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10 weeks post TKR pain after exercising difficulty sleeping

Posted , 12 users are following.

climber
climber

10 weeks TKR and have been subjected to the worst 10 weeks of my life between a combination of pain in the knee all the time, initially bowel and bladder problems, side effects of feeling sick and shivery when taking pain killers, unable to get much sleep at night, tried sleeping tablets that partially helped but again had awful side effects during the previous day. I have decided to come off all medicine during the last two weeks. just wish i could come out of this nightmare since the operation so i could get on with my life again. i lost 5 kg of weight during my 8 days in the hospital although i was eating quite well, i have put on 0.5 kilo's during the past two weeks but feel very week. I saw Surgeon two weeks ago and he said that he was pleased with the outcome of the operation but he indicated that it would take from 6 months to a year before my knee would return to normal. Every day is either a bad day or a very bad day. Do i feel sorry for myself - you bet i do!!!, going from a healthy outgoing type to literally becoming a crippled non entity

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31 Replies

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  • nwf477
    nwf477 climber

    Posted

    Putting it mildly recovery flat out stinks your situation stinks and if this is your first all of this is new no one is prepared for what happens after surgery, its a long and very painful road ahead not counting lack of sleep problems with pain meds etc etc. If this is your first you will get better but the key word that no one likes myself included is patience. Another thing that helps even though it hurts is exercise the stronger you get your quads back up and running the faster your recovery will be. I wish this was my first however this was my 6th replacement on the same knee trust me I am well aware of how bad the pain can be!!
  • clive45466
    clive45466 climber

    Posted

    Hi

    It’s a very tough recovery, I had my Right TKR in July 2016, I think I was lucky as only suffered for 12 weeks.

    I can only share that I hardly did any exercise in the first 6 weeks as I was in too much pain. A sports physio told me if exercise pain does not stop after 40 minutes the body is not ready for the exercise. I used the Aircast icing wrap / bucket for almost 12 weeks , only at night the last couple of weeks .

    I also used hot baths every day ( or more) as I found it took some of the pain away. Then I tried the bending and straightening once my knee was really hot in the bath.

    I keep on the forum as need to get my left knee TKR. There are no rules or expectations for this I believe our bodies , the surgeons and just luck can effect how the recovery goes.

    Anyone that has not had their operation done yet should always ask for a triathonlon knee replacement version. ( even if you do not, tell the surgeon you ski) As this version does not click!

    Keep your chin up.

    Good healing

    • climber
      climber clive45466

      Posted

      Clive, good to hear that you only suffered for 12 weeks, could the reason be is that you hardly did any exercises in the first 6 weeks because of too much pain in the knee which in turn allowed your knee to settle down? i suggested to my surgeon that the reason that i have suffered so much is that i continued to exercise from day one even when in a lot of pain and that i was probably compounding the problem by doing so! in the past if i had any injury to my body with a little pain i would back of any exercise until the injured part of my body settled down before resuming exercises however recuperating from TKR the opposite theory appears to be applied. i have now in the last few days started to listen to my body and if i am in pain i back of a little from exercises until my knee has settled down, i least i will not have continuous pain each day and night. it does not appear to be logical exercising if your knee is giving you gip at the beginning of attempting to exercise. Can others comment as i repeat i believe that i was causing more problems for my knee by following the holy grail of exercising even when in pain, is there any others out there who have had a relative short recovery time by hardly doing any exercises in the first few weeks following post TKR
  • jenny61596
    jenny61596 climber

    Posted

    Sorry to hear , we all seem to react differently to this op . I was in a lot of pain for 6-8 weeks but must say it suddenly  tapered off , and really since then haven’t had what I would call real pain , yes stiff and aching but a panadol would fix it . See if there are any pain killers you can tolerate , I found I had to take lyrica for a short while because nerve pain was awful. I can’t take NSAID so was endone etc but they are not very good at stopping nerve pain. Good luck and see your gp re pain meds so you can feel a bit better . 
  • sarah87162
    sarah87162 climber

    Posted

    It is still really early days.

    I had TKR 6 years and I reckon a year is about right before you really begin to feel the benefits. Hang in there.

    What is done is done and you cannot undo it.

    Keep in touch and let me know how things are progressing.

