Become an Insider

TKR The Good Parts and Some of the Challenges in my Recovery Path

I want to.thank everyone who responded to my.post concerning the chat with my swim friend especially Referee and.Jamie for your explanations.and understanding. This website is.a life line.and I.can't.express that enough. The.chat with my.friend was.definitely sending me down the wrong.path and the support I am receiving is correcting that.
 
:thumb:
 
Went.to the pool.yesterday. Swam.6.lanes and enjoyed.it but was really tired. I came home and.slept..Going again tmo and will.see how it.goes.
 
Glad to hear you are back in the pool. Swimming is hard work; my favorite part is visiting with my friends in the locker room! Chlorine makes everything better :)
 
Just been out in the car this.AM to do a.couple of errands. Am now 11 Weeks out. Cant believe how exhausted I feel!
 
Yeah, it takes a while to get your energy back.
 
That us the toughest part if this recovery in my opinion.


RTKR - 9th December, 2013
 
It takes a great deal of energy to heal. Add your routine activities and you run out of gas pretty fast. One of my first concerns when I receive a new TKR, is to work on cardio. People are surprised how exhausting it is to just take a shower and get dressed. It is a big procedure.
Hang in there, it will improve
David
 
Thank you. I continue to be.surprised at my lack.of energy. It helps.to know it is normal even though out is frustrating.
 
I graduated from physio therapy today. The PT was very pleased with my flexion and everything else. I am on my own now with my exercise program along with my swimming I should be ok. If I could just get my energy up that would be great. I
 
You're getting there.
 
Thank you. I have been using stairs on the normal way and other than a bit of exhaustion.and achiness it ocurred to me that I am healing. still have low energy but managed some lengths in the pool this morning. Gee wonder why I am tired!
 
I am trying to gauge myself. I am now 13 Weeks out as of Monday. Today I think I may have over done it. It is early evening here and I am aching all over my lower body. My knees,calves and ankles are just throbbing. I went swimming this morning and did.16 lengths Each one is 80 feet. Then I had to run some errands and did not get home.until mid afternoon.Used the cane and a friend was with.me to carry tHings. I felt good when I started out but suspect I have done too much. Where should I be at 13 Weeks? Have I over done it?.I am in bed early and will take a pain killer later.
 
Welcome to the ODIC! - the OverDid It Club. Most of us have done it. It's so hard get a balance balance between what our knee wants us to do and what we want to do.

Yes, you probably did overdo it, but don't worry. You won't have done any permanent harm. A few days of taking it easy, resting, icing and elevating should fix it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree...that's a pretty agressive bit of activity you did today. But Celle is right. Just pull back a bit....rest, ice and take pain meds if you are hurting and things should get better. You need to take it really easy until you feel better.
 
Well, I am a little over 3 weeks out and I read about people who had their surgeries the same week or even later and hear how they are basically back to life as they knew it before TKR. I feel so discouraged right now. I have a lot of pain that the meds bring down to a 3 at best. So I am not 7 weeks out, but I think we are feeling some of the same feelings. I would like to encourage you that it WILL get better. (maybe I should look in the mirror and say the same thing.) :|
 
I have woken up this morning with my calves throbbing and considerable stiffness. I felt really good yesterday morning and seemed like I was back to normal (prior to the knee issue), well I guess this has been a learning experience. I think the other problem is my low energy level which seems to be taking ages to return to normal. I think I can go off and do things but it seems not to be the case.
For Hopefaith, you are very early out in your recovery. I found the first four weeks to be the absolute worse with pain and stiffness. Things changed in week five and six although I an still not 100 % at week 13. Our journey is different for all of us. I obviously misjudged where I am at and the feelings are also quite normal. This is such an aggressive surgery and takes a long time for recovery. I should have remembered that yesterday.
 
@hopefaith Don't be discouraged with where you are in your recovery after only 3 weeks! Few of us really know all of the details of the surgery and what had to be done before, during and after placement of the prosthesis. Those whose surgery was "quad sparing", based on what I have seen heard and researched, are the quickest to recover and those with what we view as quick recoveries may have had that technique done. Though that may be the preferred technique it isn't always possible for the surgeon to be able to do that. They still have to be able to get all of the tools properly in place and have good visibility to what they are doing depending on the condition of your knee when they open it up.

Another factor is if there was any deformation that had to be corrected. Walking to favor the knee due to pain often leads to us being a little knock-kneed or bowlegged by the time we have the surgery. I think they always "straighten" the alignment and depending on how much correction was needed could be a factor in recovery as well. For example, my right knee that I had done had a "valgus" deformity or it was somewhat knock-kneed. As a result, many parts of my muscles that were not being used to support the knee pre-op were now being called into action once again, resulting in a good deal of discomfort for the first few weeks. I also understand that "valgus" is the more difficult of the two for recovery as my OS removes both the ACL and PCL for those cases. My other knee which will have to be done also has a "varus" deformity (knee is bowlegged) but in the case of varus my OS retains the PCL if it is in decent condition.

Many have said it over and over again, we all recover at different rates. Many of those who have gone through BTKR will tell you that each knee in the same body recovered at a different pace. Taking everything, even the worst of it into account, I won't hesitate to get the other knee "fixed" when the time is right.
 
@Phil75070 I was just reading about the quad sparing technique yesterday. I agree, I have no idea what had to be done to insert the new knee parts. I need to remind myself to STOP comparing myself to others. It has always been a challenge for me. Also, I don't want to hi jack this thread @Haze so I will exit with my issues and go to my thread to whine. @Haze I trust you will have more and more good days, and it is true we all want to get out there and live. I so get that. I hate feeling cooped up. I would love to hear about your recovery as the days pass. I think my recovery thread is in my signature.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 601 (members: 0, guests: 601)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom