Posted , 18 users are following.
Though I am making steady progress and have no cause for concern i am surprised i feel rather flat at six weeks. I think i have just really realized what a long haul this is going to be! I would welcome hearing from others a little further on from me how you found this time. I can do more, so much more than I could, but still it's very restrictive!
0 likes, 70 replies
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CHICO_MARX jenny80029
Posted
There is no magic...only time...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-tkr-recovery-bell-curve--563756
jenny80029 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Oldfatguy1 jenny80029
Posted
Recovery from tkr is definitely not a lineal process. Its more like looking a t a stock market chart....up and down. Sometimes things are steadily trending up for a long period and suddenly a crash. Part of this is just due to the body healing from the trauma of surgery. We put so energy in getting back moving that the body really never has a chance early on to rid itself from the anesthesia and regain strength from blood loss. Even if you didn't need a transfusion yu still lost a lot. My 1st time around I was in rehab with a local attorney who was several years younger than me. I would see him a couple times a week at th local coffee shop so was able to track his progress. One day, after about 3 months he came in white as a sheet. He had been in court and while presenting some papers to the judge, his leg starting quivering and almost went out on him completely. The coffee was about a block from both court house and his office and that was as far as he could go. He told me later that he had to stop in another lawyers office before getting to his office. Strange thing was, it never happened again
jenny80029 Oldfatguy1
Posted
That's very interesting... it is the unpredictable aspect which is hard. I am pacing myself carefully, but it takes a lot of discipline to pull back from overdoing things. It's helpful for you to remind me about the impact of the operation on the whole body. It's not just about the knee at all. I am going to need to be very patient. Have a household to run and teenagers, but thankfully very supportive husband. Looks like they will all need to be very patient as well!!!!
cynthia89958 jenny80029
Posted
Hi Jenny
?I'm feeling discouraged at 5 weeks and slow progress. Everyone tells us it will be OK but the hard bit is actually believing in it. Some days are better and then the next is a step back.
?It is tough emotionally as well as physically. Here's to seeing some light at the end of the long tunnel. Goos luck, keep updated!
CHICO_MARX cynthia89958
Posted
Read my "Bell Curve" link, above. Five weeks? You've got a mere 47 to go... It's what we do...
jenny80029 cynthia89958
Posted
It certainly is. I think the thing is I get very pleased about progress one minute, suddenly start imagining that I am going to do this, and then this, and then something else after that...only to find I am exhausted and need to lie down for an hour. For every hour of activity I seem to need two of rest, or relative rest! Thankfully the weather has been sunny. I have managed to get into the garden and do a tiny bit of gardening... A tiny bit, I hasten to add. Re potting a plant and watering the garden. That's about it! But it is good to be out there.
marilyn10235 jenny80029
Posted
Hi Jenny, yes it IS a long haul! I am at 6 months & although doing well, I still feel that I need to do more to with the bend! Am at 120, & happy with that but you feel you have to carry on. Plus I don't want to slip back & find I can't bend properly again! My bend is more now than before the op so pleased really!
Also I have found s that as this knee gains strength & flexibility the other is going the other way, quickly! When I 1 st saw the surgeon he asked which leg knee I wanted done, it was a case of pick a knee any knee!! Now the unoperatwd knee is making it known it isn't happy!!
Hey ho, the joys!!
But I am so glad I had the op, my 'new' knee is wonderful, NO PAIN. So yes it is a long hard road we travel, it is sooo worth it in the long term.
Good luck on your recovery.
Marilyn
XX
jenny80029 marilyn10235
Posted
I think as my quadriceps gain strength my soul probably will too! I am doing plenty of exercising, which I actually enjoy very much... I did a lot before the knee replacement surgery. It's easier to do the exercises now, far more so than it was for the first month. If I think of that, I should feel encouraged I think! I am going to start a list of positive steps forward I think , for my own sake. So that when I feel discouraged about what I cannot do, I go and take a look at progress so far. It is moving in the right direction, just not as quick as I think it should. But there is no should.. it all seems very individual. Reading this forum you realise how everyone is so different and though it is tempting to make comparisions, in the end, we have our own path. Rather bumpy at times, it seems!!!!
marilyn10235 jenny80029
Posted
Hi Jenny, I once again typed a whole reply & it DISAPPEARED! I can't believe it happened again.
Anyway, what I wanted to say was, you will find after breaking through the 6-7 week barrier you do start to actually FEEL better about it all. There is a psychological as well as physical aspect to TKR recovery. It seems to take 6-10 weeks to 'accept' the change in our bodies of major prosthetic surgery. All the time we are also dealing with pain, no sleep & exercising a stiff painful new joint.
Chin up girl, summer is a coming, allegedly!!
Marilyn
XX
jenny80029 marilyn10235
Posted
Thank you so much Marilyn, that helps a lot. It is a lot to take on...I didn't think I was lacking in patience, but I am quite achievement orientated and it is quite hard, even though I am not house proud at all, to watch the chaos pile up around me, even though the rest of the family are doing very well at managing on a maintanence level...But I am going to have to relinquish control (not that I had much before!) and accept where I am. It's very helpful what you say about the length of this stage... it makes sense.
marilyn10235 jenny80029
Posted
I'm with you on all you say, I stupidly thought I would be back at work at 6 weeks, doing ALL the things I normally did! D'oh! Silly, silly me.
But there you are we go into this with, if not definite miss information, then at the very least, vague information on the part of the medical profession!
Still hey ho, we're all still here to tell the tale. If a little sore & limpy! I admit to being very glad to finally clean the house. There is only my husband, myself & 3 cats & 5 budgies, ( I'm not counting the fish in the pond!) so how mucky could it get!! Lol
Keep up the lols, it keeps us sane??
Marilyn
XX
Maryedna21 jenny80029
Posted
jenny80029 Maryedna21
Posted
Glad it is useful, it is nice to be able to offer a view from further along the line! I cannot remember how many weeks post op you are but i think it is just a few. How is the pain level? If less you might try cutting out one dose or reducing it, as long as you can feel ok with ice, elevation in the gap, as it were! I gradually reduced medication very slowly, i.e., replaced one of the doses with just two paracetamol instead of the codydramol I had. But keep doing the exercises! So important, ! Heel slides! And let your husband do the work. For as long as it takes. I had a good three months off!😀😁😃😄
jenny80029 Maryedna21
Posted