TKR Vickie's Knee Recovery

[Poof]

Day 10: I just got back from the OS. He said that the red areas on my knee were from blood pooling. There is no infection! : The bandages have been removed and I can shower without worries. He also added a timed release drug that he believes will help me through the PT. (PT comes again in a couple of hours). He said that the crying jags are normal and can be accredited to the drugs and pain. Wow....I'm getting sick of crying. It gets old really fast! He also said that the first 2 weeks are the hardest, so I'm really, really happy that I'm getting there. Now, I just need to get the ROM back again. I feel very hopeful right now. Thanks to all of you that have listened to me moan about it. I know that we all recover at a different rate and our bodies do what is the best thing for us. It has helped me a lot though when you have sent me posts about how your recovery went. It always helps to hear from someone that has "been there". Vickie

 

[Spingirl]

Vickie, I'm so happy for you! It sounds like you have an empathic OS. You are going to get there. Those first couple of weeks are really the hardest. I agree with what he said about the drugs too. Some days, they made me feel worse than the pain did. But of course, they helped with the pain, so it was a double-edged sword. Hope that time-release med works out well for you. Let us know how PT goes.

 

[leenie60]

A nap is a great idea and crying is absolutely allowed. You will have bouts of sadness mostly from being fatigued and perhaps from pain. I had a really bad reaction to the glue that they used to close my incision and it was nasty too and kept me from trying to bend too much because I was afraid it was going to open. I had a couple of other minor issues with the incision including a minor infection on the surface, then a piece of stitch coming out and here I am at 9+ weeks and the incision is well healed. Give it time and don't put any ointments or the like on it - better to let it air dry or cover with gauze if rubbing on your pants is an issue. I followed this and other than the incision there is no residual reaction scarring.

I take a sleep aid at night too sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I also have a prescription for Xanax which sometimes works better. Even if you can sleep as the weeks pass you will have trouble getting comfortable. I have untucked the covers from the foot of the bed and put them over the footboard to relieve the pressure. At 9+ weeks they are still untucked. Maybe until spring!

Take your meds, rest when you can. Drink plenty of fluids, drink a protein drink if you have them (helps muscle repair) wipe your tears and get up and do it all over again tomorrow and the next day and the next.....

 

[Poof]

Hi Aileen, I don't like the pressure from the cover touching my toes either! It feels like the entire leg is being held down. Thanks for the information about no ointments. I'm sure that as soon as I got out of the shower, I would have been heading for my lotion bottle.....I think it helped my husband to hear that the crying jags were a normal part of the recovery. I can see the pain on his face when I'm crying and I know that he feels helpless.....How is your knee feeling now? It looks like your about 2 months out now? Did your knee hurt more in the evenings? Sometimes that pain seems like its almost too much to stand.....I am taking Ambien at night right now. Most of the time it helps, but I still wake up a lot. At least I do get some rest from it. I don't plan on taking it for very long. I guess we will see what my knee says about that....Vickie

 

[kneeper]

 

[Poof]

Could anyone explain why sometimes it feels just fine when I stand up on my knee and other times there is a breath-catching pain? I guess it's just everything healing? Ok....that sounded like a really dumb question. Of course it is healing pains. The puzzling thing to me is that it comes and goes... I'm almost at the 2 week mark and really glad to have made it this far. I still have lots of swelling and bending my knee is painful. The PT just keeps encouraging me to push as far as I can. I really dread it when the the exercise comes up where you put your foot on a cloth, while sitting in a chair, and try to push your foot back as far as possible. Guess I'm just needing to hear from some of you have been there and gotten through it.

 

[bottomshollow]

Vickie, you really answered your own question. You are just 2 1/2 weeks post op. Your leg was opened up with a scalpel; muscles, tendons, & ligaments were pushed and shoved around; bone was sawed off; holes were drilled; an implant was hammered into place; and several layers had to be sewed up. Your knee has suffered MAJOR trauma. It is not a happy camper. Treat it gently----PT exercises should not cause pain---discomfort only---NO pain.

There is a lot of healing going on, and it will go on for some time. Even after the incision heals and everything on the outside looks all healed up----there will still be internal healing going on. You can expect to have aches and pains to some degree for quite a while yet. So follow the mantra to the letter and things will be as good as they can be.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.

