TKR I just scheduled my second TKR (left)

[Txknee72]

I'm new here and recovering 2 1/2 weeks. The physical part is ok so far but the stupid mind games is making me crazy. I need help any advice will this pass. I suffer from depression and anxiety so I'm used to it but this has taken me to a new low. I have to get the other knee done in the future and don't know if I can do this again.

 

[Jockette]

Hi and Welcome!

I’m sorry you are struggling so much, this sure is a tough recovery and we’ve been where you are now.

Here’s an article that might help explain the mind part of this recovery:

Depression/post-op blues

It's a known fact that even people with no previous history of depression can succumb to depression - often also called Post op blues. It's nasty when it hits but happily, for most it is only short lived. There are several reasons for it 1. just the emotional, physical and psychological impact...

bonesmart.org

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:

rest​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

don't overwork.​

3. Do what you want to do BUT

​

a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​

b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

​

the BoneSmart view on exercise​

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Activity progression for TKRs​

6. Access to these pages on the website

​

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.

 

[Celle]

Hello @Txknee72 - and

Please will you tell us the full date of your knee replacement and which knee it is, so we can make a signature for you? Thank you.

 

[Nothappy]

I'm new here and recovering 2 1/2 weeks. The physical part is ok so far but the stupid mind games is making me crazy. I need help any advice will this pass. I suffer from depression and anxiety so I'm used to it but this has taken me to a new low. I have to get the other knee done in the future and don't know if I can do this again.

Hi Tx. I had my first TKR May of 2018 feeling the same way you do now. My recovery was long. I was miserable all the time. I was depressed and cried a lot. Then I found this website and learned a lot and soon knew that time is what we need for this. I swore I would not have the other one done but here I am 15 days postop and not too bad. Just do what your body tells you to do and rest and ice is important. I have yet to have a pain or twinge from the replaced knee from last year and hoping that once the right one heals I will feel great. Remember that each day gets better but this is it a surgery where you will be better in a few weeks. It does take a long time. This website has helped me out with so much that I don’t think I could have gotten by without them

 

[Nothappy]

I'm new here and recovering 2 1/2 weeks. The physical part is ok so far but the stupid mind games is making me crazy. I need help any advice will this pass. I suffer from depression and anxiety so I'm used to it but this has taken me to a new low. I have to get the other knee done in the future and don't know if I can do this again.

I'm new here and recovering 2 1/2 weeks. The physical part is ok so far but the stupid mind games is making me crazy. I need help any advice will this pass. I suffer from depression and anxiety so I'm used to it but this has taken me to a new low. I have to get the other knee done in the future and don't know if I can do this again.

Hi Tx. I had my first TKR May of 2018 feeling the same way you do now. My recovery was long. I was miserable all the time. I was depressed and cried a lot. Then I found this website and learned a lot and soon knew that time is what we need for this. I swore I would not have the other one done but here I am 15 days postop and not too bad. Just do what your body tells you to do and rest and ice is important. I have yet to have a pain or twinge from the replaced knee from last year and hoping that once the right one heals I will feel great. Remember that each day gets better but this is it a surgery where you will be better in a few weeks. It does take a long time. This website has helped me out with so much that I don’t think I could have gotten by without them

I meant to say that this is a surgery where you will NOT be better in six weeks. Time is what you need

 

[Txknee72]

Hello @Txknee72 - and

Please will you tell us the full date of your knee replacement and which knee it is, so we can make a signature for you? Thank you.

I had surgery 10/15/19 on my right knee

 

[Txknee72]

I'm currently struggling with falling asleep. I lay in bed for hours then eventually fall asleep. Then I want to sleep the morning away but feel guilt when it happens. I'm almost 4 weeks out and moving more than I have in years.

 

[Pumpkin]

Txknee72,
You are not even a month out from your surgery, disrupted sleep is normal. Sleep when you can, as you heal your sleep will improve and return to your normal schedule. It is more important you get some sleep than match your expected sleep cycle.

I'm almost 4 weeks out and moving more than I have in years.

.
Focus on the positive, your sleep schedule will take care of itself.

 

[Txknee72]

Thank you so much. I need to have reminders. I don't know why I think I should be superwoman. Heck I haven't done a lot of things in years. The inner critic and boredom is getting to me I guess.

