TKR Patience really is a virtue….

[Layla]

Great news, Loulou! Your concerns are understandable though. I think we all had them before surgery and in early recovery. It can cause anxiety when you are facing the unknown. Thankfully the evening went well and you enjoyed the time out. Good that you were close to home in case it became overwhelming.
Best Wishes for a nice weekend!
@Loulou67

 

[Loulou67]

So today…. 5 weeks and 3 days post op…. I learned that I can not yet go downstairs other than one step at a time….. I stepped down the stair, bent my knee quickly…. Wowzers!!! The pain was real….. my legs swollen now so I’m elevating and Icing and hoping that I’ll be okay for physio tomorrow morning….. I certainly won’t be trying that trick again any time soon….

 

[Jockette]

Been there, done that!

 

[sistersinhim]

It was over 30 years before I could go down the steps like an adult because of a severely damaged knee. About 5 months after my TKR, one day, all of a sudden, I had realized I had just gone down them like a grownup! I didn't even think about it. It will happen that way with you, too, I bet. Going down them takes a whole lot more muscle control than going up, plus it's putting all your weight on that one baby knee. It is normal for it to take longer to go down normally than up normally. But, it does happen.

 

[Susie-Q]

The only niggle I have at the min is the numb feeling on the outside of my knee

This will go on for awhile yet. I still have numbness on the outside of my left knee and it's been over 2 years since my surgery. Don't worry, it should come back eventually!

You're doing well, @Loulou67 ! Just be aware that the ODIC (OverDid It Club) is a real thing that we've all been members of!

 

[Loulou67]

It’s 4am here in the UK and I’ve been wide awake since 2.30am.
My leg is aching so bad tonight…. I can’t get comfortable….. I’ve iced, I’ve elevated all to no avail.
To add to my misery I had my Covid jab and my flu jab yesterday so both arms are sore and I have a banging headache.
Today I have PT at 9am and later today I have to go for a mammogram .
My OH is sleeping in another room while I’m still recovering from my TKR, which is a good thing because I’m tossing and turning every night still!
I’m lying here worrying about my flexion and if I’m at the elusive 90 degrees yet, I’m worried about the PT hurting today …..my normal therapist is on holiday so I’m seeing someone new today.
I Need bags of patience at the min, I literally feel like I’m trying to run before I can walk…..
My alarm is set for 7.30 am so I’ll try and get back to sleep. Hopefully now I’ve had a little rant on here I’ve cleared my mind a little…. Thanks for reading

 

[mendogal]

Oh no, it's terrible when different regions of the bod all raise cain at once!! And, yeah combine that with middle of the night, and it's a sure fire prescription for worry and rumination. First of all, sending a HUGE hug from the land of "have totally been there!"

My number one suggestion is .... cancel the morning PT. Even if it were your regular PT, the side effects of the combined shots and in one arm (guess what.... I did that too!!! Never again) are laying you low and your body needs the rest tomorrow (today) more than it needs a single PT session out of many.

If the mammogram can be easily rescheduled within a time frame acceptable to you, could be worth deferring, but it's definitely going to be less taxing than PT.

When you're feeling up to it let's discuss what you've been using as sleep aids; I may have some helpful thoughts.

 

[Dmcfad2]

I’m sorry you’re having a rough night. It’s terrible when sleep won’t come. I hate that aching and throbbing. I get that at night, too. Hoping you have a good PT session and a better day tomorrow.

 

[MSuki]

Ditto here. I’m awake at 2:30 am with husband in the guest room, just started ice machine back up. Glad I can come here to the forum. Reading everyone’s posts and the replies makes me feel better.

 

[Loulou67]

Well I managed to get back to sleep for a couple of hours….. been to see my PT
Flexion measured at 72, so she got me on the bike for a bit and measured again at 80, so that’s an improvement. She said my barrier is pain so I need to go back to taking painkillers regularly, as I haven’t been taking them very much at all.
I have another appt in just under 2 weeks and I see my surgeon the week after so I need to push myself a bit harder.
She also gave me the go ahead to have a bath, which is something I’m longing for… I just need to be sure that I’ll be able to get out , lol.
Basically she said to not be a martyr and to use painkillers as that’s what they’re for, to kill pain…. Also I’ll be icing before physio next time

 

[Dmcfad2]

Those little improvements mean a lot! I’m happy for you. I’m awake at 4:30 am. I can’t seem to sleep past that anymore. I fall asleep quickly around 10 pm and sleep well until the 4:30 witching hour. Oh, well. The nice thing about being retired is I can nap if I want, although I rarely do. The aching and stiffness in my knee is a teeny tiny bit better this morning. I hope you have a great day.

