TKR 21 weeks and struggling

Why do they say “most” people are getting back to normal activities when I can piece together 3 hours of sleep without narcotics (a single Oxycodone..I’m down to 10 before I’m cut off).
Sorry. Not sure where else to talk
Don't be sorry. It's a miserable process and this is the place where you can talk to other people going through the same thing. They make it sound like it's no big deal, Kaiser wants you to go back to work after only 8 weeks, and I've seen a number of medical websites that claim a person is pretty much back to normal after 3 months. Why do they lie? Who knows. We just have to do the best we can with what we've got and let our new knees decide what we can do and when we can do it. I've come to the conclusion that it's best to do what feels comfortable to me, and anybody who doesn't have to walk around with my knee can pound sand before they tell me what I "should" be doing or how I "should" be feeling. I sincerely hope you can get some more pain medication because it's really tough to sleep when you're in pain. It's just not right to cut you off when you still need it.
 
Don't be sorry. It's a miserable process and this is the place where you can talk to other people going through the same thing.
Thank you so much. I feel safe being able to talk about something that, unless you’ve experienced, it’s hard to relate. Empathy really helps..it doesn’t take away the physical pain, but, my head and heart feel lighter.
The sun is out and I’m going to take a gentle walk.
☺️
 
Dancingqueen, I am struggling too. I totally get what you’re going through. And it’s hard to talk to people we love about because a) they have never experienced it and could never fully understand, and b) sometimes we need to talk (and cry) more than any one person can tolerate! Well, talk and cry here all you want, sister. This is :censored: hard! And there are people here who understand that. I’m thinking of you and wishing you peace and healing.
 
sometimes we need to talk (and cry) more than any one person can tolerate!
So true. I got whiny a couple of times and my son got annoyed and my husband got scared and upset. I do not whine. It's great to have a place to come to when I want to feel sorry for myself. :heehee:
 
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same

You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

source: Cheers Lyrics
 
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I’be only posted comments on other feeds. Not sure if I’m doing this correctly?
Dancingqueen here. I’m 14 weeks post TKR and feeling pretty afraid. Saw my surgeon yesterday. we discussed my “numbers” which seem pretty disappointing (my leg is doing great for straightening but ROM is around 105). MY concern is my 24/7 pain down the left part of calf into foot (hamstring part of this too). He said hes confident it’s muscle pain and no infection, etc.
Ive been doing pt twice a week and, although it’s not as grueling as when we began, I still feel horrible pain after that doesn’t go away.
Doc wants me at 115 in 4 week. SO stressed out.
Supposed to have returned to work today, but, this too is delayed.
I ice, elevate and relax in the pool 5 days a week.
I‘m trying to stay hopeful but can’t walk normally down a flight of stairs, sleep comfortably or return to my job.
I may be in the uggh, wish I didn’t do this category.
My husband has been great, but, thinks I’m giving up at pt, which is so far from truth…I just hate the aftermath.
Thank you for being here. Nobody “gets” it. So frustrated and sad this morning.
 
@Dancingqueen . Sorry to hear that you are going through a bad time at the moment. All of us who have had a knee replacement " get" it. It's a long slow road to recovery. I posted only yesterday how frustrated I was at 11 months. This is the place to vent and share and it has helped me enormously. Things will get better with time slowly but surely. Take care Jcx.
 
I ice, elevate and relax in the pool 5 days a week.
@Dancingqueen, I am also sorry you're having a tough go. I do understand your stress trying to adhere to your care team but this statement jumped out for me. When you say "relax in the pool", what are you doing? Pool time is relaxing but can be deceptive mostly because we work much harder than we realize to get into the pool, get out of the pool and move around in the pool.

Have you had a week where you just focused on ADLs without any added leg work? I'm just envisioning your PT person trying to bend that poor swollen leg or pushing you to exercise it. Your husband is trying to be supportive but as many have found, some PT protocols have a less than desirable effect. I checked with my doctor and asked if I should be in pain for 3-5 days after a PT session and he answered with an emphatic "NO!". My PT even admitted that she pushed me too far when she thought I should be ready for some exercises. Then I quit PT for a while, spread my exercises throughout the day, eliminated the exercises that were causing pain (spreading them through the day helped me identify them) and committed to ADLs with way more success than I had with PT.

I sense that you are working very hard to get a good bend in that knee but at some point there is nothing more in your control except patience. Have patience to give your leg time to calm down and sort itself out. Try it for just one week and let me know how it goes. I know you're stressed about the 4 week countdown but I promise a swollen leg will not bend as well. I even made sure to have several days of low activity before I saw anyone in my care team to ensure I was as unswollen as possible.
 
