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Is it normal to still be in pain 10 weeks after TKR

Posted , 13 users are following.

rosemary63666
rosemary63666

It's 10 weeks yesterday since I had a total knee replacement......im feeling depressed because I thought by now I would be much better,my knee is stiff, sore, and can't walk properly, I dread going shopping my knee gets so painful and cooking dinner or housework I spend the time waiting to sit down, im sorry I had it done, the pain before(osteoarthritis) operation wasn't constant like this is..have you any encouragement for me please Rose

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  • jenny61596
    jenny61596 rosemary63666

    Posted

    You will feel better , I found this happened quite suddenly for me around the 8-10 week stage when I had a dramatic change in pain levels , just be patient , don’t over do exercises either 
  • nwf477
    nwf477 rosemary63666

    Posted

    One thing is for sure pain flat out stinks period and yes I agree with you the 4th will be 10 weeks for me as well. The way I try and deal with it I keep thinking how I felt when I first got home from the hospital, I was beyond miserable. Every single day 24 / 7 it hurt like hell. I had to use crutches putting any sort of weight on my bad leg was begging for agony and that lasted 6-7 weeks. No I am not pain free I wish but compared to before and now yes it is better not great but better. I still have a long ways to go you do as well. Keep exercising not to agony levels but in moderation ice and elevate as needed. It will get better ( yeah I know 10 weeks and it still hurts ) I have been thru this too many times this is # 6 for me believe me its no fun but give it time.
    • rosemary63666
      rosemary63666 nwf477

      Posted

      Thank you for your encouragement, nice to know im not alone in this dreadful long recovery.
  • CHICO_MARX
    CHICO_MARX rosemary63666

    Posted

    "I thought by now I would be much better..."  Really?  Silly wabbit...just like the rest of us.  We were all such idiots early on...

    This whole thing takes a year...period.  Accept it; own it.  Your first and most important task is to give up ALL YOUR EXPECTATIONS!!!  There is no time schedule for any individual person.  "Usually" applies to the population of patients, not to any one person.  Your experience will be yours and yours alone.  You cannot compare your recovery to that of anyone else.  Your DNA likely determines how much scar tissue you grow and how difficult it will be to break it up. 

    Typically (and everyone is different), you will probably have your 0 / + 120 ROM back in around 12 weeks post-op.  Some get it back quicker, some later.  You must be diligent with your exercises at PT and home.  Here are some extra home exercises...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-rom-work-at-home-620053

    The next part is rebuilding all the dead musculature that supports the knee.  Everything has atrophied, especially quads, glutes and core plus your hamstrings are very tight.  This is necessary to walk correctly, regain your balance and be able to do stairs normally (alternately) again.  This rebuild can take 6-9 months as you start very gradually (endurance before strength) plus you have to really, really commit to doing it.  You don't get strong again sitting in a chair.  The program...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527

    This is not fun; this is not easy.  However it is necessary.  Without it, all the pressure stays on your new knee which just causes more pain and problems both short and long term...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/other-pain-after-a-tkr-641040

    Your tools are time, work and patience.  There are advances, setbacks and plateaus...be ready for all of them.

    Try some Voltaren Gel (RX in the US, generic diclofenac elsewhere); keep it away from the incision until fully healed...check for interactions (rare).  Great topical anti-inflammatory and pain reliever.  Use during the day and especially at bedtime.  Most stiffness usually resolves in 12-18 months with the rebuild.  If you sit for long periods of time, you will notice some stiffness when you get up and for the first few steps.  TKR veterans will tell you that unless you keep the knee active and exercised, stiffness will return in the future.  This is a lifelong recovery.

    This is for your depression (actually, a Jedi Mind Trick...)...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-and-post-operative-depression-604195

    And post this on your fridge...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-reality-of-a-tkr-recovery-in-one-picture-626038

    Have fun...

    • rosemary63666
      rosemary63666 CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Thank you , ill have to read all that again so I can understand it, nobody explained this to me before or after the operation Rose
    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX rosemary63666

      Posted

      Yeah...nobody explained it to ANY of us!!!

      Simple...  ROM first...0-12 weeks but continue the home exercises as needed.  Next, the muscle rebuild.  Mandatory.  Then, as you get more strength in your legs, you can do stairs.

      Remember...this takes a year...really.  Very few people do it sooner.  Tales a real commitment to do the strength rebuild but you will be happy with the results.  At 2 1/2 years, my only issue is kneeling on hard surfaces so I avoid that at all costs.

      You MUST do the work or you'll never be yourself again.  Honest.  This is a very brutal operation and it takes time, work and patience to fully recover.  One good thing, though, is that the year passes fairly quickly.  I know it doesn't seem like that day to day but it does go quickly when you have the exercising built into your daily routine.  No excuses...do the work.  You will be sooooo much better off.

