TKR 1st day

amber

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Op today , appently really needed doing, Nicely high on morphine, about to get for loo . Is it normal for sole of foot to be numb & 2/3/4 toes to be tingling ? Surgeon gave me a block back of knee as a pain killing whilst in theatre
 
Congratulations, and welcome to the other side!

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
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

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 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 a 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 history before providing advice.
 
Is it normal for sole of foot to be numb & 2/3/4 toes to be tingling ? Surgeon gave me a block back of knee as a pain killing whilst in theatre
Wait and see how this feels once the nerve block has worn off. It could all be caused by that nerve block.
 
Get all rest can between nurses doing their 5 D's .. drips, drains, drugs, drinks and duties! Have a good nite.:sleeep:
 
Day 3 possible discharge today , been ok up to now , worked out antisick pill followed by liquid morphine is the way to go , went 9 hrs yesterday without morphine , what I have found is to get the morphine as soon as the ache starts before it gets to pain , that way I can keep it under control , now on sticks , I LOVE. The ice sleeve , my husband will get plenty of exercise running up and down stairs keeping it cold ,lost my appitite but that’s a bonus as could do with weight lose
 
@amber Glad you are getting control of all this. Yes, the trick is to stay ahead of the pain. Medication taken as prescribed, around the clock.

Would you like me to change your thread title since you are past day1?
 
Just checking in to see how you're doing now?
 
“That’ll learn you”
Suffolk saying I should have taken notice of ,
Yesterday woke up totally pain/ ache free, shower , dressed & walk in garden & decided didn’t need to take “ happy juice “
Big mistake , terrible night , now on third happy juice , husband up & down stairs with ice pack,
Back to being patient ,
I have found the most difficult thing is family/ friends expectations of me ,
“ r u doing your exercises “ is the first thing they ask over the phone , fed up trying to explain that I don’t have to “ go for the burn” etc so just agree I am exercising , so from now on will follow this forum .
“That’l learn me “
 
Amber, if you're getting up and moving around, you're doing part of your exercise regimen, and it's probably the most important part, honestly! So you can completely honestly say you're exercising.
 
Congrats on getting through the surgery- and having a new knee. I’m sorry your having such horrible pain!
I can see how it’s frustrating- being asked that by well intentioned loved ones and I have a feeling I will deal with the same...but now I can be prepared for that- so thank you. .....
I hope your able to sleep and let your body rest.
 
@amber - I have moved some posts from your pre-op thread to this, your recovery thread.
Please continue to post about your recovery on this thread from now on.
If you can, bookmark it, so you don't lose it.
 
I'm one of those that never did exercises or PT. I let my daily activities be my PT and exercises. One of the first things people would ask me was if I was doing my exercises. At first, I explained why I didn't have to do exercises and they would look at me like I was crazy. I got tired of trying to explain myself so I'd just huff out my breath and nod. That satisfied them.

I think people don't know what to say and they want us to feel like they care so they ask the 'exercise' question.
 
have found the most difficult thing is family/ friends expectations of me ,
“ r u doing your exercises “ is the first thing they ask over the phone , fed up trying to explain that I don’t have to “ go for the burn” etc so just agree I am exercising
I found the same thing. People are conditioned to believe that a list of exercises done X amount of times a day is the guaranteed answer to this recovery. I was so frustrated by that because I believed the gentle approach was the way to go.

Regaining our ROM is more about Time than repetitions of a list of exercises.

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Normal activity is the key to success.
 
Any advice please?
3weeks post op & I feel progressing well apart from nights, I no longer needs analgesics as I have no pain, but at night as soon as I relax & about to fall asleep, I get ? Nerve spasms in the operated knee, they wake me up and the whole knee jerks , it’s quite painful, the only way to sleep is to take a strong painkiller, I eventually collapse for a few hours , in the morning I’m sluggish,
Walking round the bedroom helps,doing the exercises helps , but as soon. As I get back into bed back it comes back , it’s not there during day, I’ve tried upping my walking or reducing the walking , doesn’t seem to make any difference ,
Is this a normal post op symptom if so how long before it goes ?
 
@amber Does this article describe what you are feeling Restless legs following knee replacement surgery?

Or is it more like a sudden, very sharp zap of pain? Zingers or zaps of pain are very common post op. Taking something for pain before you go to sleep may help ease this. Gentle stretches will also help.
 
I had that, too. I would get up and ride my recumbent bike for about 5 minutes and that would calm my knee down. I also took lots of naps. It doesn't matter when or where you sleep as long as you sleep!
 
I would get some cramps overnight and found that doing a little light stretching before bed helped.
 

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