Bilateral TKR I had both knees tkr and am struggling

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What strength Tramadol and (regular or extra strength Tylenol at same time and what dose ?)
 
I continue to question my will and strength to get through this operation of mine.....
We all questioned ourselves, but we all made it through! You have strength that you do not know that you have!

You can ride a real bicycle ? Your range of motion must be 120 in both legs ?
IF you take a look in the Social area of the forum, there is a spot for all of us cyclists. There are many on the forum---I just did a 37-mile ride today and am doing about 140 miles a week.

cannot ride a stationary bike or a recumbent bike I purchased because my left knee is still too stiff.
Have you tried raising the seat higher than normal? That may help some. Another action to try is to rock from side to side---to "cheat" little bit, so to speak.

Have you tried rocking the pedals back and forth? Many of us did this---and our first rotations were actually easier going backwards rather than forwards.
 
Thanks Referee54,
I raised my stationary bike seat as far as it will go and have to rock sideways and (some pain) force the left knee to go around. So I was not sure that I should be doing this and would this also possibly cause me hip bone aches.
---
On the recumbent bike, on the last setting, I can barely go all the way around (but some pain) because of the stubborn left leg.
So, I once again was concerned am I hurting or helping myself to force the revolutions through the pain?
Not screaming pain, but probably a #3
 
Do not force it---just rock back and forth---not only with your hips, but with the legs---and that will help loosen them up.

It all comes in time---my BTKR recovery took months and months and months---but I am fine now and life is not good---it is great.

I am riding in a two-day, 150-mile charity ride the first weekend in August---this will be my fourth year doing it.

Just be patient and take your time---you will recover on your knees' schedule---but you will be fully recovered and it will be so very much worth it!
 
1000 mg Tylenol (2 - 500 mg extra strength tablets) + 50 mg Tramadol (1 tablet - if that is the dose strength of the tablet). Take all 3 tablets 4 times a day. If you use any other meds that has acetominephen in it you need to calculate that into the maximum dose of 4000 mg acetominephen/day and adjust accordingly.
 
I just got caught up on your thread, @Perry . You are getting lots of good advice. I had my btkr about 5-6 weeks before you. My experience was that icing/elevating relieved the pain better than the narcotics without the side effects. It is a slower recovery than any of us would like. I must say I was struck by your therapists telling you to slow down! Many people have therapists that are too aggressive and cause further swelling.

My scars didn't cause me any itching or burning until about 7-8 weeks out. I haven't tried the plastic sheet thing but I do rub them with lotion. I can't stand to have bed covers on them yet so I drape my blankets above and below my knees! I've never worn shorts my entire adult life - until now. Don't like long pants touching my knees. I hope they desensitize soon!:flabber:

Pockets of swelling persist. It gets better, albeit slower for some than for others.
 
Hi Big Bend,
Thanks for the support. I am 2 months out today....yea !!!
Legs are still very tight , mainly above the knees
Sleep is getting easier, thank goodness !!!
It seems my biggest complaint is I cannot stand still in one place for very long with out the knees starting to ache and burn,,,, and seems my stamina is not what it should be at this point.
------
As you are 5-6 weeks ahead of me I would like to ask......
Do you have stiffness still and an y burning, and is walking and standing not issues now ?
 
@Perry Please remember that everyone is different in their recovery so I don't want to scare you with what I am going to say!!

I am five months out today from BTKR and I still have stiffness, some swelling and standing and walking are still issues for me!! My problem with standing is the pain that generates down my legs. I have to stand for a few seconds before I take a step. My knees get sooo tired when I walk but that is getting easier to do.

I still have not mastered the steps but it is starting to improve. I am not in a lot of pain just dull aches at times.
If I had it to do over I would still have the bi-lateral sx!!

It has been rough but I think in the long run it will be so worth it!!

Wishing you a speedy (not gonna happen) recovery!!
 
Thanks …. this is not news to me .......

My life is consumed by all the above.

(I have had appendicitis attacks, and gall stone attacks - these were viciously painful)

The pains I am experiencing from the BTKRS are not the same but work on a person mentally and physically, through their longevity and persistence
 
@Perry, Amen! I have not had bilateral TKR but have had both of my knees replaced this year. They do work on you mentally and physically. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
 
HI Texan,
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.
----
As your first knee surgery was a little over 4 months before your second, was your first one near 100% good ?
If yes, what time was your turning point,,,, many I talk with say 4 months was their turning point.
 
