Posted , 15 users are following.
I was just wondering if anyone further along than me can say when they thought all the swelling had gone down. Maybe this question is a bit like 'how long is a piece of string' but it's just a question I have rattling around in my head.
My ROM and pain are okish now except I do get the RLS sometimes at bed time which is very annoying but compared to the pain in the first few weeks it's bearable.
0 likes, 89 replies
serena44792 ali95530
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I'm also 9 weeks post tkr. Still goes solid and swollen if on it for too long and not moving. But as everyone on here agrees everyone seems to have different healing rates. Met woman yesterday, prob about in her 40 who had both knees done at same time 2 years ago and was pretty a back to normal in 3 weeks --- ruined my day!! So we're all different frustrating though it is!
jan01779 serena44792
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Reception rather than the rule I belive!! It's sickening but happy for them 😊. All rheumatologist best.
jan01779
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That's exception !
chris00938 jan01779
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ali95530 serena44792
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😂 think her memory must have faded in time 😬
chris00938 ali95530
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That's easily done:-))))
ali95530 chris00938
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No just a bad memory 😂
chris00938 ali95530
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Ah - makes sense! I did wonder about measuring my knee - I suspect the swelling IS going down a bit and am wondering if I might just get some of my old jeans or trousers on in a few weeks but daren't tell my husband since I bought the new ones LOL!
cheryl90571 ali95530
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Hi Ali!
I had very little swelling with my second knee, but my first knee (left) was a SWELLING CHAMP!😨😩😬😱😰😩😬
Terrible swelling in the first four weeks, some improvement at about six weeks, MORE SWELLING starting up after a long car trip, then less swelling at about eight weeks.
Some things that helped:
1) Laying on our bed facing the headboard and hoisting my legs waaaay up so that my legs were sticking straight up against the headboard.(I was in an L shape) This extreme elevation REALLY felt instantly better! My son, an elite athlete, does this after his long runs only HE lays on the floor with his legs up against the wall! He helped me modify his technique using the bed.
2) My PT let me do 15 minutes on the "Game Ready" machine after my PT sessions. The Game Ready machine is a velcro wrap with tubing that attaches to the unit and circulates cold water through the wrap as it gently squeezes the leg and releases, squeezes and releases in a random pattern. (I would have liked to have one of those machines, but they cost several THOUSAND dollars!)😳
3) Anti-inflammatory medication like Ibuprofen worked SO MUCH BETTER for me than the Oxycodone or Hydrocodone I was given the first two weeks. Turns out THEY contained Tylenol with the narcotic. Tylenol is NOT an anti-inflammatory! After I finished my blood thinner shots after two weeks, I quit the narcotics and went to my tried and true Ibuprofen.
4) Try putting on your stockings from surgery. I had thigh-high ones. They helped a lot.
5) Try ace bandages. The compression helps with swelling.
6) Drink tons of ice water. Helps with swelling, REALLY!
7) Watch the amounts of salt that you eat. Salt really impedes the elimination of swelling and really gets the swelling going crazy if you take in to much.
Something to remember is that our bodies swell in reaction to the trauma we have experienced. The body swells to protect the injured area. I tried to remind myself that MY BODY WAS REMINDING ME to TAKE IT EASY and REMEMBER that I had undergone a very traumatic event. Our bodies are amazing. They halt us if we are trying to go too fast.
Be patient.
You will soon be healed enough that swelling will start to go down.
P.S. I DID ice my legs, but the elevation did more for me than the ice.
Sending prayers for patience, calm, and strength!??
chris00938 cheryl90571
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I found that so interesting Cheryl. My hospital put me on Ibuprofen (with a stomach protector for five days or a week - can't remember now!) . They kept me in an extra day because my salt levels were too LOW so I had salt in tablets and sachets in my drinks and double helpings (never normally add salt to anything) on food, including sticky toffee pudding (tasted a bit like salted caramel LOL!) but it was high enough to go home the next day. I was told below the knee length compression stockings (socks) stopped DVT better than above the knee, BUT I guess the above the knee ones stop swelling more! While I was in hospital one nurse told me to stop drinking so much, because I was flushing the salt out, where another told me to drink more because I was dehydrated LOL! So I drank more and added salt. It all came out OK, thankfully LOL! For the next knee I'm taking salt sachets in with me to add it straight away, to try and save that extra night the low salt levels caused in hospital. Just my luck if the salt is too high then LOL!
