TKR Struggling<

[ChrissiG]

Aww thanks for that SusieShoes! You’ve made me feel less of a wimp! It’s only coming on to this site and reading everyone’s stories that has kept me sane the last few weeks. There is nothing as comforting as talking to people who have gone through the exact same thing and can empathise with how you’re feeling. If ever I’m brave enough to have my other knee done I know it will be made much easier by having all of you to vent to!

 

[ChrissiG]

Hi Hermione - yes it’s a tough recovery isn’t it? Some people are lucky but for most of us it’s a hard slog! I find it incredibly motivating to read other people’s stories and know that I’m not alone. I hope your recovery is going well?

 

[sistersinhim]

@ChrissiG, you don't have to quote a post to respond to it. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and start typing!

 

[katchmo]

A month ago I said I was never having the second one done. Two weeks ago I scheduled it! Give yourself time, you are in the toughest part of recovery.

 

[Beckadeez]

Nothing helped my pain, once I was off the narcotics. I just suffered.

 

[ChrissiG]

Sorry Sistersinhim - I wasn’t quoting the posts just hitting the reply button - I’m on an iPhone and if just automatically puts the old post up! I’ll try just typing at the bottom and hopefully it will be ok!

 

[ChrissiG]

I’ve been in a lot of pain the last couple of days - I’d say 5 - 7 which is really getting me down. I’m coming up to 6 weeks - at what stage did your pain start to ease Beckadeez? Or is it still severe? Besides the burning pain in my knee itself I’ve also now got a bad pain in my calf at the back just below my knee - feels like a cramp type pain every time I put my foot down when I walk. Any ideas for what I can do to ease it anyone? Feeling a bit down and discouraged today - haven’t slept very well :(

 

[Celle]

I wonder if you've simply been doing too much, Chrissi?
Let's ask @Josephine to advise you.

 

[Chemist]

Good Morning ChrissiG: I am sorry you are having a rough morning. You are near the point that I consider to be the toughest. At 2 months I just hurt nothing seemed to help. I had trouble sleeping. I was a bit depressed and emotional. Imagine my wife's surprise when she found me sobbing (I am not a crier). From that point things slowly got better. The process simply takes time

Chemist

 

[Josephine]

I wasn’t quoting the posts just hitting the reply button

ChrissiG, what reply button? Can you be a dear and post a screen shot of that? I don't use these 'magic' phones!


I'm so sorry - I forgot to 'watch' your thread so missed your answers! Shameful of me!

8 No formal exercises beyond straightening and bending my leg.

But before I can respond to your answers, I need more info on this - what do you do to straighten and bend your leg? Can you describe these exercises in detail, including how many reps and how many sessions you do each day?

 

[ChrissiG]

Hi Josephine. I usually do
10 heel slides on the bed 1 set morning and evening.
10 x pressing my knee flat on bed with straight leg twice a day.

That’s about it plus walking around. I used to do straight leg raises until I saw you said, once you can do them you don’t need to continue - so I stopped. Hope this helps. I made a screen shot of the reply button but not sure how to post it! Under each comment on my phone it says Like Reply Report. I was clicking on the reply button but obviously that’s not the best way to do it!

Thanks Celle. I don’t think I have really but I did go to the hospital yesterday and walked further than usual. Plus the nurse waggled my knee from side to side to see if it clicked - and my knee was not happy with that!

Thanks Chemist - you’ve made me feel better! I felt like I was going backwards the last few days - hopefully it’s just a phase in the healing process and I’ll bounce back soon!

 

[Jockette]

Plus the nurse waggled my knee from side to side to see if it clicked - and my knee was not happy with that!

I did the same thing yesterday. Myself! Sometimes it feels like I can feel something moving around in my knee during certain movements, so standing, I picked my knee up and jiggled it a little. Oh my, it did not like that at all. How dumb was that!

 

[SusieShoes]

Plus the nurse waggled my knee from side to side to see if it clicked - and my knee was not happy with that!

I wouldn't like it either, if I was a new knee just trying to figure out where it fit in. I think our new knees like to be left alone to work it out for themselves, thank you very much. Being pushed, prodded, twisted, turned, waggled or otherwise manhandled disturbs its equilibrium. I'm sure the nurse was well-meaning, but next time just tell her or him to lay off the knee. If anyone is going to move it, that person should be you. (I make an exception for the OS. Mine at least never once moved my knee in a way that hurt.)

I do hope your knee will feel better very soon. Today might be a bit sore, but with some TLC tomorrow should be better.

