TKR I’m needing encouragement. Sure glad I found this place.

So I'm on day 20. Every day seems like the day before. I would like more progress. It will come I guess.

I’m using the colpac during the day and the polar cube at night. I’m walking a lot without my walker at home.

Can I take a survey? When did you stop taking opiates for pain? I’m down to 1/2 pill every 6 hours. I have enough for the next 10 days and I’m hoping I won’t need more after that. Is that realistic?

My husband and I have started watching TV together in the evening. Something light hearted. Helps with my anxiety.

Hope you all are doing well and getting well quickly.
 
You are coming along fine. we would all like to progress faster, but that is not the nature of this recovery. There’s nothing you can do about that.

Watching a light hearted movie with your husband is great.

Can I take a survey? When did you stop taking opiates for pain? I’m down to 1/2 pill every 6 hours. I have enough for the next 10 days and I’m hoping I won’t need more after that. Is that realistic?
Please don’t compare your recovery to others. We are all different. It’s possible you can transition to a lesser pain medication soon. Ask your doctor what he suggests. Some members use tramadol as a step down medication. Others, like me, moved on to Tylenol. Some members even combine tramadol and Tylenol. (I did not. Not because my pain was less, but I didn’t like the side effects of the prescriptions, so managed with Tylenol and ibuprofen alternately.)

The most effective way to take Tylenol is 2 x 500 mg tablets every 6 hours, to a total of 4,000 mg (4 doses) in 24 hours. You need to take it regularly, to keep up the levels in your bloodstream. If you just take the odd dose now and then, it's far less effective.

Check all other medications you're taking, to make sure there is no Tylenol/Acetaminophen/Paracetamol in them. If there is, scale back one or two of your regular Tylenol doses, so you stay within that safe 24 hour limit of 4,000 mg.
Always check with your doctor first.
 
Hi @Suzola , things'll get better, even as the rollercoaster carries on ... it'll eventually come to a stop. It's amazing how slowly time ticks away (especially at night or when waiting for the next pain med dose) and yet how quickly it flies by!

I've found that my trusty TKR logs are as much an emotional help as they are a record of the ups and downs of recovery.

Hang in there!

All the best!
 
@glidefloss I read your comments about exercise in the other thread. I just started doing squats. Maybe I should try more. And I’ll ask my husband to go on a walk with me later. My leg feels great as far as function. I was starting to not use my walker around the house which meant I was limping a lot. When I mentioned this to PT he said I should be nice to my leg and baby it a while longer. So I went back to the walker. It was a good decision. I’m walking very normally.

I am having hip pain, back pain! Not fair. But maybe it’s from lack of use. I’ll try a little more exercise. Thanks for talking with me.
 
Hi @Suzola , when trying any new exercise, please make sure you do a little bit at first, monitor how your body reacts to it (e.g., did swelling, aches/pain result a few hours later or even the next day?) before doing more of the exercise. It is all too easy to find some new activity very easy, overdo it, and pay a steep price hours or the day after.

As many have noted in this forum, recovery is not a race ... slow and steady will get you there!

All the best!
 
I just started doing squats. Maybe I should try more.
You are not even a month out of surgery, so squats are not in your best interest yet. They put a lot of stress on a new, healing knee, which could increase your pain.

I am having hip pain, back pain! Not fair. But maybe it’s from lack of use. I’ll try a little more exercise.
It is very common to have pain here, there, and everywhere, this early in recovery. The surgery causes a lot of trauma to more areas of the body than just the knee. Also, with a sore, healing knee, you were limping, which could have caused the back and hip pain. As your PT said, be nice to yourself and keep things gentle for a while yet. You have lots of time to improve, in this year long recovery. Don’t rush it, that may backfire.
 
@Suzola
Squats at 20 days out? No way Jose. Far too early.

Hip pain, could be because you're not using walking aids. I still have an arm crutch in the car, just in case and I didn't stop using two arm crutches until around two months. I have done very well in the recovery stakes, driving a RHD manual car at four weeks with a replaced left knee, back in they gym quite quickly compared to many etc but I was still very careful and am still being so as I have realised this is a long haul and not the quick turn around I thought it would be.
No medals given for uneven gait due to limping or putting undue pressure on any part of the body.

I was off opioids by 21 days and just took paracetamol, and Naproxen for my other knee.
 
Oh my gosh, you are doing squats? I would gently remind you to scroll back up through your early days post op and remember just how traumatic your TKR was for you.

Anxiety in the evenings is a real bear, isn't it.. I can totally sympathize with you on that.
Drinking Sleepy Tea, extra strength, helps me,, whether it's the action of sipping something warm or the actual tea, I don't know, but it works and also helps to keep me from eating stuff that I shouldn't.
 
I just started doing squats.
Squats are very bad for a baby knee, and yours is an infant still. Squats put way too much stress on a healing knee and will cause increased inflammation, swelling, and pain. You need to wait to at least 4-5 months before trying squats.
When I mentioned this to PT he said I should be nice to my leg and baby it a while longer. So I went back to the walker. It was a good decision. I’m walking very normally.
Your PT is spot on! I wish more were like him.
 
I will be leaving soon for PT. The medication schedule I’ve been following to wean off Percocet isn’t working. I woke up already in pain. I’ll take 1/2 every 4 hours instead of 5. My pills will run out faster but oh well. And I woke up with a migraine. My husband is already after me about “don’t be whiny”. I think if I get rid of the migraine I can cope with the rest.
I'm with you! Weaning off Percocet is hard. I'm taking 1/2 pill every six hours, together with Tylenol. I was taking it with Advil but my B/P started spiking really high. My PCP recommended I stop taking Advil or any anti-inflammatory as it can raise blood pressure. But my goodness, Tylenol has never done much for me. I too am worried about running out of pills! I'm at day #21 ad have no idea how long I'll need them. Good luck to you! We will both get through this :tada:
Quick update - I did, finally, completely wean off Oxycodone (Percocet) slowly, several days ago. But was not prepared for the nausea that would come in its place. I feel so ignorant! I had no idea nausea is a common withdrawal thing. I just keep saltines near me and have been able to eat fairly normally - though my taste buds have changed since surgery (five weeks ago today!). I've lost six pounds, which was a nice surprise. Just a lot of changes that I didn't expect. Hope you're doing well, Suzola!
 
Happy Five Week Anniversary!
Sorry about the nausea, that’s certainly no fun.
Please don’t feel ignorant. With all of the side effects of meds and any withdrawal symptoms that may occur, we never know which, if any we may experience. I hope you’re doing better now and hey, what a surprise, a loss of six lbs without even
trying. :happydance:Have a great day!
@JojoFitness
 
Happy Five Week Anniversary!
Sorry about the nausea, that’s certainly no fun.
Please don’t feel ignorant. With all of the side effects of meds and any withdrawal symptoms that may occur, we never know which, if any we may experience. I hope you’re doing better now and hey, what a surprise, a loss of six lbs without even
trying. :happydance:Have a great day!
@JojoFitness
Thank you so much, Layla!
 

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