    • rosemary63666
      rosemary63666 CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Chico, what is ROM? 😆 your freaking me out a bit about those exercises, what if im not doing enough or not doing them right does that mean im jinxed for life....i havent climed a stairs ( alternating steps) for years even before operation, im going to feel a failure now because I tried the steps at home and even holding on to the banister I can't do it , its unbearably painful....im going to try the steps in the park tomorrow they not as high as the stairs in my house 😀

    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX rosemary63666

      Posted

      Range of Motion...

      https://patient.info/forums/discuss/zero-degrees--517809

      You won't be able to do stairs correctly until you get your ROM back (so the knee can bend far enough) and until you have enough strength rebuilt so the dead quad can pull you to the next step.

      We all felt like all of this was undoable at first.  It takes a lot of time and work to get to 0 / +120 PLUS rebuild the strength.  Most people report feeling "more like their old selves" starting around nine months...then they dance at their one-year anniversary.

      Yes, it seems almost impossible at first but trust us...it does get better.  Depression and self-flagellation are NOT options.  You have to be tough in body, mind and spirit.  This is NOT an overnight fix.  There will be advances, setbacks and plateaus...all are normal.  There is no "linear" path here.  We all have our ups and downs...so will you.  Just stay strong...

      https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-and-ptsd-569521

      Take it very slowly but keep doing the work.  After the ROM, you start the exercise program slowly and gradually.  Keep it up and you will see big improvements on a monthly basis.  You cannot measure success day by day...too many fluctuations.  Slow and steady...focus...be determined. 

    • kathleen_65043
      kathleen_65043 CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Morning Chico you have given and always give great advice you could write a book or do a dvd I’m sure the medical profession could do with it to hand out to the patients that are going to be having new joints your posts are very knowledgable and helpful 

      Thank you keep posting x

    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX kathleen_65043

      Posted

      There have been a very tiny number of people on here who castigate me for what I say, fearing that I'll scare people.  Tough.  I tell the truth and I'm very realistic in what I tell people.  Look...these are my opinions, AND ONLY MY OPINIONS, after having been through this and many other surgeries. 

      How many times do we hear: "No one ever told me about all of this before the operation!". Well, you're hearing it now.  Give up all your "expectations", face the reality, do the work.  I am a real pragmatist about this.  What are you going to do...take the implant out?  You've just been through one of the most brutal surgeries on the planet and you have to deal with it, Bucko.

      So change your mindset, accept your situation, get strong and face the challenge.  You wanna get better or sit in your BarcoLounger and whine for the next 20 years?  I'm 70 with 4 1/2 pounds of metal in me.  NOTHING is going to stop me from living the fullest life I can...but that takes determination and a lot of work.  If people don't like the truth it's because they "can't handle the truth." - Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men.

      Honestly, except for the death of my first wife at age 34 from breast cancer, this is the hardest thing I've ever been through.  But you have to learn that there is a balance to life...and it involves body, mind, heart and soul.  When one is out of whack, you need to rebalance everything to save yourself.  This is a constant struggle, virtually hour by hour.  You need to learn the ways of balancing you life even in the middle of a giant s**tstorm like a knee replacement.  Stay calm, focus, balance.  Learn to live with a peaceful heart regardless of whatever you are going through.

      Damn, maybe I should have stayed in the seminary and became a priest after all.  Naw...love women waaaaay too much...

    • kathleen_65043
      kathleen_65043 CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Oh Chico keep posting you have given me reassurance if some don’t like what you write then they need not read it simple  I’ve told a few to read your post due to your knowledge like you I have had a few  operation I thought the  spinal fusion was  the worst but the knee winds hands down keep posting I for one thank you xx
    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX kathleen_65043

      Posted

      I've had two laminectomies and two fusions...plus the knee and hip replacements.  In all, I've had 30 general anesthesia surgeries in the past 18 years.  Rehabbed the hip TOTALLY in six weeks (5 hours a day, six days a week).  Killed it at rehab for two shoulder ops and the TLIF fusion.  I have always kicked rehab's a$$...until the knee...

      Crushing to be in that much pain for that long and see a full recovery stretched out to a year.  You accept it, learn the right techniques, set your mind straight and get it done.  The year passes faster then you realize and then you're fine.  Not "original" but pretty damn good enough to lead a good, virtually pain-free life.  There a lot to be thankful for in that but you have to do the work.  Period.  It really does pay off.

      PLUS...  You learn that you are stronger than you thought you were.  If you didn't know what patience was, you do now.  The feeling of victory at the end is very, very sweet indeed.  So many good things for not only your body but your spirit as well come out of meeting the challenge and ending up the winner.  Feels great!!!

    • rosemary63666
      rosemary63666 CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Hi chico again, you might be glad to know im feeling proud of myself today...i webt to the park with my dog..no crutch 😁and even climed the steps holding the hand rail, coming down the steps wasn't as easy found my good leg hard to put down...but that could be due to rupturing my accles tendon in 2012 ...🙄🙄🙄 🙈 so really I have no good leg ha!my left leg has weak ankle and my right leg has an ugly big metal hindge in it.....but we'll stay positive as you said " what are we going to do, remove it..i don't think so...maybe this discussion helped me to keep going...thank you x Rose from Ireland

    • kathleen_65043
      kathleen_65043 rosemary63666

      Posted

      Well done Rose I’m very proud of you as is Dermot keep going you are a strong Irish lady that has now become my friend xxx
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