TKR Miserable and still limping

Laura Ashley

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Surgery yesterday went well. Epidural was great although felt strange.
It was bliss to be totally pain free for a few hours as Ive been struggling for a while.
This forum is so helpful so pleased I found it.
I didn’t sleep last night, just clock watched so have dozed on and off all day.
I can nip around with a Zimmer frame and my pain is kept well under control, altogether a better experience than my right TKR.
Expect to go home tomorrow ( a day earlier than planned)
 
@Laura Ashley
Welcome to The other side! :welome:

Glad you are having a better experience second time around. You should do well at home.

Here is your copy of the Knee Recovery Guidelines, the articles are short and will not take long to read.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access these pages on the website


The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds


We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.

 
Day 6

Still can’t believe how different this has been.
I’m now getting about with one crutch.
Elevating and ice regularly.
Pain is minimal, bruising is phenomenal
I don’t push exercise too much ( after reading all the bonesmart advice) just potter around, my bend is improving everyday.
I managed a shower yesterday.
Absolutely thrilled and beginning to believe that I will be able to do the long dog walks again one day.
 
Ice is still my best friend, have my first PT session next week - via Zoom so at least I know my knee is safe from any overly zealous therapist.
Knee still very swollen, I struggled to get comfortable in the recliner so mostly lie on a sofa with cushions propping my knee up.
Pain levels mostly ok.
Finding all the normal family stuff relentlessly exhausting, and have got very upset on a few occasions. Just the constant phone calls, I seem to be the family counselling service and I’m so fed up with it, just need to learn to prioritise my own needs and not answer the phone.
,
 
You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread. For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:
  • That way, you have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
  • If you start new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
  • Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.
So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here.
 
Yep, turn off that phone! Turn off the ringer, or, if using a cell phone, put it in Airplane mode. That way you won’t even hear it ring and be tempted to pick it up. This is your time to heal and you need to focus all your concentration on that new knee.
 
How is everyone doing?
I’m now 4 weeks and 2 days post surgery.
Mostly managing well, as little by as I do chores little and often.
Still icing and elevating but minimal pain relief, just Paracetamol now.
Went out for dinner last night, sisters 70th, I could have done without it.
After an hour and half my leg was burning and I wanted to cry, decided to try and numb with alcohol, ha ha it worked and I had a very enjoyable night.
My scar is looking really good so all in all totally thrilled.
 
I’m 8 weeks and 3 days.
No pain relief
Managed to walk around the block for the second time and didn’t need to sit down half way.
Occasional use of ice but only if I’ve been on my feet a lot.
Had my post surgery 6 weeks review last week and my surgeon was very happy with my progress (& my scar)
 
Yeah, I went out to a winery with my sister and daughter on Friday (I was about 4 weeks post-op). After an hour and a half I was glad it was over and was ready to go home. Knee was starting to whine. (wine? :heehee: ).
 
You will continue to be pleasantly surprised at your recovery. I was where you are a few short weeks ago (I am at 10 weeks out) and PT kicked me out-- they said I have pretty much completed every task they have to offer so its on me now. I am walking a mile for exercise and up to 10K steps a day and increasing the speed and distance on my morning walks. I can do the stairs "normally" now and am back to all my activities. Certain positions and twisting the knee is still uncomfortable and I do get swelling but it is all improving week by week--am betting you will be seeing additional gains too over the next couple of months.
 
@benne68 - I still use bad down, good up in the early morning when I am stiff, or if I know my knee is tired, but up is really easy now. Down tends to involve a bit more soreness, but each week is better. Same goes for side sleeping and pain turning in bed. Each week the "catching" pain when you turn or twist the wrong way seems to be lessening. Hang in there!
 
I noticed when I went up to our bonus room last night (I rarely go up there but hubby finally finished my recumbent bike) I was able to do the stairs with both feet going up but still only one at a time going down. I've been doing stairs one at a time for so long since my knee has been bad that going up normally was really weird! But satisfying!
 
they say pride comes before a fall.
I was doing so well but boy have I fallen into a pit of despair.
Two weeks ago I was cycling and continued to feel upbeat, but then about a week ago my mood started to slide, I’m now a hysterical mess and my knee has joined in. Swollen, but not all over, feels almost like there’s a thin rope stretched over the left side of the joint, it’s so painful, I’m back on crutches or holding on to furniture to get around the house.
My ankle is painful and my lower back.
It’s my sudden decline in mood that’s most worrying. Only had a psych review a month ago and I was so happy and positive. Had been on new dosage of AD’s and felt more stable than I had in years.
 
This is a long and slow recovery and it so easy to get discouraged. :console2:

Hang out here with us, Bonesmart has a wealth of advice, information and support.
We will offer helpful suggestions, :idea:

Cheer your accomplishments :happydance:

And send hugs when you are feeling down. :console2:

Best wishes!
 
@Laura Ashley - You sound like me, all you have to do is read my posts. I felt absolutely distraught, discouraged and despairing. The 3 "D"'s. I thought I would never get better, that it would take forever and that everyone else was succeeding where I failed. If it hadn't been for BoneSmart, I don't know what I would have done. I am in a better place now, but still feel envious of other's faster results. I know how much you want to feel better, and I know how absorbed we are in the details, focusing on every step we take, but it just happens when it's time. Maybe that is the hardest part for me, the letting go.
It will get better, I 100% guarantee it.
 
I had my LTKR in August, recovery was going pretty well with only a few setbacks but then early December I was enjoying a wonderful walk when I slipped and fell really heavily on my right hip, my left knee wasn’t fallen on however it felt jolted and I required help to return to the car. Due to the hip pain and generally being shaken up, I rested, took pain relief, iced the hip and elevated my knee.
Fast forward to mid January and the hip is fine BUT my poor knee, I am in constant pain with it, I’ve done my physio, I’ve elevated it and I’m still in pain, it is mainly located on the inside of my knee, I’m limping, unable to walk any distance without it getting worse. A stick doesn’t help.
I don’t know what to do, as I’ve been discharged from the hospital now.
Have I damaged my new joint? Even tho I didn’t fall on it, Is it worth trying to get a GP appointment? Oh I’m so fed up and it hurts, I’m back to how I was before the surgery.
 
Hi! Sorry to hear this! You definitely need to have your knee looked at! An exray will tell if there is any damage!
Keep ice and elevation going!
Take care!
 
Hi @Laura Ashley - I'm so sorry you had that fall. If you haven't already done so, I think you should speak with your OS or someone in the surgeons office. It seems like your hip may have been bruised and you let that heal but the knee may need to be evaluated if you take a few steps before pain is so intense that you can't walk. It's been a while since the fall, if the knee pain is getting worse over time that seems another signal to get things checked out. Did your physio address the new complaints or just go on with the regular TKR recovery program?
 
All my physio has been online and my last session was only a couple of days after I fell.
As two of you have kindly replied saying I should get my knee looked at, that’s the green light for me to call my GP in the morning.
 

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