Tkr problems

Sounds like you have some infection in the scar area, keep a check on it and if it doesn't improve or if it gets any worse go back to your doctor. Your bend at for 4½ weeks was great, o/t/c painkillers and even prescription painkillers are often needed for quite some time after a TKR. Don't try to be brave and put up with pain, you wont be doing yourself any favours. It's much easier to do your physio and exercises if you are not in pain. We all recover differently so don't compare your recovery with others. I am enjoying almost 20 years of pain free knees since my ops.

?Hope you enjoy your Christmas, I know I will enjoy mine.

How much pain killers are you taking?

Swelling very normal...I think I saw my knee properly around 4 months post op!

When you say your scar, I take it you mean the incision. If it isn't sealed up and closed properly I would keep you hands off it and make sure you apply the cream you have been prescribed with sterile gloves or other applicator which is sterile. I was told not to touch the incision because of the risk of infection. I had steri strips which i left on until they came off on their own accord.

In am not, I hasten to add, a medical professional, but I am sharing what I would do personally.

What did your GP advise about pain medication?

What did they say about using bio oil?

Hope you have a good Christmas!

The one thing that was drilled into me from my surgical team was “infection”. As the others have said, keep a close eye on the scar.  I had surgical “glue”, no staples, which might have helped to keep germy type things from invading my scar.  Also, I was on prescription pain meds for 9 weeks.  Then I took them at night for two months.  If you are in pain, take your medication.

It does get better.  

Ellie

There is no timeline for the relief of anything you mentioned except that, at one year, it's usually all gone with a bit of stiffness, clunking sounds, tightness, etc. possibly lasting as long as 18 months.  Everything resolves gradually until you just don't notice it anymore.  You should be titrating off the major painkillers at this point although some people need them longer.  Tramadol is the intermediate drug before you end up with OTC ibuprofen.  Good thing to take a pill 1 hour before a PT session.

Swelling is a different matter.  You could get more or less swelling on a daily basis depending on how far you pushed the knee on any particular day.  I recommend the use of a pedometer (fit bit, etc.) to track AND CHART your steps.  When you get a "balloon knee", note the steps, back off, rest/ice/elevate and resume at a lower limit...increase gradually.  It's just a matter of listening to your knee.  By 8+ months I was doing 11,000+ steps (5 miles) with no swelling.  You get there very gradually.

Mood is all a Jedi Mind Trick...

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

...and completely normal.  Part of it has a physiological cause, as per the discussion, but a lot also has to do with unrealistic expectations.  People get "down" when they think they are not obtaining results they think they "should be" getting.  Sorry...there is no "should" in TKR Land.  This is the most Zen of all surgeries: "The knee will be better when it is better."  You CAN expect this whole thing to take a year...any time table in the middle is pure fantasy and gets your head in trouble.  "Don't do dat." - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Thanks for all your advice everyone.probably expecting too much.ill take it a bit easier after Xmas.merry Xmas and a happy new year x