Hi Leonie, our Aussie friend!
I'm sorry you're feeling down and that you are frustrated.
You're right in the middle of the time when that happens to most of us, so go ahead - yell, cry, moan all you want. We'll understand, because we've been there!
It's so very hard to believe that you will recover, when friends and family expect you to have bounced back by the time you reach 6 weeks. That's because most of them simply don't understand what a very major operation a knee replacement is. They've only seen people recover from other operations, many of which do only take about 6 weeks to recover from - but this is different. Add to that the fact that most of us probably had the same expectations as our friends, so we probably beat ourselves up about our slow progress.
This recovery is more like a marathon than a sprint. We're in it for the long haul, so we can't rush it. Our recovery is strange, too, in that we do seem to take one step forward and one step back so many times. But we do make progress in the end.
It's very hard to be patient, but patience really is your best friend. I wish that there was a Patience Fairy, who could wave her magic wand and give us all the patience we need. She'd be a very busy fairy!
Now, about your pain - I may be wrong, but I think your knee is giving you a message here, to ease back on your activity. Maybe 2 days of physio and one day of pool are just one day too much at the moment? If you find the pool therapy really helpful, perhaps you could cut back the physio to one day a week? You can still do gentle bending and stretching exercises at home. Keep up the resting, icing and elevating.
Also, you are still taking pain medication regularly, aren't you?
Lack of sleep - ah yes! That's a frequent problem too, another of the "joys" of recovery from a TKR. Try not to worry about it. Take sleep whenever and wherever it comes - be it in short bursts at night, or in naps during the daytime. I used to look upon the long nights as just time for reading, watching overnight TV, just pampering myself. I moved to another bedroom so I didn't disturb my husband. As you progress, good night-time sleep will return.
Hugs!
Caryl
United Kingdom
this week 
it's call the roller coaster & we are on quite a ride. 
let it all out.....I always felt better after a good cry.
riding the roller coaster of recovery
OMG just worked out how to use the little captions. I think I might go and do a hurdle,and hop into a nice hot bath, with some nice soap suds. Night night.
Right there with you Knee Pain. It must be a 7 week thing, although I've had crying spells throughout. Today is really tough for me because it's the first day of school and I'm not returning to work to see my kiddos. 
Now, I'm really concerned if I'll be healed enough to do it on 9/18/2013. I guess if folks can do Bilateral, I can pull this off. 
and sometimes I hold on for dear life. 
Gosh it's hard to know if you're doing enough vs too much. I don't trust myself at times, or all of my p/t's advice anymore. Trying to lean heavily on the Bonesmart advice but I still end up feeling like a slacker, even though I'm exhausted at the slightest little chore. If I go to the grocery store I'm done for the day, and don't let me try and pull a double and cook. 
You start to feel like, I should be past this by now. I think going to bed late and getting up late plays a big part in my fatigue. I went to bed late last night, but had to get up early to get my son off to school. It's his last year... High School Senior! 
just wanted to reaffirm that you are not alone. 
, and some bad news
. I'm 16 weeks in. I finally saw my OS last week. I've been seeing his PA up until now. I told him about the pain and stiffness I've been having above the knees when I stand up from a sitting position. The good news is the pain will go away eventually, as we all know. The bad news is that it that it could be as long as "one year or more" - his words, not mine - before its gone. So what, you ask? Well, there will be occasional pain and stiffness throughout the healing process 
. Some mild, and some not so mild. Sorry to be the bringer of bad news. 
