2 week anniversary of ConforMIS right TKR

Hi Susan! No I haven't had any boughts of depression. Maybe it's your meds doing that to you. Be curious to see if once you start weaning yourself if it gets better. Hang in there, better days are coming..

Hi Susan I think you are doing great.   I am 6 days after op.  I have had days of sadness and very emotional any will make me cry.   But there for me was a big build up to this and now it over, just getting on with home excersises and a little walking..

im sleeping good but waking up at 3/4 am for pain and ice treatment..

So sorry to hear about your struggles, but I hope it's reassuring to know that what you're experiencing is not unusual.125 after three weeks is incredible. Good for you.  I just reahed 130 after 6-1/2 weeks, and the PT was very impressed.  

Your depression might be caused by your meds or sleep deprivation.  This goes against the professionals say, but for the first 4 weeks I used a full-length body pillow under my TKR leg, which elevated it and gave me great relief.  I learned quickly how to sleep on my back.  They say not to do it because it will hamper strangthening, which it did, but I think sleep is extremely important both for physical healing and mental disposition.  I offset my use of the pillow by working harder on my leg strengthening.  

Also, how much are you icing and elevating?  It helps reduce swelling, which makes it easier to exercise, which accelerates healing.

Hope this helps, and that your passage to three weeks will be quick and encouraging.  Believe me, chances are that you'll feel so much better.

Thank you all for the replies.  I was really not prepared for this intense pain. Every other surgery I've had seemed to let up on the high pain level, at least a tiny bit, after a few days and got progressively better.  

I will hold on to the hope that 3 weeks is a turning point!

I ice 4-5x a day and have very little swelling.  I will try a body pillow under my leg...my PT agrees that "whatever it takes" to sleep is probably fine.

Thanks again!

I had anxiety attacks the first 3 weeks after my TKR hang in there it gets better the first 2 weeks are rough. Not sleeping was the hardest. I cried a lot. I think 4 weeks was the big turning point then another at 6 weeks good luck wishing you well

Hi Cheryl! I did have to take an extra 5mg oxycodone yesterday., But makes sense because I had PT and I do exercises for quads and calf throughout the day too. But that's ok. That's still better than the 2 every 4 hrs and oxycontin I was doing. I realize I'm going to have better days than others. On the not as good days I nap more and lots of icing. Thank God the hospital sent me home with an Iceman machine.

Naps are GOOD! I got my best sleep at first through NAPS!😊

Here is another tip for you that REALLY helped me:

Sit on your bed near the top of your bed near the headboard. Use a looped belt around your foot to help get it elevated so you can rotate yourself so your leg can rest along the headboard or up the wall if your bed has no headboard. This elevating literally puts your leg perpendicular to your body and WELL above your heart. It produces a lovely feeling which really is relaxing as well as a great help if you are experiencing pain or swelling.

This is a modification of what our son does following his long runs. He is an elite athlete who runs Ultras, does Ironman and Crossfit Competitions. He lays on the floor and puts his legs up the wall. He suggested the above modification for me for safety, comfort, and pure disability following my surgeries.

Icing helped me a lot, but elevating in this manner definitely was a great thing! Hope this works for you, too!

"pure DOABILITY" not disability

Thanks Cheryl. I'll try that when I go for my afternoon nap. I have a leg lifter thing that has a loop at the end the hospital gave me.. So that will be perfect. My bedroom is upstairs. I also downstairs the first week. Thank goodness for two bathrooms.I alternate between my recliner and bedroom.So I'm up and down stairs 4or 5 times a day. Not one foot ahead of the other yet of course!

Hi Sandra. I am alone all day too. 7am-6pm. The exercise I practice the most either laying down or in the recliner is is tightening the quad and then pressing the quad and knee into a pillow. Quad strength is definitely helpful. I did exercises at the gym before surgery to the to get prepared. I still couldn't lift my leg until 8 days post op. I had been using my leg lifter they gave me at the hospital. That was great. I don't need it now, but never could have gotten by without it when my husband wasn't home to lift my leg for me.

Hi Angel

I didn't really have time to do my exercises before the surgery because I saw the consultant on Thursday the 17th of aug and I was in on the 27th having it done. I did do some and did quite a bit of walking. I could lift my leg the next day after the operation not very high but the physio was quite impressed now I can lift it really high. I go back in 2 weeks again to see the pt so am hoping they will see a bit of improvement. Have you been out of the house yet?

Wow that was quick getting in for surgery. I had to wait 6 weeks because my knee was specifically made for me from a CT scan to a 3D image to an actual knee for me. I had a 3hr ride

hospital home,which was so uncomfortable.I have been out 4times. Once for the trip back for follow up (got my staples out on that day which was 9dpo) and the other 3 for my physical therapy.Nothing for fun yet. I can't bend my leg back far enough yet to sit in a chair at a restaurant. Straightening is great, but just ok on flex. My PT told me to get straighten done first so as not to limp so much and once the swelling gets better the rest will come.

I cry all the time. Mostly from pain. A lot is feeling depressed and sorry for myself. Once I start I can't seem to stop. I have bipolar depression anyway but I wasn't prepared for this type of isolation and pain. I went through the same thing after they removed a lung from cancer about a year ago. If people are around I feel better but everyone's working. I have Xanax prescribed by my psychiatrist. If I take enough I stop crying and then sleep. Some life huh? So I totally understand what you're feeling and it sounds like it's fairly normal to cry like a baby. I'm actually crying now because I overdid it on the bike yesterday and can't hardly walk. I'm in so much pain. Yet another setback. Hugs

Read my link below...section on Post Operative Depression.  Normal.

Yes I read it. Good advice thank you. I just have a hard time with the depression once I fall into the pit of despair! I've been laying out by the pool soaking up the sun when the weather permits. Today I've just been crying and napping cause of the pain. I just keep overdoing it when I feel good. And then get discouraged and have to pick myself back up and keep going. Thank you for your kind words.