I had a knee replacement op 10 days ago.

I had a T KR in November of last year very painful and was in intensive care for 4 days, I then had many physio sessions....then in January of this year a had a manipulation as the knee was not bending sufficiently....in April I had two more manipulations and  arthroscopic surgery thinking yes! This is finally going to be OK but no still having physio after in excess of 55 sessions........it is still only bending to just and I mean just 90 degrees still far from sufficient movement, I have been unable to drive also since last November .....so now we have had to change our car to accomodate my problem .....NOT. ON .....but had to be done....I am now waiting next week to have a nuclear scan on my knee to see why????? Insufficient movement.....and it is almost certain for another TKR which I can assure you I am not looking forward to.........has anyone else had this problem ? Thankyou for any help or replies .

not really had that kind of problem but have had 2 tkr s in 4 and a half months , and can say that the 2nd was much easier than the first , think a lot of it was in my mind that i was more possitive and had worked out easier things , like walking ,sleeping ,bathing and such , so didnt push my self the same but i  did bend my knee all the time while watching telly ,each time i felt pain i took my time working on that pain ,i also found that after a shower i got a towel and rubbed my knee good and hard ,and oiled it rubbing the oil in my knee when ever i was sat even when i went to bed .hope it works out for you

 

I had TKR in February of 2014 and have nothing but problems.  My knee is so swollen and very painfull and I can't sleep at night.  What can I do?  My doctor said he knows there is something wrong, but can;t figure it out.  Please help!

I am still in so much pain after a year of surgery and my knee is so swollen.  How did you know you needed surgery again?  I am affraid to trust any doctors.

hi 

I had TKR right knee 4sept last year and still have pain swelling and bruising 

There's still a lot of bruising

i spent 9 days in hospital due to horrific bruising from the bottom half of my stomach to right underneath my foot and a fall the day after the op 

physio was useless I only had 5 sessions which I truly think was nowhere near enough

I have to see my Surgeon again on the 25th this month and he said last time that if it was no different he would investigate further 

i still don't sleep very well and wake every time I shift my knee to another position

im fed up now 

Jean 

I'm sure you will read, and have read, that every person is difference in their recovery. I am 5 and a half weeks post op. I started physical therapy 3 days after my surgery. It was so painful I cried the first couple of times but it does get easier. My best advice to you is to do the exercises, especially lifting the leg and bending It. I was driving after 2 and a half weeks but drive an automatic. I was off crutches also at 2 and a half weeks. I do physical therapy 3 times a week and am making great progress. I can bend the knee to 120, stand on just the surgery leg for 1 minute sessions, am going up and down steps but with pain going down. The first 12 days were hell for me as pain was so intense but it eased after that. I still have some pain and swelling but it's so much betier now. Currently I have an abscess where one of my stitches poked thru the skin and am treating that with peroxide and antibiotic ointment. Sleeping is still dufficult. In the early days I slept on my back with my foot elevated and ice off and on. Now I sleep I need my side with a pillow between my knees and can sleep for about 2 hours before I have to change positions. It DOES get easier but takes time. Don't get discouraged! This forum is a great place to compare recoveries, ask questions, get answers and for emotional support and encouragement. Hang in there. Take your pain med school regularly. I wish you luck!!

Wow!  Your note here could not be more timely.  I am one week post TKA and have a hundred questions and cautions going thru my mind.  Ive experienced constant knee pain of varing degree depending on range of pain meds.  I have experienced similar inability to get comfortable especially at night.  Restful sleep has not happened. My #1 concern is that I will require manipulation surgery because I can not break thru the swelling to bend my knee to 90 degrees and I am still laying on my back 24/7   Can anyone comment?

