Newbie to TKR! 2 weeks after surgery the pain is so much worse. How do others cope, please?
Posted , 14 users are following.
Hi, I’m maggiemaybe and I live in south west England. I had TKR surgery 2 weeks ago. On discharge, the pain was manageable. Now it is horrendous. Because of strong meds for other medical problems, I cannot take strong pain killers. Please may I have the take of others how their pain was 2 weeks on and how they coped. Many thanks!
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marilyn10235 maggiemaybe
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Hi Maggie, welcome to the forum.
Two weeks is very very early in your recovery, I'm afraid pain goes with the territory!
Maybe have a word with your surgeon via the hospital ward or his secretary or visit your GP & see if your pain management can be altered to allow for TKR healing. Alternatively speak to the pharmacist you usually get your meds from, they may be able to give you an idea of how to swap the meds around to give you greater pain relief or suggest an alternative your GP could give you a script for. Pharmacists are usually more switched on as regards to drugs & their application & a lot easier to get to see! It does then mean you will have to see the GP but if you go armed with all the info you can give him/her alternatives! Or ask to be referred to a pain management clinic. I know the waiting list may be long, but you don't have a lot of alternatives.
Other than that it is just a case of ice ice baby! Ice for 20 mins a go with an minimum of an hour between icings. When you ice, elevate your leg so your knee is above your hip, this can be done alongside the straightening exercise where you put your heel on a stool or something, without anything under your knee & let gravity pull the knee down. This hurts, badly, if the knee isn't straightening still so only attempt for a few seconds at 1st. Once a day elevate your leg right up, whilst icing, so your leg is above your heart. All this will help to bring down swelling which will help bring down pain levels.
There are things you can buy on the net for icing, I haven't used one but others on here have & will advise you better than I on these.
Rest often but try to do the exercises, do them as best you can, but do try. It's easier to start to get the flexion & extension in the early days. It can be done later but is harder work to achieve, but there again it's the swelling that impedes progress on that score. Quality over quantity is best for the exercises.
I used to listen to music to take my mind off the pain esp at night. Others have different coping mechanisms, which I'm sure they will tell you about.
Try to relax, TKR is a brutal operation, so the after affects can be bad too, but are usually short lasting. Whereas the fact that you will be without arthritis pain, is a big boon. Just look forwards.
TKR is also exhausting, I am at 4 months & still tired, but not quite as much.
You will find after the 1st 6 to 8 weeks things will settle down. Your pain levels should ease & exercising should get easier. It sounds far off at 2 weeks but really isn't! Even with all the pain etc, it goes really quickly.
I hope you get lots of useful information from others on here. Chico & OFG always give excellent advice & others who are too numerous to mention. You will get loads of ideas.
I wish you all the best for your recovery but just remember it is a marathon not a sprint after tkr. Take each day as it comes & never compare your recovery to anyone else's! You are an individual! Check out Chico Marx's post on 'the bell curve' he explains it perfectly.
I'm in Hertfordshire by the way.
Take care
Marilyn
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maggiemaybe marilyn10235
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All you say is true, Marilyn! I could hear the electric drill and saw during the surgery. Deep bruising takes time to come out. I live in retirement housing on my own. My friend has been marvellous with shopping etc. Ultimately I have to cope alone. Decided to register with the forum. So pleased I did! Thanks again. 🙃
Delboy1735 maggiemaybe
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reads like you are a pretty positive person. Keep up the excercises and get your name down for the next London marathon.
Delboy1735 marilyn10235
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MAT2018 maggiemaybe
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Maggie, I am in the US and the hospital gave me a Circulating Cold Water Therapy System (you can goggle it) to take home. I can't imagine my recover without it (I am at 13 weeks post op). I was told I could use it 24/7 if I wanted to and for the first 6 weeks I did. Since then I use it only when my knee hurts or after I come back from PT.
maggiemaybe MAT2018
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Thanks Mat! I will google it! 🙃
neil11554 maggiemaybe
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Hi
I have just rejoined this forum to ask exactly the same question as you have! I am from Manchester UK and had TKR on my left leg 2 weeks ago and seem to be going backwards with the pain like yourself. My clips were removed on Monday (what an experience that was) and I thought that the pain would start easing from then on, how wrong was I? I had a second quick visit to the Pysio department yesterday and she seemed a bit surprised that I was still taking pain killers and that I didn't feel ready to start walking without the crutches.
I am taking Paracetamol through the day but at night I take 10mg Oxycodone around 10pm and another dose again around 2am, when that's worn off around 5am I go back on the Paracetamol. Without the Oxycodone I would never get any sleep. I believe it's possible to get 'hooked' on the Oxycodone and I can understand why as it removes 95% of the pain and gives a nice feeling of wellbeing.
I remember my surgeon telling me on discharge " listen to your body and if allowed, never pass up an opportunity to take pain killers if needed."
It would be great to hear from you again with updates over the next few weeks to see how we compare. It looks like it might be a hard slog for a bit longer.
Neil
maggiemaybe neil11554
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Hello Neil, the District Nurse has just been to replace my dressing. I hear so many different ideas from so many different people! This Nurse said I should be walking outdoors!
I did get some relief from pain when I was taking a very long phone call from a friend earlier. I did not move my knee for over 40 minutes and oh, the difference keeping still made!
It’s a learning curve I think. We only get to know answers to our questions empirically.
