TKR Last visit

[Ghostpipe]

You are indeed not alone. Like you, I set out to succeed with these knees, and around about 4 months got really dispirited and tired of fighting. Felt feeble in mind and body for the first time in my life. Old and disabled. Gave up, for three days and just stayed on the couch all day with my legs up. Which turned out to be the best thing I could have done. A lot of the swelling went, and my ROM improved exponentially. That, in turn, gave me the will to carry on and perk up.
Have cried more since my op than I have in my adult life, or so it seems. You are normal.
All being well with your knee, this trough will pass, give it another couple of months and things will seem more positive. Take it easy.

 

[beesknee]

My wife likes to compare her ACL MCL surgery she had a few years back. She pushed hard through rehab and within 4 months was almost back to normal. When I do my bending she say I need to bend much farther past the pain like she did.

She doesn't buy that the rehab is much different than ACL MCL surgery. Not sure of recovery protocols are much different but she did recovered quickly after the first 3 weeks.

One thing that helped is that it was her left leg so she could zip around in the car in no time. My biggest obstacle is being tall and having to really bend my knee close to 90 degrees to work the gas and break. 30 minutes of driving and I am hurting, no matter how good my leg was prior. I just can't sit with a bent leg for any length of time. First 10 minutes fine, than aching starts and gets worse progressively. So, trips to shop where I could park and get some walking in are limited.

When when we had people over or visited, I try to stand as much as possible. I can stand and walk around much longer than sitting like a normal person.

 

[FCBayern]

I've been through multiple ACL surgeries including replacement, comparing that to a TKR is like comparing a stubbed toe to a broken leg.

 

[eaglemom]

I'm thinking you’re on the correct path. You’re acknowledging that you don't feel like yourself. That's because your body isn't happy. Your body, your surgery, your recovery. None of us - let me repeat that - none of us recover at the same speed, period. Our knee's haven't read a manual that says how they are going to feel either!

I'm glad your blood work was good. Have you tried the protein drinks? If you don't want to leave the house, order them on line. Either a Big Box store, or grocery store and have them delivered. That might give you a bit more protein for some energy. Don't laugh - are you getting enough sunlight? Just sitting in the yard for a few minutes is what I'm talking about. Try that, the bonus is that will help you with the blues also.

If you feel like doing the bike do it without resistance. But don't do too much, its such a fine line. Try 5 minutes and stop. If the knee is ok throughout the day then the next day try 8 minutes. It seems ridiculous, but if you do too much you pay the price in pain & swelling.

We are here for you. You certainly are not alone on this journey.

 

[BBCG]

Hi @Reader525,

Hooray for you to realize that your recovery is taking a mental health toll, too.

Because of a series of intense family health challenges over the last 5 years, I began doing Zoom counseling about a year ago, before my TKR, and it had been SO helpful! My therapist WAS very sympathetic, as he has incurred injuries he has had to recover from, and he was stupendously supportive.
What initially prompted it was that I had residual PTSD from my support of my husband who battled leukemia throughout 2019, through several near-death experiences, seizures, etc., so I certainly had a backlog of “work” to do on the emotional plane!

But, this surgery IS life altering, mostly eventually for the best, but it IS a long process to get there! I would really encourage you to seek out a different counselor/therapist to work with for at least a few months as you traverse this journey. Throughout this healing journey, modes of facing challenges don’t usually work like they used to, ways we found in the past to surmount obstacles don’t always work, pep talks aren’t peppy, and those around us are clueless! We NEED others around us that “get” it and are there for us! Bonesmart is a wonderful group of supporters, and the therapist who I see loves that it exists and thinks it is SO needed in other realms! He has seen its value in my life AND he is still really helpful to me in addressing stuff I “stuffed” in the past because it was all I could do.

I’m not sure how to go about finding the right person for you, though, as I found him through someone I honor/follow locally, who is on a remarkable and challenging path but who found him and mentioned him when I privately messaged her. I could ask him how to find someone like him, though, with his area of training and specialties?

