PKR Oh my goodness the pain!

Wren

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Hi everyone. Figured I would get on here and post some things to help get my mind off this pain. I must say, I am hurting very bad. I am 2 days post op for my partial knee. I had a patellafemoral joint replacement done on 12/4. Stayed 1 night in the hospital and then came home with percocet 10/325 and a pain pump. My pain pump ran out today and was removed. I am having extreme pain in my thigh and of course in the knee. This is definitely more pain than my shoulder sugery and also more than the pain from my tibial tubercle osteotomy with lateral release and subsequent major infection in 2013. I know the percocet is doing something, but it sure doesnt feel like it. I had in home pt come today and had me do a few things. I tried to go to sleep but the pain was to much and my wife is at the hospital with our son and daughter in law who is having our first grandchild atm. I have a cryo cuff from my shoulder surgery in 2007 that im going to have her get out for me when she gets here to see if it will help some and will get some pillows to elevate my leg as well. Ive read some of the threads on here and it seems the consensus is to not be very active and allow the knee to rest which is opposite of what I have been doing. However, I plan to remain very static the rest of tonight and tomorow.
 
Hello, day 2 is really painful. And I remember day 5 being painful too not sure why! Definitely ice and more ice! I think day two for the 2nd knee they had to really drug me! The nerves are spazzing out and your tendons and muscles are stretched!!!

Hang in there it does get better!
 
Hello @Wren - and welcome to recovery.

I'm sorry you're in a lot of pain. Rest, ice and elevate your knee, and take your medications on a regular schedule.
If doing that doesn't help to lessen the pain, you'll need to phone your surgeon and ask for a review of your medications.

Here is the post-op reading for you, with lots of informative articles:
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
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.
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. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


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

Please don't be overwhelmed by the list. The articles are not long and they and contain information that will answer many questions and help you make your recovery much easier on your knee and on you.

We are here to help in any way we can: answering questions and concerns; supporting and encouraging you from start to finish.

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 a 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 history before providing advice.
 
Well, was able to get my cryo cuff down and use it for a little bit. Took my percocet 10s and an ambien at 2 this morning so was able to sleep in my bed until 630 this morning. We shall see what the day holds...... I know it doesnt hold pt lol.
 
Icing really helps with the swelling, which is the root cause of your pain. There’s a great article on icing in the list Celle gave you. I think in the first week I iced every other hour, for 40 minutes to an hour each time. It really helped the pain. Also, elevate your leg (or both legs) toes above nose. That also keeps down the swelling and will help.
 
Welcome to Recovery!

As far as PT goes,
Keep in mind, it’s not exercising that gets our range of motion back, it’s Time:

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. Exercise as in strength training is counter-productive and in the early weeks does more harm than good. Normal activity is the key to success.

I had a Patellofemoral, also, and it was extremely painful! Definitely not the quicker, easier recovery, partial vs total, that I was expecting.
 
Hi Wren. Welcome to the other side. Unfortunately, what you are going through is normal. Try to hold onto the knowledge that it WILL get better and fairly soon in the scheme of things. Don't discount Tylenol. I always thought it was just for headaches but it made a huge difference for a lot of us. You can take 4000mg. a day, no more. Try two 500mg. of Tylenol, 4x/day. And also know that if your pain is totally horrible, you can call your dr. and tell him that you need better pain control. Absolutely keep the ice on. A few minutes at a time does nothing. Icing and elevating at the same time is the ticket. Keep us posted. Everyone here knows exactly where you are. Now the big question. Did you get your new grandchild yet?
 
Thanks yall, I know its just gonna take time but it was really rough last night. I have been very limited on my activity today and have been using the cryo cuff and dozing here and there. If i could quit getting up going to the bathroom I would probably be pain free lol.

@MSgirl yes, he was born at 11pm last night.

This is JD and a pictuwre of my wife holding him. 21 inches and 7lbs 10ozs
 

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Oh, aren’t new babies just the most precious things! Congratulations!
 
JD is one mighty fine looking boy! You all are going to have a lot of fun and thank goodness you got your knee done so you will be able to keep up with him when he starts running. And maybe he'll take your mind off your knee a little (?) ...
 
Congrats @Wren !!:loveshwr:

He’s darling - just think - when this knee thing is past and he’s a bit older you will be able to play with him and walk around holding him. What incentive!

You will survive this phase in due time. It’s rough but things get way better and we look back and go “really? What was the fuss about?”

Keep us posted on things
:wave:
 
Congratulations!!! What an adorable grandchild!!! You are so blessed. I am in my 9th week of the TKR journey and believe me each week it gets better and better. So hang in there and just think of all the wonderful time ahead. Your new knee and your beautiful new grandchild... Regards Schpooko
 
First 2 weeks for me were rough...knee would randomly ramp up In pain and then subside, repeat. After the 2 week mark I started seeing progress and pain started to go away. I am around 14 weeks I think and am doing
Things I thought I wouldn’t be doing post-surgery. It just takes time and a lot of patience. I iced and elevated all the time and also bought a tens unit. I read magazines, watched too much football and played wheel of fortune on my iPad. I didn’t do any PT, just relied on daily living for exercise and strengthening. I was in the woods hunting at week 6! It’s nice you have a fresh newborn grandchild to distract you. You’ll be back to your activities, just don’t push it too hard!!
 
Congrats and a beautiful grandchild!

I iced the whole time I was down, either sitting or laying. As long as you have a cloth between your skin and the ice pack, you can ice all the time. Ice really keeps the pain down.
 
Well, slept from 9pm to 3am when my alarm went off for more pain meds. Got up for about 45mins and went back and laid down for an additional 2 hours of sleep. We decided to venture to the hospital to see my grandson and we were gone for a total of about 4 hours until the pain was to much again. So back home icing and elevation now but this pic shows the pain was worth every minute!
 

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He's so precious! I love the photo of you two together.
 
@Wren, welcome to BoneSmart! I’m just getting caught up on your recovery thread. I was on travel all week and mainly focused on see how other members were doing that I’ve been following and didn’t really have much time to review new member posts. Looks like you are doing well. Everything you describe is how I remember my first few days following my Lateral PKR back in April. You have the benefit of a new born grandson to help take your mind off your knee though! He’s adorable! We are expecting our first grandson between Christmas and New Years. Already have two young granddaughters.

For these first weeks / months, your focus needs to be on letting your knee heal, let the swelling go down, keep it limber with gentle bending and stretching but do NOT force or let anyone else force your knee to bend or straighten. High likelihood you will get a PT who will tell you otherwise, don’t let them. Instead, you take charge and you tell them how it’s going to be during pt sessions. Read up on my recovery post or those of @bowhunter8, @ShedEnd, or @Roy Gardiner, to get some insight from a guys perspective. We all did pt, but did it in a way that proves there is no need to be aggressive and definitely no need for added pain. Reach out anytime you have questions.

NG
 
Appreciate it it NG
 
. . . have been using the cryo cuff and dozing here and there.
Been there. My first 2 weeks out I spent nearly all my non-sleeping hours in the recliner cycling the ice machine, dozing and screen surfing. Stay comfy and best o' luck.
 

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