Bilateral TKR I had both knees tkr and am struggling

[madinana]

@tiredwife I use ambien and that helps me sleep the problem I have is sleep good 5 hours then its the game how many times do I have to go to bathroom and fall asleep again

 

[tiredwife]

@madinana HEHE. Hubby had that problem the first few weeks, all the swelling draining out makes you pee.

 

[Josephine]

I remember my surgeon saying to me pre-op "You will hate me and curse my name in the first 6 weeks or so. That's why I never see my patients until week 7!" And he was dead right!

 

[Roy Gardiner]

You were smarter than me by spacing the two operations apart. Doing them both at one time has been very rough on me. I am almost ten weeks out and still having a lot of tightness, burning and various leg ache issues.

You will be happy enough in a while as you had the tightenesses, burnings and leg aches at the same time, not one after another.

I echo the words that Tim has given you.

I, too, am now cycling as much as my laziness will permit, my knees present no obstacle. Pre-surgery, they hurt. Now on the bike, they don't. Everything else does...

 

[referee54]

I, too, am now cycling as much as my laziness will permit,

I am liking that phrase--- a lot!!!

 

[Perry]

New Question for new issues ?
10 weeks after BLTKR
For the last several days I am being awakened after 5 hours in bed with terrible aches and burning in both knees to the point I have to get up. I sleep with both legs elevated and pretty soundly up till that time. Sometimes with sleeping pills sometimes not and usually with only strong over the counter pain med.. which make no difference. This has just started in the last several days. It seems counter to what I was expecting as this is pain very similar to what I had the first several weeks after surgery, and I would have thought this was behind me at this point.

After massaging the knees, walking and bending them in seated position and using ice and or Pensaid cream they stop hurting. Anybody else experiencing this ?

 

[Janet2012]

Zzzquil and Benedryl have the same active ingredient, I believe, so just be aware you are doubling the dose.


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[scaredinCA]

Perry while reading your post tonight about the pain you have while standing, I started remembering how standing in one spot caused my knees to itch so bad that I would have to rub them right away. I'm not talking about itching around the scars, no, it was a deep itch that was impossible to ignore. I had to sit down and rub them at once!! No one on this forum had heard of it before. (naturally it had to be me). I'm only telling you about it to show you that our aches, pains, itch, is all part of healing.. I didn't itch while walking or sitting, only when standing in one spot and it went on for months & months. Reading this thread tonight made me realize its gone, I don't itch when standing anymore. Its been awhile and I had forgotton all about it. Sooner or later your knees won't hurt when standing anymore and you probably won't even notice it when it goes away, and then one day something will happen to remind you that your knees used to ache when standing, etc.. Thats the way it goes..

 

[Gingiebot]

@scaredinCA It is so good to hear from people like you with more time. You remind me there is a light somewhere down this road. Thanks.

 

[scaredinCA]

You are welcome. Yes there is a light somewhere down the road, different for each of us, but we all end up at the same place eventually. Healed, and some of our knees don't end up perfect, but it sure beats the heck out of the arthritis pain we had before surgery! Thats for certain.

 

[Josephine]

For the last several days I am being awakened after 5 hours in bed with terrible aches and burning in both knees to the point I have to get up.

I'm going to ask you some questions and it would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't compare this with the bone-on-bone pain you had before surgery!

)

2. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

3. how often are you icing your knee and for how long?

4. are you elevating your leg, how often and for how long?

5. What is your ROM - that's flexion (bend) and extension (straightness)

6. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

7. what kind of PT/exercises are you doing? How much and how often? (and detailed details would be appreciated, please! Reps, sets and session and all that)

Note:
If you're not familiar with this, it goes like so:
1 lift of a 500kg bell bar = 1 rep or repetition.
Doing 5 reps and then a brief rest = 1 set of 5.
And doing 5 sets and finishing = a session.

 

[Perry]

Are you kidding me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!
For those of you like me who are still struggling for the end of this pain, burning, and aching,
this is a laughable (almost if it weren't so bitter) joke.
* I think Josephine will be stunned by this blanket general cherry assessment .
------
Received this cheerful form message from my operating hospital in Asheville, North Carolina today.
Playing sports feeling great..... Not yet for me.
3 Month post-Op e-mail
Erica Arndt, RN ONC
Pre-Op Educator
Mission Hospital, Asheville, NC USA

Dear Richard:
The 3-month mark is a time when many patients feel completely back to normal. By now you have likely resumed working and your other activities—without the pain you had before surgery. You can resume most of your physical activities including housework, sex and sports, as long as you are comfortable and are not at risk for falling.
After your wait for the surgery, the surgery itself and a recovery that was painful for a time and perhaps frustrating, it feels good to begin to put all of that behind you.

 

[scaredinCA]

Are they nuts? Obviously they've never had this surgery on their knees.

 

[Jozilla]

Very funny. I love statements like this! Not!

 

[2014knees]

@Perry I get these same messages from MM in Asheville NC. I feel the same way as you! In a perfect world I guess we would be at the point they say we should be but "our" knees are telling us something different!! Hang in there. I have faith in knowing that one day soon we will be glad we had this done!!

 

[Josephine]

Oh brother. It really concretes your trust in them, doesn't it?

Well, folks, at least you know the advice you get on here is from genuine "been there, done that, bought the teeshirt" people!

Excuse me, but I have to get my fellow mods in here to see this (see post #112)
@Jamie @referee54 @skigirl @bottomshollow @RestAssured

 

[2014knees]

@Perry @Josephine...... Here is the email I received today from same hospital.

Dear Brenda:

You’ve reached the 6-month mark! While this is our last regular email to you, your surgeon remains your point of contact for follow-ups and any concerns you have about your new joint.

You are now mostly, or fully, healed from your surgery, though you may continue healing gradually for another 6 months or more. We hope you are beginning to enjoy life free from the pain and limitations your joint disease caused.

If your hip or knee isn’t where you’d like it to be, don’t be discouraged; everyone recovers at his or her own rate and to different degrees. Your flexion may continue to improve—for years.

Well I would be rolling on the floor if I could get down there............and if I could I would not be able to get back up!!!!

 

[scaredinCA]

I wonder why the same hospital sent two different types of letters? The three month one to Perry is just whacky.

 

[Perry]

Question ??
Has anybody used "Medrol dose packs" for the stiffness, burning aches of the TKR
I used this prior to the BLTKR surgery with good results but my surgeon and general doctor do not think they would be good at this point.

 

[Pumpkin]

I used a Medrol pack for my asthma last summer, helped my TKR knee quite a bit. I was able to enjoy a weekend at the coast, walking all over the place.
I know it is only a short term fix, it will get the inflammation down while you are using it.


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