TKR Feeling sorry for myself and frustrated. LTKR ten days ago.

So are you recovering without narcotic pain medication at all?

Sleep disruption is pretty typical with TKR. I just got used to sleeping in installments for the first few weeks. Once I accepted that this is the way it is, I didn't stress about it. Gradually my normal patterns returned.
 
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I did try the Tylenol pm the other night. Sadly, it didn’t help much. I might give it another shot though.
 
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I slept when and where I could. A couple of hours of sleep in my bed, then a couple in my recliner, then a couple in my bed, a couple in my recliner... This went on for about a month and I slept morning, noon, and night. Naps were frequent until my nighttime sleeping got better. It doesn't matter where or when you sleep and long as you do sleep.
 
Hi @Nanmo1228 . I had tkr in April and it was definitely worth it as the new knee is great now.
Stop listening to others and stay with the walker until you are less wobbly. It’s not a race and to be honest, I recovered well just doing everyday activities of living with gentle physio, never doing anything that hurts. People who tell you, you ‘should’ be at a certain level should back off. We all recover at different levels and don’t need any additional pressure.
I am currently recovering from foot surgery and patience is a virtue!
 
How are you doing, @Nanmo1228? I see you are four weeks post-op today. Give us an update!
 
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Thanks for asking! I’ve been meaning to update. I started driving Monday, which is great. Started outpatient PT Monday and am at 75 flexion and -3 extension. I was only at 84 prior to the surgery so we will see. Incision is healing nicely. The outpatient PT has caused some increase in pain, but not too bad. I still can’t say I made the right decision, but it is still early in the recovery. Off to hair appointment today. I have been approved to walk without cane, but still bring it when I go out. I hope everyone has a great day!
 
I have been approved to walk without cane, but still bring it when I go out.
Smart! I carried my cane for almost two months post-op, mainly because it signaled other people to give me a wide berth! :heehee:

Try not to be too impatient about regaining flexion. It's a slow process and if there is any residual inflammation inside your knee from the surgery, it will limit your bend. You are still very early in this year-long recovery.

Thanks for the update! Keep us posted.
 
Hello everyone! So I had my six week post op visit yesterday and I think I’m the victim of some medical gaslighting. My flexion prior to surgery was 84 and I was told by the surgeon and his nurse practitioner that I would probably not get much more after surgery. I am at 83 and got admonished yesterday by both the surgeon and his NP. They both acted shocked that I wasn’t at 115 yet. His. NP told me that if I don’t believe it will happen then it won’t. They want to see me back in three weeks and I know they will talk MUA. I have worked my tail off at PT and at home. I see my PT today and will discuss with her . Maybe she needs to alter her treatment plan?
 
Did you remind them of what they said initially? I just read your whold thread, and it is just so helpful to me to see that others are going through some similar situations. Best of luck! You are doing great!!
 
I’m sorry you are getting contradictory information from your medical team.

You are coming along fine.

This is what one of our members, TortiTabby, experienced:

(Just so you know, ADL means Activities of Daily Living.)

“At my six week appointment this is what my OS wrote in my visit summary: "She reads an online website called Bone Smart which states to not push through pain following knee replacement. If she were to follow this direction, she will have to learn to live with a knee that only reaches to 85 degrees of flexion. I believe this website is very misleading."

It has now been 20 weeks and all I do is ADL and this is what my ROM has done:
3.5 wks: 75
6 wks: 85
7 wks: 90
10.5 wks: 95
14 wks: 100
17 wks: 105
20 weeks (where I am today): 110
I am so thrilled it keeps improving and improving and I know now that I will get to my goal of 120 (or even better, dare I say!) :egypdance:
So, if a OS or PT bullies you into thinking your ROM will not improve over time they are wrong. By the way, I haven't been back to see the OS since that horrible appointment at 6 weeks, but I sure am going back when I reach 120 just to say, "Ha! You were wrong, BoneSmart was right!" :yes:

And,

“Just an update for those who are apprehensive about gaining ROM:
It has now been 26 weeks and all I do is ADL and this is what my ROM has done:
3.5 wks: 75
6 wks: 85
7 wks: 90
10.5 wks: 95
14 wks: 100
17 wks: 105
20 weeks: 110
26 weeks (where I am today): 120!!!
I did it! My goal of 120! No "pushing through pain", no PT after the first 3 visits, and most importantly to me: No MUA! My surgeon who said I would never get beyond 85 ROM without pushing through pain was wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm excited to see if it gets even better. :happydance:
 
Hi Nanmo1228, I sympathize with you, having had very limited ROM before surgery. I was around 70 degrees for a couple years. My surgeon said they expected me to get to 120 at 6 weeks. They too seemed surprised when I failed to meet that goal. I’m at about 90 now at 11 weeks. I refused the MUA and I believe because I was so limited for so long it is going to take longer for me to regain my ROM, but it is going to happen in it’s own time. Slowly but surely. I honestly don’t know where these guys come up with their timelines, but I think we would all be in a better place mentally if they didn’t put all of these expectations on us and mess with our emotions. I’m sorry you went through that. You are doing the best you can, and that is more than enough. Listen to your body and I bet you’ll be just fine.
 
