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TKR Had a difficult time, feeling better<

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@mamazipp
I'll join you in having a moan! My hubby is wonderful but just doesn't understand how frustrated I get not being able to do things around the house. He lets it " all go over his head" and can't understand why I can't do the same. This is why it's mostly women who do housework, it's tedious and boring. But it's such an effort when you are recovering from this surgery.
I'm sorry to hear you are still in a lot of pain. I'm trying to improve my extension too, but I find the stretches really painful. I agree, people who are not in pain are very fortunate and don't always appreciate it.
I hope you have a better day today.
Tabby xxx
 
@Tabbycat
I guess it's ok to "have a moan" as you say. It's a bumpy ride. It must be frustrating when husbands just carry on as if nothing is wrong. That seems to be a common male trait, in my experience. We get the hysterical label put on us. Oh well. We shall persevere. I feel less pain now after hours of icing. It's 3 in the morning and hard to tear myself away from Bonesmart. I hope you are having a good day today...it must be daytime in Wales? I will try to have a good day tomorrow.
Xxx mamazipp
 
I hope today is a better day for you. It's perfectly fine to moan during this recovery as it can get to be very frustrating to you and your husband and family. Each person and their knees are very different. At four months I still have my ice machine out to use at the end of a long day. It does take care a full year for recovery and different aches and pains can happen. While I don't have anyone living with me I understand the frustration you may feel with family members who just seem to be tired of hearing that you still have pain associated with your knee. I hope you get to your OS and he can assure you that everything is ok.
 
Aw mammazipp sounds like your night was rougher than mine. I wonder if you could email your OS/PA and ask them to call you to discuss details of your discomfort now. I'm pretty impressed how accurately they can advise that way.

Your daughter's feelings are common. One guest stayed three hours and never once asked how I was doing. I think that the capacities for concern and caregiving are a form of emotional intelligence. Guess we are all gifted and limited in different ways. Some friends still call me twice a day to make sure I am ok. Others think I'm recovered at four weeks.

How long a drive is it? Do you have the means to hire a car and driver for the day?


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@mamazipp I'm sorry you are in so much pain, and you are not whining, you are sharing your concerns with your friends, you were VERY active this week, please remember that it takes up to a year to recover, and even those that do not have a lot of pain on a regular basis will probably feel discomfort if their activity level increases all of a sudden...baby steps. If your daughter does take you to the doctor let her go in the room with you, if she hears it from the doctor then maybe she will be able to understand better.

I truly hope you start to feel relief soon:flwrysmile:
 
It's all part of the year long recovery. Listen to the knee when it screams at you. You were right to pull out the ice after all that activity.
 
Awwwww, @mamazipp- I'm sorry you're having a rough time. I don't think of it as whining or complaining, but getting your concerns off your chest, and that's important to do. Especially among friends who understand.

I remember when I was in PT after my meniscus surgery and the PT had me sit up and down repeatedly as part of a circuit. The up and down killed my knee! It hurt for two days afterwards and I had to ice it.

Would icing your knee more frequently help? I'm sure after four months you'd rather not, but it might help?

Do you take the ferry to Seattle? I hope you're able to see your OS to get some help.
 
Are you still going to PT? I'm finding that my therapist is my best advocate in explaining why I'm hurting in certain places. He knows exactly where I am in recovery. If you're not seeing yours, perhaps a return visit or two might help.

Until you can see your OS, what about treating yourself to a massage? My therapist actually suggested a massage might help me overall, with the caveat that my knee and the area around it not be touched.

Its ok to whine; in fact, I think it's therapeutic. It's disappointing when our kids and/or other family don't offer to help or check up on us. My husband understands but only because he's with me all the time. He celebrates my triumphs and setbacks but also gets worn out from helping me. This is a very very slow recovery and most people have no clue. Stay strong. Be patient. Do what you think is right.
 
This is the only place we can come and truly express how we feel. Anyone who has not had the knee replacement does not understand. I just keep smiling and saying it's coming along -when someone asks me how I am. They don't really want to know!!!! The extension exercises do hurt-Just trying to stretch that knee to lay flat! Go figure. Seems easy to those who have not had the surgery!!!!!!!!!
 