I DO understand what you are going through, and I do suspect that this surgery, and all we each face throughout our recovery CAN be life-enhancing, but sometimes there are unexpected twists and turns along that path! It behooves us to seek out those we can find to try and help us along the path… it seems those of us with strong religious underpinnings feel it’s how a higher being leads us to our better selves. And those of us not as religious see the underpinnings of the recovery as offering us unexpected opportunities for life lessons we didn’t yet know we needed!

I think you will emerge from this recovery a stronger person and one with a greater understanding of how you have lived in the world and what ways you used in the past needed to change going forward… you will become a more compassionate and understanding you in the process… and it’s a tough road, but worth traveling!

 

[hawk2go]

I'm pulling for you @Reader525!

This is my 2nd TKR, but I remember people around me seeing that I no longer needed the cane and thinking I was "cured". The reality was that every activity took about 5x the energy as normal and it was hard to explain. I really started to feel myself and not have to make special energy and knee strength accommodations about a year after surgery. This time around I now tell people, I'm at week 5 of a 52 week recovery. It stops them from having what I now know are crazy expectations about my capabilities.

I also had crazy expectations with the last knee - working from home after 1 week, long drives at 6 weeks, plane travel and business convention at 8 weeks, big PT goals every week, etc. I was my own worst enemy. I'm slow and steady for this knee. I find it's better to take it easy every day then to push 1 day and lose 4. With that said, I'm able to slowly expand ADLs, slowly lose dependence on the cane, slowly walk further, slowly bend deeper and the rest. The balance for me is between doing too much and not doing enough, but The Knee is the boss now and for the next few months.

 

[Susie-Q]

Wonderful, wise words from everyone!! Hang in there, @Reader525! We are here for you!

 

[Reader525]

hawk2go, Susie-Q, BBCG, eaglemom, beesknee, Ghostpipe, FCBayern

I am so cheered by your words, I feel like all of you truly understand what I'm feeling, and being understood is a huge part of the battle.

It seems to me that the terrible fatigue, pain and limitations of this recovery bring up all the insecurities I have. Feeling weak, feeling powerless, feeling dependent and feeling incapable. It's hard to remember that I have anything else going for me. With all the discomfort involved it's hard to find any joy.

@BBCG You are so fortunate to have found such a wonderful therapist, it makes so much of a difference. The psychiatrist I see is a lovely man, he's older, just turned 80, and he doesn't seem to understand some things. Do you think the person you see would know how I could go about finding someone?

 

[Reader525]

I wonder if any of my wise friends here can tell me whether a heating pad is ever indicated in this timeline. Last night my shin and side of lower leg were aching and the thought of ice sent a chill down my spine, if you'll pardon the expression, so I grabbed the heating pad and put it on low. It was very soothing but it occurred to me it might be contraindicated what with Ice,Ice, Ice being the refrain. What do you think? Could it help?

 

[FCBayern]

Heat can cause swelling so you don't want it over the operated area for a while but it shouldn't bother your shin and lower leg, especially 3 months in.

 

[Reader525]

@FCBayern That's what I was thinking. I'm glad I kept it on my lower leg. Thanks!

 

[hawk2go]

Everyone is different, but when I was having pain that went up my hip and down my ankle, my home care nurse recommended heat. She was careful to inspect my incision and check the health of the knee for swelling, hot spots and redness before suggesting it. I didn't find it helpful then, but will keep trying it periodically to see if it provides relief. You might want to check in with your doctor, though 3 months is very different from 3 weeks, as @FCBayern mentioned.

 

[Baldylocks13]

The thing that cheers me up the most is people on here saying it will get better, and someday will be fine, that recovery can take a really long time (6 months to a year). Have hope, and know others are suffering with you! Though I sometimes think I shouldn't have gotten the operation (TKR, had called it TKA before, but it's total knee replacement), but my knee was beyond toast, no cartilage and bones were wearing each other down. Also while I'm used to pushing hard for recovery (shoulder etc), apparently some of the advice for knee (especially if flexion is good) is to just use as normal to "break in" the new knee. Hang in there!

@Jockette Wow! I read some of the posts from people in 2016 and I can see I'm not the only one. I am not sure I actually acknowledged the way I was feeling until this week. I just kept pushing, pushing, pushing it away. My feelings were trying to be accepted but I wouldn't "give in". I think I should put on an act of capability and strength, but it's becoming impossible.

