TKR Tabbycat's Recovery<

[Littlejem]

So sorry you are having such a bad time with pain @Tabbycat I hope you can get it under control. I've been having terrible backache since my surgery, I have a problem in that area and had to have a disc fusion about 5 years ago but I think my inactivity and doing a lot of sitting since surgery, has agrivated it. It got to the point of giving me more pain than my knee, so I saw my GP and he's given me Tramacet, it's a tramadol/paracetamol mix, and is helping my back and knee. If the cocodamol doesn't work it my be worth trying them?

 

[Tabbycat]

Hi @Littlejem
I'm sorry to hear about your backache. I find my lower back aches now my leg muscles are weak, and I agree that sitting a lot doesn't help. I've just read that Josephine doesn't think codeine is very good for knee replacement pain . I hadn't heard of Tramacet, but I did have Tramodol in hospital and had to stop because of nausea and vomiting. I will look into it though, it may be a small amount of Tramadol. Thanks for the suggestion.
Love, Tabby xxx

 

[uva55]

@Tabbycat i hope you are feeling better

 

[Tabbycat]

@uva55
Thanks Clara. I'd like to wish you all the best for tomorrow, I pray everything goes well. We will all be here to support you and welcome you to the other side.
Love, Tabby xxx

 

[uva55]

 

[Littlejem]

@Tabbycat I couldn't take tramadol, I was as high as a kite, it made me feel awful. Tramacet is a lower strength tramadol mixed with paracetamol and its not so strong so it suits me fine.

 

[Tabbycat]

A little victory (for a change), I just managed to do 10 minutes on my exercise bike, but only moving the pedals half way round. Getting off it was a challenge and not a pretty sight .
Hope everyone is having a good day.
Love, Tabby xxx

 

[sistersinhim]

Who cares what it looked like! That was a successful moment! You are doing good, especially for the pain you're in! BTW, has that eased up any yet? I pray so. I have a recumbent bike but pt told me to not try it until a month past surgery. I keep looking at it wanting to get on it, but so far, I haven't.

 

[LFitz]

Yay! happy dance.

 

[Littlejem]

Brilliant, all little steps towards recovery x

 

[charmed-life]

Good for you Tabbycat! I loved it once I could bike awhile - feel like I'm doing something to get stronger even with no resistance!


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[Tabbycat]

@sistersinhim
Sometimes I am in very little pain when resting, and then at other times it comes back with a vengeance for no obvious reason. My knee always hurts when I get up, and is very stiff, but I walk up and down a bit and it usually eases up. I find if I do exercise to bend my knee, then I can't straighten it, and if I do extension stretches then it won't bend. It's definitely got a mind of its own.

 

[Dawni]

@Tabbycat big congratulations that's fantastic news I could cry happy tears for you, gives you a sense of achievement well done you [emoji605]

LTKR 11 May 2016

 

[newlybionic]

I'm glad you were able to get on the bike. I'm sure you couldn't have looked much worse getting off it than I did. No one looks graceful doing that after a TKR. I'm so happy that you are moving forward in your recovery.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

 

[Happydale]

Tabby, have you given any thought to acupuncture? My friend who had a TKR a year ago used it for pain during recovery and found it to be helpful. Years ago I was going through a painful neck episode, and was willing to try anything and everything. The thought of having needles put in me made me cringe, but surprisingly I didn't feel a thing. They are extremely thin, like a hair. Anyway, after my first session was the first time I had been able to sleep at night. That made me consider that it might have been the acupuncture.

To cheer you up, here's a study I found: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26628605 It's called:
Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis have Similar Excellent Outcomes after Total Knee Replacement Compared with Patients with Osteoarthritis.

Hang in there. It WILL get better.

 

[Tabbycat]

@Happydale
I've heard good things about acupuncture, but I am really really needle phobic and don't think I could go through with it . I'm glad it helped you though.
That's a great bit of research, I do feel cheered up, thanks.
Love, Tabby xxx

 

[Celle]

I think it's a bit too early to be considering acupuncture. At this early stage of recovery, I'd be very wary of using anything that pierces the skin - even though I know they sterilise the acupuncture needles.

 

[Tabbycat]

Ok, Celle, thanks for the advice.
On another positive note, I got 5 solid hours of sleep last night, things are beginning to look up

 

[Celle]

A good sleep - that's great!

My knee always hurts when I get up, and is very stiff, but I walk up and down a bit and it usually eases up. I find if I do exercise to bend my knee, then I can't straighten it, and if I do extension stretches then it won't bend.

It took months before my knee stopped feeling stiff when I first got up, but eventually that went away.

Perhaps it would help your knee if you split the exercises up, so that you just did straightening for one session and then did bending later on? I think perhaps your knee is telling you "That's enough for now. Give me a rest for a while." Or maybe just do a little walking instead of either exercises? Walking is about the best exercise you can do for your knee - but don't overdo it.