I had a full knee replacement 5 days ago lots of pain but yesterday I noticed when ewa

king with my crutches my knee is clicking have you had same,

I had TKR 14 months ago. A few months after that I had MUA (manipulation under anaesthetic) as I wasnt getting the bend. My knee clicks all the time, I spose thats one of them things. I've been on high dosage of pain killers since my op. I go back again next week as Ive started getting more pain than usual. Keep doing the exercises and hopefully you will make that bend. loopy32715 

very very early days take each day as it comes like you I am 2 mnth I found doing exercises  2 mnth before the op very helpful and making sure before any attempt at exercise take the strogest pain relief possible 40min before starting and 20 min of ice at the end of work out  it works believe me

Hi Colin,

​Will b seeing the consultant on Saturday,I hope to be rid of these terrible tight stockings.Also have a lump on my knee where the metalwork was removed.But after reading all the coments I feel so much better,still have alot of problem bending my knee ,they have booked me in for heated pool next week so that may help.Still cannot walk more than 6 paces any comments.Pam 

Hi Margaret,

Thank you for your wonderful response to your experience during this long and sometimes painful process. LOL

I am having a TKR on Wednesday, and I am anxious and looking forward to hopefully being able to walk without so much pain on the other side of my recovery.

I am sure that the initial process will be painful, and it's good to know that if a few tears are shed, I won't be alone. 

I will keep you all posted on my recovery and look forward to the Forum of Support.

Have A Great Aftertoon

Mine TKR was 6 days ago. im frustrated because i still can't lift my leg.  PT gave me excercises  to do... I can do most but lift my leg with my thigh muscle.. how long does it take.... i also have to still take pain meds due to not be able to sleep at night

 

Took me 11 days with the first knee and 8 with the second just keep persevering and it will come

   Hi Charlotte 81954  don't despair,  I know how hard it is.  I am glad that you can do most of the exercises. 

My TKR was 13 days ago.  I was very disappointed in my recovery progress.  I placed too much pressure on myself to progress rapidly, as I had read others had.  Today is the first day at PT that I felt good about my progress.  I don't have issues with my thigh muscles now.  However I don't think I had significant control until this past weekend (11 days).  If you are like me once the inflammation goes down you will see significant progress.  Please don't push yourself more than your body wants.  I made the mistake of pushing myself real hard looking for success.  All that did was to create a setback as my knee was aggravated by the excessive exercising.  My knee became enraged,  stiffened up and had significant swelling.  Rest, take your medication as prescribed, try to do your exercises reasonably.  If it hurts too much then listen to your body.  Once your swelling goes down a good portion of the pain goes with it.  My knee still cannot bend as much as I would like it to but that is my focus now.  I can straighten it but to bend it back is difficult. 

It is still somewhat difficult for me to sleep through the night.  However it is much better now than just the past couple of days.  I generally wake a couple of times with sharp or throbbing pain in my knee.  If I take my medication before I go to sleep it helps significantly.  When I awake, I ice and if the time is correct I take my pain medication again.  Don't try to tuff it out!  The medication was prescribed  for a reason, use it.  It will help you to get a better night sleep which makes everything seem a bit brighter.

Good Luck!    

Ahh Doman thanks for your response. .I think I am trying to push to much to soon, I will take your advice and listen to my body....I hate taking meds but like you said , I obviously nred them or he would not have prescribed. ....take care of yourself too and I will update.

Hi Charlotte!

I had the same problem! My left leg LITERALLY felt like a tree trunk filled with CEMENT!

My physical therapist who came to my home while I was homebound had me loop one of my husband's belts to make a kind of lasso which I would then slide my foot into like a stirrup on a horse. I could THEN use the long strap end to maneuver my leg wherever I wanted it to go.

This worked GREAT to get my leg onto the bed, onto the ottoman, and onto the couch once I had sat down on the couch and wanted to elevate my legs.

After awhile with exercises I could move my leg much better because I built up my quad muscle.

Try the belt loop thing! It really made a HUGE difference and built independence, too!

Haha! Yeah it REALLY sucks not having any strength in you leg.

I'm almost 4 weeks post-op right now. You'll see great improvement in weeks 2-3.

