TKR Strange New World

[Denny39]

Horrible night for sleep. Toss, turn. Toss, turn. Wake up and realize I have been asleep; for 45 minutes. Bathroom time. Repeat. Repeat.

My lifetime reputation as a “professional sleeper” is totally demolished. I know many others have experienced similar effects. Question is; How far down the “Yellow Brick Road” to recovery is this likely to extend?

 

[ebungalow]

@Denny39

I didn’t really sleep well until about the 15th week for my last two replacements - but it did get better along the way.

I’m not sleeping well now either but did totally expect it. Sorry you’re experiencing these difficulties too!

 

[Denny39]

Thanks @ebungalow . I had no idea going into this that sleep would be a problem. Totally blindsided by that one. I have a sleep monitor under my mattress and I receive an e-mail every morning that summarizes my sleep cycle. Worst post-op 2.5 hours. Best, 6 hours. Average, about 4.
So now, I do what I used to make fun of my lazy dog for doing. The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is take my morning nap.

How is your pain and stiffness at this point?

 

[beachy]

Hi Denny,
I just read your recovery thread and have to chime in that you have a great attitude. That alone will help in your recovery. I'm 12 weeks post op on thurs. This recovery is a true rollercoaster. Extremely up and down. Which my OS stressed at my 8 week check up. Thanks for telling me after the deed was done. He always told me it takes a year to fully recover.

You have the best support group here. They have helped me more than I could imagine. Everyone's recovery is different.
Good luck to you and Happy 2019!

 

[Denny39]

Thanks @beachy. I didn’t hear that “year” thing until AFTER my surgery. But, my knee was bad enough so that without the surgery I would most likely be on crutches or in a wheel chair by the end of that year. Neither of those options have much appeal either, So . . .

But, as someone put it, “This recovery process is not for the impatient among us”. Yup!

 

[sistersinhim]

The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is take my morning nap.

I did the same thing. My sleeping was awful, like you, less than an hour at a time. I took morning, afternoon and evening naps. Once I got off of the opioids I slept a couple of hours at a time for the next few months.

 

[ebungalow]

Hi @Denny39

I’m right with you on the morning nap schedule - add in afternoon, early evening, and maybe my nighttime sleeping can be classified as napping as well.

I still have pain and stiffness. For my last knee replacement, I had both until about 15-16 weeks and then the pain disappeared. It was great.

Things did get A LOT better before that magical 15-week time.

I’m hoping for similar results this time, although a pain-free, stiffness-free, perfectly-rested tomorrow would suit me too haha.

How are your pain and stiffness? Hope you’re feeling better every day despite the sleep deprivation.

 

[Denny39]

Hi @ebungalow
We seem to have a lot in common in the (Lack of) sleep department. I hope that by the time the 15-16 week stage arrives things are much closer to “normal”. That seems like a long time; TKR has a way of slowing time down to a crawl. I am 3 weeks today, and it has been the longest 3 weeks I can remember since waiting for Christmas as a child.

Static pain level (when I’m just doing nothing and not bugging anybody) is a pretty constant 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 with moderate stiffness.

I don’t know if you are familiar with the cartoon character, “Maxine”. She is a cranky, cynical, wise-cracking old Grandma with her own philosophical observations on just about everything. I came across one this morning where she was laying in a very messed up bed. Her comment was, “I really think that tossing and turning at night should be counted as exercise”. I agree. In that case, I would be in great shape after a currently typical night.

 

[Newboots]

@Denny39 I like your sense of humour. Yes time does go into slo mo during this recovery . Because this is my second knee I keep getting flashbacks to last year’s recovery very confusing!
Just passed the 12 week mark and I’m sleeping more or less 6 hrs a night with occasional daytime naps so it does slowly get better. Roll on the New Year hey !

 

[ebungalow]

Sounds like you’re doing well @Denny39 !

And yes, I do know the Maxine comics

I agree that tossing and turning should be considered exercise!

I’m mostly really enjoying my time off work to recuperate, but time can sometimes seem to move very slowly and I’m a bit restless too at times. I count my roaming the house as walking exercise (which I know it really is).

I have a small house but figure I’m taking so many short trips that the many short trips add up to something significant

Hope you sleep better tonight - fingers crossed for all of us - and have a good New Year’s Eve

 

[beachy]

@Denny39 .
As I heard someone put it " this recovery ain't for sissies! "
Hang in there. 2019 will bring you a good recovery and strong knee.

 

[Denny39]

@beachy
Good Morning and Happy New Year!
Hope everyone is making good progress. Someone also said, “Major surgery is not for the faint-hearted”. True, but it’s not a real bright spot for us ordinary, every-day chickens either. I’m supposed to have my other one done in March. Right now, that is highly questionable. My right one has been totally trouble-free since surgery on the Left. (My wife says it’s scared.) It seems strange, but a friend of ours had one knee done 5 years ago. He too was scheduled to have them both done. But after the first one, the other one has not bothered him at all. I’m sure not gonna do this again just because it was so much fun. We’ll see. Time will sooner or later resume its normal frantic pace.

