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TKR bumneej's recovery thread<

I'm not a medical expert but if it were me I wouldn't cover your wound with your TEDs. Perhaps call your surgeon's office and see what they advise.
 
Hello! Still doing pretty well. Took my bandage off and things look good. I went to PT today and my range of motion for extension is 20 and flexing is 87. I was a little disappointed and will need to work a little harder. My pain level is improving so that should help What do you think? Am I doing okay or should I try and push it more. I am 2 weeks and 2 days past surgery. Thank you!!
 
bumneej said:
I was a little disappointed and will need to work a little harder.
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No you don't need to work harder! All you need to do is to rest, ice and elevate at this early stage. Your knee is an newborn infant and needs lots of TLC!

bumneej said:
Am I doing okay or should I try and push it more. I am 2 weeks and 2 days past surgery.
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Yes, you are doing just fine. Your flex is astounding! Most OSs don't expect 90 degrees until 6 weeks. You almost have it at 2 weeks! That extension will come. Many of us were slower achieving that. Your knee is very traumatized and wounded right now. All you need to concentrate on is letting your knee heal and getting that swelling down.
 
I agree with @sistersinhim -- no need to push more, your range of motion is terrific for just past two weeks from surgery. Rest, ice, and elevate . . . . pushing more will just inflame your new knee.
 
Thank you, I needed that encouragement right now!! I did tell the PT I did not want to push it and then suffer for 2 days. He is fine with that and did not try to change my mind.
 
bumneej said:
will need to work a little harder
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You should not work hard at anything other than resting, icing, and treating your knee gently, which is what it takes to give your knee the best circumstance in which to heal.

Keep in mind, it’s not exercising that gets our range of motion back, it’s Time:

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. Exercise as in strength training is counter-productive and in the early weeks does more harm than good. Normal activity is the key to success.
 
I have really tight muscles in the backs of my thigh and calf. They ache a lot. My PT gave me some exercises to try but they don't seem to be helping much. I started putting a heating pad on them and that seems to be helping. Is it okay to use heat on the knee too. My entire leg feels better after I have used the heat on the thighs and legs. It seems to loosen it up where as the ice seems to make it tight. I just don't want to cause any issues using heat. I use the ice machine usually 4 times a day and elevate at the same time. Thank you!
 
Normally, heat directly on your knee will cause it to swell even more. It sounds like you're not having it right on your knee and it's not causing you any problems. If you notice increased swelling afterwards, then you probably shouldn't do it.
 
Yesterday was 3 weeks since surgery. I was doing pretty well until PT yesterday. I was in a lot of pain last night and could barely do anything today. I don't think I will go back. My flex was at 95 and extension at 15 so I improved basically on my own. Hopefully this pain will not reverse that. I was able to drive myself to PT yesterday since my surgery was on my left knee. I was able to get in and out of the car with no problem. I am trying to stop my pain meds but after yesterday that is now delayed. My question though is about Tylenol. Is it best to use the Extra Strength or a sustained released one. I did take one Arthritis Strength and it did not help one bit. I am on Asa 325mg twice a day for clotting if that makes a difference. I will be able to stop that in a week. Have also been on Meloxicam 7.5mg once daily since surgery but I am stopping that tomorrow. I hate taking pills and it seems like that is all I do right now. My doctor prescribed Oxycodone which I only take one at night time. And Hydrocodone 5/325acetaminaphen for lesser pain which I take one about midday. Sorry this is so long. Thank you for your help!
 
@bumneej 3 weeks is so very early in this process. Working hard will not speed things up with this recovery. In some instances it may actually set you back. If your knee has pain or swelling after or while you are doing something, it is not ready to do that. This is the knees only way of communicating that to you. Your job is to listen to it and adjust your activities accordingly. It is difficult because our generations were taught to “work hard” to get through things. A very difficult mental shift. Please give yourself permission to recover at the rate your KNEE can handle not a timeline set by you, your OS or your PT.
 
