5 weeks post TKR and feeling quite low

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I had my total knee replacement 5 weeks ago ..I've realised now that I certainly won't be ready to return to work after 6 weeks (I originally thought I would) I'm still taking tramadol occasionally and though I can walk without a crutch I find I limp so still use 1 crutch . I feel a little depressed , my back gets sore if I walk for a while I can only presume it's because I'm leaning over one side ...going up and down stairs still hurts and the operated knee clicks and grinds ..my thigh muscles still tight and I'm trying to stretch them out ..anyone else feeling down and frustrated?

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  • Posted

    Same here.  I've injured my one foot doing exercises with a soft robe belt.  I don't think my foot is strong enough to do that kind of exercise.  I woke up this morning and my whole body hurt.  I wanted to cry.  I knew I had arthritis in my one "good" knee but this surgery and using crutches has greatly aggravated it and I wonder if I'll end up also needing surgery in it too.  I don't think I could face it.  My back also hurts and I haven't had trouble with it for a long time even though I have osteopenia in it.  I feel bad I'm still having to take pain killers.  Perhaps next week will be better. I just feel exhausted.  I'm trying so hard to do the exercises but I've found I do better if I don't push myself as hard.  Going to call PT tomorrow about foot.  There is definitely something wrong with it.    

    • Posted

      My "good" knee got rapidly worse and I thought oh dear!

      But it has improved again now, in think just ball the extra strain on it made it worse? Hopefully yours will improve again with time. Not a great thought having another op, but just because worse now does not mean it is permanent.

  • Posted

    Hi Pennypops,  I'm at 5 weeks now and feel your pain. If I knew how excruciatingly painful this process was going to be I doubt I'd have gone with it. Actually a nurse told me if they told people how painful it was no one would have it done!! I too thought I'd be up and about and back to work in 6 weeks but it's just not happening. I'm on codeine, sleeping on sofa (most "comfortable"place) and getting horrible burning sensation as well as leg pain particularly at night. Also like you, whilst I can walk (stumble) without a crutch I'm not holding myself straight and my leg swings slightly outwards, therefore I'm still using one crutch. I haven't had any clunking but my thigh muscles are sooooo tight. I'm trying soooo hard to get them moving and trying to do my excercises as much as possible but I'm just not getting the bend I need.  I've been stuck on 70 degrees for two weeks and whilst I can now lift my leg and do extensions (with difficulty) I am starting to panic that I'll never get to 90. My Physio says I will (though she has mentioned manipulation) and that all of a sudden my muscles will start moving (which was the case when trying to lift my foot which felt impossible until one day it suddenly lifted!). Anyway, the bottom line is that I am utterly fed up and becoming increasingly emotional and tearful. Please please leg wake up and let me walk and move about and stop this pain!  I so hope you're feeling better since posting a month ago x

    • Posted

      Hi Rosy , I remember being 5 weeks post operation and was tearful and frustrated....and now at 11 weeks have full range of movement so it does get better...my thigh and calf muscles feel tight and are sore .....I'm sure things will get better week by week...I love this forum it's been great knowing there are other people who know exactly what I'm going through...wishing you well x

  • Posted

    It will improve and the pain will go away . No one can predict how long it will take . Plenty of physio , exercise , correct medication and ice help . 19½ and 17½ years since my op's , and I have no problems . 

  • Posted

    I had my TKR on Jan 10th of 2018, i was released from the surgery center the next morning with a walker and home health therapist visits three times a week for 2 weeks. No walker after 2 weeks, no cane after 3 weeks. No pain meds after 2 weeks, only OTC anti inflamatory meds. After home health I have 31 outpatient therapy sessions scheduled. Measurements at 2 weeks post op, 98 degrees flex. -17 straight, 3 weeks 110 flex / -12 straight. 5 weeks 120 flex / -12 straight. I believe the therapy is helping with ROM but recently my knee began to swell and now every movement is painful. I have applied ice and compression since the flare up to no avail. I believe that I may have GOUT setting in since I had it in my foot prior to surgery. Dr took me off the preventive prescription prior to surgery. Hopefully I can resume the meds soon, or a setback is inevitable. 
    • Posted

      Gosh, no cane after 3 weeks!

      Thats quite quick off supports. We are all different though.

      Were you advised that or just didn't need a stick or crutch?

      Did you get a big increase in pain then or did you find you just didn't need it?

