Hello, a bit late to start my thread, but here we go ...
My RTKR was December 5. Checked into the surgery center, prep was very comfortable and uneventful. Gave me some lovely relaxing drugs in the iv, did the nerve block and off we went to surgery. Woke up back in my room feeling very good. Had some juice and crackers, rested a bit, and got up on my walker with no problem. Took a short walk and thinking "this is great".
I opted to stay overnight in the surgery center to relax, give myself some time with my new knee and, most importantly, give my partner some time to acclimate before he had to take over my care. All went well, taken care of, well fed and rested. Off to home at 7am the next day with Oxycodone, Visteral, Tylenol, Aleve and baby Aspirin. The surgery center stay was awesome - highly recommend.
I had been warned that there would be more pain as the nerve block wore off and thought ... how bad could it be? Well, was I unprepared and naive for what came next. I had so much swelling my leg was like a cement pillar. The Oxy and Visceral worked well for the pain, but nothing helped the uncomfortable swelling. I had the TEDS and calf pumps to prevent a blood clot and they were hot and itchy. Total misery.
I had an appointment for PT three days after surgery. The morning of PT I called to cancel because I felt so awful. Luckily, my PT happened to be standing at the scheduling desk and she encouraged me to come in to talk about my PT plan and do some light stretching. I'm sure glad I went. She reassured me that my swelling and discomfort was perfectly normal, and showed me how to do some light stretching. It helped a lot. It felt good to move my leg and although I expected it to be very painful, it was not. It was very, very tight but not painful. It felt good to get some ROM.
I lasted for six days on the Oxycodone and quit it. It was fine for the pain, but made me shaky, anxious and jittery. I went to Tylenol, Visteral and Aleve. I think I had a bit of a withdrawal going and was happy to get rid of the Oxy. Slowly the pain got better, but the awful tightness due to all the swelling got worse. I had an impossible time icing. Icing just made the pain worse, and made my knee seize up so I could barely move it. Gave up the ice and went to elevation only. Much better.
Continued with PT. My therapist encouraged me to push to the point of a little discomfort, but not pain. I was pleased with my progress and attained 124 flexion and -2 extension after a couple of weeks. Still the swelling continued to be relentless and I have a lot of tightness in my knee.
Fast forward ... I started driving and went back to the gym at week three. Saw my surgeon for six week followup yesterday and he is delighted. My X-ray looks perfect, I have no restrictions on what I can do, and he released me from PT. He assures me the swelling will continue to come down and the tightness across my knee will resolve, although it takes time. I do see light at the end of the tunnel!!
Thanks for letting me tell my story. This is a great group with wonderful information.