Thank you. Good advice. I have no pt scheduled this week (I canceled) and will take it easy in the water. ♥️
 
I, also, am grateful for this community.
My husband just asked me when my next pt appointment is…
I only have one more appointment scheduled for next week. Think I’m going to give myself a break, do my regular “chores” and see how I feel this week.
Slow and steady☺️♥️
 
Hi Dancingqueen, thanks so much for sharing the update. I’m sorry you’re struggling and that you’re getting so much pressure from those around you. I wish you didn’t have that pressure stressing you out when you need to be able to take it easy and heal. I actually think your bend is really good! I have been finding that the less pt I do, the happier my knee is. It’s hard for me to accept because I have always thought that when you want good things to happen, you have to work for them. But in this case it seems the more I relax, let go of the timelines, and just let my knee do it’s thing, the better it does. Also, massage has been a huge benefit to me. Are you able to get some therapeutic massage from a knowledgeable LMP? I don’t know where I’d be without it, honestly. If it’s a possibility for you, I’d highly recommend it. It sounds like you could use some TLC
 
I even made sure to have several days of low activity before I saw anyone in my care team to ensure I was as unswollen as possible.
I did the same thing!

Ive been doing pt twice a week and, although it’s not as grueling as when we began, I still feel horrible pain after that doesn’t go away.
This is counterproductive. It means your knee isn’t healed enough for this protocol. We all heal at our own rate, and some PTs don’t factor that in, some only have a one size fits all program. They have you in training mode, but you are actually in healing mode.


Doc wants me at 115 in 4 week.
There is no Window of Opportunity After a tough first year with slow ROM, mine continued to improve well into my second, and even my third year! Don’t let anyone cause you stress about a certain number by a certain date. That’s like telling a child they have to be a certain height by a certain date. Growing up doesn’t work that way and neither does this recovery.

I’m trying to stay hopeful but can’t walk normally down a flight of stairs, sleep comfortably or return to my job.
I was just like this at 14 weeks, as are many other of our members. This is quite par for the course.

My husband has been great, but, thinks I’m giving up at pt
Like @hawk2go said, he’s trying to be supportive, but incorrectly believes what most people do about this recovery, that we must work hard to rehab. It’s not true. The biggest thing we have to work hard at is patience to give our knee the privilege of sorting itself out. It will, if we let it.

We are here for you. Try to relax and just get on with life. Do what you can. Accept that not being able to do certain things is temporary, while you are healing. You’re going to be fine. :console2:
 
Hi Dancingqueen, thanks so much for sharing the update. I’m sorry you’re struggling and that you’re getting so much pressure from those around you. I wish you didn’t have that pressure stressing you out when you need to be able to take it easy and heal. I actually think your bend is really good! I have been finding that the less pt I do, the happier my knee is. It’s hard for me to accept because I have always thought that when you want good things to happen, you have to work for them. But in this case it seems the more I relax, let go of the timelines, and just let my knee do it’s thing, the better it does. Also, massage has been a huge benefit to me. Are you able to get some therapeutic massage from a knowledgeable LMP? I don’t know where I’d be without it, honestly. If it’s a possibility for you, I’d highly recommend it. It sounds like you could use some TLC
I’ve thought about massage, but, past experience left me in a lot of pain. I’ll research!
I’ve been using my hand roller, just on muscles (not too crazy).
Thank you for suggesting!
 
We are here for you. Try to relax and just get on with life. Do what you can. Accept that not being able to do certain things is temporary, while you are healing. You’re going to be fine. :console2:
Beautiful!! So need reminders about long haul. At 64, everything seems to take a bit longer. A knee replacement is major surgery
 
@Dancingqueen , look for a massage therapist who specializes in orthopedic massage/post-surgical massage. It’s totally different from sports massage, Swedish, etc. My therapist does a lot of lymphatic drainage, releasing stuck fascia and tight muscle connections, and scar tissue mobilization. She usually spends an entire hour on my surgical leg. Sometimes she works on my other leg too. She knows all the anatomy, what the surgery is like, what tissues are affected, and the stages of healing for all of it. Yesterday I went in with a little pain under my patella, and I walked out with it gone. She is worth her weight in gold!
 
@Dancingqueen I second what @JusticeRider says about massage. I own a spa and have a staff of 15 massage therapists. Not all massage therapists have the same skills. Some on my staff are very skilled at giving Swedish massages which are very good for basic relaxation and stress relief. Others are very skilled at sports massage. Others have some background in PT and rehab and would be ideal for helping you out with a post-surgical massage. Most spas will be similarly staffed and will have team members with a wide variety of skills. Massage can work wonders, but you have to call around and make sure the location you go to has a therapist who meets your needs, especially in your condition.
 

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