TKR My solo odyssey to recovery

Today was my last PT session, - my 6th - with my PT at my home.
He took me outside and walk to the mail box, unassisted, 200 yards!
It wasn't easy, felt tight, but I did it. Not bad, huh!!
My homework now is to walk 3 times a day 200 yards inside my house.
Tomorrow is my 3 week anniversary, and Monday I start outpatient PT.
 
Vioryny,


NOTE: What follows comes from my experiences and is laced with opinions...so knowing this, understand that each person's experience is different. So, when I appear to be giving advice, please understand that such opinions are coming from my experiences...which may not be your experience. However, you may find that there is overlap and commonality between our journeys. Please keep this is mind if you chose to read any of the following. When it comes to your journey through recovery, any real concerns you have should be addressed to, and taken up by, your care providers and surgical team....certainly not me! Thanks.


Welcome to this website. It has been very helpful for me. I had my surgery (left knee) and I, like you, found out that sleep was impossible for me the first week. Starting with the second week, I found that I could get one to two hours a night at a single time...then I was awake for the rest of the night...suffering alone since I am not married any longer and no one was keeping my hours!!!! So, how did I handle it?

First, I was very stressed out about the lack of sleep, or just being able to get comfortable. I just dealt with it, by not really dealing with it. I made myself miserable!

By the second week, I found that sleep was a bit possible when I used my Lazyboy recliner. Still quite elusive, but I managed and it became faintly easier. I still was stressed out, but I tried to think of it less. I was also trying to get off my opioid medication too....not smart.

By the third week, I found that I just kind of stopped fighting my new routine. I reached a point that if I got two hours of sleep and that was it - then I was pleased with it, knowing that I would probably catch a nap during the day at some point. I arrived at a point where I was not happy about the lack of sleep, but I accepted it. Early morning hours (quiet and all alone) became the norm...it became a "me time" where I surfed the Internet, watched TV, read, listened to music, or just meditated. Thus, from around Midnight, until I managed to fall asleep in my chair (usually around 4:00 a.m.), was just time I devoted to myself and tried hard to remain at peace with the situation. I really considered it a special time...a good time for me.

At the four week point, I was back in bed at night, but sleep was still rare - at least a good night's sleep. That was not going to happen, but I noticed I was not cringing at the thought of going to my bedroom and trying. Still was getting up early in the a.m., and find things to do to fill the time - alone....:-(. Sometimes having someone around is a good thing...but throwing a pity party was not my style.

Around week six - things got remarkedly better...but far from perfect. Still focused on coming to terms with my new normal.

I am currently at week 19 and I must say that I can now go to bed without being jolted awake by having my knee scream at me for moving the wrong way! I look forward to bedtime, hardly think of my knee (still hurts a bit, but nothing horrible), and I get into bed and usually fall asleep listen to music within twenty minutes, or less...sometimes within a couple of minutes. I try to nap less during the day, but still do.

Generally, early-on, I was more comfortable in my recliner. One big mistake I made...I was not elevating my leg enough during the first few weeks. This DID cause my leg to remain swollen and more painful than it had to be. I just was not following the guidelines...and that was a huge mistake! I purchased a much larger, wider wedge for my bed and it helped a lot. I am a bigger person do it takes a much larger wedge to allow both legs to be elevated. Now, I love using it. Took a while to get used to it, but now it's great.

In my opinion, a person must use ice, heat, and elevate his or her leg/s...and do the PT exercises faithfully a few times daily. I did mine in bed which was pretty comfortable. I always felt like I had accomplished something good for myself...both physically and emotionally. My exercising at home helped by PT appointments.

A week from today, I get my last x-rays and check up with my surgeon. I trust all will be going ok. I have no reason to believe otherwise. I also continue to ride my semi-recumbent bike on my local nature trial...I have rode up to 18 miles with the help of peddle assist (yes..I have an ebike). It as allowed my knee to maintain its flex and motion...a good thing!

So - sleep. My advice (Please remember...my advice is related to my experiences only...not trying to tell you what to do in the least!) - try to realize that what you are experiencing is quite normal (sorry, but it is normal). I think that the faster a person in recovery can accept that there is little one can do about it (people probably need to just admit that you are along for the ride), the better off a person will be. Try to find a way to be at peace with those early morning (and painful) hours. The sooner a person does this, the better....I think.

It's not easy, but everyone will (repeat) get thought this - just as most folks say in here. It took me between four and six weeks to start sleeping a bit it. Now, at week 19, sleep has become much less of an issue...barely worth mentioning. Early-on, I never thought I would get to such a place ever again, but, like everyone who has gone through this experience, one does arrive at the finish line, or at least at a much better place when it comes to more peaceful rest and sleep!

