At 5 weeks out from surgery tomorrow

Hi Elaine,

thanks for the reply. I give u a lot of credit for having both knees done in such a short period of time!! I'm not sure I ever want to experience this again!! Hope my right knee holds out.

of course ur exhausted!!!! Be kind to yourself. I have found that I , myself know how much I can do and I don't push myself beyond that.

i do exercises as instructed and ice 2-3x's a day with and ice machine they we bought and was recommended by the dr. Also raising the leg up high on pillows, elevate, elevate, elevate!!!

going out for lunch will lift your spirits so do go !!! these ops can make you depressed and lose your self confidence ,going out just for short periods will help     i know this time of year makes going out abit scary i dont go out early in the morning lately because of frost ,im petrefied of slippy conditions so i go out when i know the ground is ok

hi lighters on, 

thanks for the reply. At 4 weeks I was still on the pain killers , as well. I was taking codeine, as all others make me sick to my stomach!

yesterday was the First day that I awoke and didn't have to take it.

yea!!! You'll see, you'll turn a corner.

i wasn't sleeping well , so started taking Tylenol pm at night. This worked pretty well, but it was hard to not sleep too late. Last nite I took a mild tranquilizer and worked very well. 

I too, have not wanted to go out, though I start outpatient PT  tomorrow . 

Husband will drive me. I have had many visitors and that has helped. Especially when they bring meals over. 

Hopefully you'll see in another week some great improvement. 

Hope to hear from you!

By the way, 110% is very good. I'm at 105%

Hello

I saw your post to Damy and I thought I would throw in my experience with leg cramps. They started at 2 wk po. I was doing all the exercizes and the easiest one was ankle pumps. I did those all day long. They didn't hurt, you could do them anywhere...after 14 nights of excrutiating leg cramps keeping me up all night, I stopped the ankle pumps. 2 days later the cramps stopped. Never returned. I still do the pumps couple times a day- 10 of them. Long story short- stop the pumps for a time and see if it helps cramps.

Hi Elaine,

Thanks for the reply, worth a go, I actually mainly do them at night when I get the cramp, so not sure if that is the cause. The phyio said he thought it was the fact that my hamsrings were tight... not sure, I like you keep trying different combinations to see if anything will help

well I was at 95% will I went for physio on monday and he managed to get it to 110% mind you I have to at least maintain it

I am in England so the weather here is generally not too bad, but it will be nice to get out with the girls, looking forward to it once we can confirm a day they are all free.

I am hoping to progress soon, I know its a long road, glad you have had visitors, I work from home running my hubbys plumbing and heating business so had to get my head back in gear on the 18th day and crack on with it, so I am on my own most of the time so have had to get on with it.

Had a few visitors but managed to cook dinner again tonight, so making some progress.

Just curious, does stick mean a crutch or a cane ? I am from Boston 

Cane.......

Seems like in the UK get are more inclined to start off with crutches and go to canes then to a cane. where in the US we start with a walker and go to a cane. As I've stud I 63rd many posts I'm almost convinced the brits may lead a more active life style with all of the biking, biking etc as a natural way of life where we have a little more of a tendency to get a drivers license at a young age and become a little more sedentary. This is great but tends to maybe put a little more wear and tear on the joints at an earlier age. Therefore: when it comes to earlier joint repacement the Dr's fell more at ease using crutches than American Dr's do with older people. I don't know anyone in my area that has ever been issued crutches post surgery tkr on the other hand, younger active

People with ACL rehash all seem to start out on crutches and never go to a cane. I know they would look scythe old geezer and seen crutches as a shortcut to more bone repair

we in ireland start off with crutches unless you are very weak or like i was after bi lateral and a broken bone i did have a frame for the first 3days in hospital but after that i was given crutches which was so hard id rather of kept the frame for awhile ,but no the answer was best to get you more mobilized as they feel you dont walk properly with the frame to much start /stop .they want to encourage you to move into a stride from the start and make sure you bend the leg as you lift and straighten it when you lean so maybe thats why mind you i needed the next 9 days in hospital to get used to them .for my revision i was straight onto crutches and home in 3days

Its a walking stick. Been doing ok, until Monday, suffering from very tight muscles, had physio who carried out deep massage and promptly discharged me after 3 sessions and a 115% bend. Now in more pain than anything, getting very tired and at my wits end, pain killers dont hold it off long enough now, so do I rest or do more? I relly dont know now

Not only from the physical are you needing more advice but from the mental side I'm sure you feel like you've been abandoned and rightly so. Start over slowly on the stretching and basic excercises. Pay attention to the quad strength and to getting the leg straight. Your bend sounds good but until the leg is straight you will have a tendency to limp and put a lot of pressure on the rest of your body. Go slow.....when you stride do everything compete. Heel touch, toe touch and bend as far as possible....with both legs. Use pain meds as prescribed not when the pain kicks in. Try and time taking a pain med an hour before excercise that way you can do more without putting yourself in misery. Rest......rest at every chance. Your body has been traumatized with this surgery a nd you need time for the body and brain to synchronize again. Hydrate........lots of plain water. A dehydrated body I just has no way ofvhealing properly. This is one of the little things they don't tell you about. Elevate. Get your leg a above your heart. Realize that its going to take awhile for recovery. There is a myrh that your going to b 63rd running marathons in a month..........wrong......wrong....wrong. Everyone is different in the way they heal so let someone else's profess be hours. Stay positive. Things change quickly. Today's problems go away but 3 weeks down line thevreoccur and you think you're going backwards. You're not, its just the body at work. I ou will see sudden changes and s one seem forever. This is a year or longer rehab when it comes to totally getting back but it'll be wort it because the severe pain will be gone and you can go on with life.stay with this group.....They are wonderful caring people who will become your friends from half a world away. Protocols change from the UK to the US to Australia but one thing remains the same, we are all humans and in need of understanding......and that y o I get here because everyone has been through it.

The pain I am getting is like really bad arthritus in the knee area, swelling has come back after a week  without it, it is actually hurting most of the time, I really feeling like i am going backwards, particularly in the hour or so before my meds are due.

I expect you are being much more active which is putting more strain on the leg. There is also the possibility that you were walking with a limp. If so the body is starting to adapt to a more normal walk. Slow down....make sure each step is a stride....heel, toe and bend as much as possible. Don't be afraid to ice every time you walk, just like when you excercise. Some of this can be coming from the back. There is a muscle that runs out of the back, through the groin, to the hip , outside of the legs, across and down the inside. It can get very tight pre surgery and cause a lot of pain as it stretches. Try stretching your lower back and groin before starting with the leg. If your aren't using an anti inflammatory like aleve you might add that to your meds. Aleve is a 12 hr over the counter pain med. Be sure and add the fluids. Even if you think you are drinking plenty you may still be coming up short. I always start off the morning with a large glass then a glass with every meal and at least a small drink in between meals. You will be surprised what hydration does for you.

I am very surprised that ur pt discharged you so soon.a 115% bend is not even the goal. I've heard it needs to be at least 120%. 

I was given a prescription for 4 weeks of physio 3x/week. I will get more as needed. All east I think so. My dr. Has been great about prescribing physio.

i would surely refute this and advocate for URSELF. 

Good luck

By the way, how many weeks ago did u have ur surgery?

5 weeks tomorrow

1 had a total of 3 x 30 mins sessions of physio an that was it, he said he thinks I should get to 120 - 130% by 6 months, I wasnt happy being signed off but nothing I can do

Things must have changed then. When I had TKR 4 years ago and a lot of physio afterwards I'm sure I was not at 115 when I was discharged. Iwould doubt if I was even at 100. But continued to do exercises at home and have ended up with a good result.

Sarah

Thank you that sounds good advice, I will follow it, maybe I havent been drinking enough? I think I was limping before the surgery. The pain you descibe was exactly where it was on Monday, now the knee is stiff again.

I hope that I can continue, progressing, but I think being discharged from the physio so quick has left me feeling low and very much on my own

Sorry to hear that . R u here in the states or elsewhere ? I had 4 was. Of 3x/ week at home and now on the first week of the outpatient pt. I will consider myself very fortunate. I feel so bad for you☹

Justifiably so.....I think I would speak to my surgeon and see if he wouldnt try and recommend additional therapy. Then use a new therapist. I think sometimes all some of those guys look only at the bottom line and less about the patient.I've been fortunate but I've seen a couple of therapist that are basically lazy and just do the minimum, only doing what's necessary to maintain a license to practice. Just be kind to yourself, go slow and stay on here. You'll get a lot of non judgemental help from those that have battled their way back. If you have personal questions that you want one of us to comment on use the email envelope in the upper right hand corner. I have several people sending private messages. I truly believe too many people think they are on a do or die schedule to get this thing done on a time schedule and it Just isnt the case. Steady work on a regular basis is far superior.

Just read ur other texts , and see ur from England. Sounds like ur doing a lot for 5 weeks. Take care of URSELF.

I see my surgeon in 2 weeks time and according to the physio, he will just ask me a few questions and discharge me, and that is it, till I have to have the 2nd one done, not keen about that until I feel fit again. I am not very confident and I think it will take some time before I can venture out on my own, I have an automatic car so technically if I feel able I cant drive once the surgeon discharges me. It also appears everyone I know locally who have had TKR by this time are back to normal, not much chance in that with me. I feel like I have an uphill battle.