Help please!
Posted , 18 users are following.
it is almost 4 weeks since I had my op for TKR and I am feeling miserable! Sick of all the pain, nausea from medication, and now lack of appetite. I've even gone off tea and coffee. Am now drinking hot water and lemon. Nobody told me how tough things would be after operation. I'm trying to do all the exercises etc. Feeling very down and tearful. Can anybody help me please?
2 likes, 40 replies
petemorris hilary18612
Posted
I'm you want to read the blog, private message me, and I'll send you the link via private message.
hilary18612 petemorris
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Don't know if I would have gone through it all if I'd known about all the pain in advance!
petemorris hilary18612
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Jillystev3012 hilary18612
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I do think you underestimate the type/amount and duration of the pain anyway so even if you had known you would have never been prepared. I am a registered nurse and i work on the ward on which i had the surgery so i was aware of the pain but even so, i wasn't prepared for it because i thought i was quite god with pain. How wrong i was! I am almost 4 weeks post TKR like you (24 days to be exact) and I have been feeling exactly the same as you, some days are better than others. All i can say is, we have to think of the long term result and keep focused on that. We have to think that everything we do today is for the long term good, i.e going thro the exercise pain, sleepless nights, walking pain etc. Don't look for changes day to day, compare yourself from week to week, as the improvements are so minimal you don't actually see them, but they are there! Do as much as you can exercise wise, but be kind to yourself and listen to your body. Everyone heals at different rates so don't compare your recovery to anyone else's!
If your medication is making you feel nauseous you must go to the docs and get your medication changed. If they're making you feel nauseous so you cannot eat, that's not good as you need good nutrition to heal. Hang on in there Hilary, we'll get there. I know what you mean tho' you think you'll never be normal again don't you, but we will!!
terri59470 petemorris
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How are you doing these days?
jannette1 hilary18612
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hilary18612 jannette1
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i will try to take it a day at a time. Yesterday I hit Rock bottom with it all. Each day seems to be a struggle. Physio today - my second session and it's painful too. Trying so hard to be positive
glynis85376 hilary18612
Posted
My surgeon did explain to me that recovery would take a long time and that I would be in extreme pain.
Don't be surprised if you have days where all you want to do is cry, I have had a few days when I went into total meltdown.
It's a natural reaction, after all we have just had major surgery.
Today I feel I have gone backwards, I have more pain today than yesterday but if you read other posts on here you will see others have been exactly the same.
Try to do what Jannette1 said about rest, ice and elevation it does help a lot.
I'm in County Durham UK
Keep in touch and let me know how you get on xx
hilary18612 glynis85376
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jannette1 hilary18612
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steve83568 hilary18612
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cheryl90571 hilary18612
Posted
I, too, was surprised at how recovery from my TKR surgery was so intense!
It was SO MUCH MORE involved than other surgeries I had experienced! ( From 1981 to 1988 I had two C-sections and a Myomectomy, which is surgical removal of a fibroid.) With all three of THOSE surgeries I was up walking by evening, and making dinner in a couple days for the family as well as with two of them also caring for a newborn. I thought abdominal surgery was rough and I handled it. Knee surgery...it probably is not nearly as rough.
I was WRONG!
As you have found, a TKR is quite a rough surgery. From what I have heard ( after the fact, of course!), it is an EXTREMELY brutal surgery with lots of pounding and sawing and cutting . There is a lot to be done to literally REPLACE the knee!
To be honest, I had had so much pain for so long, I was EAGER to have the surgery. I was NOT prepared, however, for a leg that felt like a tree trunk filled with CEMENT. I was NOT prepared for being unable to even lift my leg an inch that first day at Physical Therapy. I certainly was NOT prepared for the two drains, the nerve block, and the THREE PEOPLE who needed to help me and my like of IV fluids to the bathroom every half hour for the three days I was in the hospital!
All I cared about was getting rid of my KNEE PAIN! I wasn't ready for all that the surgery brought with it!
Once the shock started to wear off, I realized that I had MUCH MORE work to do with THIS surgery. Thankfully the nurses and aides were so very helpful, and each day got a bit easier. I was discharged after three days, and through prayer, journaling, and those frequent potty trips, I began to feel more human. I tried to move as much as possible, drink lots of ICE water to keep hydrated and wash out toxins from the anesthesia and the medication, do my exercises, and eat well. I got off the Hydrocodone after two weeks because it made me feel loopy. I used a belt to help me move my leg on and off the bed. I was getting faster at getting to the bathroom. Things were getting better. My leg was feeling a bit less heavy. What I DID notice was the PAIN I had felt for so long in my knee was GONE! ( Of course I still had DIFFERENT pain from surgery, but at least that awful knee pain was gone that I had experienced in increasing amounts for many years.)
At about six weeks things got much better. Nine weeks was a big milestone, too. Physical therapy helped TREMENDOUSLY because feeling stronger made me feel more positive about my recovery and more willing to KEEP working at everything.
Well, four months later, I did it all AGAIN! I had my second TKR! I was pleasantly surprised that it went a lot easier for some reason . Maybe my body was stronger. Maybe I knew what to expect. Maybe one leg just is more of a bugger than the other one. I don't know. What I DO KNOW is I am REALLY glad I had both surgeries!
You are still very early in the recovery process. Your body, not to mention your KNEE, has been through a great trauma! My best advice is to appreciate each new thing you can do that you couldn't do on that first day. Praise yourself for having the courage to DO THIS! Rest, eat well, drink lots of water, do your exercises, and above all, STAY POSITIVE!
Being positive helps your endorphins to form. Endorphins help manage pain. You feel better, so you want to DO better.
Each week gets easier. Be patient with yourself. You will turn the corner in all of this VERY soon.
Sending prayers of strength to you today!
jodie_63346 cheryl90571
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You give the most positive and up lifting advice. Don't leave this forum as people like me and so many others need to hear your words. Thank you xxx
cheryl90571 jodie_63346
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I found this site after my first TKR. I was blown away by having so many people from all over the world who had experienced knee replacements and actually KNEW FIRSTHAND what I was going through and could not only support me but have awesome advice that would help me deal with my recovery.
I was helped SO MUCH by so many people here and hoped that I could be of help to others, too. Thank you for letting me know that I have made a difference!
Wishing you much success as you feel better and stronger each day!
luz301 cheryl90571
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cheryl90571 luz301
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Yes, you will feel pretty much like you have been bit by a semi, but each day will bring more strength, each day will get you one step closer to feeling better than you have in a long time.
Be patient, eat well, get moving, ice, elevate, take your pain meds, and just watch yourself getting stronger!