TKR low energy months past TKR

[traceys]

@hegel you are giving me so much hope on what is to come! Love hearing how people are progressing.

 

[sistersinhim]

I went to the gym today and found that it was the easiest yet getting my feet around on the bike!

 

[hegel]

you are giving me so much hope on what is to come! Love hearing how people are progressing.

Tracey you have to promise to alert us to your game schedule so we can tune in and look for you racing along the sidelines with your camera.

 

[traceys]

Tracey you have to promise to alert us to your game schedule so we can tune in and look for you racing along the sidelines with your camera.

Deal. I’ll be easy to spy. I’ll have the ice packs strapped on my knee instead of the traditional kneeling pads we wear.

 

[hegel]

Hi all: hope everyone's doing well! So my TKR caused my right leg to become slightly longer than before. For some months I've had a slight ache in my back that I attributed to this. Over the last week plus however I find that I have a LOT of ache and pain in the morning getting out of bed and for the first hour of the day. It's always possible that I tweaked my back some other way. I assume that back issues may be common as a result of this surgery, but I don't know.

As it turns out I have an ancient half bottle of prescription muscle relaxer in my medicine cabinet and I started taking these at night. Methamcarbonal, I think.

Any insight on this back problem and what I may have to expect? The issue has significantly worsened as I mentioned. Hopefully this is just a passing thang.

 

[rustic]

For seniors, a small change in leg length is hard to adjust to. I put a couple of extra insoles in the shoe of the "short" leg.

 

[hegel]

Thanks Rustic. As far as the insoles go, that's done and done. Still, my gait is now different, and my stance. As you say, subtle differences in leg length can cause issues. Until a week ago I thought I would transition through. And maybe I will! I just wondered if this had come up much before. A quick look through the "search" function on this site suggests it may not be as common as I thought.

 

[beachy]

I have to chime in about the back. I've had back issues in the past and it got very painful leading up to my tkr. The limping pre tkr really made it painful. I do have a misalignment in my hips that aggravates.
I've been seeing a chiropractor for several weeks and he has helped so much.
Staying active, stretching, ice,heat, tens, Tylenol. Lather, rinse ,repeat. That's what keeps me going.
Hope you get some relief soon!

 

[hegel]

Hi folks: I'm about 8 months post TKR. I've had a very good recovery and I'm really glad that I had my TKR.
One thing: I was told that it would take a year to fully recover from this surgery, and I understand that--I have little glitches that are slowly improving. Now, in the first months post TKR my energy level was poor, for obvious reasons. But I still have low energy issues--not terrible, but it makes me wonder. is it possible that, this far out, my knee recovery is still sapping a bit of overall energy? Or am I dreaming? It could just be that I'm aging!

Oh, p.s. I've become far more active in the last few months, going back to taking longish hikes (well, an hour in gently hills) and hitting the gym for strength recovery in my leg in particular. I'm exercising 5 or 6 days a week, although still nothing like in the years before my troubles began! So my knee is getting a little work out.

 

[Celle]

@hegel
Hi Jeff,
You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread.
For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:

• That way, we have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
• If you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
• Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.

So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here.
Don't worry that we won't see your question because, between us, the staff read all new posts every day.
If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.
How to tag another member; how to answer when someone tags you

If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.

Here are the instructions on finding your thread, How can I find my threads and posts? . Many members bookmark their thread, so they can find it when they log on.

 

[Celle]

I was told that it would take a year to fully recover from this surgery, and I understand that--I have little glitches that are slowly improving. Now, in the first months post TKR my energy level was poor, for obvious reasons. But I still have low energy issues--not terrible, but it makes me wonder. is it possible that, this far out, my knee recovery is still sapping a bit of overall energy? Or am I dreaming? It could just be that I'm aging!

Oh, p.s. I've become far more active in the last few months, going back to taking longish hikes (well, an hour in gently hills) and hitting the gym for strength recovery in my leg in particular. I'm exercising 5 or 6 days a week, although still nothing like in the years before my troubles began!

Well, yes, I do think that your knee is still taking some of your energy. So is the rest of your body. It's not just your knee that's affected by the trauma of replacement surgery. Your whole body takes a knock-back and becomes deconditioned.

You're still only two-thirds of the way through recovery and you've increased the amount of activity you're doing, so it seems logical to me that you still don't have as much energy as you were expecting.

Give yourself time, and see how you feel in a few months' time. If you still feel you're lacking in energy, it might be a good idea to have a blood test, to make sure you're not anaemic. In fact, get that checked now, to make sure there isn't another cause apart from post-op energy drain.

 

[rustic]

Hi folks: I'm about 8 months post TKR. I've had a very good recovery and I'm really glad that I had my TKR.
One thing: I was told that it would take a year to fully recover from this surgery, and I understand that--I have little glitches that are slowly improving. Now, in the first months post TKR my energy level was poor, for obvious reasons. But I still have low energy issues--not terrible, but it makes me wonder. is it possible that, this far out, my knee recovery is still sapping a bit of overall energy? Or am I dreaming? It could just be that I'm aging!

Oh, p.s. I've become far more active in the last few months, going back to taking longish hikes (well, an hour in gently hills) and hitting the gym for strength recovery in my leg in particular. I'm exercising 5 or 6 days a week, although still nothing like in the years before my troubles began! So my knee is getting a little work out.

I've been wondering the same thing for months. "Could I possibly be this out of shape?" "Did surgery take this much out of me?" or worst: "Is something wrong?" BTW, have you had any sort of regular/yearly wellness checkup since your surgery?

 

[hegel]

I was out of shape prior to surgery but not terribly so--not much overweight and I'd been hitting the gym. But I was aerobically out of shape and my heart wasn't used to doing much. I've been gradually increasing my aerobic and weights regimen for a couple of months and I'm far more fit now. But just an hour's walk will leave me wanting a nap. It could be that the naps i was forced to take in the months after surgery just became habitual (I've never napped previously.) and in fact I rarely sleep during my thirty minute 'naps' now. But my overall energy seems a little low. My sleep pattern was disrupted post surgery as well; this may have something to do with things.

I doubt that anything else health wise is at issue with me. I wore a heart monitor last month and everything looks good.

 

[kneeper]

My OS said a year to feel "normal" and I think he meant more than the knee was involved there. You're probably still getting back to normal. But it wouldn't hurt to check in with your general doctor just to make sure nothing else is going on, like Celle said.

 

[Lindylee]

I'm having the same problem so it's been quite reassuring to know I'm not the only one. At just over 6 months I'm still not up to an hour hike, might manage a gentle hour's stroll, but I'm shattered afterwards. I saw my GP today as I do have an underactive thyroid anyway, so have just been booked in for a blood test, but I doubt it will show anything. I wish someone would inject some energy into me though!

 

[hegel]

I've been wondering the same thing for months. "Could I possibly be this out of shape?" "Did surgery take this much out of me?" or worst: "Is something wrong?" BTW, have you had any sort of regular/yearly wellness checkup since your surgery?

rustic I see that you're 11 months out from surgery--interesting.

It is reassuring to hear from others--although anyone who got their energy back more quickly should chime in too! Again, my energy isn't terrible but I know that I tire more easily than pre surgery.