what I would need to be aware of following surgery besides infections, he said falling! So the surgeons worry about it, too. I almost feel last night. Was trying to use a cane and stumbled but hopped on my other leg and grabbed hold of something nearby. Phew!!! I have decided I don't feel safe yet to just use the cane. I just make sure I move slowly ☺

I bruised badly and it started about 5 days post op. It's fading and yellowing now. Be glad if you haven't bruised. It made me feel like my leg had gone through a meat grinder.

I also had a pain med mess up after I got home. I cried for three days from the pain. Glad that's behind me but I just counted out pills for the morning and I have just two days left of oxycontin. Scared of what that's going to mean for pain levels. My OR said the surgeon doesn't do refills on the oxycontin.

keep resting and icing and elevating
 
@Irish471 how long did you use your walker before you moved to a cane? I keep telling Superman that I’ll be able to bench press him with all of the upper body strength I’ve gained using my walker! LOL
 
I am 4 months post op and my knee feels great. However, while I don’t think I worry about falling, it’s something that’s always in the back of my mind. I have developed a cautious way of walking which is the best way I can describe it. I’m very aware of curbs, steps, etc. I hope I continue to do so since I’ve always been a bit of a klutz.
 
@CorpHippie , I am almost 2 weeks post op and I go back and forth between the walker and cane, with a majority of my time using the walker. At my post op appointment yesterday, the surgeon said I have a hematoma around the area of the incision which is what has been causing me a tremendous amount of pain and lack of mobility. It’s something I really wasn’t aware of as a complication. So, I don’t feel bad about using the walker. I say better safe than sorry. I won’t ditch the walker until I feel confident with the cane. I am learning that there’s no time table that really fits recovery. It varies from person to person and from day to day. I think we’ll all get there in the end no matter what road we take. I just wish my road didn’t have this speed bump to slow me down. I really don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to letting my body heal. Lesson to be learned! Do what feels right dor you!
 
I used a walker for the first 6 weeks. Now at 10 weeks I use a cane if going out for lengthy periods or where walking on less trusted paths - like slopes. I also had zero bruising and am still totally numb along the outside of my knee over quite a big area.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I think most people have a fear of falling---with good reason since your muscles are weak. Just move slowly. When I was about four weeks out from surgery, I had to do the flowers for a funeral at our church. I was late getting all the flowers--took me forever to make a decision, then got them in a vase and got ready to leave. To my chagriin, people were arriving nicely dressed, while I had on old jeans and a tee shirt. I tried to walk quickly down the path and tripped over a sprinkler head and just went splat in front of everyone. I was so embarrassed--and then I had to get up like a baby, putting my hands flat on the ground, getting my legs up and then swinging my body up. I slunk off as quickly as I could, but still everyone knew!!
 
I am 4 months post op and my knee feels great. However, while I don’t think I worry about falling, it’s something that’s always in the back of my mind. I have developed a cautious way of walking which is the best way I can describe it. I’m very aware of curbs, steps, etc. I hope I continue to do so since I’ve always been a bit of a klutz.
@gia2cats I have long classified my style to that of a drunken camel! I understand how you feel!
 
I really don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to letting my body heal. Lesson to be learned! Do what feels right dor you!
@Irish471 I don’t either and I’m quickly learning that my impatience nature and healing do not go well together and my knee will win every time. I overdid my exercises yesterday and today I am paying the price. :/
 

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