10 weeks in feel so depressed.
Posted , 12 users are following.
l am 10/11 weeks post TKR. l feel so low my pain is more than ever. Have excellent ROM but my physio says because l have a knocked knee my muscles and tendons have to get used to the straight knee. My knee feels very painful and sometimes unstable.
l am finding it really painful to drive which of course makes me feel even worse as l cannot get out. l can walk less now than 5 weeks ago.
l am normally a very positive person but right now l cannot see the wood from the trees and feel totally depressed.
My only pain relief is Panadol as all other drugs cannot be continued.
Has anyone else felt this bad and survived this awful op to which at the moment l wish with all my heart l had not had. Lots of tears all the time.
0 likes, 23 replies
Moosn8r Oldsworth
Posted
so sorry to hear about your pain. i am 3 wks post Bilateral tkrs. i started swimming this week and it really helps with swelling. are you able to swim?
lynda49844 Oldsworth
Posted
I had knock knees too and there have been times when I have wondered whether it was going to be worth it. Every time I saw the surgeon's registrar he told me how much more complicated it was and I came across others on a different forum who were also having a harder time having had knock knees, so I didn't feel quite so alone. Once it was explained to me that the Iliotibial Band, that goes from the hip down the outside of the leg, comes round in front of the lower part of the kneecap to join the tibia, shortens through being knock kneed and needs to stretch I found it easier to understand what was happening. This band is rather like a seat belt and fairly rigid. It takes time and a lot of stretching to lengthen it.. When I think of how many years over which it shortened, it's no wonder it's not going to stretch overnight.
You can google Iliotibial Band Syndrome and stretches to help. It does get better. For ages I felt as if I was walking with a wonky wheel and find it hard to walk in a straight line, but I'm fine now. I have pain still at the lower outside of the knee coming in towards the centre coming downstairs, which is when the band is being stretched more, but on the whole things are improving, but it's a bit of a stop/start process - I improve and then am static for a while, might even go backwards for a while if I overdo things, but I don't regret having the surgery any more. I'm now 7 months in and can do most things and my physio is massaging the band and giving me more stretches to help and I'm positive it will get there eventually.
It is usual to feel depressed and down from time to time, but you're not even a quarter of the way through this year of recovery so don't give up and ask for more time off if you need it before going back to work and then request a phased return. Good luck!
Oldsworth lynda49844
Posted
Hi LYNDA49844
Can you remember if you carried on walking even with the soreness. l do the exercises the physio gave me l always have. Not sure if l should just keep walking or does this make it worse. Physio said just 20 mins but that seems such a short time. We all know we have to keep moving.
CHICO_MARX Oldsworth
Posted
Ask your PT when you can start increasing your step count. Yes, it's painful and slow but you will need to gradually up your step count and track it. Get a fit bit or similar and chart your progress...great for your state of mind.
Next, you'll need to rebuild your quads, glutes and core...the muscles that support the knee. This will take pressure off the joint and put it back on the muscles where it belongs. In time, you will have less knee pain, walk correctly, regain your valance and be able to do stairs alternately like you did before.
The whole thing usually takes a full year. Do the work, give the knee time to heal and be patient. A knee cannot be pushed but you do have to push yourself to achieve these goals.
lynda49844 Oldsworth
Posted
I did keep walking, but not such huge distances as some others and I found that quite depressing too. As well as the knee pain, it created back and hip pain, which I have still. As Chico has said, I would stick with 20 minutes, but maybe gradually work up distance by lengthening stride and increasing speed so you cover more distance. That's what I did and then got to 30 minutes by increasing my step count. I'm not yet at the point that I could go for a long walk, but that's mainly back and hip rather than knee. Yesterday I spent a long time on my feet walking round a stately home and garden with many steps and steep slopes and my knee is quite sore again today, but I know now that it will improve again. I need to have the other done, as that leg is so crooked when compared to me new, straight leg and I'm hoping that will help the back and hip. We will get there, but slower than those who didn't have knock knees.
My favourite mantra is 'It's not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain'. When I'm feeling down I try to remember it, not always successfully I admit, but it does help me.
Oldsworth lynda49844
Posted
What a lovely mantra. THANK YOU.
Oldsworth
Posted
Thank you so much for your realistic but positive reply. I wish it had been explained more to me from my physio. l guess the answer is to find a good physio that explains things so we dint go over board thinking its never going to get better.
THANK YOU AGAIN. Best wishes to you.
jenny61596 Oldsworth
Posted
I cant help because by then my knee was nit that painful and off all meds , I would see your specialist or gpI'm not very impressed by a lot of physios and its my opinion that they push people too much and over do it , I did really no physio just did my own thing at my pace and really had no problems ,if my knee was extra sore i rested it or just did gentle bending and pushing flat on bed .I cant see the sense in some physios forcing knees to bend when they are really swollen , and I have read that now some surgeons dont think you should overdo it before 6 weeks , I didnt both times , had hardly any swelling and by 8 weeks off all pain meds then I did go to pool and just walked , ask a doctor not a physio ,also can you take some nerve pain killers for a while like lyrica ? Dont just put up with it this doesnt sound right to me