TKR Roller coaster recovery of Jas

[Benay]

Fraid I'm one of those who cannot act my age. The 'old and feeble' bit it's like garlic to a vampire. I never say -apart from this forum - TKR. I leave it at 'knee surgery' and hope they think I did it at yoga. Way too sad.

 

[Jockette]

I leave it at 'knee surgery' and hope they think I did it at yoga

And saying it this way I bet you get less advice. The minute I said knee replacement, they start with The Speech. (Sometimes I talk too much. )

 

[mannbub]

Thanks a lot guys!! Reading what you guys have to say really help ls to calm my nerves down. I will work on my negative thoughts and try to have more positive attitude towards this recovery.

 

[Rockgirl4]

@mannbub Don't beat yourself up too much though. This truly is a rough and frustrating recovery for most. If I'd only ever had a knee arthroscopy before or some other minor surgery, I'd have been a wreck and constantly wondered what was wrong. As it is, I'm just glad this is soooooo much better and faster than my ACI recovery back in 2015-16 that took over a year. I think we all have our own breaking points and expectations that logic doesn't always agree it.

 

[Josephine]

How long does one need a cane after the TKR? I limp if I try to walk without it. It hurts to put my weight on my knee without the cane.

Two very good signs that you need to continue using it. After all, you're only 3 weeks out yet. Far too soon to be worry about being 'stuck' to your cane! It could take another 10-14 weeks before you feel able to get about without it.

 

[mannbub]

@Josephine I hope I am able to walk without it sooner than that. I need to go back to work in 12 weeks. I can’t work with a cane. My job requires a lot of walking. I have another question. How long are you suppose to feel post op pain? I am hoping the pain I am having is a post op pain.

 

[sistersinhim]

You can't put a time limit on post op pain because every knee and every surgery is different. If you had to have a lot of extra work done inside your knee during your surgery, then it will take longer to heal from that extra work. I was still icing frequently at 2-3 months, especially after an extra busy day. Even a year or more I'd feel twinges in the tkr knee. The pain was much less than even a couple of months earlier, but still there. It truly takes an average of a year to heal all the soft tissue from the trauma it has been through. Some people even more. That's why we constantly say that no two knees are the same even on the same body!

 

[Josephine]

I hope I am able to walk without it sooner than that. I need to go back to work in 12 weeks.

Yes, I understand but you're only three weeks right now and what you're talking about is another 9 weeks away. In recovery terms, that's a long time!

 

[mannbub]

@Josephine Thats true I still have time to heal before I have to worry about work.

@sistersinhim True that everyone’s threshold of pain is different.

I am just confused about how much medication I should be taking. I am taking 1000mg of Tylenol 3 times a day. Was wondering if it’s too much to take in the fourth week.

But I do have pain in my medial aspect of my knee. That’s where my arthritis was really bad before surgery. I wonder if the pain I have is coming from all the bone shaving my surgeon had to do for this surgery.

 

[Josephine]

I am just confused about how much medication I should be taking. I am taking 1000mg of Tylenol 3 times a day. Was wondering if it’s too much to take in the fourth week.

With my knees, I was taking Tramadol for 4-5 months! 4 weeks is nothing and Tylenol is holding your pain for now, you can carry on taking it for many more months. Even as much as 6-8 months. Some people take it permanently because of long term pain.

That’s where my arthritis was really bad before surgery. I wonder if the pain I have is coming from all the bone shaving my surgeon had to do for this surgery.

Of course not - that part of your knee was completely excised during the knee replacement!

 

[mannbub]

@Josephine So is it ok to have pain in that part of my knee. Or I should not have that pain anymore?

 

[Rockgirl4]

I'm at 9 wks, and saw my surgeon yesterday. He said I was normal to still have a lot of pain in 1-2 specific areas. The area you're describing is my worst "hot spot" and has been since I woke up from the OR. He said it just takes time.

I also know from my past though that this area is where most of my problems were for 10+ yrs. It was worked on extensively during the last 5 surgeries. I can't help but assume that's all part of it.

 

[Celle]

@Josephine So is it ok to have pain in that part of my knee. Or I should not have that pain anymore?

It's less than a month since you had this major surgery. It's normal to have pain at this stage, and for some time to come.
Your knee has suffered a lot of trauma and knee replacement is not a surgery you can bounce back from in a few weeks.

Complete recovery from a TKR takes as long as a full year, although you will be feeling much better long before that.

Also, recovery takes just as long whether you're 18 or 80. Your comparative youth won't give you a faster recovery. Your knee is going to take as long as it needs, to recover, so you're going to need a lot of patience. It really is a marathon,not a sprint, so pace yourself.

 

[mannbub]

Thanks guys! It does make sense when I read your responses that it’s a major surgery and it’s going to take time. This forum has really kept me sane during this recovery.

@Rockgirl4 I was reading your posts. Just wanted to say that you are a trooper.

Guys it might sound weird but I am having this pain in my buttock area every time I walk. It started yesterday and it’s very painful and annoying. I think it’s coming from how I am walking as it’s only in my operated leg. I think my gait is not what it should be. I am using a cane. I don’t know how to ease it.

Also can you guys change the description of my thread to Roller coaster recovery of Jas!!

 

[Josephine]

@Josephine So is it ok to have pain in that part of my knee. Or I should not have that pain anymore?

At 2½ weeks? I should say so! For us unfortunate knee patients, the pain goes on for anything up to 8-12 weeks. So prepare yourself!

it might sound weird but I am having this pain in my buttock area every time I walk

Have a look at this article Piriformis syndrome - a pain in the butt!. I think this is what you may have.

 

[mannbub]

@Josephine Seems like this is what I have. Now I am mortified - what if this doesn’t resolve soon. I will try to those stretches and see if they help. Thanks for your help

Do you think it might be happening because when I try to walk without my cane I walk little weird. So may be I should not even think about walking without my cane right now.

 

[Celle]

If you're walking funny without your cane, you need to use it still.

 

[Rockgirl4]

My PT said the same as Josephine. She wanted me using my walker the 4th week because I was still limping badly without it. Her exact words were "we don't want to mess up your back too."

 

[Rockgirl4]

@mannbub I forgot to add that pains in the butt/hip/back are super common after knee surgery unless you can walk normally within a couple of weeks. It can get really frustrating if you have any other back/hip issues. I hope the stretches help you, but please know it's not hopeless and there's lots one can do if things don't resolve.

It's my norm to need Back PT after every knee surgery. I have THAT back/hips which gets screwed up after every knee surgery and walking weird. My lower back/spine/sacrum is hypermobile and easily twists out of alignment. Chiropractic puts it back, but things don't stay unless I know exactly which side is weakest, which muscles are stuck in spasm, etc. Then we focus on those until things can stay put. I have my "back girl" on speed dial and see her at lea once a year for 4-5 wks. After 10 yrs of this, we're actually friends.

 

[Josephine]

I doubt it. To be honest, nobody really knows what causes piriformis. So please don't get too wrapped up with the whys and wherefors of this condition.

If it helps, I developed it after my first TKR after about 3 months and when I got to my feet and/or tried to walk, it took my breath away. But, by chance I also developed Trochanteric bursitis and for that, I got a cortisone injection which cleared them both up within minutes! I was extremely lucky in this though and I do know that very few doctors will give cortisone injections for piriformis but they will for trochanteric bursitis.

pains in the butt/hip/back are super common after knee surgery unless you can walk normally within a couple of weeks.

@Rockgirl4 this is not a correct statement. Very few patients are truly able to 'walk normally' within a couple of weeks. 5-6 weeks is more the norm. And I got Piriformis in my left hip about 10 weeks after my right TKR!