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TKR Cry baby

Everyone is different. In my case I tell people that the recovery took much longer and was much harder than I had expected but was worth it. Otherwise I wouldn't be putting myself through it again.
In a years time you might feel the same.
 
@Spex10 That’s a good way of putting it. While I figured recovering from a surgery wouldn’t be a picnic, I was overwhelmed with my first month. But that could also be due to my personality, my low pain tolerance, post op blues. etc.

But I really wish someone had told me more about it. All I heard was, “do it, it’s the best thing I ever did and I wish I’d done it sooner. “. So I thought, it can’t be too bad. Well that first month was bad and was a shock. And I was angry that no one had mentioned it.
 
I have noticed that tkr'ers do go through it again for the other knee. I was unprepared and I'm not saying it will be better for me second time round but I am definitely better informed now thanks to this site. Better informed that is re pain management, pt, recovery, etc. I can't believe the amount of physio I did for the first three weeks because of the pressure from the pt. I also found that eating protein rather than carbs does help energy levels.

Best decision was coming off tramadol and ibuprofen. I was so convinced they were helping me but they were actually making me ill.
 
I found Bonesmart 6 months before my tkr, so I was prepared for the slow recovery. My OS even told me I'd probably hate him for the first couple of months! Hearing and reading about it still don't prepare us for actually going through with it! The best thing to do is to take it one day at a time, ice for as long and as frequent as you can and have patience. Trying to speed up your healing is impossible. It will take as long as it takes. But, trying to do too many exercises to 'speed up' recovery actually has the opposite effect. It slows it down. It keeps your knee inflamed and swollen.
 
Jockette - your post brought back a memory of my tkr. My OS had his patients go through a tkr class at the hospital. But given that I lived 3 hours away and it was a week before my surgery I really did not want to make the drive twice in one week So I asked if I HAD to go and was told no .The only person I knew who had a tkr was my mom who was pain free afterwards and said it was the best thing she ever did . So I erroneously based my expectations on her experience .

Not sure how much info I would have gotten in that class but in hindsight I wish I had made that trip.

During my last visit before surgery with the PA at my pain mgmt doctor he said to me "you know, it's no walk in tbe park" . That was the first inkling I had that things were going to be rough .

I so wish my OS had told me it was mandatory that I attend that tkr class .Or at least tell me how bad it could get or that the outcome may not be what I was hoping for. Of course, I blame myself somewhat as there were a whole lot more questions I should have asked .

Like sistersinhim the OS who is doing my 2 stage revision told me I am going to hate him .Kind of scares me a little but kudos for his honesty.

As others have said I really do think that our surgeons should tell us a whole lot more than they do .
 
Senny said:
I have noticed that tkr'ers do go through it again for the other knee. I was unprepared and I'm not saying it will be better for me second time round but I am definitely better informed now thanks to this site.
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I was lucky to have an OS who didn't sugarcoat. He told me I'd be back at work by 12 weeks but would still be recovering for some time. I knew what to expect with knee #2. That's not to say I didn't have moments in the early weeks when I said to myself "I did this voluntarily? Twice?!" :heehee:
 
@arizonaone
I did go to the joint class at my hospital which I was told was mandatory. Mostly it was about the hospital experience, not the recovery after. The nurses who teach it probably have no idea about recovery because they don’t see patients after the first few days.

They showed a video of a lady smiling and just so happy to be doing her exercises. I was not happy and smiling when I did mine!
 
arizonaone said:
Jockette - your post brought back a memory of my tkr. My OS had his patients go through a tkr class at the hospital. But given that I lived 3 hours away and it was a week before my surgery I really did not want to make the drive twice in one week So I asked if I HAD to go and was told no .The only person I knew who had a tkr was my mom who was pain free afterwards and said it was the best thing she ever did . So I erroneously based my expectations on her experience .

Not sure how much info I would have gotten in that class but in hindsight I wish I had made that trip.
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Well, we went to the class. First we received a big notebook (ahead of time) which was full of information and out of the 22 people in the class, only 2 of us had even opened the book and my husband and I were the only ones who read it. It was the biggest waste of time because most of the people seemed to be there for the free coffee and snacks :what: and were so busy chatting to whoever came to the class with them, they only heard a little of what was being said. It was really surprising how little they seemed interested in learning anything about what the surgery and what to expect during recovery, etc. Afterwards, I said something similar to the nurse and p.t. who ran the class and they both said those will be the people who will be so surprised and constantly complaining and whining about how "they didn't know it was going to be like this" blah, blah, blah. A couple of them had surgery the same day as I did and boy, the nurse and p.t. were right. Those people were miserable and were determined to make everyone around them miserable too. Sheesh.
 