 

[dmichael21]

Hey Denny,your story is my every hour ordeal as well, sleep is touph, I literally can’t get more than 90 minutes at a time.Tomorrow will be my 3 week mark and I have to walk around the house every time I awake at night then ice both sides of my knee. Beds are my worst enemy and my recliner is starting to get old, my lower back and left glute hurt as much as my new knee. I’m extremely active so this drives me nuts not being able to do my sports and hobbies. I feel for you.

 

[Denny39]

@dmichael21
Hi dmichael. You are 1 day behind me, same knee. The first two weeks would have had to improve considerably to be called horrible. My surgeon, when he discharged me from the hospital said, “You’ve got a couple of rough weeks ahead of you”. Yup!

But some things did begin to improve after that, sleep unfortunately not being one of them. I actually began to dread bedtime. 2 1/2 to 5 hours in short increments of 45 to 90 minutes, separated by much tossing and turning. I’ve done at least 5 1/2 hours the last 3 nights, but I still don’t wake up well-rested and ready to conquer the world. I’m also fairly active, so I understand your frustration. For the first week, I felt like an oversteamed carrot.

I was given a regimen of exercises to do 3 times daily. They were well within the guidelines provided by Bonesmart. I did them faithfully (yes, grudgingly also), and I think it has made a big difference. The ones that seemed impossible at first have become easy. Heel slides seemed particularly effective for me. Someone commented to me that “This recovery process is not for the impatient among us”. Since patience is not one of my primary virtues, I must whole-heartedly agree. But, it is what is, and we’re in for the long-haul. This will pass, and we will one day be our own loveable selves again. Hang in there and press forward.

 

[dmichael21]

Thanks Denny,We do have quite a lot in common, I just gentlywith a cane walked a half mile on gravel and it’s unusually warm out for Mass. Fresh air felt good so now I’m icing and will start my PT I started doing push ups and light arms and shoulder while sitting in chair with 10 lb dumb bells because other parts of me are deteriorating, push ups help my back feel better and I barely put any pressure on my leg. I’ll keep up with your posts, I need encouragement.

 

[Denny39]

@dmichael21
How is your stiffness and flexion at this point?

 

[beachy]

In hindsight, I can say the first 8-9 weeks of my recovery was like the Twilight Zone. Then I slowly turned the corner. Stiffness and pain gave way to slight stiffness and slight aching. Nothing Tylenol can't fix.
During those first several weeks I'd have a decent day followed by several painful days. Everyone on the forum told me to take it easy, I was doing a little too much. They were right.
This takes time. For some it's faster. For most it's not.
Be careful in the early stages.

 

[dmichael21]

Both stiffness and pain are my everyday challenge, just finished my homework and might have been my best outing. My flexion hit 100 degrees 2 days ago with a boot camp type PT woman and today in my own I was in the low 90 degree are and I’ve been improving with my different leg lifts per each day and now I’m enjoying my ice machine and elevation.

 

[Denny39]

I was told by my primary care doctor before my surgery that the ice machine would be my best friend for a while. Are heel slides part of your exercise? I found those to be the most helpful of all. Another thing I often did was to, while supported by the walker, raise my foot about 6 inches and gently swing it back and forth for about 10 cycles. There is an article on this forum titled “Heel slides. How to do them properly”. They show them slightly different than I had been doing them, so I tried both methods; they seemed to both be about the same, result wise. At this stage, your exercises should be putting very little force through your knee.

I did the heel slides once or twice a day in addition to my regular exercises. I did not EVER push into the pain zone. Mild to moderate discomfort, yes. But I found that when I did 10 slides, #10 was almost always 3 or 4 degrees better than the first, with the same level of discomfort. I was measured at 113 degrees yesterday, and I will begin outpatient PT Thursday. But remember, EVERYBODY is different. You know better than anybody else how different activities affect you. Listen to your body, don’t be afraid to make adjustments, remain diligent, don’t overdo it (Big problem for many of us, including me initially), and set your sights an appropriate distance down range.

I have had to make some BIG adjustments in my initial expectations for my recovery time. I was pretty sure I would be back up to full steam in 10 or so weeks. It was AFTER my surgery that I first heard that one year thing.

So hang in there. The pain and stiffness, from what I am hearing from many sources seems to have about a 12-15 week average lifespan, but it could go either way from there. But, it will go away.

 

[sistersinhim]

It was AFTER my surgery that I first heard that one year thing.

I was so blessed to have found Bonesmart 6 months before my surgery. I read every thread about TKR that I could and was very prepared. Or so I thought! No one can prepare you for the recovery of this surgery. I suggest you follow your knee's guidance! That will help you to keep the pain down.