Best regards, Roger
 
Last edited:
Happy One Month Anniversary!
I hope you had a nice weekend and PT is going well for you. Let us know how you're doing when you have time.
A great week to you! @Vioryny
 
I had a left total knee replacement 5/4 I stayed in the hospital for one night and came home the next afternoon. I’ve been by myself with visits from a couple of friends. I prepared my house very well before this, so I’ve done fine on my own. Of course, some things would be easier if I had somebody do it for me, but it’s not like I can’t do them myself.

The hospital was not happy that I was coming home by myself. They didn’t think it was safe. All I could say was if it wasn’t safe for me to go home then why were they sending me home so soon? They said my insurance would only pay for a 23 hour- outpatient stay. I called my insurance and they had nothing about that in the records. They said the hospital told them that I would be in for 23 hours only. They never said I couldn’t stay longer if it was necessary. So that was not a happy time because I really did want to stay that extra night because I had had a horrible postop experience where the pain medications were just not cutting it. I was in severe 8/9 on a scale of 10 pain for five hours straight. The hospital where I was at have residents who take the “we have a problem “ calls. The nurse had to page the resident three times before he finally wandered up to see me. We had a talk, and he did agree to adjust the time between medications and also gave me an IV, strong muscle relaxant, hoping that might help. After about an hour, the pain was better, but I was absolutely exhausted because I didn’t sleep at all all night because I just was not comfortable. Add into that the emotional state I was in because they didn’t believe that I was in the pain I was in and the resident thinking there was nothing wrong with taking five hours to come up to see me and do adjustments to my medication regimen. I just felt so Alone. I feel less alone here at home.

I think the key to staying alone while recovering from this is to take things very slow. There is no rush about anything. If you’re not comfortable taking a shower, do sponge baths for the first week. We are not all going to die if we don’t get a shower every day.

My biggest problem is swelling. I ice often, and elevate, but it doesn’t seem to be cutting it. It really affects my ability to bend it. I had better flexion at the hospital than I do now at home because of all the swelling.

Good luck with your solo recovery. It can be done, but if you find that you didn’t prepare well enough, and some things are too difficult for you to manage, you really need to get somebody in there to help you get more organized or to run to the store to get you some things that you might not have thought you would need. I rely on my sports bottle and my walker bag, big time. If I didn’t have them, it would be very very hard. As far as meals, I typically don’t carry mine to my chair where I spend most of the time, I eat something standing at the counter, and I don’t really worry about full meals. If you grab something here and there, and make sure that you have a variety of foods to choose from, you’re fine. You don’t need to have full meals to either prepare or to eat. There’s no way we can use a walker and carry a plate of food. Some people get Walker trays, but I could see that going a really bad way and me spilling everything all over the floor. And because I’m alone, I would need to figure out a way to clean that up. So I just eat at the counter or take an apple or a banana to my chair using my walker bag. I also bought some meal replacement shakes. They are wonderful when I just don’t feel like eating solid food but I know I need something in my stomach. The Walmart brand equate is really quite good.

So if you’re falling short on some of these areas, you may need to get somebody back in there to run some errands for you. Don’t be afraid to ask. People are on me all the time because they don’t think I ask for help enough. It’s just that a lot of times. I really don’t need it. I’m not one of these people who needs to have somebody fuss over me all the time.
 
@rider1960, the 23 hour stay reflects an outpatient procedure vs inpatient. They are saying if you have complications, you can stay if not it is cheaper for you to go. I know you are too young, but if you have Medicare part B covers 80% of outpatient services with your supplement picking up 20%. If you need Medicare part A you have to be hospitalized 3 nights/4 days to get covered. My OS office followed up with me 3x before surgery to make sure someone would be with me for a few days. They need to know that you will be safe or else they can be held responsible.
I had to get a wedge because I couldn't elevate high enough. Best of luck to you in your recovery.
 
I am a month and 2 days after my TKR.
I just had my second outpatient PT appointment - previously I had 6 PT at home - and my ROM is 128, but my extension is lagging a bit - around 6 degree.
Got a good PT session, the PT pushed my knee to almost flat, a bit painful, but not to bad. I have to work on my extension at home, do more icing as it is still swollen a bit, but expected I think.
I can walk about 0.5 miles by the park. I am gonna start to do the bike at my local gym this week as well.
All in all, a work in progress!
Happy recovery to all of you !
 
Hi there :wave:
the PT pushed my knee to almost flat, a bit painful, but not to bad.
You don't have to allow this, Vinny. PT should not be painful.
Please refrain from engaging in movement that causes discomfort or pain, nor allow anyone to forcefully manipulate your leg. While your range of motion is currently limited, it will naturally increase as the swelling subsides and the pain eases. Give it time. Look how far you've come already! It will happen naturally.
All the best and a great rest of the week to you!
 
