TKR foodiex2's Recovery thread

[foodiex2]

Honey, I asked you some questions - aren't you going to reply to me?

Yes I ice and medicate consistently


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[Josephine]

But how much are you taking? You need to be taking 100mg Tramadol and 1,000mg Tylenol every 6hrs which is 4 times a day, regularly, on schedule. Okay?

What about icing? Are you icing as well?

These were the questions ...

I am unable to do very many ankle slides. Just a few at a time with not very many per hour. Will that be ok

You mean heel slides I think? Under the circumstances don't do any yet awhile.

Josephine yes 100 mg tramadol every 6 hours and 650 mg Tylenol every 6 hours 5 mg Valium times a day for 2 weeks.

The Valium is of no consequence in pain relief. But you could up your Tylenol to 1,000mg instead of 650. It would make a lot of difference.

I was told not to elevate... I do anyway and I do ankle pumps and quad flexes

Good for you. You can't not elevate with your problems! But do go easy on the quad flexes, they can cause you more pain and you really don't need that right now.

yes I have been icing . A lot . Pretty much constantly

Jolly good. And do you ice at the back of your knee too? That's often the site of a lot of post-op knee pain.

 

[hippywoman]

What does everyone think about elevating? Orthopedic doesn't think I should. Because he doesn't want the leg bent. I neeeed to elevate. Today pain is pretty bad


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My docs and nurses had me gently elevate but with multiple pillows so my leg was straight. Icing , butt and leg crunches and some walking also helped as laying down and sitting too long hurt.

They also said to be regular with meds.
Hope you are finding relief



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[Celle]

You need to elevate and it's quite OK to have your leg bent just a little, like this:

 

[foodiex2]

You need to elevate and it's quite OK to have your leg bent just a little, like this:

 

[amab]

Hang in there! Better days are ahead. A Good friend of mine is 2 weeks out from his TKR and experienced a hematoma like you; he had a good follow up visit today and seems a bit more encouraged than just yesterday.

Best to you in your recovery journey!!!

 

[foodiex2]

@Celle thank you! I am still recovering from my hematoma set back. I hope we are in business now. The pain has been unbearable at times but I am doing my best to stay positive and look towards the future. I've been trying to exercise to keep in moving but not in any way that brings more swelling because then I cant move it all for a day or two and I am back to tears. I'm not afraid of hard work I just am not sure what the best approach is. Gentle consistency seems to be the best for me. So rough and scary... I pray it is worth it in the end. I'm sure It will be. Thank you friends


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[Celle]

I'm not afraid of hard work I just am not sure what the best approach is. Gentle consistency seems to be the best for me.

You don't need to work hard at this recovery. you're quite right, that gentle in better.
TKR: work “smarter” and not “harder”

Yes, it will all be worth it in the end - even if the end seems so far away right now.

 

[foodiex2]

I am 3 weeks post op on Monday I had a pretty bad hematoma and was in hospital for 6 days... I have need doing therapy everyday and my rom I only 76 I am very nervous it's not going to get better ?


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[Oldladyrunner]

Only 3 weeks? Relax. When the swelling goes down, your ROM will go up.

 

[foodiex2]

I am only at 73 Rom out almost 3 weeks. I just can't bend! I try and it hurts so bad.... What did I do ? Pain always pain. I can't sit in a chair without pain. I'm everything hurts! I feel sick. And all I want to do is cry. Will this get better???


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[KarriB]

What are you taking for pain? Under medicating not only means you will be in pain, but can lead to chronic pain issues. Your knee won't bend if it's swollen because there isn't room for it to bend. What is your activity level at this point?

 

[Timetolive]

I am sorry you are having so much pain. I have been having terrible pain behind my knee and the PA said when it got so bad to get up and try to walk it out. I know your problem is much worse, but perhaps it might help? It does seem to help mine. Prayers!

 

[Slainte]

I was about where you are. At almost 6 weeks I had made it to 90. My first knee was much faster, but every knee recovers in its own time. I don't think you can speed it up, but you can slow it down. My first knee was a no pain miracle cure. I did everything exactly the same 12 weeks later with my second knee, right down to the same time and day of the surgery. Much slower and more painful recovery. But it does get better! Hang in there!

