TKR TKR June 6,2018 right leg numb little toe

[Mollymax]

@Kazmeraz I am in the UK too. I live in Fife. I envy my hubby being able to still run. We both started running in the 80's and whereas arthritis in both knees meant I had to give up running 7 years ago he is still running strong. I do envy him as I loved my running. I was 6 weeks post op on Wednesday and my knee is still very swollen and stiff and feels strange when I try to turn over in bed. I have just had my sick note extended for 4 weeks. If I go back to work then it will be on rehab hours for 2 weeks then I fly to Gran Canaria for a week but I may need to hire a mobility scooter there as my thigh muscles keep wobbling and I am frightened of falling.

 

[Kazmeraz]

@Mollymax before I had problems with my knee me an my OH went cycle touring carrying all camping gear on bikes. Itwas funny watching other campers wondering where our stuff was.
He still cycles to work and back every day and I wish it was me. But hopefully next year I will be able to cycle again. At the moment that seems such a lung way off especially with the stiffness and swelling. I go back to work on a phased return in 3 weeks and I’m dreading it. I just hope I can do it.

 

[Kazmeraz]

Hi just been comparing my knees and the operated right knee is twice the size of the left! In fact the whole right leg looks odd.
I have a very tight band across the top of the knee which inhibits bend. Not sure what my numbers are and not been told nor have I asked.
As long as I can walk up and downstairs, get up from low levels cycle and walk ok that’s all I ask. However I have felt that when I am mixing something it seems like my whole knee moves in time with the whisking. It’s not painful just feels heavy.
Does this mean the knee is loose or do you think it’s the swelled tissue which is jiggling?
I feel like I’m asking idiotic questions but they niggle me and I trust the advice I receive from my BS friends.

 

[SusieShoes]

If you’re not having pain when walking or doing stairs, and no feelings that the implant is loose in any other situation, chances are you are just feeling some muscle or swelling jiggle. It’s quite rare for an implant to loosen. Some of what you feel “inside” the knee is similar to the clunking or clicking feeling/sound many people experience. I can get this feeling when moving my knees in certain ways.

Questions are always good. No such thing as an idiotic one. TKR creates all kinds of new situations and sensations!

 

[Kazmeraz]

Thanks SusieShoes
I don’t really have any pain to be honest just the really tight feeling across the top of my knee which seems to stop it bending.
I am slow on the stairs and consciously mimic my ‘good’ leg in that I try not to use my hip and just lift my operated leg to next step. This isn’t painful but I can feel the bend for want of a better word.
I’m hoping this tightness (which is really tight) is the swelling which has yet to subside. As I look at my knee every hour of every day I don’t see any difference but my OH says there is definitely change and it’s not hot anymore. Hopefully when I reach the holy grail of 3 months I too will see improvements.
I honestly really don’t know how I would have coped without all the advice I’ve received and by reading the assortment of recovery threads. I see my physio today and GP tomorrow but I will be checking their advice out with BS.

 

[SusieShoes]

Most people’s knees do feel much better at or around 3 months. It’s not magical or anything, so don’t expect miracles, but you should start feeling more like your knee has gotten over the hump, so to speak.

The tightness is residual swelling inside the knee. It can hang around for a while, several months in many cases, but it will go away as your knee finishes healing. I was quite conscious of my knees and every bend for a good long time, about six months. And then I was sometimes aware of them and the bend for a few months more. When we say TKR recovery takes a full year, we’re not kidding. It really does take that long — but you will be walking more easily and doing stairs more easily and getting up from chairs... it all just keeps getting easier. The stiffness will just be your constant companion for a little while longer.

You’re doing the right thing to concentrate on walking and doing stairs normally. It’s the best thing you can do to train and strengthen the muscles that strap your knees. At one point I noticed I was still pushing up on a vanity when getting up in the bathroom and I was, “Hey. I don’t need to do that. I should make my legs do this!” And so I made a point of it. Much better for making my quads stronger! Same with stairs. My front steps are taller than most indoor stairs. I was going up one step, both feet, next step. Then after a few months I told myself my knees could do better and made myself do it foot over foot. At first it was awkward and not easy, but now it is. My legs got stronger. It’s not all about the knees. Our muscles need to get back into the game.

