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Over 8 months post TKR now and I can't say I'm happy.

Posted , 13 users are following.

billywhizz22
billywhizz22

I had TKR in february and I've been told by many people that recovery can take up to a year but progress seems to be very slow , still only 90 to 95  degree bend, can't fully straighten and still some pain and suddenly now feels like what it is, a big lump of metal in my leg where my knee was.

Does anyone else feel like this or is it only me who feels downright miserable.

Bill.

1 like, 24 replies

24 Replies

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  • pam39536
    pam39536 billywhizz22

    Posted

    I think you feel the big lump of metal when the swelling has gone down. . Everyone is different, your progress is slow, but as long as you are improving . My bend is 120 and I can straighten , it still stiffens up and hurts now and then , the exhaustion is my main concern, just no energy . Keep at 

    Pam 13 weeks 

    • betty07083
      betty07083 pam39536

      Posted

      I agree that you start feeling that lump of metal when the swelling goes down! That and the weird sensations. It "creeps me out" at times, to be honest. It's just such a weird feeling.

      You are a week ahead of me (I'm 12 weeks on Tuesday) and like you, ZERO energy! To those who are farther along, does your energy come back??? That is most distressing to me and makes me feel very depressed. 

    • lynn08926
      lynn08926 betty07083

      Posted

      Yes, it does, but gradually.  Still have to pace myself as far as housework is concerned, but definitely improving.  Am still not interested in going out socially in the evening yet, but I think that has more to do with the time of year than THE KNEE.

      Am beginning to keep up more with my 3 year  old grandson, so that's a good sign!

  • britta217
    britta217 billywhizz22

    Posted

    hello billywhizz ... i am based in switzerland so many things are done differently here. they have us doing a minimum 90° bend in hospital and tell us that if we don't, the joint "sticks" due to all the healing tissue you cannot see.  i am also still struggling (5 weeks) but am now at 100° on the knee stretching machine.  this may still not be eough for my surgeon or, for that matter, myself to be honest.  to sit comfortably in a cinema or in a plane, i am told you need 120°.  so my surgeon tells me the only way - here in switzerland - to remdy that, i would have to go back into his surgery, be sedated (lots please!!) and he would bend it while sedated.  i also believe i then need to be on the knee bending machine for 24 hours non-stop to ensure everything just doesn't get stuck again.  as i said, this is what gets done here.  if anything, i would suggest you go back to your surgeon as soon as possible. of course i am not a specialist, but i am guessing that you have done everything you can so now need to reach out to a professional.  good luck and just focus on long term: 95° does not give you a great amount of mobility.

    i think you are right, they say it takes 6 months for you to be feeling more or less back to normal and 12 to feel like it never happened.  but from my understanding, the bend is excluded from this timeframe.  that needs to be there very quicky due to the above mentioned.

    • pam39536
      pam39536 britta217

      Posted

      Britta,  I am in the uk, and it seems much the same here . We had to bend 90 within  2 days or they would not allow us home . Exercises started immediately and have together continued early on on it with stick . I think that's the scar tissue not the knee joint .at 13 weeks i have 120 or more and can straighten it. If I have been sitting a long time it's very stiff and hurts to straighten it ..I have relaxed over the last couple of weeks and I notice a difference , the exercising is ongoing . The tiredness is my worst problem , I get exhausted walking fof 20 mins or so, no real pain . I think the 6 to 12 months is far more realistic to fully recover maybe longer , but the bend and straightening should be almost immediate , but not pain free , far from it 
    • pam39536
      pam39536

      Posted

      predictive text!! Should say exercise started early and bending must continue or it will stick. ( that's the scar tissue, and it really hurts but you must bend it) 
    • britta217
      britta217 pam39536

      Posted

      hi pam -- i have been totally exhausted for the last couple of days, it has finally caught up with me.  20 mins without crutches?  not bad!  it was pouring buckets today so i had to walk with one stick plus umbrella ... i was knackered!  

      you know what it is like: hindsight is always 20/20!  i wasn't able to bend my operated leg properly (enough to walk down stairs) for a long time before the operation.  then i had an arthroscopy 3 weeks before the op and had a massive reaction to the cuff around the leg to stop the bleeding.  i went black and blue and my knee was very swollen. so i imagine my little knee going into complete shock when i had the operation on top of all this.  my knee was literally like a block of wood.  we all tried to get it to bend more but my muscles were just rock solid.  still are. 

      all will be well.  it has to be.  :-)

    • pam39536
      pam39536 britta217

      Posted

      Sorry you are suffering . The weather has been really bad here today too, really wet and windy . I gave up on my walk,I was. Worried about losing my balance. You did well to manage . I am sure you will improve , just keep at it .dont lose heart xx

      pam 13 weeks 

  • joy47826
    joy47826 billywhizz22

    Posted

    I read so many hard stories here and makes me more and more committed to keep my pain knee that bends good and look more into Prolozone therepy, which I believe is out of Germany....it's oxygen and vits and homeopathic injections into the troubled joints...

    I guess there are good results out there, but so much pain too., Sorry.....J

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