Milla2017 cheryl90571
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Cheryl, my pt suggested the "legs up the wall" thing. I am going to try it today. I actually forgot about this until you mentioned it again.
I am with you on Ibuprofen. Makes a huge difference for me. Had to stop it for a couple of days for a root canal and pharmacist said no Ibuprofen with it and swelling and increased pain after the first missed doses. Been on it now for over 6 weeks at 800 mg x3 a day. Unfortunately my GERD is not always very happy with it.
chris00938 Milla2017
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Milla2017 chris00938
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I have to make an appointment with my GP anyway so I will get something for sure. Right now I am using over the counter stuff but last night it didn't cut it. Really bad chest pains with everything I swallow. If I didn't have GERD for so long I would have thought it was my heart. So it's time to get meds. To treat the side effects of other meds. Sigh.
chris00938 Milla2017
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Hopefully you won't need the other meds for too long Milla:-) But yes, it's worth protecting your stomach. Hope it all goes well:-)))
jan01779 chris00938
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That's a bit of a no win situation. Was advised 2 lites of water daily for joint rejuvenation and function. Not sure if watee actually flushes the absorbed salt out. However salt is needed for muscle apparently. Does having a tkr have a ln effect on salt levels??? Just interested 😊
chris00938 jan01779
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Jan, I wish I knew! I had a problem with low blood pressure on the second day too, where it dropped to sixty something over forty something and I THINK this might be linked to dehydration or low salt but despite looking online I'm still very confused about it! I was drinking plenty after the op, but of course, hadn't had drinks since VERY early that morning, until after the op late morning and then coming round. It's all a bit question mark to me!
jan01779 chris00938
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chris00938 jan01779
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That's right Jan. I don't know the link between salt and blood pressure and fluids but I THINK there is a link somewhere.
cheryl90571 chris00938
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Drinking water also helps flush out the toxins from anesthesia and residual toxins from all the meds. My nurse, Cassie, (awesome young RN??) was SO diligent and REALLY helped me SO MUCH!?? All my trips to the bathroom those first couple nights FORCED ME to get moving and really got me on the mend fast!
I think we just have to listen to our bodies. My salt tolerance is very low, so I stay away from it. Everybody is different.
I have varicose veins, so knee stockings have never been good for me, but control top pantyhose, thigh-high compression hose, and the legs-up-the wall or up the head of the bed are STANDARD for me!
I take Ibuprofen in the morning and before bed. It is MUCH easier on my stomach than the Meloxicam I took for several years prior to my two TKRs.If I get heartburn I chew a Pepcid..
I hope all goes well for you!😄
cheryl90571 Milla2017
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chris00938 cheryl90571
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Yes, Cheryl. I'd read on here before I went in for the op that someone had kept drinking lots so had lots of visits to the loo and that was beneficial to keep walking about:-)))) Things with this knee have gone SO incredibly well - I'm finding it difficult to believe I'm only 5 weeks and three days post op now. I'm walking absolutely normally (not very far because the other knee needs doing), there has been no pain since the op apart from when I overdid the bend and something caught at the back of the knee, but the physio telling me to go more gently sorted that, and then last night my husband measured the bend, looked at it, frowned, and measured it again, and it was 125, so I'm just delighted with the whole thing! I do think part of my lack of problems is down to having hypermobility - all the ligaments and muscles and everything stretch easier than normal and it's definitely a bonus for something like this! The hypermobility (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) may have been partially responsible for the arthritis in the first place, but it's been a plus since the op, I'm sure!
cheryl90571 chris00938
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Glad to hear all is going so well!😄
You probably read MY entry about all the bathroom visits! It was really quite funny! All FOUR of us (2 aides, my nurse and me) were giggling getting me, my IV pole, and my 1000 pound leg with its nerve block tubes across the room and into the tiny bathroom!😁
One of my students had Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. She bumped her chin on her desk, and her chin split right open. I was SO GLAD her mom had filled me in with what to look for and how to help her. Have you had any healing issues?
chris00938 cheryl90571
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Oh boy - it sounds 'never a dull moment' with your bathroom visits LOL! BUT there is nothing like laughter to boost spirits:-))))) Sounds nasty with the chin!
