TKR LTKR 12/1/23 recovery

[DEL2024Dec-40]

Thank you! The activity progression is extremely helpful. Truly appreciate these helpful tips.

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

Hello,

I am 3 weeks post-op LTKR. My ROM is good 120/0. The pain I am experiencing when standing and walking arounf my home is the exact pain and location I had pre-op. Has anyone else experienced their preop & postop pain to be same?

My pain is well below the knee on both sides. It feels like a turnaquet around my knee or ice picks. The pain is constantly there when standing or walking( all weight bearing). The pain is gone lying down or sitting.

I was concerned to have this surgery because I suffered with this pain for 20 years but managed it with knee wraps, icing & limited my daily activities requiring weight bearing. At this stage my pain is in the same location but more intensified. I am taking pain meds as scheduled, icing and elevating. I am feeling defeated. Any thoughts. Thank you and Happy Holidays.

 

[Jockette]

Your pain is in the same area as before because that is where the surgery took place. The surgery caused a lot of trauma inside your knee/leg which is why healing takes so long. Unfortunately, 3 weeks is early days, in this recovery, and you will have some pain “here, there, and everywhere,“ for a while yet.

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

I have no other surgical pain in my knee at this time other than my original weight bearing pain on the bottom of the outer side of the knee. No swelling either.

 

[LittleBit]

Walking just five minutes has been by far my best therapy.

Currently at Day 11, I have found that short walks have been incredibly helpful for pain and just getting out the kinks. I did 5 min. walks with the walker in the house several times a day during Week 1. Now during Week 2, I try to do 3 10 min. walks with the walker in the house on days when I don't go to PT. I did some chopping and stir fry one day this week with the aid of a stool and walker, but it's definitely not something I am ready to try every day just yet. Whenever I'm not up doing the daily walks or basic DAL, I'm in my chair with ice and elevation. Hubby wanted to know if I'll be going to church tomorrow, and I said no way. I can't sit on a hard bench that long even if I were able to elevate and ice there.

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

You are doing great! Keep it up. You can watch a prayer service on TV with your ice and elevation. I am on week 3. I will say the first three weeks have gone by quickly.

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

Hello,
Today I am 4 weeks postop. I wish I was progressing along better. I am following the icing, elevating, TENS, message, and resting. My ROM is good 120/0. I have not been outdoors other than PT. I have the same consistent band tightness with pain. I can work through the tightness/stiffness, but the pain limits my ability to stand and walk. The farthest I can walk is 10 min tops. Standing no more than 2 minutes.

I realize every knee and every recovery is different. I don’t feel like I am making any progress.

Any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Jockette]

You will have consistent band tightness and pain for a while yet, it’s par for the course in this recovery. So much of your soft tissue was disturbed during this surgery.

A ROM of 120 at 4 weeks is fabulous, you are the envy of many!

 

[benne68]

That's amazing for four weeks! I didn't get to 120 until two months post-op in my first recovery and I don't really expect to do it this time around.

At four weeks out, your body still needs to heal from the surgical trauma. Take a look at this chart; it may help you understand why you still have pain and some limitations:

What makes you think you aren't progressing well?

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

Thank you for your reply. My inability to stand without pain and I can only walk at max. 10min. I understand the tightness and stiffness but the weight bearing pain I feel as though it’s limiting my progress. I see others have tightness/ stiffness but not the weight bearing pain,

Thank you

 

[mendogal]

May I ask what your current pain med regimen is?

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

Tylenol 500 every 8 hrs + Tramadol 50mg. Gabapentin q12 hr. Received a text message from OS staying at week 4, not to continue pain meds. I plan to stay on this. I D/C oxy at 3 week check up.

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

I can’t take NSAIDs.

 

[mendogal]

Yep, me neither.
If your Tramadol does not also contain acetaminophen (it's available both with it and without it) you might ask your OS if it's ok to up the acetaminophen to 1000 mg every eight hours; many of us find that to be an effective dosage in combination with the plain Tramadol and the gabapentin.
In the meantime, I hope you're continuing to use a walker or crutches to help reduce weight bearing.
You had asked previously about experiencing the same pain postop as preop. YES I did. On my first TKA it was the nasty pain right where the medial meniscus would normally be. Lasted a few weeks and faded, now is an occasional artifact

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

Thank you! I’m looking forward to this weight bearing pain decreasing in intensity. I will bring the walker back out. I need the right knee done also. My goal is summer 2024.

 

[Itsabear]

is anyone concerned about the side affects of gabapentine? I’ve read some horror stories so haven’t used any that were prescribed

 

[MSuki]

My doctor gave me gabapentin after my first TKR for zingers and I decided not to take them. But prior to TKR 2 I started having back problems with pain going down my leg, and was waking up with leg pains and having trouble sleeping . I started taking 1 at night and it really helped with that. (mentioned it to the doctor after trying it, he thought it was fine and gave me a refill. ) I am still taking 1 at night. I feel ok just taking 1 because I can stop any time without needing to taper off. I haven’t had any side effects but I’m not taking much.

My husband’s aunt takes 3 a day for some neuropathy she has and it’s about the only medicine that hasn’t caused her any side effects. She has reactions to a lot of common medications. But everyone is different. Like anything else, you have to weigh the potential benefits vs risks.

 

[MSuki]

I would talk to the doctor about this if it persists. Also would resist being taken off of pain meds before you are ready. My surgeon says everyone is different including how long they have pain and need the meds. After TKR 1 I was spreading out the hydrocodone but still taking morning and night at about 2 months, then I woke up one morning and realized I didn’t need them anymore, and stopped with no problem. It didn’t occur to me at the time to try the Tylenol/Aleve combo which might have worked too.

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

Happy New Years!
This forum has been encouraging and informative. I am 4 1/2 weeks LTKR. Defintely no 2 days are the same. I am hoping this week to get out of the house, maybe quick stop to the grocery store.

I question if my stiffness/pain is normal at this stage. I read other post and some seem to get around and do more ADL. I can’t stand more than a few minutes. I try to walk at 10 min intervals 4 times a day.

I realize every recovery is different, but hoping I can turn a corner soon. Any thoughts. Thank you

 

[benne68]

Yes! Both pain and stiffness are absolutely normal at just one month post-op. In fact, the stiffness can continue for months. Please reread this article for more information: Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?

Please don't compare yourself to others. We each go into this surgery with different degrees of damage inside the knee and every surgery is different condition. No two knees recover at the same rate -- even two knees in the same person.

A couple of questions: Are you still icing and elevating at regular intervals? Are you taking anything to help with the pain? Are you doing exercises that push you into pain? Small changes can make a big difference in how you feel.

You will turn a corner. With my first TKR, it wasn't until I was six weeks post-op that I was able to write in my thread that I was beginning to see "the light at the end of the tunnel -- and know it's not a freight train!"

This is a surgery that requires a lot of patience.