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TKR Sleepilu in recovery

Managed to get to the weekend tho I spent most of yesterday doing nothing.
I even brought some low back pain to the party by last night!
So just over 3 months out now ....
I can tell that my aches and pains and twinges are mainly coming from the soft tissue, probably aggravated by wrenching it last week. Not sure what else I can be doing to ease the twanging, catching and bruising there?
And my quads are just getting more and more wasted in spite of my (early days) work in the pool and on the static bike. So the double clunk of my joint on each step is still contributing to the aforementioned soft tissue pain!

I just don't seem to be getting a glimmer of hope that this is ever going to feel better than it did before the surgery!
I'm hoping the @moderators might have some suggestions for how I can help to build up the new joint's support system?

Or at least to just reassure me that the strain of a near fall + 3 days work should have me feeling like I am back at 5 weeks out again?

Sorry for whinging ..... But HELP!!


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It might be worth asking your OS or GP about a strengthening program that will work with your quad strength.
Im still sad about your separation - just when you need to rely on someone! As if having this surgery and returning to work wasn't enough to deal with!

I think we all whine some of the time!




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sleepilu said:
Or at least to just reassure me that the strain of a near fall + 3 days work should have me feeling like I am back at 5 weeks out again?
Click to expand...
Yes, I think it's quite likely that is what has happened. Remember that it's only 3 months since you had major surgery. 3 months into a year-long recovery means that you are only a quarter of the way there. You will still be feeling the effects of the energy drain as well, even though that isn't obvious as immediately as it was earlier.

From now on, you could probably begin some strengthening exercises for your quads, although don't rush into doing too much, too soon. It would be useful to have some PT, if only to guide you.
 
Hi Sleepilu, don't worry about whining, we need to do that sometimes. I'm about a week after you in recovery, know how you feel. Feeling that energy drain so much last few days. I slept for 11 hours a couple of days ago ! By 7:00 at night I'm useless, takes effort to stay awake till 9:00 - yikes! It doesn't take much to cause a setback either. One wrong move or misstep & backwards you go. My quads are also weak & very achy. I massage them and that helps a little. When they tighten up, I go over them with a rolling pin wrapped in s towel. Just need to be careful not to go close to the knee. Hoping you feel better, hang on there, better days are coming!
 
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I started strength therapy after 4 months. I was working part time, so I'm not sure how it would've gone if I'd been full time. My leg was very weak from being in an imbolizer, so strength exercises were helpful.
 
Thank you for all your advice which I am putting into action.
I heard back from my surgeon re the clonking and clunking. He says that many people after a year don't even notice it and that sometimes people just live with it. Ugh!
He didn't seem concerned by it but said if I want to see him I have to start another referral from my GP, so that'd probably take another 9 months anyway!
So I am just going to try and be comforted by the fact that he isn't alarmed by the noises. And hope that in another month of strengthening all the soft tissues that it becomes more stable and less clunky.
Just about finishing my 2nd week back at work, it's been tough but more manageable than week 1. Baby steps eh? I have no plans at all this weekend which I'm quite looking forward to!!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
I spent most of my weekends doing nothing when I first went back to work. It was exhausting!
 
Hi Sleepilu,
I have had a very similar experience returning to work.
This was also my second week back full time and it went much better than last week.
While I am quite tired by the time I get home, I feel much stronger at work. I was surprised at PT this week--
we did my monthly re-eval on TH and my swelling was way down and my flex and ext were both up!
Baby steps indeed, but in the right direction!
Jan
 
I sincerely thank you all for your replies on various threads.
The more I hear how everyone else's noises are "occasional" the more I think something is wrong. I have spent time today researching noisy knees online and have decided to try and get a senior GP appt in place, which can take 3 weeks, so that someone else can listen to this and feel the heat being generated in my knee.
@Ellejay ~ at what point did you clunk and for how long? I am so desperate to find a fellow clonker, no disrespect to any other noisy knee folk but this is not a click or a pop, it's an horrendous double / triple clunking/grating noise with every single step and it is not Pain Free!
I just feel like I have a 14 weeks swapped the arthritic pain for some other new equally as bad pain! For over 4 weeks now, the pain has been increasing again. I am back on pain meds every 4 hours. Tonight I can hardly move without my walker.

Soooo very sorry for moaning. I need some help.
 
Yes, it sounds as if you do need to do something about that painful clunk. Have you tried to get an appointment with your OS?
He'll probably say nothing is wrong and suggest more PT (that's what usually happens), which may not be the answer, but he does need to know that something is not quite as it should be..
 
Thank you @Celle
I AM NOT A WUSSY PATHETIC PATIENT! My pain threshold is pretty high. This is really wearing me down now. No mention of PT of course in the UK. He has said that it can take a year and that i will get used to it and that I should arrange to see GP to begin the referral process all over again. Oh dear.
I have just been online to book a gp appt. The next available one is in 3 weeks time. If it is still as bad & deteriorating by then I hope they will realise I am serious.
 
@sleepilu I'm so sorry you are in such pain, I agree with everyone else who has said you should get help, it is dreadful that you have to wait so long for an appointment. I'm afraid I honestly can't say when my knees stopped clunking, I was suddenly aware that they weren't doing it anymore, and that was quite some time ago now. I do hope you get some answers soon, thinking of you xxx
 
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