@flacie1 At 9-10 weeks post-op, it is VERY common to still have LOTS of daily pain....and for some of us, it was ALL the time.
Most will agree it's not as severe as right after surgery. Most will also agree it gets less each week.....but MANY are not pain-free for months to come.
I think too many of us were misled by Drs or friends/co-workers. I was one of the lucky ones who was correctly warned it could take a full year and maybe even 18 months (because of my specific surgical history on that knee). We are all
soooooo different.
The frustrating concept is also how one defines "pain." From reading other posts, when someone says they are back to normal activity, they may not specifically say they're 100% pain-free, though their post sounded like it. Many work through pain when they shouldn't, and many wait until they ARE pain-free to go back to certain activities. I also think many people exaggerate their TKR recovery so as to not sound like a wimp. I've even caught myself doing it with certain people who I don't feel like I can open up to about just how miserable my first 4 wks post-op were.
I'm currently at 7.5 months post-op and still get occasional pain, especially when I've been standing a long time (>20-30 minutes). I
can do it, but I pay for it later with swelling. It's improved each month though. I had quite the pity party this morning about not having the flexion (bend) I want. Does it affect my life much???? No. It does keep me from biking for exercise though, and it gets annoying at times. Plus, the longer it takes to improve, the more I stress about the "what if it NEVER improves????"
This recovery truly is a mind-game and takes an emotional toll.
I wish you the best and hope you continue to see improvement quickly/soon. Just remember it may not happen quickly at all, and that's just reality. Time really is your best friend, even if we rant and rail against it.
I forgot to add that I noticed you're close to me in age. I've also found us "younger" folks to be misled about length of recovery....as if our youth speeds things along. NOPE!!!! In fact, I think many of us in our 40s here are shocked at the length of recovery. There's nothing like a surgeon to mislead us, suggesting our age will miraculously fix what he hammers/drills/saw, etc. Again, I was lucky. My surgeon is a reconstruction/revision specialist who works with lots of RA/Lupus/Psoriatic arthritis patients, plus younger patients that had traumatic injuries from youth or their teenage years. He's seen it ALL!!!! In his experience, he says we're his WORST patients because we falsely believe youth grants us miraculously quick healing and return to activity----and many THINK it should. He tells all of his <60 patients to forget about age and athletic/fitness ability pre-op. It gets you NOTHING in the post-op period but frustration and stress.