How long till you went back to work?????
Posted , 10 users are following.
I am 5 weeks post op now. I work in a hospital 12 hour shifts on my feet mostly. I am just wondering how long it actually has taken everyone to get back to work and life that is normal! I know everyone heals different but I constantly find myself googling How long for this ...How long for that with my knee. I just wish I knew when this knee would be functionable again to where I can live my fun life again!
Thanks!
Melissa
0 likes, 22 replies
Guest melissa34582
Posted
glad you asked that ....i was wondering too altho i know everyone is different...i was a bit shocked when they sent me home post op..5wks this sat with a 6 wks sick note...thought it was pushing it a bit...now still using crutches ..wheelchair for longer days out..stool in shower..poor sleep...depressed...leg not straightening but reasonable bend....i think 4 to 6 months is more realistic but so miss my work xx
i too work in healthcare and on feet sitting standing bending etc but 8 hr shifts xx
melissa34582 Guest
Posted
Yes so you can relate. I love my job and want to be able to do it quickly again. I just worry with the way it feels now I won't be able to do it anymore and started researching administrative work. I am 5 weeks at -3 extension and 100-110 flex. So maybe in another 5 weeks will be much better. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with your recovery! I can shower, do staires, clean some, do some laundry, I have a cane but just bring it in case and mostly walk free with limp. We gotta get better though our patients need us!
Guest melissa34582
Posted
wow u doing good xx i made my first crutch trip to costa today xx felt good to get out ...leg not too bad but cant walk normal due to lack of straightening ...shoulders and wrists hurt from crutches but i did it lol xx
yes i want to go back just after xmas having worked so many i want one off but its looking like longer than that at the min xx i can do a bit with one crutch but not safe to walk with just one apart from in house where there is other things to hold on to xx we will get there ...like you say they need us xx
dee53186 melissa34582
Posted
I am a nurse, so I will share my experience with my first TKR. I returned to work around 12 weeks but could not do my entire 12-14 hour shifts at the start I began with a week of 6 hours and then increased the length of my shift by 2 hours each week. I do have opportunities throughout my shift to sit for a few minutes at a time while charting so that was helpful. But I think it makes a difference whether you are moving a lot or standing in place a lot. Standing in one spot is way more difficult and harder on the knees. I am constantly moving. Is your supervisor open to letting you come back and start slowly? I am now 1,5 weeks post op from my 2nd TKR and am hoping to return to work around 10-12 weeks this time as long as I continue to work hard and avoid the temptation to be a couch potato with our cold winter weather . Best wishes!
Deeruss63 melissa34582
Posted
Hello... I had a right knee replacement on April 10th and went back to work June 7th. I stand on my feet 9 to 10 hours and I do feel the tightness around my quad. I wear an Ace bandage for a little support. It can be done...
denise27159 melissa34582
Posted
I went back to work after 3 1/2 months, and I have a fairly sedentary job (I work in a finance office in a university). I wasn't ready before then. I don't have much pain now, just discomfort if I have overdone things, but I still seize up if I don't stand up and move regularly, and it has been written in my Health & Safety plan that I do not kneel on the floor to look at files at the bottom of the filing cabinets and I have a PEEPS (personal evacuation plan) to cover me if the fire alarm goes off due to being slow going down stairs.
My H&S and Welfare team have been very good to me in making adjustments to make things easier, even arranging a 2 week phased return to work. This was really needed as I was exhausted after a few hours, especially the first few days. The first day I zonked out when I returned home as I was so tired.
If you have a return to work session with your H&S Dept, make sure you tell them of any problems you are still having and they are obliged to try and accommodate them. I told mine of my arthritis (not just in my knees) and other medical problems I have. I have now been told I am covered under the Disability at Work regulations. Had never thought to let them know before. Just took them as a fact of life and got on with my job.
Hope your return to work is smooth and good luck.
denise27159
Posted
I should add that I am in the UK, things may be different in other parts of the world