TKR Acceptance and Understanding<

Watch a good movie. Ice, elevate, and rest . You body is healing from major surgery, it knows how! Drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritiously.
 
Try to stay off it and hold back on your PT if possible. Ice, elevate, medication and some tv sounds good for today.
 
I also think that your increased pain, and knife jabs unexpectedly, are from the PT exercises continuing on a very swollen and flared up fresh joint, and not getting adequate pain relief from strong enough meds.

Could you possibly scale back some during your Required PT with reps and/or intensity? Or maybe just certain exercises could wait for a week or two?

3 times a week for PT is too much. I wouldn't let that happen again.

When you transition to outpatient PT, you could consider scheduling a Mon. and Fri. to give a good break between sessions, and plenty of rest on the weekend.
 
When you transition to outpatient PT, you could consider scheduling a Mon. and Fri. to give a good break between sessions, and plenty of rest on the weekend.
I think this is a great idea!
 
How can pain get worse and not better 8 days after surgery?
Because you are being made to do too much!
The nurse comes again tomorrow, what questions should I ask her to help me understand what’s going on?
None because the likelihood is that s/he doesn't know either! So don't waste your breath. You'd do much better asking us (or me!)
I feel like a whimp lately because I can’t tolerate the pain
One thing is clear here - YOU ARE NOT A WHIMP! Anyone in your shoes would be bowed under by this. Don't ever allow yourself into self blame. It's not your fault. This is being done to you and it's not fair. Remember that. Did you ever read these articles? They're actually fairly similar but read them both anyway
CONSENT: what it means and how it can be used
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?
 
Please cut way back on your exercises. Nighttime pain is an indication that you did too much during the day. You shouldn't even be doing PT yet. Your knee needs to heal before introducing it more trauma. Exercising now just slow down that much needed healing.
 
@sistersinhim i did no PT yesterday, I iced, elevated, rested. But still when I used my walker, all day it was very painful to put pressure on my leg.

I did not sleep last night, no position was comfortable. I cried the majority of the night.

My physical therapist showed up at 8am, I met him at the door explaining how much pain I had been in and pointed out areas of my knee that were paining me. If I had his phone number I would have canceled this morning. But I did not.

He suggested we do just a few easy exercises and told me to lay off for the weekend and ice, elevate. We did a few. I was done. He checked for signs of infection, there weren’t any he could see visibly.

Using my walker today, I can put some weight on leg without extra pain. I don’t get how yesterday my leg felt like it was intolerable to stand on and today I can bear a little weight.

This flip flopping of pain is making me seem like a liar when I explain it to anyone. The pain comes and goes when it wants and is confusing me and those I’m trying to get to understand I AM IN PAIN all the time.

Sorry for the rant, I’m at the end of my rope and just needing to vent.

Thanks Bonesmart
 
:console2::console2: You just had major surgery, of course you are in pain! It will get better, but it’s going to take time. It’s only been a week. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. :console2: Try to hang in there. It will get better.
 
You're certainly not a whimp. What you're feeling -- pain all the time -- is normal for this stage of TKR recovery. That's why pain control is so important. You said before that the lower dose of pain-killer your doctor prescribed was "perfect," but I'm thinking it's not. If you are in this much pain all day long, you might need a stronger pain med. Talk to your surgeon or GP, because they might be able to prescribe something better. You are not even ten days out from a major surgery.

What you say about the knee being better one day, then worse the next... that's how all recoveries go. The process is not a straight line of better every day. It's better some days and no progress at all (that we can tell in ourselves) other days. I remember only too well hobbling along in my walker and thinking, "I was walking better yesterday." Some days our knees swell more; other days they swell less. The usual reason is exercise, but it can also be the weather or what position we slept in or that we sat with our legs bent or stood for fifteen minutes too long. We are at the mercy of bodies (knees) that have a mind of their own. Literally. The knee is healing and the brain has no conscious control over that whatsoever. We're along for the ride.

The best thing you can do is stay off your feet as much as possible. I'm glad your therapist listened to you and told you to take the weekend off, so to speak. That's wonderful advice. Stay off your feet. Rest all you can. Elevate all you can. Ice at every opportunity (ice also helps reduce pain). Just do your daily activities.

Tomorrow should be better. :SUNsmile:
 
Listen to Susieshoes sage words of wisdom. Very wise advice.
 
The nurse came. No signs of infection that’s obvious which eases my mind somewhat. She couldn’t believe I was having a hard time getting med refills for such a major surgery. She shook her head in disgust. She helped me figure out how to plan out the remainder of my prescription I have left to coincide with my next dr appt on Tuesday. She was very thorough and empathetic to my situation. She even offered to get me ice.

@Jockette I should know better because I’ve done this before, this time just seems worse.