 

[kayak59]

Hope you are doing better! Best wishes!

 

[KarriB]

Jo is right nothing you do will hurry up the recovery, but it can slow it down. Elevate, ice, pain meds will help.

 

[skigirl]

I am so sorry you have been suffering like this. But, I think you need to relax a little and just let yourself heal. For the first three weeks, I was in bed about 80% of the time---I only got up to go to the bathroom and to get more ice for my knee. I did not do any exercises at all---maybe a few heel slides but not really very many. Don't worry about your quad---you can deal with that in a few weeks.

You have had the extra trauma of the the PT being so abusive to you. Have you asked your surgeon if he/she caused the hematoma by the rough treatment of you? That PT should be sent for extra training in sensitivity and in how to rehab a tkr. While you are lying there, email the CEO of the hospital and let them know that you were abused even after saying NO. I think PTs need to understand that no means no as much as males at college!!!

At any rate, I think you are doing the right thing, elevate, ice and rest. I also drank two protein drinks a day---I used the one from Naked Juice since it had pineapple and coconut in it. Most of all, don't get up and about until YOU want to do it. Each of us heals at a different rate---there are plenty of folks who were at 75 at three weeks--and most of them are riding their bikes or hiking around now. So, do not scare yourself into negative thinking.

Instead, think positively---you have had a set back, but are dealing with it well, taking care of yourself. Be sure to eat well, your body needs extra protein as it works to heal. I use the egg cassarole from the Ten Talents Cookbook when I am ill--except that I add better cheese and jalapenos! I kept little tubs of peanut butter and grahaman crackers beside my bed and always ate at least two when I took my meds. Also, set an alarm for your next med---if you are off by 20 min it makes a difference.

Also, for me--it worked to split my drugs a little---so 50 mgs of Tramadol every two hours instead of 100 every four hours. That seemed to work a little better for me==you might try it and see if you can get better pain management into your life.

If your knee is swollen and inflamed, it is like a garden hose filled with water---you cannot bend it, no matter how hard you try, until the water leaves. Your lymph system is working overtime to drain away the extra swelling, so give it time to do its work. I did visit a lymphatic massage therapist who was excellant and gave me lots of tips for the swelling. For one thing, I wore support hose for a few weeks to help get the swelling down.

Most of all, let peace come into your life. Your knee will not always be a painful lump!! In only a week or two things will start to look better to you. Right now is a good time to revisit the Downton Abbey series---Amazon Prime was a good friend during that time. You could see all the old "Chew" and Chopped that you missed while working!!

 

[kneeper]

Just chiming in to agree about not worrying about your ROM at this point. With the hematoma and everything you've had to take it even easier than most people. ( Interestingly Josephine recovered just fine without any exercising.) So don't feel like you're doing something wrong.

 

[Celle]

I am only at 73 Rom out almost 3 weeks. I just can't bend! I try and it hurts so bad.... What did I do ? Pain always pain. I can't sit in a chair without pain. I'm everything hurts! I feel sick. And all I want to do is cry. Will this get better???

Honey, of course it's going to get better! Give it time! It's only 3 weeks since you had major, major surgery. your knee is sore and swollen. It's not lazy - it's wounded.

What did you do? You had major surgery that takes a long time to recover from. You also had a little set back when you developed that haematoma, so you need to allow some extra time to recover from that, too.

Try to relax and let Time and Nature heal your knee. They're pretty good at doing that.

Stop trying to force your knee to bend. Stop hurting yourself - there's no need for it and it will only slow down your progress. Stop sitting up in a chair. You should be spending most of your time lying down anyway, and doing lots and lots of this: - rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock.

Don't let anyone tell you that you have only a limited time to get your knee bending. It's not true. Your Range of motion (ROM) can continue to improve a year, or even more, after surgery. There's no need to rush.

Remember this:

 

[referee54]

You have to remember that improvement and recovery move in a glacier-like manner. You are still very, very early in terms of recovery---and some will tell you---not most, but some---that recovery can take upwards to a year. It took me eight months---and I still gained ROM later after that.

Also---please remember what has been done surgically to your knee---it has been devastated and traumatized by the surgery, and it will take quite a while to calm down.