Bahahaha! You can snooze like Rip Van Winkle, wake...and be all better! Rip Van Jammy, you'll be!I still am considering staying in bed until Dec 20th
You are only four months into a recovery that can take a full year for some people. We heal at different rates for various reasons, but you're certainly not alone in experiencing some struggles at four months post op. Would you feel better if you spoke with someone on your surgeon's care team, for some reassurance?I still feel some discomfort in every step when I walk, and it zings or aches at night, usually 2:00 - 3:00 am. Wondering if the rest of you have had pain going on this long.
Haha, I can sure relate to this! A couple months after my surgery, someone asked me if I was glad I did it. I said “ask me in a year”. And I wasn’t smiling! And there were definitely days I wanted to go back to sleep and not wake up until everything wasn’t so awful. But the good news is, even though recovery takes around a year, you will start feeling noticeably better before then. At some point, you will turn a corner and notice that there are more good days than bad and the future is starting to look bright again. I wish that for you sooner rather than later! Hang in there Jammy!I still am considering staying in bed until Dec 20th on which day I will be all better.
I’ve had both my knees done within the last 20 months for the 2nd one I took this advice and have had a much better recovery, in my main exercise has been walking, in my case I was at the 16 week mark before I felt things were relaxing, I’d say closer to two years for a full recovery, for me anyway.Hello and welcome to BoneSmart and recovery. I am sorry to read of your struggles and pain.
Please refrain from engaging in movement that causes discomfort or pain. Do not allow anyone to forcefully manipulate your leg. While your range of motion is currently limited, it will naturally increase as the swelling subsides and the pain eases. Give it time. At ten weeks post op you're still early into a recovery that can last a full year for most and even longer for some.I have noticed that I hurt more during and after physical therapy and am tempted to stop that, even though it's supposed to be so helpful. I don't know about you but I hate having my painful knee pushed down really hard until I almost cry. I stick with it because I don't want to fail in my recovery and this is what my doctor wants me to do.
Below you'll find the Recovery Guidelines. Please read the articles on ICE and ELEVATE and if you're not doing both, I'd advise you begin. It will help with swelling and the pain. I wish you comfort and hope you begin feeling better soon. We're here for support if you need us.
KNEE RECOVERY GUIDELINES
As you begin healing, please keep in mind that each recovery is unique. While the BoneSmart philosophy successfully works for many, there will be exceptions. Between the recommendations found here, your surgeon's recovery protocol and any physical therapy you may engage in, the key is to find what works best for you.
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary.
2. Control discomfort:
resticetake your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to youb. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
That is really helpful to know. I would be really interested in an update on your most recent knee as I had mine done in October 22 as well.I’d say closer to two years for a full recovery, for me anyway
hi, at the moment my first tkr is coming along nicely I can’t be too rough with it as it’s slightly delicate still, my other tkr from October is still a work in progress, lot of stiffness a bit of pain, as I’ve said somewhere else I walk about 3/4 miles most days along a canal by where I live, so I must be doing ok. I still can’t kneel or squat, I use slip on shoes all the time now good luck in your recoveryThat is really helpful to know. I would be really interested in an update on your most recent knee as I had mine done in October 22 as well.I’d say closer to two years for a full recovery, for me anyway
Maybe I’m expecting too much of my knee recovery to say 2 years, maybe I’m expecting a fully normal functioning knee, which I don’t think will ever happen, I don’t have the extreme pain I had before my operations, but the way it’s going I don’t feel I’ll be able kneel or squat like I used to@#sully# - Oh My Gawsh! Really??? Now I gotta wait TWO YEARS for a full recovery? When most posters were telling me it's likely going to be a year to feel "back to normal"? Ok, I QUIT! I was ready to go to bed until December 20th of this year and wake up, but I am not willing to do that for another YEAR!
You will see through my posts that I quit PT and took control of my life. I am not letting anyone cause me pain, except my husband, but that is a given in a happy marriage. I am not overactive, like some people on here, playing pickleball, golfing, and hiking Mt. Everest. In fact, I might qualify as the #1 Member of the Lazy Club. I studied my cats to get the full effect of laziness. They hardly do anything! So that is what I'm doing. The bare minimum. It's called "Quiet Recovery." And guess what? Finally my knee is calming down. I have had much less pain the past few weeks since being lazy. I highly recommend it!
The other thing I learned about this "journey" (nightmare?) is, don't believe it if your surgeon tells you that you should be on the upswing after 6 weeks. Um, NO. Don't feel bad about not living up to your surgeon's expectations. He/She has mostly likely NOT had a TKR and is clueless about how patients experience pain for months and months after surgery. Maybe they just don't want to know! But we on BoneSmart know!
Thanks. That is really helpful.my other tkr from October is still a work in progress, lot of stiffness a bit of pain, as I’ve said somewhere else I walk about 3/4 miles most days along a canal by where I live, so I must be doing ok.
Lol, I’m not too sure where or how to post as well lolSorry Jammy. Didn't mean to hijack your thread with questions to @Sully. Perhaps I should have copied it in my thread but not quite sure how to do this?
Just interested in some of the details of further out recovery stories. Like I said uncertainty as to what is normal/ expected is a big issue I find and good to get other perspectives.
I also have had shin pain. They feel like shin splints that I had a million years ago when I used to jog. I also have the same anxiety that something went wrong with the surgery. The middle of the night is the best time to feel that way of course. Helps to know you are not aloneWell, it didn’t last long. The latest is I have shin pain. It feels tight. It’s been ongoing and I haven’t read anything on this board where other people talked about this. I wonder if I need a massage? I do rotate my ankle around and go up and down. I keep worrying something happened with the surgery. No wonder I don’t sleep.