 

[Beachmomdk]

Hi Vickie,
I had my LTKR,on Feb 12'also. I,am having a lot of pain and swelling still. Was only able to get PT,out 3 times mix up,on hospital part. I start out patient PT on Tuesday. I am running out of short acting pain meds and may have to call my reg doc if they can't send the prescription on time. I didnt realize just how painful this was going to be. I find after PT late and middle of the night is just awful. And first thing in the morning too.. I also got a rash on my stomach back and arms. Did do injections for blood thinners. Hope,you are feeling better!! Cathy

 

[Poof]

Hi Cathy, I still have 2 more weeks of in-home therapy and I dread it when I here the doorbell ring. I want to do therapy and I know I need therapy, but I'm just not going to let him push me until I'm in tears today. I'm heading to the Dr. This morning to get a couple of stitches taken out. I had to have 2 replaced. The others will dissolve on their own. (I hope.). It took all of the energy that I have to just get ready to go. Since my knee still doesn't bend to 90 degrees, it makes it so hard to sit down or stand up to get dressed to go somewhere. My brain understands that the swelling is keeping me from doing what I need to, but my body is throwing a huge fit! I thought that I was ready for this surgery and truthfully I did a lot of research, but there is no way to explain this to someone until they experience it themselves. The bad pain also starts for me in the early evening and then interrupts sleep all night long. I think we are all in that same boat. My blood thinner was in pill form. I did get a rash on my leg for a few days, but it went away with some cortisone. They told me that I was probably allergic to something they used in surgery. I'm still on the pain meds too. Last Friday, the doctor added a timed release med that I take every 12 hours. That has helped a lot with the severity of the evening pain. I am definitely better than I was last week, but have a long way to go. I'm glad that you found my post. It feels reassuring to talk with someone that had the surgery in the same day. Vickie

 

[Poof]

Judy B, Thanks for reassuring me again. Sometimes it just helps to hear someone say the obvious. You are very sweet to take the time to let me know that it will take time and I just have to be patient. Vickie.

 

[Beachmomdk]

Hi Vickie,
I got 95'degree on the bend on my knee but hard time getting it straighten. My husband got sick while we were at the hospital he stayed down there at a hotel instead of driving back home so when we got home he basically did very little. I didn't even get dinner or breakfast a few days he was too sick. I was pretty upset and wished I had stayed in the hospital longer and gone to rehab after. I also had a hard time getting in home PT set up and they,only gave me 3 visits.
My knee was so swollen but once I started PT the swelling went down almost in half. This is much more painful than I thought and so frustrating not being able to do much. Right now I am looking at my trash cans that my younger son put out. Well he put out the recycle instead of yard and there is nothing I can do. Waiting for my other son or husband to come home to switch it. You would think one of the neighbors would notice most of them know,I,had surgery but they just walk on by. Sigh I am usually so indepentant.
Did they give you OxyContin to take every 12 hours? I have that and oxycodone it takes the edge of but doesn't get rid of the pain. I can't remember being pain free in the last two weeks. PT hurts but does help!,,
Good luck,at doctor s today
Cathy

 

[Poof]

Hi Cathy, I don't know how you even functioned the first few days that you were home with your husband ill too. You were certainly unable to get food and the other things that you needed. I can see why you were upset....I take OxyContin every 12 hours. I also take 1-2 Percoset every 4 hrs and a muscle relaxer every 6 hrs. We finally figured out that if I took the Oxy at 6 p.m., then I didn't have that horrific pain rush that comes in the evening. Last night was my first night of reduced pain. I would estimate that the pain stays around a 5 now. Last week it was more of a 7-9 every late afternoon/evening...... At the hospital, they measured my knee at 106 degrees and -5. (Thanks to the spinal block!). It certainly does not measure that now! The Dr. told me to now work on getting it straight. He said that the bending would come when the swelling goes down. (Sounds like the advice that they give you on this site!). He also told me to start rubbing the scar line with Vitamin E oil twice a day.....I know that the therapist is going to be very upset when I tell him that the Dr. says to stop pushing me on the bends. However, I really trust my OS and know that he is doing what's best for me.....There was a guy at the docs office today while I was there that had his surgery on the same day. He described how he felt and it sounds just like our descriptions. Maybe we are all going to be ok!