 

[Kazmeraz]

Thank you SusieShoes for your advice. It’s 11 weeks since surgery more or less and I still have moderate swelling which impinges on bending the leg. It feels tight and achy all the time unless elevated and iced.
Saw physio who said just needs to see me once more then it’s likely I’ll be discharged. So no more trips to hospital. I’ll be on my own under care of GP who has refused tramadol and replaced with naproxen and amytriptolin. She said easier to come off these than tramadol. Not sure how to feel about this as have been fine on the tramadol.
I am always aware of my knee I wish I could just forget about it and carry on living. I am due back at work 7 Sept on a phased return so got just another
2 plus weeks. Hoping for some improvements before then. I work on the 5th floor of a large office and am already worrying about being evacu’ed out in a evac chair when there’s a fire drill or the real thing as I’m so slow going downstairs albeit one foot over the other.
Still not convinced about this TKR and feel like I’ve been treated like a mushroom.
Hoping desperately to feel better soon! I have never felt so low I have ‘lost’ a summer.

 

[Jockette]

I still had swelling at 11 weeks, and at 17 months I am still always aware of my knee, unless I am sitting on my couch with my leg on my ottoman. I am still slow on the stairs.

At 11 weeks you still have a long way to go in this approximately 52 week recovery, but you will get there.

 

[SusieShoes]

Going back to work early (before three months) can be challenging in lots of ways. Fire drills are just one of many. You will eventually go up and down stairs as quickly as any other average person but, yes, for now you are going to be a bit limited in that sort of thing. Give your recovery a full year and you will notice big differences. I was still doing the one-foot on stairs at your stage of recovery. Most people at two to three months are where you are.

Your knee will feel tight and achy a lot for a while yet. Elevate it all you can and baby the poor thing. It will come around. Recovery really drags at this point! It's a pain in the... everything. Knee. Soul. Behind. Recovery never happens as quickly as we want it to. I fretted a bit about what if my knee never got better. It got better. So will yours.

How are you doing on the naproxen and amytriptolin?

 

[Kazmeraz]

@SusieShoes
Well I haven’t taken any yet. I stopped the tramadol on Saturday so not taking any meds at minute.
Not sure what to do for the best really. Tramadol helped me sleep so managed about 5-6 hours most nights. Saturday/Sunday nights were manageable but restless.
The swelling and tightness are uncomfortable but to be honest not overly painful unless I try bend my leg further than the knee likes then it is extremely painful.
It frustrates me sitting with it elevated and iced most of the time and I have reached the end of my endurance with TV.
Tried reading knitting and playing games on phone but lack of concentration means I get irritated very easily.
@Jockette
Thank you for your reply I know from reading lots of recovery threads this is a marathon but it feels like 11 months have passed by not just 11 weeks.
I miss so much but especially the joy of being a full participant of my family. I cannot fathom why I did not research this procedure beforehand. I research everything! I never even read any articles. I did speak to people who had had the op but never ever did they mention anything about recovery.
Ironically after the consultant gave me a cortisone injection I had no pain going into op and was walking and living life as normal. But probs wouldn’t have lasted. But in my mind I forgot how bad things were beforehand.
Thank you for your kind thoughts
Ps just found the emojis haha

 

[Jockette]

Ps just found the emojis haha

They should come with a warning, they are mesmerizing and highly addictive!!

NO ONE told me about this recovery either. By the time I got to 6 months it had felt 6 years and I was still reading here that it was early days!

 

[Jockette]

Hmmm, I must have tapped something when I scrolled up and accidentally centered everything.

As usual, every day is a surprise!!

 

[Kazmeraz]

I read on a thread recovery from TKR was the worlds best kept secret. No kidding!
Haha @Jockette I am a technophobe and struggle with all things computer based. Unfortunately for customers My job is to help them to resolve IT problems. You couldn’t make it up!