I can stand alone on my surgical leg indefinitely now, walk without assistance (although I have ditched the walker and now use a cane), and most importantly can lift my leg!

Just keep trying. It will come. Guaranteed.

Clicking is not something to worry about and will fade with time.

Only 4 weeks post-op but have been very lucky. I was up and walking within 4 hours of surgery using a walker (rollator) . Went home on the 2nd day and switched to a cane for only outside walking. Walking unassisted now, can navigate stairs and have 119 degrees range already. My only problem now is swelling which at times seems excessive and very painful, but I'm totally off all pain medications.

My advice is EXERCISE, EXERCISE AND EXERCISE. Work through the pain, use an ice machine after working out for 15 minutes.

I'm 64 years old, have Lupus and RA, Fibromyalgia too. But other than the degree of pain associated with TKR (right knee) I have been amazed at how quickly I'm getting around. Still not allowed to drive, 2 more weeks, but with proper pain medications, a constant range motion machine after surgery and the ice machine, I'm well on the way to a total recovery.

Hope all went well for you !!!

I had surgery 15days ago. I was also worried about the bending issue, my swelling was terrible and I was not able to get 90 degree until this week. My advice is ice it under knee and from upper thigh to just below knee area. I also take Allieve to help, that did bring my swelling down enough to work more on my bending still hurts like heck but power through it and you will get there.

I'm one week out and have exactly the same problem. I just can't make my leg do a lift, it's very frustrating. I feel like this should be easier...

I do have TKR in 2012 I have proplem with it since day one now is 20016 and my doctor say is gana be good before the surgery I think it's all a bout bussnis and making money but the true is not good for allot of pepole haven tkr reed hear haw many pepole on Paine I Canot walk up stiers I'm in Paine every day swaling and up normal click sound one day is bleding under the skine I m not going to see the same doctor and now a new doctor after he don exry he say you kneed anther TKR on same knee haw I will have 2 Surgry and I'm not Paine free from the first one knee replcement it's bad and make pepole go on despltiy I'm telling every one do search on your knee replcement part know the name it's on your surgery report and inventory report you will know that the name of the knee and the company make it have recal or not or the FDA recall allot of knee part from this company or not cos that's the proplem we haven and every one hear have its proplem and Paine cos this knee device and part not good for us ask do your serch before you end like me with bad leg and doctore they don't say the true all time it's bussnis

How much could you bend your knee before the operation? 

 I could bind it all the way unless it gave on me then I would go down.  

I had my TKR 7/26/16......I had to laugh as I read your post as I could have written it.....done to the stitch abscess!  I hope a year later you are walking 2-3 miles a day and loving life.....that's what I am looking forward to!  Best of luck! 

I've had mine done 3 weeks ago and the pain was really bad it is in my shin now .I find it hard to sleep due to sciatic pain now so on amatriptilyne to help . I was struggling to walk etc but I keep doing exercises I now have a 120 degree but I am struggling to get a straight leg lift though . The pain is intense and burning from my knee where the quads join but I still have carry on lifting . My straight leg is still a bit forward so I was told by the physio to elevate the leg on a stool straight out and place some oven gloves across my knee with tins of beans in the hand bits and let gravity do its work. It does work and is uncomfortable but only do little and often

. My knee is clunking a bit and I thought it would be smooth has anyone else had this ?doc says it should settle down but I'm not convinced. It's a long haul with this op which totally underestimated

Keep the pain killers going in I helps when you exercise

I am 3 months post knee reolacement. I still have moderate swelling. My knees both click and pop during walking. I thought it would be smoother but the dr says it's normal. I did water aerobics and a jacuzzi for my rehab along with my dr prescribed lifts and bends and have good ROM. Jacuzzi was helpful in bending the knee. I don't feel like I shapes back as quickly as some and have difficulty walking smoothly. Can not carry anything heavy during my walk and length of time standing in one place is not very long. My Dr says it's all normal and will take about a year to feel normal. Forums are a great place to see how others are doing to measure your own progress and what is normal. Sleeping is hard for me now. Very restless. I have to take a sleep aid to help.Hopefully that won't be forever.