My husband is a stiff-upper-lipper, doesn't believe in being emotional or "weak", so I am unable to express myself to him. He really isn't going to change, so I accept it. If I mention being depressed by my fatigue, pain or inability to walk without a limp, he says I should see a psychiatrist.
And by the way, I did talk to one, who I see from time to time, and he is not really understanding of what I'm feeling either! I tried to explain the "impotence" I'm feeling and he didn't say anything. Frustrating!!!

ng

 

[hawk2go]

TKR, had called it TKA before, but it's total knee replacement

My surgeon calls it TKA - Total Knee Arthroplasty. Same thing but more people will understand replacement vs. arthroplasty.

Though I sometimes think I shouldn't have gotten the operation

It took me several months with the LTKR to be happy I did it. This time around, I'm happy I did it already. When I was doing pre-hab exercises and had some anxiety about the surgery, I realized that I had zero pain doing the exercises with my left leg (6yo TKR) and became present to the fact that once I did the right knee, I had a chance at a pain free life (well, at least as far as the knees were concerned).

 

[BBCG]

@Baldylocks13, indeed, at 5 months out, most of the time, I really have no thought about my knee! Some nights it aches, but I have traditionally (for the past year or so, since my PT told me about it) used a CBD salve directly on achey parts (not when the incision was not closed, though) and I also use an herbal/CBD tincture before bed, to aid in sleep.

I can go up stairs, still carefully, though, and down, again carefully, slowly, but we got a wild 'n crazy puppy about 6 weeks ago and he's been a great help, getting me on walks every day, rain or shine, to help settle down his silly "puppiness"!

I'm now achy at the end of the day after sitting for a few hours of work, and if I sit at my desk for more than an hour, I'm stiff when I get up, but it works itself out fairly quickly.

I didn't let PT push me at all, and I skipped some sessions if they pushed the envelope too much without me realizing it at the time. But, I'm VERY glad I had this second knee done! MY bend is great now, without even trying really... sometimes I surprise myself...

So, hang in there, it DOES get better, and if you don't push yourself too much, I think you can recover even faster!

 

[Susie-Q]

That's the interesting part, @BBCG , the more you push your recovery, the longer it takes because of pain or setbacks. When you relax and go slower, you recover faster!

 

[BBCG]

Yes, it IS kind of interesting and counter-intuitive at first! Less pushing = faster recovery!

I just ran into a past client and her friend on the bike path this evening when we were walking and spoke to him about his brother who is suffering from too much PT intensity. What you said is exactly what I told him...along with, of course, giving him the Bonesmart.org info! I bet I know where he is going and I sure know their protocol! I told him that I had told them I would only come there if I had an agreement with the PT I was working with that they were NOT to push my leg or touch or press my body in any way I object to. Period! (Yeah, I know that was an exclamation mark!) He was surprised I could do that, and I told him, "They are there to do what YOU want! YOU hire them; they take direction from you!" I'm sure his conversation with his brother tonight will be interesting!

 

[Reader525]

@benne68 @Jockette @Susie-Q @patriciad My husband had his surgery yesterday morning, it took about 5 hours and I went down to the hospital after I heard from the surgeon. He was groggy and his throat was scratchy and sore from the tube. He said his pain was about a "3-4". He's on IV antibiotics and resting. I had my own challenging day because I had to walk from the 2nd floor of the parking garage downstairs (first time) across the street and through winding balls and buildings to get to his bank of elevators.
I have walked the dogs for a mile but that's so different. With the dogs I stop while they sniff and do their thing, at the hospital I didn't have that excuse. I walked along like a normal person and boy am I slow and not as natural. I am better, but not as much as I thought. When I left the hospital I had to do the walk back and go upstairs. That was a challenge. It's a good exercise, if I went super slow, it was fine, otherwise, my quad wanted to wobble.
My husband is pushing to come home today, but I'm secretly hoping they keep him one more night. He can be pretty persuasive though.

 

[hawk2go]

Wow - I hope you both settle into a rhythm that cares for each of you. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Reader525]

Thank you @hawk2go! I’ll keep you posted!