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.
Again, after my BTKR, I struggled with the matter of time---as in "how long is this going to take?"

I had the BTKR surgery on the 8th of November, and, when I umpired my first game behind the plate, during the first week of April of the following year, one of the head coaches noticed that I had a slight little limp---still!

If yes, what time was your turning point,,,, many I talk with say 4 months was their turning point.
Mine was at about the 51/2 month mark---the limp disappeared. As I have written before, I was at 80%-85% at months six, and, at month eight, I was around 90%-95%. By the end of August, I was around 100%---but still gaining tiny bits of ROM.

Now, let's fast-forward to this year---I have cycled at least 120 miles a week (sometimes 160) since the end of May, I just put my umpire equipment and uniform away after completing my season of about 89 games, and I am working at a produce farm, climbing up onto tractors, hoisting crates of corn and other produce, and all doing it pain-free. Oh, yes, I can sleep at night without any knee pains what so ever.

The time it took to recovery, while certainly frustrating at the time, was certainly worth its length in what I am able to do now, and to do it pain-free.
 
Thank You _ Thank You..... I needed that boost of encouragement right now.
Hope you latest knee surgery is progressing well.
 
@Perry, I will be @ 6 months on the 29th of this month with my first TKR. I can't really tell you when I had a turning point since I had my second surgery at 4 months. I don't really think about my first TKR since I am so focused on the second one. I still have a pinching on the back of the knee that keeps me from bending my knee. My surgeon tells me there isn't anything that could be pinching. He is NO help. My p/t talked to an o/s that he knows and he said he does a cortisone injection into an area back there. I have to get all of the information from him so I can ask my surgeon on my next visit. I had such bad knees for years that I am not sure what 100% is for me. I don't really think I am at 100% yet, but what I have is so much better than my life has been for the last 8 years! All of the crying, sickness, depression and pain is worth the improvement I feel now.
 
All of the crying, sickness, depression and pain is worth the improvement I feel now.
:iagree: I kept wondering, "When will all of this be over?" "When will I lose this (unmentionable) limp?" "When will I be able to sleep at night?" Early on, I would stand by my front window and watch the world go by---I went through some down times.

I did not realize, though, that my life, then, was rather dysfunctional. Pain, sleepless nights, curtailed activities, and excuses not to go places or to do things.

Again, now it is 2014. I can do anything that I wish to do. The tough times that I went through back in 2007-2008 were certainly worth it.
 
Thanks Ref,
I have questioned my decision to do this, questioned my mental and physical strength to endure,
stoped doing all the things I formerly enjoyed doing , and stop smiling, laughing, enjoying life,,,,
even got so depressed wondering if it was worth going on............
I tried tackling all this by myself and within myself (not a good idea)
You , the people on this site, and many friends, "and most of all my wife" all were willing to listen, talk , and offer support,,,, I just had to tell them I needed help, and ask.
 
I have questioned my decision to do this, questioned my mental and physical strength to endure,
You cannot count the number of times that I asked myself, "What the heck did I get myself into?"

At about ten weeks, my knees would be pretty loose in the mornings, prior to going to school. By 11:00 AM, the knees would be stiff and sore. By the end of the day, I was sore, cranky, and to the point of exhaustion. On weekends, I would commit to doing nothing on Sundays after church---except icing, elevating, and resting. This seemed to go on without end.

stoped doing all the things I formerly enjoyed doing , and stop smiling, laughing, enjoying life,,,,
I found out in February that I was selected to work the plate for a state championship game. My knees were in awful, woeful shape and walking, at times was painful. I was really down as I thought I would have to give up this goal of mine.

SynVisc brought me three days of relief---that is right---three days. I had the shots on a Wednesday, and, by Saturday, the burning arthritic pain had returned

I luckily got relief from a series of cortisone shots that got me from March through November. I worked the state finals with cortisone in both knees.

That was 2007. In 2009, the first year that I was eligible, I worked the plate again---but this time I believe that I was the first umpire in Ohio to work a state baseball final with two artificial knees. I was able to work them again in 2011 and 2013---each time to work the plate.

It was tough. It was long. It was tiring and depressing and frustrating---but I got my life back and it was so very much worth it.Keep on keepin' on, Perry. You will get to that place called "fully recovered", and you will be amazed at how great you feel.

You just have to keep putting the pieces of the recovery puzzle together. Eventually, that puzzle will all come together, and you will have a great picture of how your life is really supposed to be.
 
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