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TKR Hopefaith's Ups and Downs of Recovery

@hopefaith I am out there at 3 months and my knee still doesn't look like a knee, somewhat swollen and feeling "full" as @DogLoverx3 puts it. But as @JustJeff says, I don't worry too much about it as it isn't painful, just a bit awkward feeling and it isn't preventing me from doing anything I need or want to do, like walk the dog or, especially, play golf! :) It is what it is. If it never felt any different than it does now I would still do it all over again.
 
@Phil75070 my knee is stiff all of the time. If I have activity it quickly becomes more stiff to the point I have to get it elevated and iced. It doesn't stay at one level of stiffness and that is what is frustrating. It progresses quickly to very stiff.
hopefaith
 
@hopefaith I'm still battling with the sleep issue. It's ongoing each night. Now, I get drowsy at 9 to 9:30, take a tramadol, as its good for 8 hours, sleep for an hour or so until I wake up with this weird burst of energy, like a fight/flight reaction, squeeze my body tight a few time, clenching my fists, wake up and read or do other chores until midnight or so, get drowsy again, sleep until 4:30, make coffee (my wife's alarm is at 4:15, which doesn't help) then I get drowsy again at 6:30 and sleep until 9. I'd sure like to get off this roller coaster but I'm happy to say that pain isn't an issue. I think I'll try it tonight without meds just to see if there's any difference especially in that energy burst.

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@JustJeff I don't take tramadol after noon because one of the side effects is difficulty sleeping. It rev.s me up when I take it in the morning. (And I am on a very low dose)
hopefaith
 
@hopefaith Mine doesn't always feel exactly the same. Thre are times, even when I have done nothing when it feels more swollen and stiff.

@JustJeff My problem with sleep is just getting comfortable. It isn't a pain thing; I just have this restless feeling in my legs. Isn't there a condition called "restless leg syndrome". Never had this problem before surgery and whatever it is affects both legs. It is a sensation I get only at or near bedtime.
 
Hi All! I think it is a great idea to beam us up somewhere, give us perfectly functioning knees, lovely sleep patterns and the pleasure of each other's company!

I was at physio today and chatting with the regulars - we all started on the same date and are close in surgery dates. There are 8-10 of us depending on the day. Some have had the surgery on the other knee and according to the ones that have they are so thankful that they had it done. One is 11 years out and had a heck of a time when she first had it done but says it has been a decade since she even thought of it. Another one is 11 months out and he is really happy with that one as well as the one he had 5 weeks ago. I have yet to meet someone there that has sworn off of knee surgery or who wishes they had never had it done. I know this is a small sampling but it is still good to know.

We talked about sleep too and that seems to take a while to get back into a groove. Our bodies have taken a real hit and perhaps sleep is the only thing that our body can mess with as pay back :)

@Phil75070 I have heard about that feeling in the legs. I cannot even imagine that feeling. My TKR leg will sometimes jerk for no reason but that is the only weirdness I have experienced (other than the fact that I have completely foreign matter where my knee used to be).
 
So I was starting to rant on others threads about some things that have come up, so I decided to come home :heehee: to rant here. I will tag a few. @DogLoverx3 @Nana moon 27 @Pumpkln @ @JustJeff @Quasi @Jozilla @71 beetle @cafecortado @busylizzie @NightQuilter @kneeper @Tamsmom . I know there are more, but my brain is limited for info. (I need to do those brain exercises for fear I am losing it.:rotfl:)
Yesterday, I phoned my OS, and I always get stuck with the NP, who I haven't clicked with from the start. She finally admitted to me that this recovery is a year. In every other conversation she made me feel as though I was slow and doing something wrong to have pain and "still" struggling so much. She said they don't even start getting concerned about stiffness until around a year!!!!!! I am upset, not because that is new information. It isn't. It isn't because I found an amazing web site called Bone Smart. I am upset because it feels so deceptive. It was never communicated by my OS or NP or anyone else in this office that if I chose to do this, I was looking at a year out of my life to recover!
Also, I was over on @DogLoverx3 's thread and I needed to come back to mine to rant about something else. She was talking about someone judging her about her recovery taking "so long" and like SHE is doing something wrong. This is a very sore spot for me. I get messags "Are you doing your PT?" translated......"there is something you are doing or not doing that this is taking SOOO long for you." I am so glad we have each other in this.
Okay rant #3 (or 23, I am not counting) This is more personal so it is hard to write about. I read about others having rows (I like that term I have learned on here) with their S.O. and I feel so sad. My anger, frustration, and melt downs were treated like there was something pathologically wrong with me. So, reading various posts, although I am sad you have gone through those, makes me feel like a typical person going through the intense recovery of a TKR. Oh well, better to find it out now rather than later.
If you are still reading by now, bless you. and thanks for listening. This is a hard day.

~hopefaith
 
Hi @hopefaith
Believe me what you're going through is normal. I was also misled by the health system that after 3months I would be back to normal. Yeah right! Like you I found this site thank goodness. I dint know how I'd have coped with out it!!! Xxxx
 
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