 

[Beachmomdk]

Hi Vickie,
The first four days were not easy at all. We sound very simular in recovery so maybe we will be Ok. I am trying to get my every four hour pain med refilled they will have to mail the script out I only have 20 left. Trying to take just one at a time but I was crying earlier it hurt so bad. Waited a bit to long to take the 12 hour one. I am going to ask for some muscle relaxers also I find they really help had them in hospital. My pain there was always about a 7 until they started the 12 hour and then went to 5. This morning it was almost an 8. The PT said to elevate foot on pillow and put ice pack on and let weight of ice pack help straighten it. After a few minutes I can feel it!
Glad to hear there is someone like us so we will be OK!

 

[bottomshollow]

for having a smart OS who understands that bending too much is counterproductive. Sure sounds as if all is going quite well. It's very early for you and you don't want to make knee mad or unhappy---'cause then it will swell and hurt and make you very unhappy. Just take it slow and easy---follow that BoneSmart mantra.

 

[Poof]

Judy, My PT just called and set up the time for this afternoons therapy. I told him what the OS said about not pushing the bending while my knee was still swollen. He didn't sound that happy, but declined on the suggestion of calling the doctor to make sure of the therapy orders. I'm really glad that I was able to take the chickens way out and tell him over the phone.... I have no idea why I would be intimidated in the first place, but you guys have really helped with the matra of if it hurts, then don't do it. My OS' nurse said that some therapies, such as recovery for a frozen shoulder, do require a more aggressive approach, but not for knee replacement.

 

[Spingirl]

Vickie and Cathy, it's great that you can compare notes and support each other! You are both going to do great. As Judy wrote a few posts back, you have a lot of healing to do and it will continue for a long time. I'm at four months and I am experiencing new and different "healing" sensations! You are both in a tough phase right now, but we promise you will come out of it. It's hard to imagine from where you sit now, but you will

 

[Poof]

Hi Terry, Your post came at a good time....I have been doing really well all day and then WHAM! Pain like I had last week just came back and shot me in the knee. Sometimes I can be so short-sighted. I think just because its temporarily better then its going to stay better. Guess I had better get ready for some good days and a lot of stinky days....what kind of sensations are you feeling at 4 Mths out? Vickie

 

[Spingirl]

It's human nature, I think, to grab onto the hope that you have turned a corner and that the pain will be behind you. I am really more appreciative now than I was early on about what me and my knee had been through. In fact, I only recently watched an animated version of what the surgery entailed. No wonder it takes a long time to recover! It was one thing to hear about bones being sawed etc, and quite another to see an animation of it. Anyway, my sensations now are mostly an annoying tingling sensation and a tightness within the knee. I think the nerves are healing. Gentle massage helps, and so do my flexion exercises ( the one that you mentioned hating! I wasn't too fond of it at two weeks either, but now it feels good). Also, I am trying to be better about icing after a lot of activity or a long day.

Hang in there, and find some activities you can turn to to take your mind off of the pain while the meds are kicking in. And know that you will move through the painful times. I hope you have a good night!

 

[1ELISEA]

Hi Terry, ...I have been doing really well all day and then WHAM! Pain like I had last week

It continues that way for awhile. But each time it gets a little better.

About 6 weeks is when I could finally measure a difference. Seems like a long time but it really isn't and then that is still really early in recovery. Just need to keep taking it a day at a time.

Even now, I have zingers where the nerves are regenerating. Or I'll hit my knee and say "Ouch!". Both to me are good as it means I am still healing and nerves continue to regenerate!

Wishing you the best in your recovery!

 

[Beachmomdk]

Hi Vickie, hope you are having a good day. Went o my PT for the first time yesterday and he was amazed at how well my knee is doing ndbhownit looks.. He said you will not even be able to see the scar in a few weeks. Them my younger son has been sick so went with him to our regular doctor and he too looked at my knee and said that is amazing for 2 weeks PO usually people are twice as swollen and the scar is incredible. So even though I hurt like crazy I guess it is doing well. Now I just need more pain meds! My doc is wonderful is office is difficult at best to deal with of well.... When do you start out patient PT?
Cathy