TKR I'm back!!!!

Dizzy

senior
Joined
Oct 28, 2017
Messages
257
Age
74
Country
United States United States
Gender
Female
Well, had to get left TKR recently. I knew it was in my future and thought it was a good time to do it....not that there EVER is a good time for this surgery. Had the RTKR done in June 2017. Not much has changed!! I'm being reminded again of the whole process and of how your leg becomes the main focus of each day. I'm not a happy camper right now, and am enjoying my "pity party" from time to time but I'm glad it's over and more so..glad we only have two legs!!!:giggle:. Will keep in touch. Have always found this forum to be helpful and, more so, to be a shoulder to cry on!! Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:
Welcome back, @Dizzy with your new knee! Would you please tell us the exact date of your replacement so we can add it to your signature for you? This helps us to better advise you. Since you've been through this before, you know the routine, but I'll leave you our recovery articles anyway.

The following are our basic guidelines and should help get you started. As you read more on other members' recovery threads, you’ll get a better perspective of what to expect and what not to do, especially regarding PT.

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
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when the pain starts!)​
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
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


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 a 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 history before providing advice.
 
Welcome back, Dizzy! Best wishes for a good recovery!
 
Sorry, forgot to include the date. June 15, 2020. Another earmark for the year 2020!
 
Welcome to the other side! I am with you in so many instances, my knee had to be done and even though the first few weeks suck, it is so worth it in the end.
 
Thank you for your date, Dizzy. I have added your newest surgical date. I've also requested that you be added to the June team thread so you can know who had a TKR in the same month that you did.
 
Just an update! Will be 4 weeks on Monday since my surgery. All is as expected. Would you believe that I had gained 22lbs after the surgery? I was in shock to say the least. Thankfully, I have lost 12 lbs of that so far...geez!!! This past Monday, I woke up feeling pretty good so I decided to do a bit of cleaning..vacuumed a bit, load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom, then a nice shower. Well, needless to say, on Tuesday I was miserable!! Your knee has a way of shocking you back to reality! PT on Wednesday was interesting. It took until Thursday to get back to where it was. Well, I won't do that again!!
Still not sure if I'm going to do out patient PT. I'm pretty happy with my in house PT and having her come as much as allowed. Will have to make the decision in a few weeks. For now...one foot in front of the other...:ok:
 
I weighed when I got home after my left TKR and I weighed 12 pounds more than I did shortly before the surgery. They must really pump us full of fluids!. That weight went away within 4 or 5 days. I think maybe they do it to make sure we get up every few hours to go to the bathroom, lol. Now I need the next 40 pounds to go away so easily! :whistle:

Hope your recovery goes smoothly. For me, they gave me 2 weeks in house PT, then I had to go to a facility. Been really happy with both of my PT's, they have not been overly aggressive and have been very good about letting the knee dictate the recovery.
 
I'm pretty happy with my in house PT
That's the PT I did, my own in the house, and then later on in the yard! Sure saved money and some pain if I didn't overdo!
 
Been weaning myself off of the Oxycodone because I've started getting headaches and ringing in my ears. Was taking 5mg every 3 hours after surgery and, 4 weeks later, I'm down to 5 mg every 6 hours. Need to stop completely now. Any suggestions as to what else to take for pain? I'm still taking Tylenol 1000mg every 8 hours.
 
I did well with Tramadol as a step-down pain reliever. You can also take 1000mg of Tylenol every 6 hours as long as you count in all the meds you are taking that have Tylenol in them. If your doctor will prescribe the Tramadol here's a chart on how you can take it at the same time with Tylenol. It worked great for me! Paracetamol is Tylenol.

The first is for 4-hourly doses and the second for 6-hourly:
aa-tramadol-routine-2-jpg.51125
 
Just having a sad day today
 
:console2:Stay here with us and you're never alone. I recovered mostly alone and came to Bonesmart at any time of the day or night. It really helped to break up the loneliness and the blues.
 
I’m sorry you’re having a sad day. This is normal at your stage and we all understand as we’ve all been through it. Reread this article:
 
My surgery date was June 10th, 2020, so I'm close to your timeline. I think the meds and just trauma gets one down occasionally. Don't worry unless it becomes frequent. Love your tag name! That's very fitting for most us after surgery. About the meds, Tramadol made me feel awful, so they let me alternate Tylenol and Advil. It works about as much as anything else for me.
It's been interesting to read so many posts that didn't use outpatient PT. My friend and brother-in-law didn't either and healed wonderfully. I may not continue if it keeps making my pain worse afterwards. Like you said, there's plenty of PT just around the house. Take care and thanks for your posts.
 
@Dimire, how about starting your own recovery thread and tell us all about yourself and your surgeries.
 
We all have them...especially these days..lol. I remember those days after my surgeries. The doctors don't give you the heads up on the depression you may get. Do you have friends that you call or have come by? My sister was always my go to person...she always get me laughing. Any hobbies?? I am doing some fun craft painting right now. A couple of pallets for my pool area and a serious masterpiece...the cornhole boards that my husband and son made for our Talladega trip in October (if it still happens). A facetime call from my 3 1/2 year old grandson just warms my heart I learned how to shop online when I was laid up...but that could be a double edged sword there...lol I use the house party app alot with my friends and family. Nothing like 4 or 5 people try to talk at once..,then you make it a happy hour..hehehehe! Are you smiling yet???
 
Thanks everyone. Feeling a bit better. Just got my prescription for Tramadol. Hope this helps with the "10" pain. Had a nice quiche lunch and forced myself to go for a short 1 block walk. Wasn't about to do my exercises !! I did hear from a couple of friends, and talked to my brother, texted with my son and daughter so that helped. My husband is wonderful, so I have no complaints in that department.
Personally, I NEED a pity party every once in awhile. I am usually a strong person, in control, and it's really hard to lose that control, as this surgery does to you. It becomes all about the Damn leg!!
Hoping to be in a better frame of mind and at least tomorrow maybe get out for a short drive.
Thank you again for your support. It really does help!!:yahoo:
 
Okay, don't want to be a whiner but I need your opinion. I have taken the Tramadol 50mg as directed every 6 hours starting yesterday afternoon. Felt a headache coming on so at my 3:30 am dosage I only took half a pill. Still woke up with a slight headache but my knee is SO less painful. Thinking I'm going to stick with half a pill every 6 hours and just deal with the slight headache. Your thoughts?
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

  • Jamie
    Staff member since Feb, 2009

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,179
Messages
1,597,054
BoneSmarties
39,363
Latest member
HikerWalker
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom