TKR Sleepilu in recovery

Knowing that the clunking is pretty commonplace and not a sign that my knee is going to collapse is reassuring. Thank you!

We had pre Xmas visitors yesterday and so in the interests of being festively sociable, I somehow managed to stay ALL day! It wasn't easy but I kept thinking, never mind, maybe I'll sleep like a log tonight and realise that a "no nap" regime is the way forward?

As if! Here I am again at 4.15 am, wide awake and restless. So what have I learned? To hang on to my grinch like qualities and go bps when I need to regardless of the company!

I tried the Saran Wrap too. It felt quite pleasant for an hour or so and then the heat from my swelling just seemed to bring it to the boil and made it itch like hell. Well, I tried it!

Now i am week 4 in recovery, I thought I'd better get involved in the kitchen and enlisted the help of my son (just back from Uni for the hols) to help me with a lasagne. I am finding it so hard to stand for even 10 minutes at a time. I could almost feel my leg swelling up as I hurried off to find a foot rest and left him grating cheese alone! It's hard not to feel as though my recovery is slow when you read about people out walking round the block and Xmas shopping!

On the positive side, my scrabble skills are improving phenomenally thanks to these wakeful hours!
 
t's hard not to feel as though my recovery is slow when you read about people out walking round the block and Xmas shopping!
You're not having a slow recovery. Your recovery is normal. Try not to be discouraged if you hear of others doing faster than you are - believe me, they're the exception, not the rule.

This is about what you should expect to be doing - from this article, Activity progression for TKRs
"Week 3 - add to previous
Lengthen the walks to about 5-10 minutes as before
Activity: prepare yourself a small meal or a snack


Weeks 4 and 5 - add to previous
Increase walks to out in the garden or street; to 20mins or longer if you feel up to it.

Additionally activity:
Gather a little bit of laundry, or put it in the machine OR take it out but not all of it
Now you can do a little dusting and tidying; do a little meal prep (for yourself not the entire family!) "
 
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Thanks Celle.
It does seem I need to get out a walk more though. I walked for about 10 minutes at the hospital on Monday and was glad to sit. I think I need to try and time an 8 minutes out walk today and see how it goes ....
eek!


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You are really doing well. It is hard to learn to be patient with this recovery. Just try to do a little more every day. The worse thing I did was to try to compare myself to those who were 'healed' in an unrealistic time frame. As Celle says they are the exception. You can get very depressed thinking that you are behind were you should be. We each will get there in our own time following our own winding roads.
 
Thank you for your very wise words.



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Patience, as they say is a virtue. It's something that we all have to learn, amid in my case it was (and still is) difficult! The recovery from a TKR is a long, slow one but one day you'll suddenly realise that you're doing things normally without thinking about it. I was quite down until l saw my surgeon who told me that l was doing well at 6 months post op, that made me feel so much happier. Re Physio, l had a few sessions after my op, but decided l needed some extra help and so am paying for them and am making good progress. Take it one day at a time and you'll get there. :re-snowman:
 
Sorry wrap didn't work. At least you tried. Maybe after a not so hectic day you won't have as much swelling. . You.are a trooper to make it through the day. Hang in there.

left knee 9/21/15
right knee 11/30/15
 
Thanks Celle.
It does seem I need to get out a walk more though. I walked for about 10 minutes at the hospital on Monday and was glad to sit. I think I need to try and time an 8 minutes out walk today and see how it goes ....
eek!
Even a few minutes just to get out of the house is fine. At 4 weeks I was probably walking 10 minutes max and with a cane. I found just standing even harder than walking for quite a while.
The recovery definitely comes in stages--that you often only recognize after the fact.
"oh yeah, I can do more than I could 2 weeks ago" it's not day by day.
 
It does seem I need to get out a walk more though. I walked for about 10 minutes at the hospital on Monday and was glad to sit. I think I need to try and time an 8 minutes out walk today and see how it goes ....
eek!
Don't get too intense about the walking. Mostly, just walking around the house and taking a walk to the end of the street is sufficient. Just increase the distance slowly and gradually - and make sure that you only go far enough to be certain you can make the return journey. The times suggested in the article are only a suggestion, not a requirement.
 
I went out for a 10 minute walk. Turned round after 5 and headed home. Took me 7 minutes to get back! I felt anxious just being outdoors but I'm glad I did it!
 
Oh by the way. I see that Tylenol is a popular pain med. Does anyone know if it has a uk equivalent?
 
Just googled Tylenol.
I think it's paracetamol here? That's a tad disappointing! I was hoping I'd stumbled across something more useful!!
 
Panadol works very well, as long as you take the full dose and take it regularly.
1,000 mg (1G) four times a day (4-6 hourly) to a daily total of 4,000 mg (4G).
Taken like that, it works well, but you do have to keep taking it on schedule.

Panadol was all I needed for pain relief after the first month.
 
Good for you on the walk! It feels good just to get outside, doesn't it? :flwrysmile:
 
It felt very very scary! I'm not sure I really noticed I was outside to be honest!
Haven't been out today though. Not doing much for consistency ...... only slept for about 2 hours last night and have felt sapped and shaky. Maybe tomorrow ....
 
Hi @sleepilu. I am 8 weeks out and the tight band feeling is still with me as well. I found massaging the area with vitamin e and bending in the shower really feel good. I also started water therapy it helps so much. It is so freeing to begin the water . Advil sure does help me also. I hope your feeling good soon. It sure does take time I am learning. Hugs


Right knee arthroscopy Feb 16 2015 TRKR Oct. 26 Rtkr.
Hematoma- result of Zarelto from 10/29/2015
 
My thoughts at 2.26am .... Is the pain actually worse at night OR does it just feel more painful?

I thought I'd try a few things tonight by way of research!
~ Saran Wrap again, feels better than my first attempt. Not so much like braising a joint of meat.
~ Going without tramadol as some people think it can cause restlessness. And I haven't needed anything other than paracetomol all day.

Have managed 90 mins sleep and was woken by the pain!

Hmmph! I'm boring myself now with the lack of sleep conversation!


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I discovered that my minimalist approach to elevation, ice and meds was too conservative.
It was causing me more pain than necessary.
At first I was just putting my leg up a couple times a day and one cold pack on my knee and one behind my knee and taking the minimum dose of my pain meds.
One of the visiting nurses encouraged me to keep my leg elevated for most of each hour.
Now I pile on the cold packs--4 to 6 at a time--basically covering my entire lower leg.
I'm also taking the maximum dose of pain meds and really sticking to a schedule with them.

It has helped quite a lot with the pain and my sleeping at night. Of course I'm not medically qualified to advise you or anyone, but this might be something to talk to your care team about?

Good luck!
 
Standing was harder than walking, as some have said. So when I began to do a bit of cooking around week 3-4 I threw some chicken in a crock pot. About a month later (had a 2nd surgery at week 4) I was making a lasagna and other dishes for Christmas Eve dinner, I just made sure to make one dish a day and sat/elevated between cooking and cleaning up. I also used a stool if I was standing at the counter too long.
 

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