PKR MrsJW's Recovery Thread, stitches not dissolved.

[MrsJW]

Hello again. I am day 12 post op now. In some ways I am feeling a lot better. I am walking better (still using the crutches) but my knee does ache and swell after a few minutes of walking or even standing. I have seen a little improvement with the physio too. I couldn’t do any of the exercises at first and now I can (nowhere near 30 reps though). I have noticed some numbness on my knee and a tingling pins and needles sensation. Is that normal? Also still struggling to bend it, can’t get near 90 degrees yet.
The worst thing is lack of sleep though. I have started to dread bedtime. I can’t get comfortable and manage only about 2 hours of sleep followed by probably 2 hours if wakefulness.I think I slept for a total of 3.5 hours last night. I have managed a nap today but the sleep situation is really starting to get me down. I am frightened of sleeping on my side in case I damage my knee. Has anyone any tips? Thank you xx

 

[Ginger1210]

Hi MrsJW i am 3 and a half months from right P.K.R. Medial. 12 days is still very early. Icing and elevation is the best thing i found. Sleeping at night is tough it took me a good 4-5 weeks for this to settle down, i just cat napped during the day this helped me a lot. It does get easier. Not sure if you can damage your knee. When i woke up after a couple of hours in bed i would hobble downstairs and apply ice and sleep on the sofa. Its not perfect but it helped. Hope you recover well.

 

[beesknee]

I am a side sleeper but on my side my knee hurts and I can't fall asleep. Plus I am worried I will bend it for a few hours if I fall asleep and then it will be really stiff. On my back my knee does not hurt except maybe a slight ache. The biggest problem on my back is I snore and keep my wife up and even wake myself up a few times from snoring. But all in all I sleep 8 to 10 hours per night since day one.

I am opposite you as I dread getting out of bed and facing that morning stiffness and pain. Well actually facing a whole new day of pain. After a while this pain just starts to wear on me.

 

[MrsJW]

Thank you for this. I am so envious of the amount of sleep you’re getting!! I’ve not taken anything to aid sleeping because I was worried about it affecting/ reacting with my other medication. I’m managing on just paracetamol now during the day, but I do take oramorph when I wake in the night.

 

[MrsJW]

Hi MrsJW i am 3 and a half months from right P.K.R. Medial. 12 days is still very early. Icing and elevation is the best thing i found. Sleeping at night is tough it took me a good 4-5 weeks for this to settle down, i just cat napped during the day this helped me a lot. It does get easier. Not sure if you can damage your knee. When i woke up after a couple of hours in bed i would hobble downstairs and apply ice and sleep on the sofa. Its not perfect but it helped. Hope you recover well.

Thank you. I do sleep in the day when I can and had a 2 hour nap today! I’m sleeping in the spare room at night, so as not to disturb my husband so i usually find myself reading at 2am or else listening to a podcast. The thing I hate most is waking and looking at the clock only to realise I’ve only been asleep for about 90 minutes

 

[SaraK]

I had hip replacement but faced some of the same issues with sleeping. I can't sleep on my back for various reasons so I slept in my recliner (it doesn't rock and it has a lever to raise and lower the footrest) until I could get comfortable sleeping in bed. I tend to sleep on my side tilting to my stomach and it would sometimes make my lower knee or upper hip hurt. I found putting a pillow between the knees and sleeping with hips "stacked" helped me sleep better in the bed. As I got comfortable going back towards my normal sleep position, a body pillow that my top knee and lower leg could rest on made it much more comfortable. I'm 4 years out and still find it helpful.

 

[kneeper]

I do sleep in the day when I can and had a 2 hour nap today! I’m sleeping in the spare room at night, so as not to disturb my husband so i usually find myself reading at 2am or else listening to a podcast. The thing I hate most is waking and looking at the clock only to realise I’ve only been asleep for about 90 minutes

I slept in installments for several weeks. Once I decided to just accept that as a temporary "normal" I didn't stress about it. I did what you are doing. I might get up for a while, get some more ice, read or listen to music or an audio book and I'd doze back off.
Gradually the sleep installments get longer.

 

[MrsJW]

The swelling and not being able to bend my knee post op was such a shock for me! All I read about partials, and what my surgeon’s office did, and did not, say, made me think this was a very easy procedure and a quick and easy recovery. I expected to be totally recovered in 2-3 months. Reality was a cruel shock.

Yes I agree with this. I naively thought I’d be back to normal within a week and even the surgeon massively played down the operation. It was only when I met the physiotherapist that he gave me a reality check. I wasn’t prepared for the physical or emotional toll this has had on me. There was a 90 year old lady in the next room to me who’d had a tkr and I keep thinking about her - I have no idea how on earth I’d get through this with another 40 years on the clock.
On a positive note, I have managed to do 2 sets of full leg raises today so that has given me a boost.

 

[Sisterpat]

Good for you!
BTW, I have 23 years on you and recently had both knees replaced within 8 weeks of each other, and I managed fine! The human body and spirit are magnificently resilient!
I did not start sleeping well for 4 months after the last surgery. You’ll get there.