I do wonder if it may have affected healing. My scar looks a bit messy on some areas of it - slightly pinky purple but the raised edges are going down now (at coming up for 6 weeks) but I still have the row of dots where the staples were, where they pulled and were bleeding, so maybe - but I don't know what others' scars are like at 6 weeks. BUT on the plus side, I do wonder if it's made it much easier for the bend! Because ligaments tend to stretch more easily. So I think I possibly got more problem from staples pulling BECAUSE I got that more extreme bend earlier, while the staples were in, where perhaps people normally wouldn't. I am being a bit careful not to go past the 'straight' point because at the times I've done that it doesn't feel 'right', so I want the ligaments and muscles to build up to hold it so it doesn't over extend. But I just haven't had the pain that i expected and everyone else seems to have. So all in all I've been SO lucky. I just wonder if the other one will be the same or if it's like kids - you get a good one and then a naughty one that keeps you up at nights LOL! It's the other knee that is causing such grief now. Several times in the last couple of days it's given way and more pain. It seemed to get slightly better for a little while when I was resting the other one more, but now I'm 'doing stuff' again it's flared up badly and I'm fed up with it.
ali95530 chris00938
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Omg my scar isn't very pretty either and I'm almost 10 weeks post TKR.
i had 27 staples ... and yes I was sad enough to count as the nurse removed them. Still have the dots and by the looks of them I don't think they're ever going to fade. A week after I had them removed my scar came open a bit so I had to have a few butterfly stickers and around this but it's quite a wide ugly scar. Luckily I don't want to wear a mini skirt ever again.
chris00938 ali95530
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LOL! My husband counted my staples as they took them out - 34 LOL! So you've got the dots too! I had a sort of hole at the top of my cut and still have minute scabs there, but hoping they'll go eventually LOL! I'm using emu oil on the scar that's healed though. Are you using anything? So it sounds as though mine's not to abnormal if you're ten weeks. My scar isn't even very straight LOL! It's a bit to one side at the top LOL! BUT, I'm truly not worried as long as it all heals OK, there's no infection and the knee is practical. That's my only concern. I've already got a scar on that leg from an accident 40 years ago, so this one can join that too. I'm not planning on wearing a mini skirt either LOL!
I suspect our scars will fade and those dots will disappear in time though:-))))
ali95530 chris00938
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lol it's a pity we can't post pics on here ... mine goes to the one side at the bottom ... think they should use a tape measure 😂
ali95530
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cheryl90571 chris00938
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Sounds all good to me on the healing. Dots will fade, purple and green will return to normal skin colour. The scar will end up a silvery color.
Good to hear about the bend success!😄
Do you have any stiffness?
I had an easy time after the swelling finally went down in my left leg. My second TKR was three and a half months later and was MUCH easier. Hardly any swelling, better mobility, and no real pain. I had such horrible pain prior to surgery! The pain OF surgery was MUCH LESS! I guess it all is relative based on what you endured before surgery.
Couldn't WAIT to have my second knee done! It was really holding me back!
chris00938 cheryl90571
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Good to know about the scar LOL! I wouldn't describe what I get as 'stiffness' really. When I get out of bed first thing in the morning, for instance, nothing at all resembling stiffness on that knee. Sometimes, but it's getting less and less, I get the feeling of it just being slightly odd, but that's all. I think you've hit the nail on the head Cheryl - I had such pain for so many years and it is the second leg holding me back. BUT - I am anxious - I feel through walking so slowly and hardly at all outside because of the pain, I've lost that 'natural balance' of walking. I don't know if it's mental or physical - I've tried distracting myself so I'm not thinking about it but I still feel 'unbalanced'. Of course, the second knee being so bad isn't helping, but I've got a feeling it's more than that and goes back to the time I was using two sticks and then one and then none. I'm doing a small amount on the treadmill now, not holding on the bars like I used to, but going VERY slowly walking, in the hopes that might help and we're getting out our old wii today to do the balance games on it - the bubble going down the river, if anyone remembers that, to see if that might help. If I can't rectify this myself after the second knee is done then I will try a private sports physio to see if they can suggest something. After so many years of being disabled I want to make the most of my new knees!
