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TKR Mom2Lucy's Recovery Thread

Mom2Lucy said:
onight I actually had a friend/Coworker tell me flat out that “there should not be that much pain though and it very well could be that muscles are not getting worked properly and you don’t want all this to be for nothing.”
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Why don't you send this 'friend' a video of a total knee replacement that you can get on YouTube? Also, ask her when she became an expert on this surgery. I think people don't know what to say, so they say what they have heard in the past.

I was blessed, no one called me and gave me that spill, but I did receive it from some in person. I just smiled and nodded my head. That left them speechless because they really had nothing else to say about it. Then, we could go on to other subjects.
 
Hey everyone, Happy Halloween .

Tomorrow will be four weeks for me. And somehow my knee seems to have become more swollen and uncomfortable these last couple of days, plus I feel exhausted. I haven’t hurt myself , and I haven’t overdone things. I read the info about post-op blues being a reality, is this four week timeframe when that happens?
I feel out of sorts with the pain, the healing, the swelling and the apparent lack of progress.

Do any of you feel this way?:shrug::scratch:
 
Mom2Lucy said:
I feel out of sorts with the pain, the healing, the swelling and the apparent lack of progress.

Do any of you feel this way?:shrug::scratch:
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Yes, we’ve all felt that way. It’s a very long recovery and feels even longer because most of us had no idea what we were signing up for. If it’s our first replacement, our medical team does not adequately prepare us for the recovery. They set us up with unrealistic expectations and we are so vulnerable due to the nature of the surgery that we crash emotionally when it doesn’t go the way we think it should.

Then, as you experienced, a trusted friend deeply hurts us because they believe the myths out there about this recovery that they have not experienced themselves, and “encourage” us. I really think that’s what they think they’re doing. They don’t want us to end up with a bad outcome.

I had that, too. A good friend of mine was telling me to “keep going to PT so they could get my ROM back.” I had already experienced set backs from PT and found Bonesmart, learned about Bonesmart’s gentle approach and gentle PT, or no PT, and I agreed with Bonesmart. The PT does not get my ROM back, it comes back when my body heals.

It was upsetting to me that I was of a different opinion to my friends who are very pro PT for any/every issue. I pulled away from them. For a good part of my recovery I pulled away from a lot of people. They just didn’t understand, even those that had TKRs. They never found Bonesmart, so they, too, bought into all the myths about exercises being essential.

I really dread doing this again in the future.
 
Yeah..a month sounds about right.. Then a week later; then the next and the next. ;) At 8 weeks now.. I'm waaaay happier. I think the first month you're so busy just trying to Survive it, there's not time to be depressed! So...maybe in a backhanded way, a little depression means that you're healing enough to have time to think about how bad you feel...instead of struggling to survive everything. :snork:
 
@Mom2Lucy its real and can be scary at times. I remember laying there one night about week 4-5 and regretting ever had it and what a burden I had become and my life was never going to be the same again. It was a dark place. But I talked about it here and with loved ones and we got thru it all together.
Now I have my sad days (like now) but read the journal I’ve been keeping on the little things I can now do that I couldn’t before. And it reminds me that things change almost hourly and time is the best medicine.

Lean on us and let us carry you when it gets to be too much like others here have done for me and others. :console2:
 
I think you’re very right @Jockette , having people pushing me when they have no idea what it’s like is disheartening to say the least. I know they mean well, but I want to rip their heads off, lol

And I also dread having the 2nd knee done. At this point, there’s not enough incentive in this universe to get me back on that operating table.
 
I was pretty angry, too, that very few I came face to face with understood what I was going through. They seemed to rate me with a pass/fail, and it was usually a fail. It was the biggest shock of this recovery.
 
It’s a huge shock to find out people are questioning if you’re doing enough. I’d like to see them bend such a swollen knee. The swelling is my biggest frustration. Elevating and icing, I feel like I could just get up and do any activity. And then I put my foot on the floor and the reality kicks me in the gut.
 
Been there, too!
 
Now I’m going to try and calm down lol. I’m not usually such a “DebbieDowner”. Thanks for your support and understanding :tiredwheel:. This journey really is a challenge.
 
You’re not a Debbie Downer.
I think each week that passes we keep thinking this is the week it gets better. And it doesn’t or we have such small victories that we feel it’s not enough. To us it appears as if this is going to last forever. It helps me to find those small victories and celebrate them.

But, I have to believe that inside the knee there is progress. We can’t see it. We can’t make it heal faster. But, it’s healing. And it’s downright uncomfortable if not painful.

You really need to tune those know it all people out or distance yourself from them, if possible. It sounds like they really bring you down.
Stay strong my Fellow Fiestie!
 
@Mom2Lucy for me with Lefty it was around 4 weeks. Even though we know we are doing the best we can the doubts start to creep in. For me it was a loved one who insisted that they were off all pain meds by day 5. I felt like I was doing something wrong. Thank goodness for BoneSmart they held me up when I couldn’t do it myself. You are doing Great. You are doing all the right things. Keep leaning on this community we have all traveled or are traveling this journey towards recovery.
 
Thank you @beachy and @Larryhg3
I guess I thought I’d be further along at one month than I seem to be. And it’s true that people with no experience at joint replacement get in my head with all their stories and advice.
I have to have faith that my knee is working at healing itself, even though I feel like there’s been no change this past week.
Tomorrow I’m going for acupuncture. I’m very much looking forward to this , as it has always brought me relief. And my acupuncturist is about to move to New Zealand, so I’m grateful to have this one appointment with her before she leaves Canada. Hopefully seeing her will lift my spirits.:bored:
 
Acupuncture is a great idea!

I read somewhere in the forum that swelling takes place where we can't see it in the knee joint. And it's a small area so a little fluid in there can hurt.

You're doing everything you can to recover. Hang in there!
 
Mom2Lucy I would check with your surgeon about acupuncture. My PT offers dry needling but has a very strict rule of minimum 4 months post replacement due to infection risk. I know that they are not the same thing but better safe than sorry.
 
@Larryhg3 , wow, I didn’t think to check, thanks for the heads up. Going to call !
 
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