 

[Jockette]

On a positive note, I have managed to do 2 sets of full leg raises today so that has given me a boost.

This is quite the accomplishment!

But, don’t work too hard on this, it’s very easy to overdo. You are still very early in recovery. I was told, once I could do a leg left, I didn’t have to keep doing them.

Regaining our ROM is more about Time than repetitions of a list of exercises.

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Normal activity is the key to success.

 

[MrsJW]

Hello again
I just have one more question! Is it normal for the knee to feel numb to the touch (I’m 2 weeks post op now)
It’s healing well and I looked at the scar yesterday for the first time: it looks good. It’s still very swollen which I know is normal but I’m worried about the numbness.
Thank you x

 

[Jockette]

The numbness is very normal, and may last a while.

 

[MrsJW]

The numbness is very normal, and may last a while.

Thank you. That’s a relief. I have been worrying about it. I can’t believe how much I didn’t know before having the op.

 

[Jockette]

Most of us knew very little about this recovery! I really wish our medical teams would prepare us better! I didn’t find Bonesmart until I was 4 weeks post op and was so thankful to find it!

 

[MrsJW]

Most of us knew very little about this recovery! I really wish our medical teams would prepare us better! I didn’t find Bonesmart until I was 4 weeks post op and was so thankful to find it!

I know, it’s been a godsend for me x

 

[Jo Wo]

after a while I was able to rub the sides of my knee where the numbness was, without pain. I didn't touch the scar until the scabs were gone, of course. I think touching it helped to relieve the numbness. it feels fairly normal now at 6 weeks.

 

[MrsJW]

after a while I was able to rub the sides of my knee where the numbness was, without pain. I didn't touch the scar until the scabs were gone, of course. I think touching it helped to relieve the numbness. it feels fairly normal now at 6 weeks.

Thanks, this is good to know. I’m a bit tentative about touching it but I’m glad to know it’s not something serious like nerve damage which is what I thought!

 

[MrsJW]

Hi I'm the same as you 6 weeks post op. I had a patella femoral replacement. My pain much better but my main issue is tightness/stiffness around knee. I have full rom can do my cross trainer for 30 mins. Stairs ok going up though slow. Coming down not so good

Hi, hope you don’t mind me messaging you. I’ve had the same op as you (21/7) and was wondering how you’re getting on now? I know I’m not yet 3 weeks post op but I have a lot of stiffness and can’t bend my knee much at all. I also get a sharp pain on the inside of my knee if I try and increase the bend. I’m just worried something is wrong. Or maybe it’s all part of the healing process? Thanks x

 

[beesknee]

Mrs JW,

You are way at the beginning of recovery. Like you, I was given the impression that I would be well on the road to recovery at 3 weeks because I was getting a partial and my knee except for one spot is in perfect shape. While some may recovery that quickly, I think those are the unicorns. Now I am hoping for feeling mostly normal at 3 months, not 3 weeks. I have reset my expectations.

We planned on doing some traveling in October and November, but that is on the back burner until I feel I have turn some type of corner on this.

My partial was the Medial not a patella femoral replacement. My PT says the Patella partials take a bit longer to recover from than medial or lateral replacements in her experience. (antidotal evidence, so not sure how true)

I am going into week six. It is slow going but if I measure week to week I am improving, day to day seems the same. So slow.

I started PT after week two and have been gaining ROM fairly well, but I still have a ton of stiffness in knee and can't sit in a chair or car with my leg down without knifing pain after 5 minutes or so. This week I am canceling PT appointments and trying self guided less aggressive PT to see if I make more progress than normal this week. If I do, I will continue on my own, if the same or I am stagnant I will go back to guided PT.

IronGirl recommended a compression sleeve to use while walking around. Just got it yesterday ($10) really does seem to help my knee feel better while walking around.

Good luck moving forward, we both have a long way to go it seems :(

 

[Jockette]

@MrsJW
I moved your post above, and beesknee’s response to you, to your recovery thread, as the original poster of the thread you posted on hasn’t been on the thread since March, and you asked a question to someone other than the original poster.

You are way at the beginning of recovery. Like you, I was given the impression that I would be well on the road to recovery at 3 weeks because I was getting a partial and my knee except for one spot is in perfect shape.

I felt this same way. From what my medical team did and did not say, I expected to be fully recovered in 2-3 months. All I read about partials indicated a simple surgery and quick recovery. Reality was a shock for me, and to be honest, I was quite angry for a while that they hadn’t prepared me better for this recovery.

I know I’m not yet 3 weeks post op but I have a lot of stiffness and can’t bend my knee much at all. I also get a sharp pain on the inside of my knee if I try and increase the bend. I’m just worried something is wrong.

There is nothing wrong, this is the nature of this recovery. Even though only one part of our knee was worked on, it still caused a lot of trauma to the area, which will take a while to heal. The healing timeframe is different for each of us.