 

[Kazmeraz]

Just thought I’d vent a bit on here today. Having n awful day today. Whole leg keeps stiffening up with a very tight band across the top of my knee
Pain on my inner thigh and back of knee. Thought I was getting over these sorts of issues and biggest problem was swelling.
Poor nights sleep and feeling exhausted and tearful in fact did lots of crying this morning.
I have not done any exercising and just sat elevating. I find ice quite painful on my knee so not iced today for fear of more pain.
Confused and don’t know what to do for the best

 

[sistersinhim]

You are only 1/5 of the way through this journey. You will have up and down days, but soon the up days will out number the down days. Please just try and rest as much as possible. Included in that rest should be icing and elevating. I know it's a bummer, but your knee will get better. Your blues are completely normal. We all have been through them. https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/post-op-blues-is-a-reality-be-prepared-for-it.7591/

 

[Marguette]

@Kazmeraz first, thank you for the post you left on my thread. I really appreciated it. There are so many aches and pains and sensations that no one prepared us for. It's frustrating! I started seeing a noticable change at around 15 weeks when I stopped doing daily exercise. In spite of this progress, I slumped into a serious depression. Things seem to be headed in the right direction now. Folks here are very good at helping keep things in perspective. At 4 - 5 months post-op, it's still very early. I haven't had problems with numbness but my hip appears to be cracking when I walk more than a couple 100 meters. Hopefully, your numbness and my cracking will resolve in time. If patience is a virtue, I'm not very virtuous. I too get very impatient with setbacks. At any rate, here's to you and a stellar recovery. Hang in there, too.

 

[Marguette]

Just hope I can get some sleep tonight but as a side sleeper and even with a pillow between my legs it’s not easy to get comfy.
Leg gets so tight and much more aware of the numb toe.

@Kazmeraz I'm also a side sleeper but for the first week or so, I had to sleep on my back with my leg elevated and an ice pack. By the third week, I found that sleeping on the same side as my surgery knee, with that leg stretched out as much as I could, and my non-operated knee bent to the front of me, was the most comfortable position. I dont know why but just stretching my operated leg as much as I could felt really good. Then I could relax it and let it rest in it's most natural position. I never could sleep on the other side with a pillow under my knee. Hope you are able to find a position that works for you.

 

[Marguette]

Thought I was getting over these sorts of issues and biggest problem was swelling.
Poor nights sleep and feeling exhausted and tearful in fact did lots of crying this morning.

That's the roller coaster and things are always worse when we are tired. Hang in there. This too will pass. Hope you can get some rest today. Hugs!

 

[Kazmeraz]

So I’m hobbling round my supermarket and bump into an elderly neighbour. ‘ what’s wrong with your leg’ she says. TKR I reply ooh has it gone wrong then love cos when I had mine I was up and about within the day. No problems no swelling no soreness. I jyst got up and it was all great she says.
My manager later phoned me and told me about her elderly father who had a hip replaced. Up fixing the roof within 3 weeks. Hmm I replied to both, they were very lucky to have got through their operations so well but unfortunately I’m a sweller and it will take longer for me.
But how much longer is it going to feel like I’ve got a steel band round the knee which resists all attempts to walk with a less pronounced gait.
It’s nearly 12 weeks and I’m so fed up.
Also lack of sleep is taking its toll. Since I’ve changed from the tramadol to the amitriptyline it’s been elusive.
But the amytriptyline is helping take the edge off the blues.
Hope you are all hanging in there couldn’t do this without the supportative advice from you all.
Thanks

 

[SusieShoes]

ooh has it gone wrong then love cos when I had mine I was up and about within the day.

Sorry. It's just... I can't help it. I too was up and about within the day. They got me on my feet and had me walk and use the toilet and sit in a chair and... yeah. Her claim that there was no swelling and no soreness tells me she's forgotten a lot about those early days. People who are years recovered from TKR tend to forget a lot about their first days; with each passing year they become surer and surer they had no pain at all and were bouncing around doing errands that same day. Didn't happen that way even in people who had excellent recoveries.

But how much longer is it going to feel like I’ve got a steel band round the knee which resists all attempts to walk with a less pronounced gait.

No one knows. Every case is unique and there's no crystal ball. I'd like to say not much longer. You should be hitting the stage of recovery where you start noticing you're over the hump and things are getting much better. That day will come.

It’s nearly 12 weeks and I’m so fed up.

I call these the dog days of TKR. The grind of TKR recovery can break down titanium-tough spirits. It's easy to say, "Just get on with life and don't think too much about this recovery stuff." It's difficult to actually do that, especially if sleep is also an issue. Take it day by day. It's not fun, but you will get there!