@bumneej
When you take Tylenol, be sure to add up all sources, you do not want to take over 4000 mg a day, as excessive doses can cause liver damage.
As for extended release, extra strength etc, you will have to find out what works for you.
Tylenol works best if you take it as recommended on the bottle.
Ask your pharmacist or MD, they will be able to answer your questions about using Tylenol to meet your needs.
 
bumneej said:
I was doing pretty well until PT yesterday. I was in a lot of pain last night and could barely do anything today. I don't think I will go back.
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Sounds like PT did way too much for your knee yesterday, your soft tissues need time to heal, as they heal and the swelling goes down your ROM and strength will be there.
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?
CONSENT: what it means and how it can be used
IMO I would call and cancel your appointments, later if your need help with your walking you can go back.
We recommend these two gentle exercises, you can do them a couple times a day.
Heel slides and how to do them and Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it .
 
Thank you for your suggestions. I have cancelled my next PT appt. I have 2 more scheduled next week but think I will cancel at least one of them. I will probably go at the end of the week just to get measured and see if what I have done on my own has made a difference. I will not let him do what he did to me the other day. My knee feels better today but I lost a day just resting it from the abuse. Not worth it!! Actually my husband is a pharmacist. He tries to get me to take the pain pills more often which do work better then the Tylenol of course but I don't like taking them. I thought I had read somewhere on here that the extended release did not work as well with treating this kind of pain for some reason. My husband says it shouldn't matter but I do not take it on a schedule so maybe that is the problem. And yes, I am careful to add up all sources of the Tylenol. I have stomach issues so that's another reason for not wanting to take a lot of medication. One other thing. I have had night sweats about 6 times since surgery. Last night was one of those times. I wake up and my nightgown is drenched from sweat. Is this common? I have never had surgery so this is all new to me. Can't wait to be back to normal and trying hard not to rush things. Over all I think I am doing well. Thank you again for the help! I really appreciate it!!
 
bumneej said:
I have had night sweats about 6 times since surgery. Last night was one of those times. I wake up and my nightgown is drenched from sweat. Is this common?
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I have read of this happening to other members.

This surgery was my first, also, so trial and error is the name of the game. :console2:
 
I wouldn't recommend the slow release Tylenol for you right now as it does not seem to work as well after surgery. This is likely because the acetaminophen you're getting is released so slowly that it doesn't usually take care of the pain as well as the 500mg Extra Strength Tylenol. You could try it, though. You'd need to take two of the 650mg tablets every 8 hours on a set schedule to be sure the medication was available for you all through the day and night. That gives you a total of 3900mg for the 24 hours. That would mean you could not take any Hydrocodone for breakthrough pain as it also contains 325mg of acetaminophen. You could take the oxycodone.

What may work better though is the Extra Strength Tylenol, 500mg, in doses of 1000mg (2 tablets) every 6 hours. Again, you cannot also take the hydrocodone, but the oxycodone is okay since it does not contain any acetaminophen.

The night sweats you are experiencing can be a side effect from the pain medications you are taking. It should go away a few days after they are discontinued.
 
Tomorrow is my 4 week follow-up with my OS. I have several questions written down to ask him. I am still not at the stage that I would recommend this surgery to anyone. I feel I should be doing better at this stage but I am still happy to be able to do what I can do. I took my first walk outside yesterday just around the culdesac with my husband and did well. I took my cane but didn't really need. I make quilts and have not been able to sew for a month but finally felt like sewing a little yesterday. That felt good and my knee cooperated getting up and down off of the chair. I am stiff this morning more than usual so I am assuming maybe that was a little to much. I also did my exercises. I did ice and elevate between moving around. I stopped my ASA regimen yesterday because it is causing stomach pain and I am stopping the TED stockings today. They drove me crazy last night!! A couple days early but I don't think my doctor will mind. My husband is leaving Wed. for a week long trip. I am a little apprehensive about being alone. He has been a big help. I think at this point I should be fine though and do have family and friends I can call if needed. I just wish I could do more. I tire out fast and that is hard to get used to all the resting I need to do. Well I guess I just needed to vent a little. I don't really have any questions right now but have a list for my doctor tomorrow. Thank you for being here for us!! You have been a big help to me and I am always repeating to my husband what I have read on bonesmart.
 
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Thank you! Good article and that is how I am trying to think. Sometimes I get discouraged and also tired of the constant aching. I wouldn't call it pain, just constantly aching. I try to just go on with my day and put it in the back of my mind but that is hard to do at times. Well, onward and upward. Two steps ahead, one step back. Just to show me who is the boss...lol. My knee!!
 
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