TKR Is this as good as it gets?

[Jaycey]

I called this point in recovery the one month slump. It is normal to plateau a bit in your recovery. We see major changes in the first weeks and then things seem to slow to a crawl. But there is still lots of healing going on.

I would suggest taking your prescribed medication until you start forgetting to take doses. That's your body's way of telling you it's OK to cut back. You especially need your meds if you are doing PT. Are you icing and elevating after PT as well? Totally normal to be taking pain meds at 4 weeks out.

 

[kneeper]

Yes, you are perfectly normal. the fact that the pain is getting a bit better is a good sign.

 

[Tykey]

And on therapy days I'm in lots of pain after mostly from swelling I think.

Hi, our friends are right, you are normal!
Being in LOTS of pain on therapy days isn't, though.
What are you doing on those days? Maybe too much. Please let us know.

 

[Josephine]

@Baby billy I merged your threads as per this request One thread for your recovery please?
Please don't keep starting new threads about your recovery as it just duplicates work for the staff.

Besides which, I left you some questions and by starting a new thread, you've missed/ignored them! (post #19)

BTW, did you read the articles you were left in post #7?

 

[Baby billy]

I have really appreciated the advise I've gotten from y'all I'm still about the same a few days past 4 weeks now. I have a good flexion on the machine at therapy and when I work at it at home I can flex but if I'm still for even a few min. I get very stiff and painful is that normal? Also I I know I need to walk with my leg straight but I keep walking with my knee partly bent which is causing me lots of other probs. like my back aching. I don't know how to make myself do it right. It's such a struggle I knew it would be but I feel scared the WHY DID I Do THIS phase I'm at the point where I'm praying that this isn't as good as it gets I was in a lot of pain before surgery but now I'm getting past the surgical pain and back to a pain similar to pre op. Hurting if I do to much and general aching all the time so I'm hoping it was worth it. The other knee needs to be done too later this summer ohh this is hard.

 

[Jamie]

@Baby billy...... You may notice that I have merged your latest thread in with your initial recovery thread. We like to keep our members' recovery posts all in a single thread. That way it's easy for us to go back and read your history before responding to a question or concern. In addition, the thread becomes a journal of your recovery for those who come along later and want to read about you. So, please post in this thread from now on when you want to give an update or ask a question. If you decide you'd like a different thread title at any point, you can change it by going to the Thread Tools button at the top of the page. Click on it and select the Edit Title link form the drop-down menu. Or just post what you want here and we'll get it changed for you.

You are only 4 weeks out. Remember that recovery from a TKR is gradual over many months. You've made some excellent improvements, but there is more coming.

It sounds like you may need to work on your extension a bit. Have you been doing the extension exercises from our BoneSmart Library article? If not, I suggest you do that daily.

Are you using any type of walking aid? At 4 weeks, many people (me included) used a walker. Having this additional support allows you to walk with bigger steps in that correct heel-to-toe rolling motion with your foot that is critical to proper walking. You may even have to practice this carefully saying heel-toe to yourself and moving very slowly to get in the habit of proper gait. Until you can walk properly with a good stride and no limp, you should be using some type of walking aid. Please don't try to tough it out with small steps or limps or hops. That just makes things worse. Go slowly and try to walk normally with the extra support.

The stiffness is a form of pain. I'm guessing that you may be cutting back on your pain medications too much. Tell me what you're taking and how often. Also....are you icing .... LOTS??? You should have ice on your knee at all times when you are not standing. And ice front and back even at night when you sleep. It really helps with pain.

 

[kneeper]

Listen to Jamie--she knows what she's talking about. Remember your knee is just a toddler at this stage.

 

[Baby billy]

Right now I have robaxin for muscles lyrica for nerves then I have oxicontin for 12 hr pain and oxicodone for 4-6 hr break thru pain. I have been trying to only take 12 hr med at night and take 4-6 hr med less. All I read oune says by 4 weeks you should be mostly off pain meds and starting on tylenol which I can't even imagine!! What do y'all think I don't have any refills on meds and maybe only have enough to get me thru the weekend Your right Jamie about the walker I had quit using it around the house be cuz I can bear weight but I do wind ip taking short hobbling steps with leg bent instead of more steady walking with the walker. Some people have told me about 3 months is a good place to be to start finding relief from some of my pain.

 

[Jozilla]

Call and ask your OS if you need a refill. Mine only gave me ten days at a time but refilled with no problem. I just had to have someone actually go to their office for a hard copy. Here you cannot phone pain meds in to the pharmacy.

 

[Jamie]

Well, there you have the answer to your concerns. You need to take your pain medication on a schedule that prevents pain from occurring. Get a refill from your surgeon or GP. If they don't want to refill these meds, ask for a step-down drug like hydrocodone or Tramadol. You're correct......it's too soon for just Tylenol!!! Don't know where you read that "four weeks and off prescription pain meds," but it certainly wasn't on BoneSmart. You need your pain medications as long as you need them. There is NO timetable. Some surgeons can be a bit stingy so be prepared to be assertive and insist that you are still in a lot of pain.