You got coffe and snacks at your class? :wowspring:
I did not at my class!

How much of the recovery after a while did they talk about? My class was just the hospital time.
 
@Jockette @Laurenkate .So I guess it would have been a total waste of my time .Glad I didn't go. That video of the smiling people could not be farther from the truth .I was more like crying during my PT . Amazing how some people are just in it for the food isn't it, laurenkate. :heehee:
 
I was not given any classes to attend pre-op. A group of us came for pre-med and were given antiseptic hair and body wash, a list of cut off times for food/fluid intake, and told to purchase an Ikea extra long shoe horn (which I have never used but am keeping it anyway to whack the next pt I come across).

I was told by many acquaintances that their ma or pa, bro or sis, second cousin twice removed, step ma-in-law and Chairman Mao all had tkr and it was plain sailing...........
 
I love the use for your shoe horn! It made me laugh out loud! :rotfl:
 
Senny said:
I was not given any classes to attend pre-op. A group of us came for pre-med and were given antiseptic hair and body wash, a list of cut off times for food/fluid intake, and told to purchase an Ikea extra long shoe horn (which I have never used but am keeping it anyway to whack the next pt I come across).

I was told by many acquaintances that their ma or pa, bro or sis, second cousin twice removed, step ma-in-law and Chairman Mao all had tkr and it was plain sailing...........
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*snort* Yeah, there is always some turkey in every crowd who wants to tell you how their surgery and recovery was fabulous and hint there must be something wrong with you if you weren't out dancing and partying the weekend following surgery. That turkey is usually a very macho man or that woman who always does everything better than everyone else and wants to make sure you know it.

Yes, the nurse in our class went through our recovery period fairly thoroughly. Her timelines were a bit optimistic and she didn't mention the part from days 7-10 where you feel like you've turned into Linda Blair in "The Exorcist" but she talked about how recovery is a long process, depression and having the blues is normal, etc. It was helpful to have questions answered but basically all the information was in the notebook received ahead of time.
 
Well I moved home on Monday. Not something I would recommend during early recovery. Too dependent on others. Even though I didn't do much, it was exhausting. It would be so wonderful just to be able to sleep at night. ........
 
Well done with the house move. I had my last decent nights sleep last night. Op today. I remind myself that I was able to sleep well at the 8 week stage.
Let yourself nap whenever you can!
 
@Spex10 A decent night’s sleep the night before surgery is a miracle! Best wishes for today.
 
Hi, Senny. I had my TKR on 26March of this year and the first six weeks were AWFUL! I cried all the time, to the point my OS suggested an anti-depressant to get me through. I didn’t get it, however I did get a prescription for Belsomra to sleep because I was only sleeping about two hours a night. The pain was ridiculous, the PT a nightmare. (I stopped after about four weeks). The one big thing that helped was finding this forum and realizing I wasn’t the only one. Oh, the Tramadol did nothing for pain nor did the other opiate, they just constipated me until I took stool softeners and a laxative to get things moving. Could the pain in your side be from constipation? Remember you’re not sl9ne, there are a bunch of folks here for you.
 
Hi DebCoz.

I think the tramadol affected me physically - I just didn't realise it at the time. Opiates are deadly for some of us.
It definitely set me back.

My appetite is coming back. Still a bit wobbly. I actually watched some tv today for the first time in five weeks.

I missed my return appointments with pt because I wasn't able to drive and didn't want to pay the extortionate taxi fare (£50 each time). However I'm glad because I found this site instead and realised I didn't have to put up with the self-flagellation that pts brain wash us into doing.

I do so long to return to my sleep pattern.
 
I am having an awful day. Both knees are stiff. Fighting off cystitis (second time since op) which is guaranteed to drive me insane. At the end of my fifth week I thought I could see some improvement but it's just life conning me. I just can't stop crying and wondering what is the point. And on top of it all friends cant understand why I am taking so long to improve; they are not being unkind, just puzzled because I started off so well in the first two weeks and now seem to be regressing. I apologise for being so negative but had to have a whinge because I know lots of you have been where I am now. And yet I can't see a time when I will feel it was all worth it.
 
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