TKR So exhausted - is this normal?

[Brian6u]

The blues are crushing sometimes...

 

[Josephine]

Still feeling low, Brian? I wish I had a magic pick-you-up!

 

[rlwintin]

Pain pills make me feel depressed. And the surgery, it's a major trauma. Like getting hit by a truck. My brother sells commercial flooring and sold some heavy duty commercial flooring to some orthopedic surgeons for their operating theater. They wore it out in less than a year. He thought, " WHAT are they doing in there? ". It's like an automotive garage. believe me, I saw the video of my surgery.

 

[Josephine]

I'd logged out for the night (just settling down to watch the Oscars!) but had to log back in to reply to this as it made me laugh!

My brother sells commercial flooring and sold some heavy duty commercial flooring to some orthopedic surgeons for their operating theater. They wore it out in less than a year. He thought, " WHAT are they doing in there? ". It's like an automotive garage

It's the operating tables and xray machines - they weigh a ton! So tell your brother from me that if he ever gets another contract like that, to tell them to lay a marble floor else they will wear out in no time flat. I know because I worked in operating theatres all my life.

 

[referee54]

The blues are crushing sometimes...

Yes, they are, indeed. I would stand by my front window for long periods of time and just watch the world go by. The pain meds. the lack of independence, the energy drain are the major contributors.

While it may not make you feel much better---what yo are going through is normal and we have all been there, so we can help you through this!

Soon you will be able to get out and about for short period of time and you will begin to feel much, much better! Hang in there!

 

[Roy Gardiner]

Another tough day...don't know why. Slept ~7 hours, but very foggy headed, fatigued, and despite ceaseless elevation and ice, the knee remains horribly swollen. This is now 16 days post surgery...

Frustrated...no sense of progress!

The blues are crushing sometimes...

Brian, you have a change of mind to make -- sorry, there's no other way to say it but directly. Your blues will get worse if you truly expect to be running about a couple of weeks after surgery.

Your body has been severely traumatised; it is frantically trying to heal, and is taking all the resources it can to do so. But it can only do so much -- and right now there's so much to do! You have to relax and live with it. It will be some weeks before you feel even slightly OK, two months plus before a semblance of normality returns.

Sit, relax, watch telly -- somebody's got to do it .

 

[tashia]

I also:iagree:. Take a easy and watch tv or read a book. Remember to rest, elevate, ice and do pain control. Take care don't worry. Tashia

 

[Spingirl]

Been there, Brian. It gets better. It just takes TIME. Find something that will lift your spirits...some good music, a favorite treat, maybe invite a friend to share that Florida sunshine with you for an hour or two. It helped to take my mind off of myself once in a while.

 

[bottomshollow]

and you'll feel a lot better, Brian. So

and the next thing you know---- the blues will be gone!

 

[Brian6u]

Well, I listened to all of your excellent advice. Stayed home, lots of ice and elevation...and was actually able to write and be somewhat productive. Knee feels like it is in a splint, but still a good day. I'm happier...thank you all and God Bless!

 

[Lauramacky]

I hope you don't mind me giving a different opinion here, but I do think that PT hurts sometimes and that's ok. My first therapist was not aggressive enough. I have leg straightening problems and they barely did anything to help that. Where I am now is sooo different and I'm finally getting better exercises to do at home not to mention they're helping with the leg straightening. Sometimes it really hurts after PT and even during it. I think there's a happy medium but everyone is different.

 

[pdx]

Brian, by the way, many of us would have killed to have slept 7 hours straight so soon post-surgery. I told my doctor at my 6 week checkup that I was homicidal because I hadn't slept more than 3-4 hours at a stretch. He told me to take Benadryl; it's worked like a charm. And it's cheap.

