TKR I really didn't know what I was getting into!

[Pheebs52]

I second KarriB's vote! Enough!

 

[sistersinhim]

I will never go to the place you went for surgery @Knees4Me I don't see how any of you there could heal. Everything inside that's trying to heal will be pulled apart. What a nightmare. It's a wonder you can even walk! The BS way is always the best way!

 

[kneeper]

Yes, the torture chamber PT sounds like it led to a much tougher recovery than necessary. I'm so happy you have a gentle PT now. My suspicion is that PTs feel the need to "do something" even when sometimes what you need is to back off. Keep listening to your body and only do those things you think are helping.

You might just tell the PT you'd like to only meet with her every couple of weeks or you want to just try the exercises on your own for a while and see how it goes.


You did just the right thing to ice and elevate after your walk to your appointment, coffee etc. Possibly a bit much in one day, but you only know after you try. One thing my good PT said about activity/exercises was that it was ok to be a bit sore afterward, but if you were still aching more than 2 hours afterward you know you did too much.

 

[Knees4Me]

@KarriB - I think there's a misunderstanding. Just to clarify, I left the aggressive outpatient physio at the hospital's rehab facility back in March, possibly too late. Since then, I've been going to the same gentle PT who's helped me with various problems (wrist, neck, back) for years. She is actually helping me undo the damage done (hopefully!) to my soft tissues with very gentle massage, and stretching to keep me somewhat mobile. She never pushes and doesn't hurt me...ever! She helped me learn how to walk normally again! Which I haven't done for several years. Next is practicing going down stairs, which still hurts as much as it did before m LTKR surgery. I've given up the recumbent bike and trying to walk very far until I have a lot less pain. Maybe some think I should "work through it," including my GP, but I actually have learned from BoneSmart. Less is more!

 

[Knees4Me]

@kneeper - I feel that I want to go to my physiotherapist weekly until Aug. 9 (two more sessions), then I'll likely stop partly because I'm paying out of my own pocket now. I didn't know I could still overdo it seven months down the road. I feel I should be back to "normal" now and pain free!! But my GP says I don't have a "normal" recovery (lucky me - not!) and I have to keep an eye on my "long game" and "work through it." Ugh! NOT the bill of goods I was sold by my doctors, including my surgeon, before the operation. The rule of thumb is to wait 12 weeks before going back to work. Well, I'm glad I'm retired because I certainly couldn't have gone back to work at 12 weeks (as my former boss did, easily,) and I still couldn't have gone back to work this far out! I wish I had some kind of needle with painkiller that I could stick into my knee! Voltaren doesn't work. The arthritis in my right knee would have to get very bad before I'd agree to have it replaced! But that may happen. It's already complaining from doing double duty for so long!

 

[Knees4Me]

@sistersinhim - The hospital I went to specializes in knee and hip replacements and the rehab there is a part of the system and is condoned by the surgeons. Some even order "aggressive" physiotherapy for their patients. Some do walk out of there with no cane and little pain after just 3 - weeks of twice weekly two-hour session. I know we're no supposed to compare, but I do envy them. I feel I've lost nearly seven months of my life and I'm not out of the woods yet. I don't want to repeat this awful experience with knee #2. I had all sorts of plans from June on this year that won't be happening. You just never know before TKR what your particular outcome will be. Some people are "thrilled." I'm nowhere near that state!! Most of the people who were posting when I started in January have stopped posting here. I guess they no longer need the support. I do! So thanks to everyone who's been trying to buoy me up!!

 

[KarriB]

What sorts of things does your PT do with you? Mine helped me with my gait and balance, then much later with some strength because my leg became very weak due to infection and being in a brace. They also helped early on with flexion by monitoring me on a bike, massaging and using E-stim. One of the hardest things for me to learn was actually picking up my foot when I walked due to years of shuffling along. They had short hurdles I had to step over which helped with balance as well.

 

[kneeper]

Working on gait is one of the things PTs can be really helpful with. Our abnormal walks feel normal for so long that walking correctly can feel weird.

Going down stairs comfortably was the last thing to come for me in knee #1. I know I could not do them relatively comfortably for several months--and I was still using the hand railing. Now I can do stairs without a problem, though I do use the railing for safety, since I can be a bit of a klutz.

 

[phrog]

I've been out of town for a week and away from this board. I am just checking in on how you are doing @Knees4Me. I wish you were doing better than the posts I've just skimmed through are indicating. You're not alone in the frustration. After being away from my exercise classes and stationary bike for a week, my leg has less pain, but still feels kind of numb and heavy. Makes me wonder if I should be doing less at the senior center, though, since numb is more tolerable than pain. Long rides in the car were difficult though, so sitting is definitely is not the answer! I am sorry for your pain and frustration - and hope you have a nice visit with your sister-in-law. Hang in there - a lot of us are hanging by the same thread!

