Become an Insider

TKR One week post TKR surgery - March 28

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have neuropathy in my tkr leg. I take gabapentin (neurontin) for the nerve pain I get. It made me sleepy at first and I only took it at bedtime for awhile. I think it is like lyrica. I see a neurologist and he worked with my OS during my Tkr recovery. Hope you have a good OS visit on Thursday!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@robograndma, by the way, I like your name. It is a shame when you cannot feel like you are doing the exercises that you need to do. But in time you should be able to do them once you get to the bottom of the problem with the sciatic nerve. I can just imagine the pain and I am so sorry you are having this pain now. I hope you will be feeling better soon and will be up and about. Good luck with the OS doctor visit. Hope all goes well with that. Please keep us posted.
 
Thanks @chestnc! My grandchildren like calling me robograndma now...lol! @Jozilla I have taken gabapentin at bedtime for a few years for restless leg syndrome. The OS said it is similar to the lyrica so I just take that one in the morning.
I am sitting here with the Tens machine on my lower back to see if that helps resolve the sciatic issue. Today I am feeling less of the intense pain.
 
I am so sorry you are in so much pain. I had and used the tens machine before I had surgery and it worked well. I sent it of a while ago for repair. You have just reminded me to check up on it. I hope they find the the root cause to your pain and can do something about it. My prayers and thoughts are with you. Having a TKR is not a fun thing to have at all. It is no joke.
 
I think I have turned a corner! I am feeling so much better and the sciatic pain seems to have almost disappeared. I am going to attempt doing a couple of knee bending and straightening exercises this morning and perhaps a walk down the hallway in our condo after a week and a half of literally doing nothing but move from the recliner to the bed. It is such a relief to be feeling semi-normal that I don't even mind that I am basically back at week one even though it will be six weeks on Friday! I will celebrate my six week mark by starting back at physio! The sun is trying to shine in Victoria today ;)
 
Okay THAT was weird. I guess I fell asleep during that post, sorry. and excuse me please. I cannot believe your post! I have had awful sciatic nerve pain. I have been leaning off the side that is fired up and putting a big ice pack on my back side. Getting off of it and the ice have given me wonderful relief. I hope you are doing better.
 
Hi @hopefaith! The machine I have is a 'Dr-Ho' Muscle Therapy machine. I have had it for years and bought it for lower back pain. It "stimulates deep muscle massage therapy and muscle movement exercises for various common muscle strains and soft tissue sprains". I believe there is a web site. I had a similar thing used on me by a physiotherapist a few years back. I think what has also helped my sciatic problem is the nerve med I was put on last week and my heating pad especially for my thigh. I also use my ice machine on my lower back and butt occasionally. :dancy:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I hope you continue to get relief from the sciatic pain. :fingersx:
 
Saw the OS today. I am doing fine and back on course although he wants to see me more often because I have had issues. I will see him in 3 weeks. Because physio got sidelined and I was basically a vegetable for a week and a half he said something about maybe having to do some kind of manipulation to the knee depending on how much bend I get back so I will be focusing on that for sure! I should have asked more about that. Anybody know what it could mean?!

Oh and the sciatic problem seems to be completely resolved!
 
Glad your sciatic problem resolved itself.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting off track with your physio. My husband had a TKR due to a motorcycle wreck 25+ years ago - he was in a cast up to his hip for over 2 months so did no PT for that time. He is totally fine...he's never even been to a knee doctor since then.
 
robograndma said:
Saw the OS today. I am doing fine and back on course although he wants to see me more often because I have had issues. I will see him in 3 weeks. Because physio got sidelined and I was basically a vegetable for a week and a half he said something about maybe having to do some kind of manipulation to the knee depending on how much bend I get back so I will be focusing on that for sure! I should have asked more about that. Anybody know what it could mean?!

Oh and the sciatic problem seems to be completely resolved!
Click to expand...