I’m only taking Paracetamol currently. I neither like nor believe in the power of Paracetamol so I plan, just for a day to replace with Ibuprofen, which has helped in the past. I am not familiar with Oxycodone, but it sounds Codiene based, which wouldn’t suit me. If it helps take for as long as it helps, I guess. Knee replacement is a lesson in humility. I feel helpless when I am a very capable lady usually! Stay in touch, we are knee related twins! MM 🙃
Delboy1735 neil11554
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maggiemaybe Delboy1735
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I don’t have clips! That’s a plus! I have dissolvable stitches. My favourite nurse asked me to book with her to have my clips taken out - then I don’t actually have any! Plus or what? Thanks for your post. 🙃
neil11554 maggiemaybe
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Hi Maggie, after answering your opening post it appears that I'm in the exact state of recovery as you (operated on the 9th April). With regard to what pain we are in and what is expected of us by the Physio terrorists (as my surgeon calls them) I've had a re-think on all this and decided that I'm going to do it my way for a change. I'm not going to be bullied into thinking I should be doing better than I actually am, or shouldn't need the pain killers that I obviously do. On Tuesday I had a brief 5 minute check out with the PT lady with regards to movement and flexing of my knee and to be honest she hurt me and put me back a few day's just so she could put down some good figures in her notes. Well like l said earlier I'm going to consentrate on quality rather than quantity from now on. I appreciate that the PT team will have our best interests at heart but we are individuals after all. For the past 10 years I have been walking like a Chimpanzee and at 67 years old I've no ambition to become a ballet dancer or footballer, so although I will take on board all what the PT team advice and do my best, it is after all my battle, and I will get there one way or another. Glad you had a better day today. Look after yourself.
Neil
Delboy1735 maggiemaybe
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Delboy1735 maggiemaybe
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maggiemaybe neil11554
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Believe it or not Neil, I have somehow twisted my own knee today and I’m hobbling around like the old lady I am! I don’t think these Physios understand that when we are older, healing times are extended. We are none of us a ‘one size fits all’! I see my Physio next week. It’s a two hour drive to the hospital, one of the new NHS Care Clinics. I did 6 walks up and down the corridor tonight. I live in Retirement Development and on the top floor, I never see anyone. I’m limping now and got the ice pack on (it’s from Amazon!) I feel you are wise doing what you feel you can. I’ve not done squeezing the big red ball they gave me between my knees more than a few times. It bl***y hurts! When my knee feels stronger, hopefully tomorrow, I’ll try some more. I hope you sleep well tonight! It does make a difference. Tomorrow is another day! Goodnight and I hope you are feeling chirpier tomorrow. MM 🙃
max07424 maggiemaybe
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Hi I had my knee replacement on the 12 march 2018 at gobowen in oswestry, after the op i was in considerable pain and only recently has my pain become tolerable, they had me on the wrong medication, after screaming and shouting that the medication wasnt helping i was put on garbepenten which helps with the burning feeling in the knee and zapain pain killers along with shortec which is a pain killer that has been working for me, i am still in pain but pain i can cope with, the swelling has gone down and i am hoping to go back to work in a couple of weeks time, i know what you are going through as they had to take me back into hospital as i couldn't cope with the pain, but as i said i am on the mend now thank god, i found the sleeping was a major prob and only now i am getting 4/5 hours sleep a night which is better than i was getting, i hope your pain goes quickly and you can get back to normality, i am glad i found this website as the info is quite good especially when you havent been through it before, chin up you will get better. max
maggiemaybe max07424
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Delboy1735 max07424
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maggiemaybe Delboy1735
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Delboy, you made me smile! I slept well last night. Here’s hoping we all do tonight! 🙃
marilyn10235 maggiemaybe
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Hi Maggie, TKR is hard, but even harder in your own. Believe me when I say you will soon be over the worst! The 1st month is usually the worst! You are in pain, in discomfort & to cap it all you don't sleep well because of all of the above! It's what we all go through! But, it does seem to ease off around 4 to 6 weeks po. That's not to say all pain goes away, but it is more manageable. Anything you can do now to take your mind off it will help. Being still helps, I'm also a well renowned fidget! But you also have to move around from time to time, not fidgeting, get up & walk about! Use your crutches if necessary but get yourself going. Do your exercises as best you can & have delineated times for resting, napping, exercising & just moving about!
If you can manage to sit in a car, maybe a friend can take you out? Just a drive or to a nice coffee shop for cake, a little treat to look forward to. We discussed at the beginning of 2017, cake & chocolate as treatment & decided it was what put the treat in treatment! Lol
You will get there, but it can be a long & lonely journey & you are at the very start of the journey.
Don't forget, whatever time of the day or night, someone is here & will get back to you. I remember posting in the middle of the night just after my 2nd op, in pain, couldn't sleep! It was so good to have someone reply, you are never alone on the forum.
I wish you well
Marilyn
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maggiemaybe marilyn10235
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Hi Marilyn, you have put the answer very succinctly! In the days since my post, I realise I do fidget and it was that, during a night of no sleep, that exacerbated my pain and problem!
Yesterday, I somehow turned my leg incorrectly and that has thrown me a bit. (not literally!) Last night I walked the long corridor in this building 6 times and it wasn’t ‘one step, feet together’ either! I’m going walkabout a lot today to try to get myself back on the right track.
I’ve realised too that between exercises and walkabout I need to do something I enjoy, so currently putting some audiobooks on my computer ready to load onto iTunes and iPod.
I plan to go to the Scrabble group downstairs this afternoon. I live in a retirement development, on my own. My friend has helped me a lot, but I don’t wish to become a nuisance to anyone. The day after my post, I went to the afternoon tea downstairs. So, you get the picture! Exercises, walkabout then a bit of what I enjoy!
Thank you Marilyn, I relate to everything you say and yes, the forum is marvellous. Just knowing I’m not alone is so reassuring.
All the very best, I’ll hope to hear from you again anon. MM 🙃