 

[Knees4Me]

@phrog - Sorry for the delay in replying and thanks so much for your concern. Our visit last week with my sister-in-law and her husband from England was fun - and took my mind off my knee for a while. I actually did okay. We took a day trip by car to Niagara Falls (Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side with a great view of the American side). I wore my neoprene knee brace and the drive wasn't too bad. Being high season, Niagara Falls was predictably packed with tourists. Luckily, I took my disabled parking permit, which allowed us to park in a disabled spot right beside the best view of the Falls - in an otherwise full parking lot. I took my cane and was able to walk as much as the others - if not as fast! We also had lunch at a vineyard and visited the quaint town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, where I was also able to walk up and down the main street. My knee actually seemed to be improving last week, but this week it's been painful again, so I've had to take Tylenol a couple of times a day and ice a lot, although there's little to no swelling left. Walking downstairs normally is still painful. And although I can ride the recumbent bike in our building's gym, or walk far, it irritates the left side of my knee and hurts afterward for a day or two! There's no way I can walk 10,000 steps a day, even though I'll be 8 months post-op on Sept. 3. Very discouraging! I still go for very gentle physio once a week. My GP says I'm not having a normal recovery. However, I'm hoping that I'm one of the patients who'll finally fully recover in a year. My husband thinks I should make an appointment with my surgeon to see if anything is wrong. I dread having a revision, especially with the same surgeon. I've already lost most of this year and I don't want to lose more of living with a second surgery on the same knee...especially because my right knee also has advanced arthritis and needs replacing. That won't happen for a VERY long time. I regret having my left knee replaced because I have not had even one day without pain since Jan. 2. I had much less pain before surgery. I often wonder if I'll have to resign myself to this pain for the rest of my life! I'm discouraged because most other people who had their TKRs - even bilateral ones - around the time I had mine, or even later, had a relatively quick and normal recovery. And they don't post here any longer. Sorry for the rant but I feel I have an alien trapped inside my left knee!

 

[SusieShoes]

My heart goes out to you. You had this surgery to restore your life, not lose more of it. For what it's worth, I'm siding with your husband: you should make an appointment with your surgeon to see why you are not doing better. If there's a problem with the implant, you need to find out. This is your body and your life, so leave no stone unturned in making it right, or at least as good and pain free as possible. If your surgeon cannot give you an answer, find another surgeon who specializes in problem knees, one who does revisions, and see what that surgeon has to say.

 

[Jajakio]

I agree with Susie. Find a revision specialist and get a second opinion. You don't necessarily have to choose to have it redone, just see what he has to say. At best you will be reassured everything is fine but moving slowly. At worst, you will find a problem and then decide on a solution. You might read some other threads on here about others who eventually decided on a revision, and see that many came out much better the second time around. I feel for you. I can't imagine the stress of starting over. But you did this to get a normal life back. It may still be possible.

 

[kneeper]

Are you having sharp pain when you walk or does the knee just get achy after activity?

 

[bland9]

Hiya Knees4me@ I really feel your pain and frustration, myself though I'm just 3 months post op on my left knee , I to feel at times that I wish I never gone through with all this , my knee feels just has bad now has it did the first week PO, I do a simple slow walk for 20 mins and the pain from the banding really hurts so I have to spend rest of day resting leg, my leg is very bent not straight so I have to walk with a limp, walking up stairs has worsened have to hang on rails now before I would walk up unaided. sleep patterns have worsen, so I really don't know if things get worse before it gets better , I got to have the other knee done but I going to wait, I ben discharged from PT stating my knee all fine rom 115 , so that its has far has pt goes and surgeon say all ok, wish he could feel my pain

 

[Arttie]

I am curious, how difficult is it to get to a different orthopedic specialist in the Canadian health care system?

 

[sistersinhim]

My surgeon told me soon after my operation that I had a "challenging" knee to work on.

A few posts back you said this. This is one of the main reasons your knee is a little slower than some others. I had 5 previous surgeries on my right before my tkr. I was a year out in June, yet at times I still have pain. Not bad, but it lets me know it's there. Your knee was and is different that any other knee. It will take the time it takes to heal. A challenging surgery says to me that your knee is saying to give it more time to heal from all that extra work the OS had to do. I believe and pray that you are worrying for no reason.

 

[VW54]

I've now read all of the 13 pages of your knee op recovery. I can only offer lots of sympathy and a BIG virtual HUG.
It is almost 3 months for me and I am not at all "thrilled". I still tell those who ask, or rather those who are willing to listen, that I am often frustrated and wish my old arthritic knee back. ( I know that is silly because it was bone on bone and hurt terribly, and yet...) It is really, truly a difficult situation if one still has so much pain, or more than before.

 

[Knees4Me]

@sistersinhim - Bless you for giving me hope by going back in my posts and telling me of your own experience! I truly hope you're right!!

@VW54 - Thank you so much for reading all of my posts! It's a common theme that so many of us wish we had our old arthritis knees back. I am confident that I no longer have arthritic pain in my left knee. I went to my very kind and gentle physiotherapist today and she thinks my pain is all from soft tissues like my IT band, muscles, tendons and some scar tissue. She also thinks this pain will eventually resolve itself. I do hope so!

@SusieShoes - I have decided to take my husband's advice and make an appointment with my surgeon after I see my GP for my annual checkup in a couple of weeks. I want to have X-rays and get her to tell me if my knee replacement is in place, even just for my peace of mind. If it's not okay, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. But I really do dread going through this ordeal again. I absolutely hated going to the PTs in the hospital's rehab facility. And I believe they may be the reason for my post-op problems!! Guess I'll never know for sure, though.

 

[Knees4Me]

@Arttie - I don' know, but I may end up finding out!

 

[Knees4Me]

@bland9 - As a very slow healer, I'm rooting for you! I sleep fine now, and just occasionally take Tylenol before bed. I gave up trying to walk far or use the stationary bike very long. And the main reason I had this surgery is because doctors said I'd be able to walk normally and without pain, and go up and down stairs again - after three or four months. That isn't happening. I wish my surgeon could feel my pain too. So far, she's told me that my expectations were too high and to strengthen my quads. My PT says my quads are fine, if slightly tight.