TKR JLP's Recovery<

[JLP]

Will be listening to the knee!

 

[Dragoness]

Hi JPL, glad you're home in the other side.
We are all individuals and our recovery journey proves that.
Take the help from everyone on here, but never forget your journey is your journey - no one else's. If you get caught up with what others are doing then you will get yourself in a mess. Yes we have all had similar operations, some of us are the same age or sex and we may have had our surgery on the same day - but that's where it ends.
Concentrate on your self and allow your body to recover in its own time. The world will not end if you miss your exercises because you're too tired for a few days. Every journey contains stops and starts and even steps backwards the main thing is the goal. We all have personal expectations - mine is to be able to walk for longer distances without resorting to all the pain Meds I'm on now. It will take time but I'll get there - in my time not in anyone else's. Take care of yourself and good luck for your journey xx


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[JLP]

I am going to be the rare person who is sorry that I had this procedure done. It is excruciatingly painful and I am sick every day. I did not have osteo arthritis issues and could go up and down stairs, bend my knee, etc with no problem. I did have AVN and limped because of it. I should have considered this more carefully before I agreed to have it done. However, what is done is done and now I have to live with the consequences. I could have spared myself all this pain and just used an electric cart. The surgeon did a good job and I have no complaint about his skill.

 

[newlybionic]

You are still so very early in your recovery. You are in the worse part of it. I promise you it will get better. Try to rest and use ice all day long if you can. That was the only way I got through it. Take your pain meds on a schedule. If they are making you sick or not working call your doctor and get something else. There are also several medications to help with nausea so if one doesn't work there are others. I know it's hard. I know it's seems easy for me to stay hang in there But truly you just need some more time. This recovery is not a quick one.

 

[Celle]

@JLP - you're still in the very early stages of recovery, what we call the dark days.
Are you taking your pain meds on a regular schedule? If they are making you sick, please contact your own doctor and ask him/her to give you alternative pain killers and also a drug to control the nausea and vomiting. You don't have to keep on suffering.

It's far too early to be deciding that the TKR is a failure and it won't improve your life. So many people who regret having the surgery initially find that everything improves as time passes. I believe that you will, too.

It's not a quick recovery - it takes a full year to be completely recovered - but you will improve all the time.

 

[Dragoness]

Hi JLP. sorry you're having such a rough time of it at the moment. I wish I could come and give you a hug, will have to send virtual one instead.
This will pass and you will start to feel better and that it was all worth while, even if you can't see it at the moment. Post op pain is awful, but unlike the chronic pain from arthritis this will get better. Please make sure to take your Meds on a regular basis - set an alarm on your phone to remind you if necessary. Once the pain has built up it takes longer to regain control so the Meds should be spaced and taken before that happens. If the Meds you are on really don't do the trick then you need to be contacting your doctor for assistance. It could be that you need your Meds reviewing. I take my Meds every 6 hours and find that it works for me. It means waking at 6 am to take them, but then I settle down again and sleep some more. I personally found, some years ago, that dihydrocodiene made me feel sick. So I now take regular Teamadol, Nefopam, and Paracetamol. It suits me, but sometimes it is trial and error. Like I said before we are all individuals and what suits one won't suit all. You will find the right combination if you ask your doctor or even your local pharmacist for information. Just don't give up. We're all here for you.

 

[Tammy7692]

I have had days that I can't do pt
I am just three weeks out . It's tough but you can do this wishing you a speedy recovery and a great week


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[JLP]

Not sure why but my knee area is all bruised. It is not like the multicolor bruising right after surgery. Just the plain old grayish purple bruising. As far as I know, nothing happened to cause the bruising so I am not that worried about it. I tried to stop the overnight Percocet since I stopped it several days ago during the day with no issues. Have not even been taking Tylenol. But evidently my knee is not ready for that because I am wide awake with 2 Advil PM tablets in me and no sleep. Usually one makes me sleep all night. I tossed and turned for about 4 hours before getting up. Just one more thing to deal with.

 

[Timetolive]

I am sorry you are having trouble sleeping. The energy drain and insomnia can really be debilitating. Rest when you can.