 

[ChrissiG]

Thanks Jockette and Celle. I’d already decided I would not let her near my knee at my 12 week check up! She did explain though that some movement was normal - as was clicking/grating etc due to the muscles having to strengthen to hold the knee firmly in lace and also some things having to move out of the way due to the new knee action. She said there wasn’t much play in my knee so that’s good.

 

[Chemist]

Hi ChrissiG: my apologies to the group. I am a scientist by training and the following is the way I thought about recovery. Think back to math class. Do you remember the sine wave? It was the wavy line that everyone hated graphing. Anyway, for me recovery was/is like the sine wave. At times things would be ok (at the top of the wave). Other times things were terrible (at the bottom of the wave). Early on the difference between high and low was huge. With time the difference became smaller. At this point there really isn't much difference between the highs and lows for my right knee (10 months post-op). I know it is hard to hear when you are at the bottom of the wave, but give your knee time.

Enough nerd babble for today.

Have a great day folks.
Chemist

 

[Jockette]

I’d already decided I would not let her near my knee at my 12 week check up!

I agree! I’m going to be much more in control next time around! I was such a novice when I had my surgery, but that has definitely changed!

 

[Josephine]

but not sure how to post it!

Do you see the button "Upload a File"? That's the one to use. Uploading a Picture in a Post

 

[Josephine]

1 pain level varies between 3 and 5

Considering you are only 11 days post-op, that's not bad!

2 I can’t take the strong painkillers (morphine codeine tramadol etc) due to extreme sickness migraine and just generally feeling ill. So I take 2x500 mg paracetamol 4 times a day plus a total of 3 ibuprofen (any more upsets my stomach)

Okay but be wary of the ibuprofen. It's not good for you. Read this Medications: acetaminophen (Tylenol, paracetamol) and NSAIDs, differences and dangers

3 moderate swelling

To be expected.

4 Saw the ortho nurse today and she measured my ROM at 97 (on bed using my own muscle power) It’s more when hanging down. She didn’t measure extension but said it was fine.

About right for 11 days.

5 I ice and elevate 3 times a day for approx 45 mins
6 I elevate my leg for more than half my waking hours.

You accomplish little or nothing in 45 minutes. Ice for at least 60mins and more than 4 times a day.

7 I look after myself in daytime. Wash shower dress etc make breakfast and lunch. Take my pots out to kitchen. Make my bed. Partner makes evening meal and takes dirty pots out to kitchen. I rinse them and put them in dishwasher. I put the washer on - partner pegs the clothes out. I potter about. I’ve been out in the car a couple of times for a drive (I’m the passenger) sat outside country pub for an hour.

I've crossed out activities that are not appropriate for 11 days out. Did you read your recovery articles in the second post of this thread? I would say "obviously not" because you are not following the guidelines in this article Activity progression for TKRs. Read them again!

8 No formal exercises beyond straightening and bending my leg. Try to do that maybe 4 times a day 10 reps
10 heel slides on the bed 1 set morning and evening.
10 x pressing my knee flat on bed with straight leg twice a day.

First, read this Heel slides and how to do them properly (which was also in your recovery guidelines!)
Second, doing 10 at a time like that is bad. Heel slides are an easy thing to do badly and that is badly!

Short answer is, you are doing far too much for your stage. READ the articles and follow the guidelines. I'm only surprised you have so little pain! Do as I suggest and things will improve in the next 3-4 weeks, I promise!

 

[ChrissiG]

Hi Josephine. I’m 6 weeks tomorrow - not 11 days, so I don’t think I’m overdoing things as much as you think. I’ll change the heel slides to sets of 5 instead of 10. I think I underestimated my pain though as the last couple of days have been more painful - maybe up to 7 at times.
Still can’t upload a photo I’m afraid because I’m on an iPhone - don’t have a computer and there’s no ‘Upload a file’ tab. Thanks

 

[katchmo]

@Chemist that's such an excellent explanation. I remember posting when I was maybe 6-8 weeks post op all excited about my progress and then the next day I was a blubbering mess. That sine wave has definitely flattened out. I was actually thinking about graphs today as well. A friend asked me why I thought I "did so bad" the first few months of my recovery. I said that I have learned that I didn't. The expectations that the surgeon had in the time line I was given are likely only met by a very few at the far right of a bell curve on a graph. I'm very happy for those people! But the rest of us who fall at the height of that bell curve should not feel like we are failures. We will get there eventually and its not a race.