I had mine tkr Wednesday eve so day 6 for me.

i too struggled with leg raise. Finally managed it last night but very very painful every time 

my hip on the same side hurts today.

wondering if they jar it hammering bits in?

I am 3 months out and still having pain. I am working on getting my thigh muscle strength back which is a slow process. I am doing water exercises for an hour and then to the Jacuzzi to bend my knee. I also do some resistance work at the gym. I have started taking turmeric and vitamin to help manage pain and reduce swelling naturally, we'll see if it works. Going for a medical massage today. I thought I would be much farther along by now. I worked out yesterday and can barely walk today. Everyone says wait til the 6 month Mark, you'll be glad u did it. So I wait.

You have to get up and walk. The pain becomes less with more movement. Every day you don't move makes it much worse in the long run.

Start by using the foot on your good leg to help lift the bad leg. Bend your ankles back on both legs 20 times an hour. It will come around.

I'm taking meds after 10 days and wondering if that's too long. But it helps me get up and moving.

I am now now 7 months post op. Both done at same time. I can now say that things are better. I have clicking and snapping when I walk. I think as my muscles tone up and get stronger that may lessen. I take 800 ibu. A day and that seems to help. Stiffness is a normal thing for me. Doc says i need to crael on the ground. He says i should be able to do everything as normally as possible. Just cant seem to bring myself to work diligently on that. Doing for on someone won't work well if I can't get on my knees! So need to work on that. It's gets better give it time.

Don't get discouraged.  I was finally able to lift my leg 15 days after surgery.  Your body is trying to heal from very painful surgery.  All of us are different and we are not in a contest.  There needs to be a balance between pain meds, ice, rest, ice, exercise, ice, etc.  I wish you the best.  

 

Hi Lynn I'm in the UK just got home after total knee replacement God it hurts so bad. It's 3 am hear just been to bathroom took 15 mins to get out of bed the pain so bad I was crying . Well hot to try and get some sleep x

Cindy,

A TKR is one of the most painful surgeries a person can have.  All of us feel bad about your pain and can empathise with you too.  Do you have someone to help you?  Don't hesitate to call the district nurses or NHS 24 if you need them out of hours.  They are fantastic people and they are there to help you.  I've had to call them several times, now.  Use lots of ice to get the swelling down and although it seems trivial, wiggle your toes often and  do your exercises when you can.  I'm not a person who cries much but I've done a lot of crying with this one.  If you can't sleep at night try to rest during the day if you can.  Keep posting and tell us how you're doing as the days go by.  Little improvements make us all happy.  We wish you well.  An NHS 24 doctor got my pain under control and I am extremely grateful to him.  

Hi Lywn it was nice to hear from you today I feel a lot better. I've got my husband home with me for 3 weeks he is so good bless him .I'm sitting downstairs with ice on my knee feeling lot better. It's just when I get up and bend it after sitting but only been 3 days since opp. Being a carer for 30 years so use to looking after other people lol x

how funny I am a retired registered nurse here in the US and I am used to being the giver as well. this having the tkr is driving me nuts ! it is great I have a wonderful guy , taking care of me ! but I feel like I am inhibiting him as well. 

​I am 13 days post op. I have no problem sleeping but swelling and the painful thigh muscle is not pleasant. I know it takes time , but I am type A and I want it over now. LOL . 

​good luck to you ! keep up with the excercises and ice , elevate and walk !!!! 

Hi as a carer it's a lot harder I had mine done 3 days ago God the pain made me cry last nite first nite home . Feeling bit better today but scared about later as when been sleep last nite couple hours with leg straight it hurt so bad when I had to go to bathroom to stand up I was crying with the pain

What is manipulation surgery?