 

[Loulou67]

@Dmcfad2 Glad to hear you’re feeling a bit better x

 

[sistersinhim]

I found when I woke up with discomfort in the middle of the night, before refilling the ice bin, I'd rock on my recumbent bike for about 5 minutes. That's all. It seemed to work out most of that discomfort and, with the new ice, I was ready to go back to sleep for a few hours.

It really doesn't matter when or where you sleep as long as you do sleep. In my early recovery, I would fall asleep in my recliner for short naps mornings, afternoons, and nights before even going to bed. Those 'catch naps' might have been for only 15 minutes or so, but helped a lot. Many times during the night I'd get up and get back into the recliner and sleep some more. For at least 2-3 months my sleep was all broken up, but at least I got that much-needed healing sleep. So, sleep when and where you can so your body can concentrate on healing itself!

 

[CatieViv]

I had both shots in one arm! The muscle pain went away after 4 days but it's still itchy with no visible marks 2 weeks later. I still don't know which would be worse, one arm hurting lots of both arms hurting! I also have the complication of my Dexcom continuous glucose monitor in my arm.

Hope you sleep better tonight. I'm still struggling with sleep at 2 months. The magnesium does help.

 

[Dmcfad2]

I took a two hour nap today. It was heaven.

 

[Loulou67]

So yesterday I took painkillers every 4 hours and I did lots of “physio” across the day.
I also iced more often. Felt like I got more movement through the knee, which was good
Went to bed at 10.30pm, took a while to get off to sleep but I was comfy with my legs elevated on my lounge doctor pillow.
Woke at 3.15am bathed in sweat, so had to get up and get out of my comfy PJs, could not get back to sleep so have been wide awake since then ( it’s now 7.45am)!!! I think the sweating must be an effect of the covid and flu jabs I had on Monday, as I have felt a bit off colour since . Gonna have a.lazy morning in bed before I shower and change my bedding….. not gonna push the exercises today because I feel I deserve a day off…. It’s 6 weeks post op tomorrow….. was hoping to be driving again by that point but im not going to even try because im not confident yet…. Gonna try and get a couple of hours sleep……

 

[Loulou67]

One question I have….. as I’ve been wide awake I shuffled my legs down to the bottom of my bed and just let them hang over the edge of the bed to get a little bend from them and my incision felt really sore and tight at the top as I stretched….. the incision is healing really well….is it normal to feel this way??

 

[Axx72]

I used to stretch my knee both in flexion on the side of the bed, like what you did and extension with a pillow under the ankle. Both stretches were not past the point of pain and I most definitely had tightness/soreness across the top of my knee. I think passive gravity stretching is very useful.

I would echo thought above that you would be very brave to drive 3.5 hours at your current recovery stage. I found it was the constant vibration, quick bumps and inability to move/stretch comfortably in a car seat, that was the most irritating part about traveling. Add in keeping your leg elevated and iced....

What amazes me is how ADLs are never really taken into account by the medical profession when it comes to PT. You are moving around, attempting to get your daily ADLs done and the stigma surrounding ROM adds stress to the lives of many people who are new to joint replacement procedures.

I think you have it cased Getting out, doing tasks at home, attempting a little bit more all the time, even though it makes you feel uneasy. Feeling tired then listening to your knee and letting yourself rest. None of us should be made to feel guilty about taking time to rest and recover. Constant affirmation from other people's recoveries and support from the smarties on this forum help keep us all from turning ourselves inside out. It's ok to vent and you should feel good about what you have accomplished on your recovery journey.

 

[Dmcfad2]

I have that same tight feeling on my scar. Yesterday it was so bad. I woke up with my whole knee being stiff and sore. I have that stiffness all the time. I don’t really know why it was worse yesterday. The temperature here has dropped about 8 degrees, so maybe it was from the cold. This morning it is a bit better. I also started taking prescription pain meds again because I’m tired of being in pain and it helps with the stiffness. I tried Tylenol for a while, but it actually does nothing for me. I hate to still need them at 6 weeks, but they really help. Yesterday I went to Costco for the first time since surgery. I was there about an hour. I don’t know if you have Costco in the UK. It is a big box store. I walked all around pushing a cart, then drove home. My knee was throbbing and aching as I was driving and I couldn’t wait to get home! I finally made it home and I was done for the day.

 

[benne68]

What amazes me is how ADLs are never really taken into account by the medical profession when it comes to PT. You are moving around, attempting to get your daily ADLs done and the stigma surrounding ROM adds stress to the lives of many people who are new to joint replacement procedures.

Exactly! We have members who never do formal PT and rely on ADLs for recovery.