Thanks for sharing your experiences, everyone! I did decide to postpone the hair appointment for awhile. But this brings me to something I've been feeling based on several comments I've heard from friends and relatives recently. I'm now 3 weeks and 5 days post-left TKR; yet in the past few days, I've been asked once if I'm driving yet and twice, if I'm working yet! (I work full-time, but am on disability leave now.)
Just today my own brother emailed me, "Are you back to work?" I try to give people who ask questions like this the benefit of the doubt, assuming that they have no idea what undergoing and recovering from a TKR is like. So I explained to him that my surgeon documented a 3-month disability period. I've completed home PT and will start outpatient PT tomorrow. I noted what many of you have said here: that my knee is very stiff in the morning, then loosens up, then gets achy and swollen by the end of the day. I told him that I need to ice the knee throughout the day, which helps, but that my sleep isn't good yet because it's difficult to get comfortable. Between that and the fact that I became anemic after the surgery, I'm feeling very fatigued, but that's starting to get better. I told him that I went out to my car yesterday to see if I can get in and out of it and I can! So I plan to try a little driving soon. I concluded by telling him that I've been advised that it's a slow recovery process.
What I think that no one who hasn't undergone this "elective" procedure (as if it's a tummy tuck or facelift) comprehends is the huge amount of pain, fatigue, and general life impairment most of us suffered for a long time before having the TKR. Personally, I was already exhausted from the growing daily struggle of living with my painfully deteriorating osteoarthritic knees (still have to do the other one) while working full-time. I truly feel that a significant part of my post-TKR recovery involves the absolute necessity of resting, of restoring my depleted energy and strength after being so worn down for so long. I am just SO TIRED.
So these questions about "Are you doing this or that yet?" are starting to irritate me, as if TKR is like swapping out an old car part for a new one; I should be good as new now, right?
I know of a number of people who've had hip replacements (including my brother's wife) and they've had pretty straightforward, relatively easy recoveries. So I think many people think that hip and knee replacements are the same. As we all know, they're quite different. This is an excerpt from an article about this from health.harvard.edu:
Which is easier to perform, a hip or knee replacement?
A hip replacement. An experienced surgeon could probably do a hip replacement blindfolded because you can feel everything, and components of the replacement are put right into the bones. But a knee replacement involves releasing ligaments, putting the components onto bone — and then getting things to balance out just right. The ligaments can be damaged or shortened by arthritis, so you really have to make sure the knee is stable. And the joint must flex and rotate.
And how about the results for patients?
A hip replacement is a much less painful operation. People are on crutches for a while, and then their hips feel normal. But it takes six months to a year to recover from total knee surgery, and even then, the knee just doesn't feel normal.
Why the difference?
The hip is really a much simpler joint. The knee has to balance off-center loads and move side to side. And with a total knee replacement, you are removing a lot of tissue and bone. Postoperative pain is higher with knees since the soft tissue affected by the surgery must stretch more than soft tissue around the hip.
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I'm the kind of person who tends to feel selfish and guilty anyway about taking care of myself, or doing something just for me, or if I'm not constantly doing something "productive." I don't see anything to be gained (and I thank all of you for your shared experiences here for educating me!) by trying to "rush" this healing and recovery process. I'm not "bad" if I don't recover as quickly as another person, and I'm not "better" than somebody else if I do. This isn't a competition!
I appreciate your patience with my venting about this and any thoughts you may wish to share! That's what's so great about this group: that you DO understand. Thanks.