8 weeks post op
Posted , 9 users are following.
I'm 65yr female, 8 was right tkr. I was song well and now everyday seems like a setback. I'm in physical therapy 2 days a week, one is aquatic. I'm exercising as best I can everyday. Still cannot balance, can't go up/ down stairs normally. Constant calf ache... I honestly can't find anything positive, except I'm walking with a bent leg and my hips hurt. I'm feeling like this is never going to be better. Doctor is happy with 117 bend but 10 straight needs to be worked on. Need someone who has gone through this to tell me things will improve. I see people are driving at 5 weeks, I tried and couldn't do it. Honestly, I'm about to throw in the towel. I cry everyday and depression pills just make me sleepy. This is no kind of life.
2 likes, 27 replies
Duckfan Delarbar
Posted
Chin üp. You've come to the right place for advice, to vent, to share your story, to cry. I'm at ten weeks and at about six weeks I woke up without any pain and thought well now, I'm better. The next day I was in pain again and back to stiffness. PT made it swell and I would have to elevate and ice. I thought I'd never get better. Today at ten weeks it is better, not perfect but better.
Hang in there and ask as many questions as you want. There are amazing caring people on here.
faybubbles Delarbar
Posted
I hear ya. Wow your bend though is awesome. I'm at 9 weeks out, and my bend is still only at 105. I'm at a 7 for straightness. I can balance pretty well but up and down stairs are still one then the other not in repetition. I'm done with therapy now, I was sitting in our hot tub now which it really feels good in there but two hours later my knee is so stiff and swelled just like it was before. I was driving at 5 weeks, but everyday I cry sometimes several times a day. I'm so glad to have found this group and its wonderful to know how everyone else is doing. Be strong, keep your head up. They say it gets better. 😊😊
clive45466 Delarbar
Posted
If you cannot walk correctly there could always be a problem.
Walk towards a mirror to try to correct how you are walking.
Good healing
CHICO_MARX Delarbar
Posted
"I see people are driving at 5 weeks..."
STOP RIGHT THERE!!!
NEVER compare your recovery to that of anyone else!!! We had a guy mountain climbing at 13 weeks...he's probably dead. No two recoveries are the same and you never assume that you will be like someone else. OK? Got that? No expectations...no assumptions...no comparisons. Your recovery is yours and yours alone...and you will not know how long yours will take compared to anyone else until it is OVER!
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-tkr-recovery-bell-curve--563756
Great bend at 8 weeks; yes, gotta work on the straight. I got stuck at -4 for weeks!!! There are advances, setbacks and plateaus...all normal. Be ready for the second two...the plateaus are the worst. Your calf hurts because your quad is atrophied and other muscles are doing all the work. None of that gets better for months. After PT, you have to regain all the strength in your quads, glutes and core to support the new knee. Gym or home gym...lots of work...months to complete. (See my post on Post-TKR Exercising when you're ready.)
Right now, you are in the middle of the worst of it...0 to 3 months. It gets way better in the 3-6 month range but you will probably be nowhere near "normal" for a year. Prepare for that...embrace it...really own it! Yes, you'll feel even better in the 9-12 month timeframe but a year is very typical. Also, you may have lingering tightness, a "band" feeling", clunking and popping sounds and more for as long as 18 months. Just saw my doc at 14 months post-op and he kind of half-smiled, half-laughed when I told him I hoped the sounds would go away. "You've got metal on plastic in there. What do you expect it's going to sound like?" There goes that hope...
Read the Post-Op Depression section...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-tkr-experience-or-wish-i-had-another-kidney-stone--524499
You don't need the pills!!! It's totally normal and once you know what it is, you club it to death with your cane and toss the bloody remains out the window!!! It's a Jedi Mind Trick...it's not real...so you don't need pills that are going to hook you...especially SNRIs and SSRIs. The depression is NORMAL!
Forget stairs. Not until you have your ROM back and then strengthen those muscles again, stairs will be problematic. That's down the road.
Give up all your expectations and comparisons. Stay on your regular med schedule. Don't miss any PT. Do all your home exercises. Ice and elevate. This will get better...there are no towels to throw!
"Never give up. Never surrender." - Tim Allen, Galaxy Quest
Jeanie1125 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Hi Chico - everytime you put those links in I read them and they are so encouraging - I'm 6 mos out and still going through crap with my Right TKR. Swelling intermittently all day - sometimes tolerable (God the scale we use) and other times like yesterday - a bear!. I actually had to dive into my pain meds which i still have from last October. But tis true everyone, don't compare yourself to anyone! Your journey is your own. I have to beleive I'll get through this. My next appt is Wednesday, we'll see what happens. They drained it a month ago and it did feel better and the swelling episodes were less. Even got a day or 3 off! Then this past week has been a struggle. One day off if i was lucky. Yesterday it blew up 4 times - and bad!! -Hang in there everyone - know - or try to-it'll get better!