    Sarah

    • climber
      climber sarah87162

      Posted

      Sarah, I like your comment of "What is done is done and you cannot undo it". i have managed to go to the local swimming pool in the last 3 days, not doing any swimming but doing a few treading water exercises, a little kickback from these exercises the following day,however psychologically it has done me a lot of good,smile  hopefully this is the beginning of me trying to get back to normal!!!

  • climber
    climber

    Posted

    CHICO, thanks for the various comments that you have given to this forum, again much appreciated!!!. i must admit that i was hoping to get back into rock climbing (indoor and outdoor). Without this sport where am i going to get my adrenaline fix biggrin. any suggestions (please don't say indoor bowls)

     

    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX climber

      Posted

      I had to give up 45 years of hockey...not easy.  First, do the research and talk to your doc. Anything that puts a load on the knee or allows it to torque is a big problem.  Will stress the implant and reduce its lifespan.  Every doc will tell you this.  

      For me, I really...REALLY...want to skate again.  Nothing competitive or stressful, just a nice easy skate.  Donjoy makes a brace called the Defiance that will not allow the knee to twist.  For my purposes, it's perfect.  Subjecting it to the stresses of climbing might be another matter entirely.

      Cycling and swimming are great activities (breaststroke is NOT recommended for at least 6-12 months).  You also have golf.  I'm looking for a cutthroat bocci league.  It really comes down to "The List" and common sense.  Avoid the pounding/pressure and the twisting/torquing.  That's the ticket...

    • climber
      climber CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      CHICO, Thanks for your feedback !! also what is a  cutthroat bocci league.??
    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX climber

      Posted

      Bocci...the game where the old Italian guys roll bocci balls on grass.  Kind of like a poor man's curling.  Me?  I want to find a league where blood is actually on the line.  Ahhhh...the good old "Godfather Days" of Brooklyn...

    • climber
      climber CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      CHICO. with regard to bocci balls, could i suggest that you either emigrate to either Italy or Fronce where i am sure that there must be appropriate leagues that you could enter and start to get involved in your "old Godfather Days", just be aware however to look under the bed sheets to ensure that there are no severed horses heads eek

    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX climber

      Posted

      Not a problem.  I've always got Carmine and Paulie out back idling in the '68 Caddy in case I need them.  They are very good at "persuasion"...  I'm a Sicilian from Brooklyn...grew up in MafiaLand...  Remember the movie Goodfellas?  Yup...that was a very accurate depiction of life in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn when I was growing up.  Dad had a grocery store...I delivered to all the bosses, lieutenants and soldiers every Saturday...  I could write s book...

  • jenny80029
    jenny80029 climber

    Posted

    It's mega hard, but you need loads of patience, and the forum is a great resource.

    I feel for you....reminds me of my trials and tribulations post op, but the day will come when you look back on this challenging time and it fades into the distance...

    troughs in mood are normal, but try and make a note of the positive things, and focus on anything that helps you.

    Much of below is copied and pasted, as I am not on here much anymore, ....I am 18 months post op. It was well worth the suffering early on. I have myself back more than I could have ever imagined and you will too.

    We are all different, and whatever happens, you need to choose to believe in a positive outcome. It will keep you motivated to invest energy and effort into your recovery.

    Here are some posts you might find encouraging, from different points along the recovery path!

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/keep-up-the-hope-and-hard-work-it-s-worth-it-668580?page=0&order=Oldest

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/7-months-since-tkr-and-feeling-brilliant-655665

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-in-march-2017-655647?page=0&order=Oldest

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-the-key-is-don-t-despair-650217

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/18-months-post-tkr-644471?page=0&order=Oldest

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/1-year-anniversary-tkr-640398?page=0&order=Oldest

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/15-month-anniversary-of-bilateral-pkr-638665

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/all-s-well-after-tkr-638645

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/so-glad-i-had-it-done--610806?page=0#2833971

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/8-months-post-op--620728

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/up-and-going-and-going-608564?page=0#2817416

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/it-s-taken-18-months--610343?page=0#2830200

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/officially-over-one-year-621824

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/11-months-and-counting-629816

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/six-weeks-post-op-and-ready-to-sign-off-633382?page=0#3016931

    You may like to go to my profile by clicking on the image next to my name/my name. Then if you copy and paste you can get to the relevant page of my artist's blog. I kept a journal of my own knee replacement experience, right from before the surgery right to the one year mark..may be worth a skim through. It has a lot of useful suggestions and information. Hopefully it might be useful to you.

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