chris00938 ali95530
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LOL! While I have to say I'm VERY happy with the actual joint bit, I wouldn't like to see my surgeon's DIY LOL! Perhaps for the next knee I'll be the one drawing the line before surgery. When he came round and put a dotted line on the knee with arrows, I didn't think that was EXACTLY where he was going to cut LOL! So next time I'll ask for the pen! LOL! And write a message - please cut in a straight line. LOL!
chris00938 ali95530
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I tried Vit E from a capsule first and that was stinging so I dumped that and went on to the emu oil. I also got a cacoa butter skin therapy that's supposed to be good for scars but can also be used as normal moisturiser, but haven't opened that yet. I use the same brand hand cream though and love it because it smells of chocolate:-))))
ali95530 chris00938
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Ha ha ha ... chocolate is just so therapeutic 😬
chris00938 ali95530
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ali95530 chris00938
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Mine was more fear of falling over especially when walking down the stairs. I'm getting more confident now and when I stand at the top I actually say 'I can walk down these properly not side on'!
My scar is still quite sensitive and I'm still getting swelling but living with my bionic knee is getting easier. I do still sometimes wish I'd never had it done even though I'm 10 weeks today!
chris00938 ali95530
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I think that is part of it Ali. It's telling yourself you CAN do it. I've got one step into our utility room but there's nothing to hold on to when going up or down but I'm gradually doing it more and more without thinking. It will be 6 weeks post TKR op tomorrow and husband has just measured the bend - 130! BUT I'm now pretty sure the hypermobility has something to do with this - it makes everything stretch easier! So it's really not that I've worked to get this - it's just pretty much happened with me sitting on the recliner pulling the leg up as tight as it will go and leaving it for 5 or 10 minutes at a time while watching tv. I wish I could share this with others who are finding the bend bit so difficult! I THOUGHT this might be the case with the bending bit but it's still nice and appreciated LOL! My scar is slightly tender sometimes (especially when the cat jumped directly on to the knee last night!!!! I'd got too relaxed about keeping it off!) and the knee is swollen but nothing that's surprised me. You asked about stiffness and while it's not stiff when I wake up (Is yours?) if I'm standing for a while and bend the knee, foot up towards the back, THEN it's more stiff but not when I'm doing the bend by sliding the foot up on the recliner. But stiffness isn't really anything I'm generally aware of, are you? I'd be there tomorrow if they offered to do the other knee. I've even got my bag partly packed LOL!
ali95530 chris00938
Posted
Omg you're doing amazingly .. my ROM is about the same as yours and I'm 10 weeks.
stiffness doesn't worry me, some days are worse than others but mine is worse if I sit still for too long. Mornings are ok now too. My consultant just said to concentrate on the ROM as everything else will be better with time.
Theres no a day that passes without me mentioning my ROM to someone ... anyone lol
You're braver than me as everything is way too fresh in my mind but luckily my other knee isn't too bad although when I had an MRI it's going the same way as the other but hanging on in there !
cheryl90571 chris00938
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My second knee was my worst knee. I expected all kinds of trouble, but I knew I needed to have it done. I was VERY pleasantly surprised that I had more mobility IN THE RECOVERY ROOM with this second knee than I did WEEKS AFTER my surgery with my first knee!😊
You just never know how things will go!
I did a great deal of balance practice with both legs. Once I had my second surgery my balance improved a great deal. I am outside a lot, and I wanted to feel confident walking on uneven grass, rocks, etc.
One of the best things beside the balance practice was doing a lot of walking around my bare feet. Bare feet allowed me to feel my heel touching and then to roll my foot to my toes as I took each step. I walked slowly and really concentrated on what my feet, knees, hips, etc. we're doing. This transferred to walking confidently outside.
I really needed to learn how to walk all over again after many years of walking with bent legs!