CHICO_MARX Jeanie1125
Posted
It can be so easy at 6 months to think you're done...and you're not. Push it too far and the knee comes back to bite you. Have some "Kneebies" on here the past few days who thought they'd be back to work in six weeks...right... I haven't heard anyone who tells a story of their doc preparing them for the pain and time to recover. We're all left with complete misconceptions of this and find out the hard way that this is no easy path and it will take a year...less if you're lucky but you have to block out the time and accept it. Just have to take it day by day and realize that advances, setbacks and plateaus are all part of the deal.
lawrence34984 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Wow, ..I just read some of the site terms and conditions, sorry about that.
Hope you're feeling better Delarbar!
CHICO_MARX Jeanie1125
Posted
faybubbles CHICO_MARX
Posted
chris00938 faybubbles
Posted
I managed to overdo it the other day! Did the shopping, then the recumbent bike, then the treadmill, then a bit on the elliptical and then went for a half hour walk. Noticed yesterday a twinge behind the kneecap of the operated knee and we won't even mention the unoperated knee. So it's an easy day today. I've lost track of the weeks since the op was done but it was 1st March. I THINK it's the elliptical that was a push too far, so will leave that off for a few weeks more. Maybe even until the other knee is done.
Jeanie1125 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Hi Chico.
I am still using acwalker. When I say it blows up it's when I get up and walk to the bathroom. This is with a walker. I was actually lying down and it happened 4 times last Sunday. I had it drained again on 5/4. It's blood that comes out so I'm bleeding into the joint. Dr is running more tests on fluid as well as a myriad of other tests. I had to go to the lab to take. So there's no "steps" to count. I can't even walk across a room sometimes. Yesterday I walked with my cane to the end of the driveway and around the house. It blew up so bad after I had to take a pain pill. Believe me. I'd love to wear a Fitbit but it's for naught at this point. Dr believes I may have some sort if bleeding disease that's settling into the joint. Who knows. I'm so done. Frustrated.
CHICO_MARX Jeanie1125
Posted
chris00938 Jeanie1125
Posted
This sounds like something you shouldn't be pushing yourself with at all but needs to be sorted before you progress. It sounds awful and my heart goes out to you! I hope you get some answers soon and then they can stop this happening!
Jeanie1125 chris00938
Posted
Thanks Chris - ugh had a rough couple of days tho - knee blew up Thursday, Friday not too bad but Saturday was awful. Yesterday was a better day but i'm just getting so frustrated and down now. The weather is perking up around here - i'm in the US in Connecticut and the sun is starting to shine and the gardening will start to call me, and I can't do a dang thing!
Talk to you soon - i did go for the bloodwork this past Thursday -i'll keep you guys posted
CHICO_MARX Jeanie1125
Posted
Wear a pedometer of some kind...find the step count that coincides with the swelling. Back off and increase gradually. Always check your step count. By 8 months, I was doing 11,000+ steps (5 miles) and never had a swelling incident. Use the tech...it is a great aid in your recovery. No guesswork. Knee swells? Check the pedometer and then smack yourself in the head. Simple...
chris00938 Jeanie1125
Posted
Jeanie, I've not been able to do gardening for years and years! Very much looking to be able to do it again. Like vacuuming - husband has been doing it for years and I long to get my hands on the vacuum cleaner! But I do hope the bloodwork helps!
jenny80029 lawrence34984
Posted
CHICO_MARX jenny80029
Posted
Don't jump to conclusions. They ALWAYS delete posts that contain external links. The only way to do those is by private message. Who knows...
lawrence34984 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Chico; exactly...don't add an email or web site. ...Pyramid schemes also taboo
CHICO_MARX lawrence34984
Posted
Just had an LLIF fusion. Instead of providing the link to the video, I have to tell people: Go to YouTube and search for "Globus lateral" to see the cute animation. Also, you can use the words p*ss and a$$ only with those special characters. Even if you try to disguise an email address, they pretty much have those alternatives locked down. PM anything you need to send to a specific person. The restrictions are pretty much moot with the PM.
lawrence34984 jenny80029
Posted
Here are some clips from Delarbar's original post.
"now everyday seems like a setback".
"I honestly can't find anything positive",
"I'm feeling like this is never going to be better".
"Honestly, I'm about to throw in the towel".
" I cry everyday and depression pills just make me sleepy".
"This is no kind of life".