I'm glad your sciatica is better - that's a miserable thing to have!

A manipulation under anaesthetic (MUA) is done if your knee gets to a point where it simply won't bend any more. The surgeon forcibly bends your knee while you're asleep. It doesn't have to be done very often, so don't worry about ti now.

Did you move your knee at all while you were laid up in bed? If you did, missing physiotherapy might not have been a bad thing. The bed rest will have rested the knee too, which would have helped with healing and swelling.

Now, start back gently on exercises and PT. It won't matter that you missed a few sessions. Apart form the few exercises I was shown in hospital, I had no formal PT at all until a month after my surgery and then I only had 3 sessions, each 2 weeks after the previous one - and I had a perfect recovery.

Don't get misled into rushing things, to try and catch up. Exercising madly now is about the worst thing to do. And, above all, don't let anyone hurt you.
 
Thanks Caryl! I actually didn't regress which was my fear. I stayed the same on the bend and now am at 103 degrees at 6.5 weeks out. I have started doing pool exercises as well now and am trying not to over do it.

I tried something for the first time the other day....accupuncture. It is located downstairs in our condo so very convenient. I wanted the focus to be on sleep as it is my first time at this and I really didn't want any needles poking around my surgery leg :yikes:! Sleep has always been an issue and since my surgery my sleeping pills don't seem to be enough especially after going off the heavy drugs (which actually knocked me out). So with that in mind I thought I would give the accupuncture a try. They also did this thing called 'kruger' on me. I came out of there feeling better than I have in months. My whole sense of well being improved and that night I slept like a baby! So I am going to continue down this road. I have another session this afternoon. I am really looking forward to it! I understand that it is not an overnight fix and I am willing to go the distance if it keeps me off more drugs. I think if I can get control of my sleep issues it will help with everything else on this journey. Also, it did help the residual sciatic pain I have left after my bump in the road.:fingersx:
 
I have been given a project to do at home well I am convalescing which involves sitting at the computer. I have learned that sitting at a computer for a couple of hours is NOT a good thing :bignono:. In fact sitting for any length of time seems to be difficult even at seven weeks out. :shrug:
 
It's a fact!! People sometimes think that sitting and working should be doable fairly early in recovery. It's not and actually a sit-down job can be more difficult on your knee than one that gives you some activity throughout the day. If you want to try to work at the computer, make sure you get up and walk around 5 minutes out of every hour. Don't try to work more than a couple of hours at a time, then go lie down and ice and elevate. You may be more comfortable if you can ice your knee and put it up a bit while on the computer.

This is part of why we advise folks not to plan on working for 10-12 weeks. Pushing your knee to do "normal" things when it's not ready can slow up your recovery. So please keep an eye on your discomfort levels. If they are going up, you'll need to scale back.
 
Oi...I really reallllly want to have a bath! I am 8 weeks out and my bend is at 105°. I am fairly strong in my upper body. I used to have a bath EVERY night before bed :-( . Obviously I have been having showers for the last three months. I am scared to have a bath. Not sure how to go about it and I am terrified of them having to bring a hoist in to dislodge me from the tub :-( Any words of wisdom.....pleeeaase!
 
Have you tried getting off and on the floor? I would master that before the tub. I explained how I did that as well as put up a video that I found that resembles my technique. Also, ensure you have a non-slip surface in the tub, whether it's built-in or a mat. Lastly, make sure you bring your phone with you (within reach), should you be alone and get into trouble!

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
Thanks @JustJeff I watched the video and realized that is exactly how I used to get off the floor before surgery because of pain in the knees. I am going to pick up an anti-slip pad today for the tub and then start paracticing. Can't wait to submerge!
 
SUCCESS! It was actually much easier getting out of the bathtub than off the floor onto the squishy couch! :bath: Happy happy happy! :happydance:
 
Woo hoo! :bath:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Corganics CBD

Members online

Total: 1,052 (members: 3, guests: 1,049)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom