Dealing with pain and depression after total knee replacement

We are all different but it would seem it's at least around a 10 week journey.

Good healing

Hi - I feel for you . I have been there with my TKR. One of the causes for me is my staunch independence and fear of asking for help.  Once I allowed myself to simply ask for what I needed especially from my husband all started to go better. being an invalid is a horrible experience and being in pain and sleep deprived makes it so much worse. No wonder we get down !! At three weeks you have had the worst of most of the issues and will be starting to move forward. I am at 3 months and starting to feel so much more positive. I decided to give myself over to the machine so to speak The recovery takes dedication and application - let yourself be lazy as much as you can. Eat well and drink lots of fluids. Save some pain meds for when you go to bed and ask for a sleeping tablet also. My anesithist swore by them to help the body rest. be regular in your exercise pattern and always use the ice as often as you can tolerate until the swelling goes. I also used anti inflammatory ex to help this and an arnica based cream to massage the leg as that really helped me. Be kind to yourself. All the best.

Everything your feeling is normal. It sucks now, but each day is a bit better. I'm 5 weeks out now and sleeping a bit better. Less depressed. Prayers for continued healing.

It is pretty horrible, isn't it!  I'm pretty hopeful you will notice quite a change around the six week period. . nothing that spectacular, but things just begin to look less  horrible. sleep will probably be an ongoing problem for quite a while, as will pain, so whatever pain killers you can take, take them and don't try to cut down on them at this stage.  You need all the help you can get. I had tramadol and it was pretty good at keeping the pain at a fairly tolerable level.  I would say that for about the first ten weeks I  would have said, as you do, that I would never do this again, and that it had been the biggest mistake of my life. . .but like pretty well everybody else, in the end you look back at it and realise that the end result is worth it.  Well, I suppose we have an inbuilt ability to forget the bad things once they are over, and realise how much better we are.  I'm now nearly two years from the op, and just popped back to the forum to see how everyone was doing!  three weeks is just the beginning, honestly . . it is a long hard slog, and realising that what you are feeling is absolutely normal unfortunately in some ways helps to cope with it. All the best!

Dear Sue,

You are feeling exactly what we all felt at 3 weeks out.  The constant pain, sleeplessness, depression, crying, leg feeling like a cement block......I could go on and on.  You will hear from others that will set your mind at ease.....you will get better as time goes on, but it just doesn't seem possible at this stage.  

When I had my year check up, my dr. asked me if I was happy I had it done...and my answer was yes, now I am...if you had asked me at a month it would have been a resounding NO.  So, you'll progress ...believe it!  Just take one day at a time, do what you need to do: meds when needed, sleep or rest anytime you can, stool softeners every night (if needed)! ice machine after any activity - I had one of those and they work great, but are confining, diligent with the pt exercises.  Hang in there....it'll get better!

Mary Ann

this is not a journey you can take alone i dont know your situation but if you have help there take it the depression will pass if you are normally active its the feeling of not being able to do the things you could keep taking the medication ice it often and keep your leg raised the days will soon turn into weeks as each one goes by you will get better i wish you all the luck in the world with your recovery.