And....get back on that walker for a while. You are doing yourself no favors by trying to walk without it and just hopping along.

With proper pain management, you should not have to wait 3 months to have less pain. But....it may be 3 months before you are able to start thinking about reducing your pain medications. Big difference in those two statements......

 

[Josephine]

Okay, I'll ask you the questions again. It would really be nice (and polite) if you would answer them this time

I'm going to ask you some questions and I need you to 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 hip and for how long?

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

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

6. 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)

 

[Baby billy]

Josephine, I apologize that I have been such a bother to you. I feel your post to me have been very rude. I am new here and don't quite know how to navigate this site. I have been on pain meds and not thinking completely clear, therefore I realize I may not have answered all of your questions in detail and maybe even missed a few. I would have expected a tad more kindness. No need to worry any further I won't be back. But wish all here the best.

 

[bottomshollow]

@Baby billy, please do not leave the forum. Josephine is just a straight forward, no nonsense person who calls them like she sees them with no intent to hurt anyone's feelings. And you have to remember, that with the written word you get no tone of voice, so it's always best to assume that folks are being kind---and they usually are.

Jo really wants to help, but she needs detailed answers to her questions in order to do that. Please reconsider and take time to answer the questions when you feel up to it.

Take care of yourself, we really do care.

 

[Tamsmom]

Baby Billy, I hope you decided to lurk one more time....

Yes Jo can seem a tad bit rude BUT she takes care of a lot of us here on this site! She and the other moderators have a specific set of questions to help get to the heart of the issue and when we don't answer them, they can't do their job to the best if their ability and give us real informed answers.

So, answer the questions, listen and decide for yourself if this is how you want to treat your recovery and know that all any of us ( Jo, included) want is for your to recover completely from this major life changing surgery.

Also, remember when taking the pain medications, your emotions are very fragile. I know. I take them still and cried for most of the day yesterday because I didn't get to go to the store!

Hope to see you soon!
Lisa


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[Tamsmom]

If you are unsure how to answer the questions without having to go back and forth to the posts, click on the post with questions it should highlight in blue then click on quote and the post should be there and you can just reply one right after the other.

You said it yourself, you aren't thinking clearly yet! It's frustrating isn't it!


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[pippi]

Hard to say what is normal but stout description on the range of pain pills with a partial seems on target to what I had at month with a partial. I think I would have more settled had I known that I would be able to do without them more regularly a little ahead. The good news is that is what happened. At seven weeks out my need for meds revolve PT or overdoing daily activities. It seems to easier when you can go longer stretches without needing them.


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[pippi]

Just another quick thought that I hope might help. The earlier post saying that around one month is a plateau time is a good point. Having had a partial I think I was my own worst enemy at one month trying to sort things out. I was out of the post hospital phase but not really in the real world stage. During this transition phase I not only was my own worst enemy, I overthought things! You need to do what you feel is best but my advice is not to cut Josephine or Bone Smart out. They can be your life line. I do not know how the moderators find the hours in the day to what they do and I hope you have faith in them and yourself and hang in there. Final thought, we talk about giving PT a rest and how it aids in our recovery, had I given some of my worries a rest a month It would have been better in the recovery. The combination of fluctuating pain meds, one month plateau and over thinking could just be a perfect storm. I hope you can step back, give it a rest and we are here for you.


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[Jamie]

I agree with these folks, babybilly......please stay with us. We really do want to help you get through your recovery with the least amount of pain and discomfort!

 

[hopefaith]

I, too, became frustrated at first with this site because I had "narcotic brain" and I cry at anything right now. Now, this site has become my life line and in time I have figured a lot of it out. Please hang in and realize that these are REALLY good people. I agree with someone who said the written word loses a lot, but I believe that the people on here mean VERY well. I truly have at least one melt down a day and it is so amazing to be able to SAY that here and not be judged. This recovery is unbelievably difficult, and we NEED each other. Please reconsider.

 

[Baby billy]

Well I did lurk again. I'm so grateful that you all care. And I owe Josephine an apology I belong to another forum for my RA where you can just post daily about whatever is on your mind and it just chit chat among us I just didn't realize this one was more formal. I still don't know if I will be able to navigate this site I am sorry if I sounded harsh. Your all right. I absolutely have narcotic brain and am crying right now while writing this. I feel so sad. I think there is such a thing as post surgical depression too along with meds and pain. It's late now and I'm not able to answer all the medical questions but I will try to go back and do as one suggested about the quote thing. Hope I do it right. Thanks again for caring. And I am sorry I got upset.