@SusieShoes you always make sense explaining knee-sense. I’m hoping for a better day tomorrow as well. Thanks ladies, encouraging words go a long way.
 
Knowing what to expect doesn’t always make it easier. Pain is pain, and personally I have trouble thinking when I’m in pain! :console2:
You WILL get through this! Hang on a bit longer.

That’s so nice you had such a nice nurse!! :loveshwr:
 
He suggested we do just a few easy exercises and told me to lay off for the weekend
I'd suggest that you quit the PT and exercises altogether, permanently! You will find you do better on it in the end. A weekend is not going to show any improvement.
What you say about the knee being better one day, then worse the next... that's how all recoveries go. The process is not a straight line of better every day.
I have a graphic for that!

wiggly line.png
 
You're in the earliest days of recovery and you have been asked to do too much. Please take to heart what everyone has said about really resting that knee.
 
All along I have felt that you definitely need more adequate pain relief.
I think if it was me, I would be making more NOISE with my surgeon or primary MD to exhaust all possibilities before giving up on not pursuing better pain meds. It is sooooo RIDICULOUS that you are being put through this misery because of your controlling and unreasonable surgeon and HIS RULES.

Also, I think you should further look into your STD and its requirements for continuation of benefits. They may not be as strict as you perceive them to be. I would also be checking in to this aspect, since PT is only ruining you right now. There are always exceptions to rules. Be assertive and don't give up. Be specific in explaining your dilemma to all people involved with your case. You may find that you can delay PT because of your severe symptoms, despite what a contract may say.

I also know that when you are sleep deprived and painful, it is hard to do this, but you really don't have a choice, unless you are willing to put up with this endless cycle.

Pain, symptoms, function, etc. all ebb and flow for many weeks after this surgery, that is the norm. Changes frequently don't make any sense and can't be figured out.

Remember your healing time line is delayed every time it's abused, I.e exercises. Plus the misery continues.

Please consider taking the bull by the horns, and get complete info. on the subjects I mentioned.
There has to be a solution to get you out of this "prison".
 
I tried to do a couple gentle heel slides to see what would happen. Extreme sharp pain behind the knee followed by throbbing now. And now I cannot do quad lift either. My knee is a mess and I’m desperate for answers hoping Tuesday surgeon appt will give me answers. They usually do X-ray at 2 week visit. I’m definitely going to need more pain control meds and PT will be addressed. I showered this am and held on for dear life during the process. Afterwards I was physically drained and had an emotional breakdown. I suffer in silence here, I cry into my pillow so nobody can hear because I don’t think anyone truly understands the physical and emotional stress I am under. Thank you all for being my support because I’m feeling very alone through this. I’m thankful the sun is shining.
 
I’m afraid if I stop PT all together, my leg muscles will atrophy. My right already seems less stronger even though I continue daily living stuff.
 
Everything you just described is the normal after effects of major surgery. And you’ve had 2 major surgeries in 7 months.

I was exhausted after showers in the first weeks also. You will get stronger in time.

Both your legs will regain strength as you heal.

You don’t have to be so brave was in front of your family. They might be even more understanding if they see you upset. I cried buckets in the first couple of MONTHS after my surgery. My husband would just hug me and say, “We’ll get through this. “

We are here to hug you and go through this with you. We have all been where you are, we understand. :console2:
 
Have you considered a shower chair or tub transfer bench? I had the latter and I used it for a long time until I felt confident I could stand for a full shower. The seat allowed me to shower for a minute or two, but then sit down if I needed to. My bench also had a rail that was really handy to hold onto for balance at first.

I’m afraid if I stop PT all together, my leg muscles will atrophy. My right already seems less stronger even though I continue daily living stuff.

Your leg muscles might lose a little strength, yes, but they won't atrophy if you are up on your feet and doing your daily activities. Think about how you didn't move around much because of how painful your original knees were. You might be doing just as much activity, and maybe more, with your new knee. (I know I did.) So your muscles will do just fine. The important thing now is to let the knee heal so that you can eventually move more and do more with your muscles.

I hope you can be open with your family about how difficult this recovery is for you. Many of us are wired to be stoic around others. Sometimes, though, it's better to let them know what we are feeling. And you can always come here to vent. We listen and we do understand. :console2:
 
Your legs muscles will NOT atrophy. Doing some daily living activities is plenty of exercise to maintain strength in the first leg.
You will regain normal strength in a few months. When you are upset like this, it's easier to imagine seeing things that are not really to the degree you think.
As I mentioned in my last post here, please be on a mission to obtain stronger pain meds, and further check into your short term disability stuff so you know your options. Make sure all interested parties are well aware of your current dilemma, and to what degree.
Don't give up, and exhaust all possibilities regarding meds and work stuff, so you can stop doing PT for several weeks, if you must.
 

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