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4 weeks post TKR and think i'm doing ok ?

Posted , 15 users are following.

Mikefen
Mikefen

Hi All,

This is my first post and I would be interested to hear any thoughts that fellow TKR patients have.

I am 47 in 2 weeks and have suffered for about 10 years with joint trouble. I had various scrapes and drills and arthroscopies etc on both knees over the 10 years of increasing pain. Eventually joint pain became like a form of tourettes syndrome for me and I would shout out in pain in the middle of a supermarket startling shoppers as bone met bare bone.

I eventually had a Uni compartmental replacement 6 years ago on my right knee and I slowly recovered quite well but regret not rehabilitating properly as I had just started a new job. My left knee had worn badly and following 2 minor ops the consultant suggested a TKR late last year. I was very reluctant at first as I'm 46 years old and very young for the full op. He told me however that he had done 10 ops in 12 months on people of my age which did reasure me.

4 weeks post op and I think that I am doing OK. Day 2 was horrendous as the physio warned me it would be the worst day. I could not even lift my leg off the bed and I wondered what I had let myself in for. I can say that the following day was much better and each day following it has improved. Today 4 weeks on I have walked better than ever (with just the slightest hint of a limp not used crutches for 2 weeks). I keep up with painkillers every 6 hours or so and also exercise and stretch as I should. If I do too much my body lets me know and I struggle the next day.

One real issue for me are the compression stockings ! I hate them and they leave deep ring around my leg just below the knee. Surely that can't be right ? I have left them off this morning and I wondered if that would cause me problems ? I am wearing them 24/7 otherwise.

I work in the Midlands 70 miles from my home in the North West and I travel there and back 4 days a week. I am itching to give it a go as I drive an automatic but I think it may be too soon as I can spend up to 3 hours at times in trafffic. Does anyone have a similar commute ?

Sorry for the chapter and verse !

Mike

1 like, 46 replies

46 Replies

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  • martinarvelo
    martinarvelo Mikefen

    Posted

    I was never offered any sort of support stocking. . after the op there was a bandage around the leg which was very tight and caused a lot of pain for the first night, but the following morning they took it off and that was that.  I have had to inject heparin every day to avoid DVT but today THANK HEAVENS was the last day as i really hate that injection!  It's not so much the needle as the burning sensation afterwards.  Years ago I tried support stockings for varicose veins and it made my legs ache horrendously, so I'm really glad my surgeon didn't insist on them!  I find it hard to understand all these different opinions by different surgeons!

     

    • Mikefen
      Mikefen martinarvelo

      Posted

      Hi Martin,

      I agree, I have seen so many variations on this forum and on the Web. Are you in the UK ? I have found that things are different here in the UK compared to the USA. Your injection is the first one I have heard for DVT but having said that I was given a blood thinning pill whilst in hospital.

      Thanks for the message.

      Mike

    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo Mikefen

      Posted

      No not UK although I am British.  We live in Tenerife, Spain.  The injections were ridiculously expensive . .130 euros for ten, so in the six weeks they have cost me  520 euros!  One of the problems of having it done privately . . then you have to pay for everything!!!  On the national health service over here I would have had to wait years for the op and at my age (70) you can't muck around for ever!

       

    • Mikefen
      Mikefen martinarvelo

      Posted

      I have been lucky as I have private healthcare with my job ! I dread to think how long I would wait on the NHS.

      Hope the weather is better in Tenerife than it is here. It's miserable and pouring down !!

    • liz34614
      liz34614 Mikefen

      Posted

      Depends where you are in the UK, some people seem to wait ages, but the average wait at my treatment centre is six weeks, and in that time all the assesments are done, brilliant service!
    • Butterbean
      Butterbean Mikefen

      Posted

      I'm in the UK and was asked which month I'd like my TKR..... And got my op in the month I requested 😊

      And I was sent home with the daily injections for DVT prevention I've been very happy with the service Ive had from the NHS

  • Butthillrob
    Butthillrob Mikefen

    Posted

    Hi Mike, i was in compression for 6 weeks. I too had a ring across my leg which is from the swelling. Quite normal. A definite no no for driving. Far too soon, and your insurance company would not cover you for insurance. I started at 6 weeks. Luckliy my left leg was the TkR so it was that bit easily when pressing clutch. Keep patient, regular icing , exercises and meds. Take care

    Robert

  • daphne31042
    daphne31042 Mikefen

    Posted

    Yes, compression socks are a nightmare. Nobody has ever explained why we need them.   Yuk!
    • Butthillrob
      Butthillrob daphne31042

      Posted

      Hi, they are reccommended for wear post operatively to help prevent DVT.   Innactivity after surgery increases the risk of thrombosis. The stockings help to limit swelling and enable the circulation to,work, better. This,is also,why you should move your feet and ankles for 5 minutes every hour.

      hope it helps.

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