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Had a TKR on tues 13 March.

Posted , 4 users are following.

stephen34396
stephen34396

I know I’m only a few days in but is it normal to spend long periods in bed? Can get round house on crutches but can’t sit down in chairs because knee is swollen and wont bend properly , roughly how long before this improves? I’m 55 and as you can probably tell an impatient sod used to being active, also v surprised how bloody painful it is, I know there’s no instant cure but would be interested to hear from others who’ve experienced it, ??

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • susan59635
    susan59635 stephen34396

    Posted

    Stephen, it’s normal to have pain and swelling.. not getting out of bed is to.. but you can’t let the pain and swelling win.. make yourself get up and move around on the walker... then sit down , elevate the leg and ice., you have to exercise and move that knee and do what the therapist say plus a little more then ice ice ice.. try to get a good anti inflammatory, and a muscle relaxer and message the muscles above and below your knee. You’ll be ok 
  • CHICO_MARX
    CHICO_MARX stephen34396

    Posted

    Nothing you've said is unusual.  Here are a few thoughts:

    Bedtime...  I was still sleeping 12-14 hours a few days a week 6 weeks post-op.  Asked my doc.  She said: "All the energy in your body is being directed to healing your knee.  If your body wants to rest, rest.  If it wants to sleep, sleep."  OK?

    "How Long?"...  There is no such question in TKRville just like "I should be...".  The words have been stricken from the lexicon.  You will hear a lot of things like "Everyone is different", "No one knows how long this will take for them" and "Never compare your recovery to that of anyone else".  ALL COMPLETELY TRUE.  A full recovery takes a year.  Accept it...own it.  Very few people escape the one-year timeframe.

    Pain?  Manage it.  If the meds aren't working, talk to your doc about alternatives.  The drugs manage the pain to an acceptable level.  Nothing takes all the pain away except a coma.  Find the right combination for you.  You will be off the meds fairly quickly (6-12 weeks) as you complete your PT and get your ROM back.

    Impatient?  For a TKR recovery there are only three things required: time, work and patience.  If you don't know the latter one, you will.  The knee is a harsh taskmaster.  Push it and you will pay dearly in pain and swelling.  A knee cannot be pushed to recovery.  It's very Zen: "The knee will be better when it's better."  You will learn patience the hard way...we all did...welcome to the club, "Kneebie"...

  • Snoozy69
    Snoozy69 stephen34396

    Posted

    Hi Stephen yes it's all normal. Tomorrow I will be 6 months post op so I'm half way to finally owning the knee 😂 All the advise I can give is at your stage, hydrate, eat healthy, do your range of movement exercises religiously, ice, elevate and finally sleep........this is your routine for a while so get used to it. There is definitely no quick fix. If you get too much pain which prevents you from doing your exercises get yourself stronger ones, I can stress enough how important the range of movement exercises are at this stage x

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