      Good wishes for your recovery.

      Hope your problem gets resolved soon.

  • Posted

    I am now at 5 weeks and am still in quite a bit of pain although my ROM is 120 and I can walk pretty good with my cane. I have a very hard time sleeping and toss and turn quite a bit. I was wondering if anyone else has the problem of hair loss. My hair comes out in handfuls when I brush and has since the 2nd week or whenever I started paying attention. I found that this can happen from the stress on the body but was wondering when it will stop. I also have on and off depression where I stay in bed all day feeling sorry for myself and not caring if I ever get right but you can see by my ROM that I end up working my exercises. Went to first PT and he told me that I was up too much and had too much swelling in my knee. He said you know you are supposed to spend most of your day lying, icing and elevating but since I can get around now this is hard.
    • Posted

      Five weeks is waaaaay early.  At that point, I was still drooling on my pajamas...  This takes a full year.  Give up all your expectations and timelines.  The knee will heal when it heals.it will NOT be rushed!!!  You have to give it time, do the work and have patience.  That's the formula.  Throw everything else out the window...you'll be a lot happier and saner...

    • Posted

      Thanks for the reply, I would respectfully disagree with your assessment on how long the recovery should take. You get out of it "What you you put in to it". My recovery may be accelerated due to the effort that I put in. I was blessed with a great home health therapist that explained everything to me in the beginning, all the negatives and positives. By following his home exercise routine to the T, my ROM improved drastically by the day. I am just about pain free, only minor discomfort while exercising. I go through all the exercise routines 3-4 times a day.

    • Posted

      Everyone's different.  We've had some remarkably fast recoveries reported as well as some elongated ones.  The vast majority of us tend to fall in the middle with a year being a huge milestone...

      https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-tkr-recovery-bell-curve--563756

      We ALWAYS wish people a fast, speedy recovery but after reading over 3,000 posts on here over two years, that does not seem to be the case.  I wish you a "minus three standard deviation recovery"...

    • Posted

      I think Chico is right, I don't think he said how long recovery should take, but how long it could take. No two recoveries are the same, there are no stages to be at any time after surgery. At 5 weeks 120 flex / -12 straight? you still have some way to go, unless you get 0 straight you will limp. The fact that your knee is swelling and every movement is painful should tell you that you have still a way to go yet. Good luck, I'm almost 20 years since my tkr and have had no problems, but I didn't try to rush recovery.

    • Posted

      A couple of days ago I was at -12, now -7 and 130. By no means am I trying to rush my recovery, I know that everyone's situation is different, and wish all a speedy and safe recovery. But I truly believe that if you sit by and wait for it to heal you are in for a long recovery. Strength is the key to stability, the sooner you strengthen your quads and core muscles the sooner you will be walking pain free.

    • Posted

      Absolutely.  Just remember that this recovery is NOT linear.  There are advances, setbacks and plateaus...all normal.  I got stuck at -4 for weeks before breaking through.  Time, work and patience...
    • Posted

      Did your therapist ever put you in the torture device they call the toothbrush? They elevate your foot in a contraption and use tension straps to pull your calf and thigh down for 3 to 4 min a session. Not the most comforting exercise but it yields great results on the hamstring stretch and improves the straightening of the knee. Just an option you might want to look in to.

    • Posted

      I am now at 3 months and it's like day and night from my last report. I am a total baby and have no pain tolerance but I am doing great at this point. I hardly have swelling anymore but still have deep pain especially at night which keeps me from getting good sleep. I tire easily and can't walk very fast but I do walk with perfect Rom. This was the most horrible painful experience I have ever been through and I would never do my other knee - thank goodness it's not too bad. I have arthritis in nearly every joint and my left hand is the next worst one - it is a different pain than other joints but shots and a brace keep it tolerable. I am 71 and in otherwise great health but guess the arthritis will continue to get worse - just starting in lower back - greatful it's not rheumatoid. Best thing with the tkr is that I lost 25 pounds and it's staying off - worst thing is that I had quite a bit of hair fallout but it's stopped and new baby hair is returning. (Dr. said a major body stress can cause this but almost always returns) I think these forums are important cause I don't think doctors give you the reality of the pain and the whole experience - doubt think age makes a difference in what happens - pain is pain. I won't forgot how horrible this was but when recovery is done, if I have no pain guess it will all be good, lol.......

       

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