Hi, I’m 4 1/2 weeks with my new knee. Lack of sleep was really getting me down. I, too, stopped the narcotics and went to OTC pain killers, but sleep was not happening. I tried 2 things that helped (not at the same time):

I popped a benedryl an hour before bedtime. Other times, I tried 1/4 of a indica cannabis gummy (doc had said OK). I don’t generally do any pot. (Not since my college days). Both approaches helped.

I only do that once in a while. Sleep is mostly getting better, but sleeping with my leg flat/straight is torture. I can only handle 10 minutes or so.

Good luck!
 
Hello everyone! So I had my six week post op visit yesterday and I think I’m the victim of some medical gaslighting. My flexion prior to surgery was 84 and I was told by the surgeon and his nurse practitioner that I would probably not get much more after surgery. I am at 83 and got admonished yesterday by both the surgeon and his NP. They both acted shocked that I wasn’t at 115 yet. His. NP told me that if I don’t believe it will happen then it won’t. They want to see me back in three weeks and I know they will talk MUA. I have worked my tail off at PT and at home. I see my PT today and will discuss with her . Maybe she needs to alter her treatment plan?
Hi..I’m at week 13 and meet with my doc on Halloween We met a month ago, my ROM average 96-98 , but, I can straighten leg really well.
With pt, got ROM to 103. I’ve decided there is no way I’m going through another “procedure” (MUA) if brought up.
I am going with the belief that this new knee, with gentle exercise in a warm pool 4x week and regular living, my mobility will improve.
I am concerned about ongoing pain down the side of calf/foot, but, I think my gait is different and the whole leg is trying to adjust.
I still have days (mostly nights) when I wish I never had the surgery.
But, being on this website where empathy and knowledge rule, I’m understanding the trauma my knee went through.
It’s going to take time (and more patience) to recover!
Thank you for sharing☺️
 
@Nanmo1228 .... you are being very wise with your knee and I'm glad that our staff an members have given you some perspective about what you can expect with your recovery from your knee replacement surgery. There is no "window of opportunity" where you lose the chance to improve your ROM and your knee becomes "stuck" at that level, although you certainly can hear that from people, even those in the medical community.

You are about 5 weeks out from surgery, which is very early in your recovery. You started with a low pre-surgery ROM and I'm assuming that you had that limitation for a while before deciding to have your knee replaced. This means it will take some time for your soft tissues to stretch and adjust to a more normal ROM. The fact that you realize that is great.

Some doctors seem to tell their patients that they will never get beyond whatever ROM they have before surgery. I don't know why they do that because in my almost 15 years of working with patients in recovery here on BoneSmart, I've never seen that to be the case. What may happen is that the increases in ROM may come slower and take even a couple of years to get the their final point. But as you can see from these posts above, people DO get there.

It normally works better to approach recovery at a slow and steady pace rather than pushing yourself with exercise, activities, and therapy. We advise people not to try and push through pain. Instead do activities and exercises that challenge you just to the point of mild discomfort, but that do not cross over to real pain. Overdoing exercise usually causes the patient to end up with inflamed soft tissue in the knee, swelling, and pain - all of which will slow your recovery. As long as you are making progress....no matter how slow it is....it's forward movement. Your knee didn't get to this point in a few weeks or months and it's important to allow your body to heal and adjust on its own time. More exercise isn't the answer.

You have the right to tell your surgeon and his nurse practitioner that you prefer to keep working on your ROM yourself rather than having an MUA. It might not make them happy, but it is your knee, after all, and you are in charge of how you want to recover from the surgery. You can speak with your therapist as well, but if the suggestion is to step up the exercises to try and reach some "magic" number by a specific date, please consider passing on that option. You will be much better off to work at a pace that is comfortable for you and that does not cause you to have a lot of pain in your knee during or after the exercise sessions.

At 5 weeks, your current ROM is just fine - well within the range of what we see here as "normal". The key is whether or not you feel you are continuing to make progress. If you are, then there is no need to worry and rush to change what you're doing just because someone sets a goal for you.

I look forward to watching your progress. Hang in there. As we frequently tell people, it's a marathon and not a sprint. You'll have lots of support here from people who have been through exactly what you're experiencing.
 
I saw my physical therapist this afternoon and told her about my doctor visit. She didn’t really change things up, but I noticed she watched me more closely while I did my exercises. Unfortunately, she took a measurement at the end of the session and I measured 83 again at six weeks post op. So not much progress this week. My range of motion problem started in January, so yes it’s been quite awhile. Made the decision to have surgery in April and had to wait until September.
 
So not much progress this week
Your ROM is going to vary, depending on activity and swelling. It can change daily, as well as hourly. Try not to focus on the ROM number, it is only one measure of recovery.

Regaining our ROM does not require forceful bending or painful exercises.
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.
 
Jockette is right.....your measurements can vary and you should focus more on your ability to perform the things you want to be able to do in life versus numbers. When looking at progress, it's a continuum where you look at the numbers over weeks and months. If you're seeing slow, but steady progress, all is good.
 
Hello and Happy Three Month Anniversary!
How are you doing since you last posted?
Don't be discouraged if your recovery feels it's happening at a snails pace. Our range of motion is limited initially and can be for some time, it will naturally increase as the swelling subsides and the pain eases.

Hopefully you're enjoying steady progress and looking forward to the holidays and New Year.
All the best to you!
@Nanmo1228
 

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