 

[Starsfan22]

You are still early in the process. My sleep issue seemed to be a general restlessness which I didn't have before surgery. Early on you should still be medicating at night yes? If I couldn't sleep, I got up and watched a sitcom for an hour or so. At that point I was able to go back to sleep. Later on Aleve pm helped. Now at 15 weeks I'm over the sleep problems but only in the last couple of weeks. You'll have better nights, it just takes time. Meanwhile naps are you friend. My journey may be completely different from yours. Perhaps you'll be completely over the sleep problems next week!

 

[Txknee72]

I'm 2 1/2 months out and doing pretty good with range of motion. I am in office setting back to work full time. I find pain when I wear shoes. What shoes are most finding comfortable after surgery? I need non sneaker type.

 

[Jockette]

Here’s a thread in our Social Room about shoes for recovery:

https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/shoes-for-recovery.42383/

 

[Rockgirl4]

I really struggled with shoes after my TKR last May. I could only wear high-end athletic shoes until the 6-month mark. Anything like a dress shoe or boot with little cushion was AWFUL for my entire right leg and the knee. It's improved over the last 4-6 wks (I'm just over the 7 month post-op mark), but I still can't wear non athletic shoes for more than a couple of hours.

I was told Vionics had some nice dress shoes with LOTS of cushioning. I couldn't wear most as my arch was too high, but I know some that swear by this brand, especially if they have a bad back or bad feet problems.

 

[Celle]

@Txknee72
You'll notice that I have merged your two threads together as we prefer that members in recovery only have one thread.

This is for three reasons:
1. if you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts others have left you in the old threads
2. it often ends up that information is unnecessarily repeated
3. it's best if we can keep all your recovery story in one place so it's easily accessed if we need to advise you.

Please keep all your questions and updates on this thread. If you would like a new thread title just post what you would like it to be and we'll change it for you

 

[Celle]

Are you trying to wear the same shoes as you wore before surgery? If so, you would have worn a tread pattern that doesn't suit your new body dynamics since your knee was replaced. You may have to invest in some new shoes.

Most of us find that we can't wear high heels any more, and have to wear medium to low heels.

 

[Helizabug]

Cushioning is probably key at this point, and a wide toe box is always nice. I love my Altra shoes, but lots of people don’t like them because they have minimal support.

 

[Txknee72]

I am almost 3 months out from my right tkr and went ahead and scheduled my left for May 19th. I am scared but I did it because if I don't do it now I may not in the future. I am having pain in the left I didn't notice before but I know its from using it more. I am still in PT so that is helping. My main concerns are: the mental spiral I had after my first and will the second be as successful as the first. I know only going through will tell me if it is the same experience. I am more worried on the depression and anxiety I had and still struggle with on a random day. I figure I have 4 months to figure it out and get a good plan in place. Any encouragement would be great. Oh and I can't figure out how to tie this to my other posts? Please let me know what I need to do.

 

[Rachell]

Hi Txknee72 - I hope you continue to do well with your healing on your right knee. I had R TKR in 2010 and vowed to never live long enough to get my L done but here I am, scheduled for Mar 16th. I'm reaching out because you mentioned concerns about depression and anxiety, which are my biggest fears because I too struggle with mental disabilities. There seems to be no correlation between the diseased brain and having major surgery except to tell me 'I'm a complicated case'. I'm thinking of handwriting all my concerns down beforehand to give to my surgeon so he has some compassion.

 

[Pumpkin]

@Txknee72
You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread as you requested. For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:

• That way, we have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
• If you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
• Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.

So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here. If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.
If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.

Many members bookmark their thread in their computer browser, so they can find it when they log on.

 

[Txknee72]

Hi Txknee72 - I hope you continue to do well with your healing on your right knee. I had R TKR in 2010 and vowed to never live long enough to get my L done but here I am, scheduled for Mar 16th. I'm reaching out because you mentioned concerns about depression and anxiety, which are my biggest fears because I too struggle with mental disabilities. There seems to be no correlation between the diseased brain and having major surgery except to tell me 'I'm a complicated case'. I'm thinking of handwriting all my concerns down beforehand to give to my surgeon so he has some compassion.

Hi! I'm glad you reached out. I think it's important to have a great support system. I struggle with anxiety and depression and having surgery makes mine much worse. Feel free to ask me anything. The surgeon I have is aware of these issues and says it's normal for some. I will be happy to be a support for you if you like.