 

[JLP]

Almost 4 weeks out and I suppose that I am having a normal recovery. No longer taking any pain meds during the day and I hope to stop taking the ones at night soon. Why is it the pain seems worse during the night?! My knee feels like it is an alien appendage and that it belongs to someone else but it bends and straightens well. I start out patient PT on 16 Feb. Spouse and I discussed our expectations for the PT and if it is the same things I have been doing, it will be my one and only visit. I will always regret having this done but I really appreciate all the support you have given me. Thank you!

 

[Celle]

Almost 4 weeks out and I suppose that I am having a normal recovery. No longer taking any pain meds during the day and I hope to stop taking the ones at night soon. Why is it the pain seems worse during the night?!

There's no need to rush to get off the medications. The time to stop is when you start to forget to take a dose.
However, since you still feel pain at night, that time probably hasn't come for you yet.

I think that you feel pain at night time because everything you've done during the day simply catches up with your knee. You could think of it as being a bit like a toddler who copes happily most of the day and then has a melt-down in the evening, when tiredness overwhelms him/her. I think of it as a cumulative effect that results in a build-up of pain that, unfortunately, shows itself just when you want to rest. This will gradually get better.

 

[kneeper]

My sleep was messed up for weeks. Rather than staying in bed trying to force myself to sleep, I'd get up or at least read or something for maybe an hour. I might take another pain med if it had been long enough between doses. Then I could usually get back to sleep for a couple of hours. It's not like sleep has to happen during set hours during your recovery.

 

[JLP]

It is one of those blah days. I woke up not feeling well. Not really in pain but not well either. I have no energy at all. Just woke up from a nap but still feel blah. Hope tomorrow is a better day.

 

[sistersinhim]

@JLP You say,

I will always regret having this done but I really appreciate all the support you have given me.

Do you regret having your knee replacement? If so, why is it because of the pain you're going through? Isn't it a relief to have the arthritis pain gone?

 

[Celle]

I have no energy at all. Just woke up from a nap but still feel blah.

Did you read this article? It explains about the energy drain and why you are feeling so tired.
Energy drain for TKRs
Almost all your energy is being directed towards healing your knee and there isn't much left for anything else.

You had major surgery less than a month ago and it is going to take time to recover. You can't just bounce back from it.

Your main job at this stage is to rest, and let your leg heal. I know that's as boring as can be, but if you can do it your leg will appreciate it.

 

[charmed-life]

Ask about using a different pain med - Percocet made me sick to my stomach after a previous operation but others did not at all. If pain and nausea are better, things will look up.

 

[JLP]

Yes I am sorry I had it done. Mine was not from arthritis but from avascular necrosis and a stress fracture. The only issue I had was pain while walking. I could kneel, squat, etc with my right knee. I wish I had given it more time to heal. I was on crutches all summer 2015 and the AVN was much better. We were surprised when the OS said I needed a TKR. The TKR is going to limit some things that I could do before surgery. I doubt I will ever be able to sit tucked up into a ball to watch TV anymore. Just things like that. I will always wonder if this was really necessary or would time or additional treatment have healed the knee.

 

[JLP]

I am not taking much pain medication any more. I am not taking any during the day and I am going to try 1/2 a Percocet at bedtime and see if that works. In the midst of all this, I also had a bout of cinnamon toxicity. I found a tea variety produced for the holidays and thought it was pretty tasty. I thought it tasted like orange and did not even check the ingredients. I was drinking 2-3 cups of this tea a day especially after surgery. Bottom line is after 6 weeks I had too much cinnamon and it made me sick. Once I stopped that, I felt much better. This is the second time I have had this. You would think I would have learned the first time.

 

[PolarBear60]

I'm 10 months out from my TKR, and, while I was never able to sit tucked up in a ball on the couch, my knee bends so much better than before.

Please give it at least a year before you decide its a failure. Everything you're describing is normal to be experiencing. Even the regret. It gets better.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005

 

[JLP]

I appreciate the support. This is a difficult journey.