8 weeks TKR with regrets Advice pls
Posted , 22 users are following.
I'm a 49yr old male of a large 20st stature and 8 weeks on Tuesday I had a TKR on my left knee.
If I knew that the past 7.5 weeks was going to be this painful & uncomfortable I would never have had this done. All I was ever given & advised was success stories, I wish I had researched it in more detail as I would rather have suffered the knee problems I had compared to the ones I have now.
Although my PT is happy with my progress regarding leg bend of 115 & extension of -1, I come away full of smiles BUT the smile is very short lived. I still cant get comfortable, still cant sleep at night, cant sleep on my side and the pain during the night is ridiculous (I've tried the pillow in-between my legs), I have totally had enough, I'm still taking Tramadol to try & ease but now it's having little effect.
I've been walking unaided for almost 4 weeks now (by advice of my PT) but the problem I have is the swelling, the swelling just does not go down, I elevate my leg at least every 2 - 3 hours for 30mins at a time and still wear my cyrocuff for the icing at the same time. I have a sharp pain in my knee at times even while I'm just sitting still, my surgeon says there is nothing to be concerned about, again he is happy.
I do 3 x 1hr of home exercise & stretching which was advised by my surgeon and PT everyday without fail & try to push myself further each time.
I seem to have a fold across the centre of the knee which fills with swelling & then overhangs the bottom half of my knee which then makes my leg feel very stiff and heavy. My knee for pretty much 90% of the time feels stiff especially when I clench my thigh muscle. The left hand side of my knee is completely numb and the right hand side is so sensitive to touch or have any material on it, which again don't help me whilst in bed keeping me awake.
Am I doing something wrong? Will the pain ever ease? Will I be able to sleep again properly? When will this swelling ever come down? How long before I stop regretting having this procedure done? I am constantly feeling down & depressed that all that's on my mind is this bloody knee & if it will ever be "Normal"
Sorry for the long winded story and the whining, I need to know if others have gone through the same, as I know 2 people who have had the procedure done one was fully recovered in 6 weeks and the other in 8 weeks, so that's why I'm feeling so cheesed off and full of regret. It's also easier to talk to others who have gone or going through the same than ask my surgeon or PT.
Your advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance.
2 likes, 53 replies
ragss68 brozz1e
Posted
jenny80029 brozz1e
Posted
Are you in UK?
You are doing a lot of exercises each day...I managed about an hour each day I think and that was plenty. I did them very slowly too! I then just dotted them around incorporating them into other parts of the day but just little and often.
Read around the forum..look at past posts too. Hopefully this will be helpful to you.
jenny80029 brozz1e
Posted
Are you in UK?
You are doing a lot of exercises each day...I managed about an hour each day I think and that was plenty. I did them very slowly too! I then just dotted them around incorporating them into other parts of the day but just little and often.
Read around the forum..look at past posts too. Hopefully this will be helpful to you.
jenny80029
Posted
jenny80029 brozz1e
Posted
Read around the forum, for knowing you are not alone may offer some encouragement.
There are plenty of people who are no doubt going to relate to your experience!
You can choose older posts by picking through the page numbers shown on the KNEE PROBLEMS main page. Look to the right of the page subtitle "All discussions in this group" and you will see page 1 but flick on the arrow to see other previous pages also.
As well as the direct answers to your post, there is plenty of experience here. Remember this is all very personal, and people's experience varies a lot, so make sure you discuss concerns with the professionals involved in your care. It is also the case that there are differences from country to country and hospital to hospital as to what is recommended and advised. Seems in USA that PT is frequently more hands on and sometimes even rather aggressive, but as everything it varies.
You may like to go to my profile by clicking on the image next to my name. I kept a journal of my own knee replacement journey, and I have been told by several people they found it helpful to read, or skim through. It's got a lot of general information in it, and gives you one person's experience right from hospital to the 12 month mark! Direct links are not allowed, so you will need to copy and paste my blog page in your browser. It's a long long read...writing it kept me focused in a positive way during my own TKR recovery!
Are you icing and elevating your knee several times a day?
linda_50869 brozz1e
Posted
Hi
I'm the same age and also considerably overweight, so we are in a similar situation....except I'm a bit further on. I had my op at the beginning of Feb. ..so I'm in month 5 now..my knee was destroyed by arthritis and my surgeon said it was in a shocking state, so I focus on the fact that i HAD to get this done ....I'm coming on well but it takes time and patience. The pool is my haven and swimming and exercising and moving in the water has helped me so much.....
Could you Dr prescribe something like neurontin or amitriptyline? . Helps with sleep and nerve pain....I have fibromyalgia too so i need it...
I exercise an hr a day in the gym or pool and walk ( slowly,,,,sometimes i still need my stick) but I do my 10,000 steps most days. ... I'm telling myself this is a long haul....
I think if you could sleep and not be in so much pain, things would look brighter so that is what I would focus on.
Three hrs exercise a day seems very excessive. ... half hr enough i reckon..
