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TKR Operation

Posted , 14 users are following.

lou1962
lou1962

Hi,

I have been wondering if anyone can give me some idea of how you feel when you first stand up after your TKR,mines in 3 weeks time and getting a bit nervous..does it feel weird...

2 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

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  • jennifer86104
    jennifer86104 lou1962

    Posted

    Hi Lou, standing for the first time wasn't half as bad as I was expecting. You'll probably need help getting your leg off the bed - it's as if it's a lump of concrete at first. Trick in the early days is to use your good foot to lift the other one. I was amazed how strong my leg felt when I stood on it first. I used a walking frame for the first two days then crutches.

    My advice would be to keep up the exercises from the beginning and take strong painkillers regularly for the first month at least. Good luck! 

    Jen (7months post op) 

  • Mikefen
    Mikefen lou1962

    Posted

    Hi,

    I am 5 weeks post op tomorrow I am 47 in a weeks times so I may recover quicker than some slightly older patients but having read a lot of posts. It seems that age is just a number and there are some very inspiring people in the world ! It felt very strange the first time I stood but was great to go the the bathroom myself as I had a catheter for 3 days. (awful). It also felt odd until the spinal injection wore off and then I could feel the muscle and tendons that had been knocked about during the op. I can advise to take whatever pain relief is on offer as it is quite painful at first but the joint feels solid and you have no bone on bone pain anymore. The 2nd day is the worst believe it or not and my physio said it would be. The following day though I made good progress and I can tell you as the weeks go by the joint will start to feel part of you. You must keep moving and exercising to try to keep the muscle and tendons loose. I can walk unaided now easily and also nearly limp free. You naturally want to limp but you have to practice walking all over again. I find that if I don't think too much about it I walk great!

    Good luck and don't worry you will be fine.

  • roger60763
    roger60763 lou1962

    Posted

    Hi Lou, I can only agree with Jennifer regarding getting out of bed. The thing to remember is that a knee replacement is a major operation and must be treated as so. Using your good leg to get out of bed is the way forward, however please remember that your knee is under trauma and the muscles don't want to do what you want them to do. If you have good staff around you they will help you and give you the medication that is on offer. Don't try and be brave, just take the medication that's offered. Good luck.
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