Hi there :wave:
the PT pushed my knee to almost flat, a bit painful, but not to bad.
You don't have to allow this, Vinny. PT should not be painful.
Please refrain from engaging in movement that causes discomfort or pain, nor allow anyone to forcefully manipulate your leg. While your range of motion is currently limited, it will naturally increase as the swelling subsides and the pain eases. Give it time. Look how far you've come already! It will happen naturally.
All the best and a great rest of the week to you!
Actually, when I wwnt home was still hurting a bit.
Maybe, next time I should tell the PT to be more gentle.
We are a group knee therapy, and from what I saw he.was doing the same thing to the guy next to me - he was 6 weels post op.
 
Maybe, next time I should tell the PT to be more gentle.
I agree with you.
It's understandable that you want to respect the PT's expertise, but this isn't a one size fits all recovery so
what works for one isn't going to work for all. Stick to your guns and remember who the boss is - Vinny! :wink:
Do what you're comfortable with and that's it. You'll recover just as well. Stay in touch!
 
Maybe, next time I should tell the PT to be more gentle.
I agree with you.
It's understandable that you want to respect the PT's expertise, but this isn't a one size fits all recovery so
what works for one isn't going to work for all. Stick to your guns and remember who the boss is - Vinny! :wink:
Do what you're comfortable with and that's it. You'll recover just as well. Stay in touch!
Actually, today, after thr knee manipulation by the PT who tried to get my extension close to 0 - I was at 10 - I feel some stabing pain in my knee.
I hope not much was damaged!
 
This is why we say no pushing or pulling on a new knee. Your implant is probably fine, but your PT has managed to set back your recovery by pushing on your baby knee. It never does any good to try and force ROM on any joint replacement. The soft tissues have to heal and the swelling goes down before worrying about ROM. Once this happened the ROM will naturally improve without having setbacks.
 
Maybe, next time I should tell the PT to be more gentle.
I agree with you.
It's understandable that you want to respect the PT's expertise, but this isn't a one size fits all recovery so
what works for one isn't going to work for all. Stick to your guns and remember who the boss is - Vinny! :wink:
Do what you're comfortable with and that's it. You'll recover just as well. Stay in touch!
Actually, today, after thr knee manipulation by the PT who tried to get my extension close to 0 - I was at 10 - I feel some stabing pain in my knee.
I hope not much was damaged!
Do not let them touch your knee!

Marie
 
Vinny,
Just Say No.
Don't let them touch your knee anymore. Just follow the exercises, or whatever they're having you do to the best of your ability, but IF / WHEN it hurts, STOP! This is for your own good.
When they come near your knee, show your teeth and growl :rotfl: That'll get rid of em. :wink:
@Vioryny
 
Vinny,
Just Say No.
Don't let them touch your knee anymore. Just follow the exercises, or whatever they're having you do to the best of your ability, but IF / WHEN it hurts, STOP! This is for your own good.
When they come near your knee, show your teeth and growl :rotfl: That'll get rid of em. :wink:
@Vioryny
Initially, I.didnt think was gonna be a little aggressive, and out of respect I didn't say nothing. The guy next to me,.mentioned that when I was on the prone position I was grimacing.
I thought it would be ok , but in the early morning I felt the.effcts.
Next time, I would let then know to be gentle as it hurts.
 
Next time, I would let then know to be gentle as it hurts.
Good to hear. Keep in mind that therapy is not a “no pain, no gain” type situation.
Pain is a natural response of the body to let you know that something is wrong. It is your body asking for change. Also, pain is a subjective feeling. We each feel pain differently and we each have a different pain tolerance. You mentioned your therapy is in a group session, so movement uncomfortable enough to make you grimace, won’t necessarily affect the person next to you in the same way. Be mindful, take care of yourself and understand that you don’t have to do anything that causes you pain. In this situation (PT), saying, NO, is not disrespectful. Consider icing preventatively when you return home from your sessions.
A peaceful evening to you!
 
My pilates teacher never, never believes it should hurt.
Her exact words for any exercise is
"Any sharp or shooting pain , back off"
A slight muscle burn is ok but anything else is harmful. This is her philosophy even outside joint rehab. Her other big phrase is " listen to your body".
I really thought " No pain, no gain" had gone out with Jane Fonda workouts!
 
It's been 6 weeks since TKR.
ROM - 126
Extension - 3. I 2 weeks I am positive will be 0!
I can walk unassisted 0.5 miles.
I love the bike - today I did 22 min amd 4 miles.
I alsp started since yesterday to do some light upper body workout - machines only
Still swollen, but it is expected.
Next week I start accupuncture, mostly for my other knee. My surgeon told me not to put any needles yet on my operated knee, but around is ok.
Happy recovery y'all!
 
You are doing well for only 6 weeks out! Yay!
 

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