Thank you ALL for your support and encouragement. It was no nice to hear so much cheering me on from all of you who are going through this journey.
I'm feeling much better mentally today.
:roseshwr: :dancy:​
Amazingly, and I say this in total awe of the body's ability to heal, after icing all evening and through the night I woke up with the pain gone! I am walking well and have only slight quad pain, no more than usual. It still is painful to initiate lifting my leg but that is ongoing. :wowspring:

@TML I'm thinking I may treat myself to a massage. That would feel wonderful.

After finding that wonderful PT, and going for about 5 sessions, I discovered that my retirement health benefit does not cover unlimited PT (when I was working, it did) and benefits have capped. It's all self pay now till Jan. I asked him for a home program to continue the work on my quad ( last week) and he videod me doing them for my reference. However, I'm now thinking they were too much for my knee........so at this point, even after almost 5 months, I'm going to give PT a rest and just go about my life a bit, and resume icing more frequently, and see how that works. I'll try a massage and go to the hot tub at the pool. Less is more. :yes!:

I will have to figure out a trip to Seattle to see the OS. It involves a ferry and an overnight. Will have to get daughter's cooperation on this. Living on an island is a RPIA.....hope you all understand that acronym!
I will take a walk today by the beautiful Sidney harbor. The sun is shining and it may even be warm. :wow:
 
I'm glad you are having a wonderful day. I still ice many times at night. I usually wake up with no swelling and can start my day feeling great. Stopping PT and just living has been enough for me. I have really done any exercises except occasionally some for extension. I'm not quite to zero yet but I wasn't there prior to surgery I'm sure we will bothe get there.
 
What do you do for extension? I'm glad you are recovering nicely and wake up feeling pain free. That sounds like heaven! What causes you to need ice at night? Do you swell up as the day passes?
 
My knee does swell up as the day goes on. Especially the days I work. I ice every evening and over night. For extension I just sit on a regular chair and put my heel on a table or chair of equal height and let my leg be straightened by gravity. I also concentrate on taking a full stride when walking and to have my heel touch first and roll through my foot and off from my toes. I've also put a rolled up towel under my knee and tried to straighten my knee to push on towel. I don't force it with my hands or use any weights.
 
Pretty lovely day. Walked along the waterfront, although after awhile my back started to hurt. I'm walking without the cane now, and that feels good. Later I went to the movies with a friend to see AbFab, the movie. Nice to have a laugh with the outrageous duo. The movie theater was definitely not handicap accessible so I took the flight of stairs down......there an escator going up. Stairs had been my last painful event to conquer and I managed that flight with very little grimacing and pulling on the banister.
 
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I had some bizarre words inserted in my post but I have deleted them....if anyone saw them, know that I haven't become demented, yet!
What I was trying to write was I noticed last night after my night at the movies that when I came home and went to bed, the inner side of my leg was full of sharp electric shocks. I had noticed sometime after my surgery that the area on my inner lower leg was numb from under my knee to my ankle. The OS said he didn't know why. I went to see the neurologist this week and after nerve testing (NOT FUN) said it was the saphenous nerve, a sensory, not motor, nerve. Most likely occurs from pressure tho he couldn't say from what. Said the sensation may or may not come back. Well I'm hoping that those lightning bolts I felt in bed last night are the little nerves trying to reconnect. It's not a terrible thing, more annoying than anything, but it's nice to have one's body intact.
 
I'm so glad you had a fun Sunday. I didn't see the bizarre words but from experience I know that auto correct is not always our friend.

I hope the the discomfort / lightning bolt feeling goes away for you, it amazes me how much of our body is affected by this surgery...the lower part of my leg, calf area, and the thigh,on my tkr leg are very sore, I massage it but it does not work... I ordered an essential oil blend to massage for muscle pain to see if it helps, I don't want to keep taking meds, my stomach needs a break.
 
@uva55, be sure to let us know how the oils work. I'm tired of meds, too!
 
Yes, uva55 let us know. It would be nice for you to get relief from so much soreness. It's exhausting.
 
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