 

[Brig]

Hi Brian, ALL the things everyone's told you about above..IS TRUE!!! rest that knee, give it some time to heal! VERY important and I am glad I did! At 4 months 3 weeks, I have no major issues, plus I am still healing. Truely take the time :iagree:

 

[HilaryP]

Brian! So glad to hear that you had a better day. Don't be tempted to overdo it now... just carry on taking it steady & you'll be amazed how much better you'll feel every day. Listen to the knee & push it gently with your exercises then relax just as you've been doing! Keep us updated!
H

 

[kosinski]

My buddy Brian... Oh, how I wish I could have had you to talk to when the blues came over me during the first 5 or 6 weeks out. I am not a "depressed" person by nature, but out of NOWHERE, I would feel sad, almost as if the world was coming to an end and there was nothing I could do. I was DISMAL. Like the swamp. Crying all of a sudden because I was just soooooooo sad. And felt helpless. And hopeless. And lost. And lonely. And... WTH??? It was so confusing to me because I am normally NOT LIKE THAT. Where did these emotions come from??? So, my friend... does any of this sound like what you have felt? If so, I am only here to say it GOES AWAY eventually. Thank God. Please, please, focus on working to get through this and jump online anytime you need us!!! We all care about you and will see you through until the sun shines on you (every day!) once again.

 

[Dewey]

Hey Brian...
Just read through your post, and you've been given lots of great, encouraging words from the kind and compassionate Bonesmarties. Don't you just love this site? I'm so thankful I found it!

I'm just one week ahead of you, and the blues have hit me, too. It was so good to read through this, and to realize that it's normal and IT WILL GO AWAY! I'm sure looking forward to that as I'm never, ever down like this. It's so different for me, and frankly, a bit un-nerving.

Please take care, and keep posting here. It really does us all good to share in your good days and not-so-good days. There's so many people here who truly care......me, included.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

I hope you don't mind me giving a different opinion here, but I do think that PT hurts sometimes and that's ok. My first therapist was not aggressive enough. I have leg straightening problems and they barely did anything to help that. Where I am now is sooo different and I'm finally getting better exercises to do at home not to mention they're helping with the leg straightening. Sometimes it really hurts after PT and even during it. I think there's a happy medium but everyone is different.

In my own case it hurt a lot if I overdid flexion exercises; this was (in common with everyone) the tissues at the front and side of the knee had been traumatised by surgery, so that pushing those flexion exercises would have been counterproductive.

However, my calves and hamstrings were untouched -- and bone spurs that prevented my leg fully straightening had been removed, making extension stretches possible. I, too, would push them quite hard because the pain was the 'good' pain associated with training, not the 'bad' pain that goes with injury.

I think that it's perfectly possible to push undamaged tissue and muscle harder, it's just that you have to know the difference!

 

[Jamie]

Brian, I can't really add anything to the wonderful support and advice you've received, but I just want you to know that you have one more person (me!) out there who is thinking of you and sending you healing vibes. This will all level out and you'll look back soon and see how far you've come. Sometimes it's just tough to wait out those first weeks and months until the real progress can be measured. You'll get there!!!

 

[Brian6u]

Logically, how badly does Vicodin cloud your thinking? In a fog...

 

[Lauramacky]

In my own case it hurt a lot if I overdid flexion exercises; this was (in common with everyone) the tissues at the front and side of the knee had been traumatised by surgery, so that pushing those flexion exercises would have been counterproductive.

However, my calves and hamstrings were untouched -- and bone spurs that prevented my leg fully straightening had been removed, making extension stretches possible. I, too, would push them quite hard because the pain was the 'good' pain associated with training, not the 'bad' pain that goes with injury.

I think that it's perfectly possible to push undamaged tissue and muscle harder, it's just that you have to know the difference!

I agree! In fact, one more thing to bolster that position is that my leg was bent for so many years which meant all the muscles were left so incredibly shortened. Even my psoas muscle contracted constantly to compensate for my knee for YEARS! So not doing anything or not doing much, isn't going to help those muscles straighten out. You really have to be sort of aggressive and persistent. My PT told me it would probably be a year for me to get my leg back to some sort of normalcy. Even exercises like lifting my leg straight from a seated position...you know, squeezing your quads and doing leg lifts, my groin works overtime because it's compensating for the atrophied quad muscle that happened over the years. It's all a complete mess in there!

Anyway, I do think it's important to push yourself and not just lay back and say "it will get better in time". Sure, the knee replacement will heal, but how good do you want to be?