Does anything help you relax?. meditation? Anything alternative?.
Lastly, ,,regarding weight, when you're down and struggling, it's not the time to be beating yourself up about this,,,,I understand this ,just eat as healthily as you can, when you can. I haven't lost weight YET since my op, but I also haven't gained which I'm happy about. My mum died suddenly during my recovery so just getting out of bed and surviving was enough a lot of days... i will tackle it bit by bit soon...,when i am stronger.....and in a better place mentally. ....
it's not plain sailing as my other knee acting up considerably now so the pain in that knee can cause me loads of problems too ....I'm hoping it'll settle again soon....arthritis a horrible disease!,,, chipping away at the joints....
My new knee still feels heavy, ,,,like a brick!,,,but I tell myself at least it's a brick that works unlike my old knee.... and the pain is healing rather than grating arthritic pain....I'm banking on more improvements over the next 7 months too....
This site is a great support,,,,,i hope things improve for you,,,just take it day by day
Linda
Dcweather linda_50869
Posted
Nice one Linda and Jenny. Agree with all of that. It is hard for new people to get their head round what they are reading. I used to read one post and think how lucky i was to be doing so well then read another and feel like a complete failure! All I can say is that the majority end up better off than they were by 6 months to a year or at least feel they are making good progress to that.
A couple of observations- I've noticed that feeling heavy like you are conscious of the extra weight in the knee this time. Don't remember it with the other one but not there now. Also when the swelling starts to go I get a bit of a knocking feeling and sound when I tip my knee laterally but understand this is normal, just a bit unnerving. Also do they have 6 weeks of compression stockings in the USA? I found that definitely hindered my sleeping especially in this record breaking heatwave here in the UK!
Dave
linda_50869 Dcweather
Posted
I couldn't wear the stockings at home...impossible to take on and off plus they were so uncomfortable....i injected myself with clexane for 6 weeks instead...i think aspirin is recommended for some people too but i couldn't take it with some of my other meds ..
Dcweather linda_50869
Posted
I'm guessing you are not in the UK Linda? We can't really self medicate here. The nurse visited after a couple of days and changed them and I managed to get the knack after a few days but it wasn't fun. I'm not a big believer in showering early on - just stuck to good washes because I feared getting the wound wet and risk of infection plus my shower has a fairly big lip and the risk of a fall is high . This meant I could keep them on a bit longer without taking them right off. What a relief though when I got rid of them at 6 weeks!
linda_50869 Dcweather
Posted
kinda confused here..... . It was prescribed of course.....I'm sure millions of people in the UK and worldwide self medicate daily no???? If you're talking about injecting yourself sure that's what all diabetics do?? and ive been injecting enbrel for years.....as I'm sure lots of others have....i don't believe you can't self medicate where you are?? ....sure who does it then for all the people who need meds SC?? OR are you referring just to clexane??
johnny17592 brozz1e
Posted
Johnny.
JunieR brozz1e
Posted
You are not alone in thinking you made a big mistake having this op, I thought it many times in the early weeks p/op. I was told no matter how able you feel, you must stay on crutches for 6 weeks. I saw my surgeon at 8 weeks & felt really down because I still needed them, but he was pleased with my progress. My PT said do what you can, but listen to your knee, if it's bad one day, pick over what you did the day before & tone it down a bit. I came to realise that it's not race, it's not a competition, your knee will heal at its own pace. I like Jenny did not go mad with the exercises, but my knee still came good. ( I'm now 6 mths PO ) I went back to work after three & a half months ( I do a lot of walking in my job ) & boyo boy, did I suffer ? But after a few weeks back at work, my eureka moment came when after standing for a long time, I was in such pain with my other knee ( which I'm having done beginning of next year ) that I didn't give my new knee a thought ! When I remembered that later, I thought YES ! IT WAS WORTH IT !
CHICO_MARX JunieR
Posted
Wow...someone who actually got it!!! Bravo!!! Couldn't have said it better myself.
johnny17592 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Dcweather brozz1e
Posted
I'm at 10 weeks and yesterday I walked a mile in the 30C sun. Rested for 2 hours and walked back another mile. I probably shouldn't have but because I could I did. It ached a fair bit but no more. This morning it felt the best it has so far but I've only done light exercises and rested. It is still swollen and there is a way to go before it is " normal" and mine never will get good ROM but don't give up on it too soon!
CHICO_MARX Dcweather
Posted
"I probably shouldn't have ...". If I had a nickel for all the times I heard that...including me. Did 8,200+ steps at 5 weeks..."balloon knee" for 3 days. That's why it's not about distance or time...it's about the STEPS!!! Get a fit bit and track your steps...chart your progress. If or when you ever do this again, note the steps...back off...increase gradually.
Dcweather CHICO_MARX
Posted
I don't need to. I knew how far it would be and had worked up to it. Just a bit too hot and a little too much at this stage but no harm done, maybe some good. I will be walking a lot in the future hopefully because my main hobby is wildlife photography and birdwatching which involves a lot of walking in the COuntryside.