Milla2017 chris00938
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Fabulous🌟 Really happy you are doing so exceptionally well. Love a happy ending. Well, not quite the ending but you seem pretty home free. Had 2 friends of mine with really elderly parents having to go in and was really praying hard that they have the good side of the bell curve. They did. Couldn't stand the thought of these two ladies in their 80's suffering.
chris00938 ali95530
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Oh Ali, tears of laughter. I'm finally managing to gag myself to tell anyone and everyone that I am so many weeks post op after a knee replacement so they can tell me how amazingly I'm doing - and this was ANYONE who would listen for long enough LOL! The staff in the supermarket - another patient waiting in the dentist - literally ANYONE. When I got to post five weeks I thought it didn't sound quite as impressive, so finally stopped saying anything LOL! But I have to say, I don't feel as though I can take any credit for this 130 ROM apart from having hypermobility because I've not really 'worked' at it. All I'm doing is when I'm watching tv on the recliner in the evening pulling that knee up as tight as it will go and then a few minutes later, a tad more if it will go, and holding it there with the other foot and just doing that a few times every hour throughout the evening. I think because I had no real pain from the second day and the operated knee didn't keep me awake at night at all (the other one did) it all feels a very long time ago now. Already I'm finding I'm forgetting aspects - it actually feels like years ago now. I suspect it's simply because it wasn't that traumatic for me. The worst was being cold in the 'anti theatre bit' and having cold stuff sloshed down my back, and then I had a couple of days at around two and a half weeks where I felt frustrated not doing more, and a couple of anxious days - the first where brown stuff was pouring out of two sides of the waterproof dressing and the second when I first got the excruciating pinching/cramping at the back of the knee when doing the bend - when it got to about 115. But that is ALL I've suffered during this! Balance that with eating more cake (because I deserved it) and being looked after and plenty of rest and I really can't claim it's been a negative experience! I KNOW I've been SO SO lucky though and my heart goes out to those who haven't!
chris00938 cheryl90571
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Cheryl, thank you for this! You've given me hope that my walking will go back to feeling natural. As my husband said last night - the knee that was done 6 weeks ago (today!) was so bent out sideways that the leg was 2cm shorter than the other one so I had loads of shoes built up on that foot because they said the leg being shorter had given me a sideways curvature of the spine and it would get worse quickly if I didn't. When the knee was done that leg became longer than the other leg, so that's probably all throwing me a bit off balance too. I tend to walk around barefoot all day at home. I can't roll the foot on the operated knee because I had a stress fracture in two of the bones many years back that weren't picked up initially on x-ray - they only showed up ages after when they were x-rayed again and they healed 'subdislocated' - not lined up, so if I put too much weight on the ball of the foot it hurts like mad and swells for days, with pain, but it doesn't actually cause too much in the way of problems to the point of getting it rebroken and reset. But I was looking online yesterday about 'how to walk' and the action and thought I could do this with more awareness that might help and you've confirmed that. Thank you for giving me hope that once the second knee is done I CAN get back to walking naturally again!
chris00938 Milla2017
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That's so good to hear of others doing so well too! When I was talking to my friendly pharmacist in the supermarket the other day he was telling me that the vast majority go through it without much in the way of problems. I suspect generally it's those having more problems with it who talk about it both on the group and generally outside because others have moved on from it, so there's not much to say. It is concerning though, what problems there CAN be. When I spoke to the man in hospital who's wife had an infection and she'd ended up getting the leg amputated that shocked me! And I really had NO idea of what could go wrong! I think anyone reading this site before having their knees replaced, is at least going into it well informed! It brings the point home that the arthritis has GOT to be severely impacting your life before getting a knee replacement with all that COULD entail! I felt I'd got nothing to lose by the time I asked for TKR's.
cheryl90571 chris00938
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Sorry to hear that you've had so many issues with your legs and your feet!😩 Glad to be of some help and encouragement 😊
My x-rays after four years of NOT returning to my doctor showed that I had bowed legs and was actually walking on about one inch of bone-on-bone on each knee!😱No WONDER I was in such excruciating pain!!! I scheduled my first surgery BEFORE I LEFT MY DOCTOR'S OFFICE!
Three and a half months later was my second knee surgery.
My son and I laid nine yards of mulch today in six hours. Although my back was KILLING ME (arthritis), my knees were GREAT and caused me ZERO trouble. I was SO grateful that I held my own with a 28 year old and did NOT have to keep stopping like four years ago with my bad knees. SO GLAD I had both knees done!
Be patient.
All will come together for you!??
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