Total knee replacement

Dear jenny, i am also 10 wks 65yrs and felt the same as you! I think you're amazing being back at work. take meds before bed and have an ice pack at the ready for when you wake up! I'm now doing well BUT all things are tiring esp a supermarket trip. HANG IN THERE. Everyone says time is our best friend though patience is not easy. xx

Dear Jenny,

TKR or TKA is a brutal operation. I've had 5 operations. Including one primary, debridements ( deep cleanings) and one two-stage revision. This due to a nasty chronic Staphylococcus Epidermidis infection in Sweden 2014. The revision was took place here in Bangkok, Thailand 2018. My advice, like mary's 81398 hang in there. The road to recovery is long and painful. A good nights sleep - every night is needed. Sometimes medication helps. After the operation my orthopedic surgeon prescribed Gabapentin 300 mg (or half a dose 150 mg) it worked for me. Adverse effect drowsiness in the morning. No problem, strong coffee no sugar! In my case the most important activity is the weekly physio therapy and my daily one and a half hour aqua therapy i. e. walking forwards and backwards in the swimming pool. Including twenty laps backstroke. After the pool session the reward is less stiffness and less pain and overall relaxed feeling. The more I walk and swim in the pool the better I sleep in the night. BTW a visiting shopping-malls/supermarkets is tough. Too much standing and walking, therefore I always bring my light weight forearm crutches. It also provides me with priority parking, especially weekends! Air travel I always request wheelchair. The long immigration and customs lines not recommended for recovering TKA patients.

Best regards,

Bangkok-Johnny

Virtually EVERYONE feels this way. Reason: The docs don't prepare you for the actual post-op experience plus we all have unrealistic expectations about the recovery...which for the vast majority of us takes a full year. Lots of pain in the first 12 weeks (need to keep your med schedule or talk to your doc about dosages and alternatives), difficult sleeping (some good tips on those), tough PT work to get your 0 / +120 ROM back, the need to do the subsequent muscle rebuild to take the pressure off the knee and put it back on the muscles were it belongs, typical post-op depression and more.

Click on my name, Discussions and See All. Lots of topics for body. mind and soul. You are not alone...

Hi jenny I know the first 3 months are a mixture of tiredness, dependable on others, no appetite etc but it is worth it. I am9 months past tkr and heading for my other one in a few weeks time. Would I proceed if it wasn't worth it definitely Not but if is. Just be patient being back at work at 9 weeks is incredible remember to listen to your knee you must take it easy plenty of ice elevate and rest. I know it's easy me saying it but seriously you must take it easy. Learn to crawl before walking and running. Good luck it will improve. X

Hi Jenny!

Just reiterating what everyone else has said. What you are going through is exactly what most of us are going through. i am 65 & alone too. My daughter was with me for the first 10 days. After she left i cried & cried as it was so difficult. Pain, no sleep, difficulty doing small tasks. i had my total knee done last May. I can finally say i am doing much better even though i still feel some stiffness, swelling, & aching. Water aerobics has been wonderful therapy for me. I feel much better & relaxed. As everyone has said....ice is your friend!

Just know that you are NOT alone. It will SLOWLY get better. CHICO MARX suggestions gave me hope. i even printed out his description of how the first 12 months tend to progress. He has been right on!

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!

hello jenny i know just how you are feeling . I had my first tkr aug of 2016 and i feel it was the worse mistake of my life. i did so much better before the surgery. I have had three total knee replacment the last one was 6 weeks ago . Im doing better but not great this time i needed up with what they call drop foot . Never heard of it before. its worse than the total knee replacement. I FINALLY found a great doctor and things i hope things are looking up. I Lost my job my life and i thought i was going to loose everything i had work for in the last 30 yrs. MY first doctor was the biggest jerk he put me under the bus. Now i have a great Dr SO GOING to a different doctor for a opinion will not hurt. I WILL beable to start riding my horse in four weeks. im so happy about that. I WENT through hell and back with my first doctor. I HAD to on disability that was no fun. IM hoping that 2019 will be my year without hurting knee and i will finally get to show my horse after two years of just watching .

Absolutely. I think many people who've had a TKR have felt exactly like this. I had my TKR six months ago, and I thought I had destroyed my life. Had to return to work at six weeks, making for a VERY LONG AND DIFFICULT slog to Christmas. I went to work, came home and did therapy for an hour, and rested. I didn't feel like I turned any of the "corners" that everyone said I would turn. Used a crutch for about 3 months; then a cane for another couple of months. FINALLY, went to a new PT that did much deep tissue work, and started to improve.

I still have much strengthening to do, but I am significantly better.

You will get better. Get some prescription sleep meds from your family dr. A full night's sleep will change lots! Try to think, "Am I any better than 2 wks ago?" Hang on to small victories. Maybe get a new PT or a massage with someone who specializes in deep tissue massage.

I still don't quite have my life back, but I'm getting much closer.

Prayers for you! It WILL get better!

Jenny, I definitely had those thoughts too. Why did I do this? Will it ever be worth it? I can't say I have reached nirvana yet at 10 weeks post TKR, but it DOES get better. Like someone else said, look back from a bit of a distance and it may be easier to see progress than trying to track it day by day. No question--THIS IS HARD.

I went back to work at 6 weeks, although fortunately I did not have to work full days (usually anywhere from 4 to 7 hours depending on the time of my PT appointment). I keep ice in the freezer at work and my colleagues have been very understanding about assisting me. I also make use of electric wheelchairs where ever possible--to a certain extent choose my shopping venues that way!

OH YEAH,FOR SURE I FELT THIS WAY. And it lasts a lot longer than 9 WEEKS , BUT take heart,it definitely does,DEFINITELY DOES get better.

CHIN UP!GOOD LUCK

Mike

Yes, they have. It is a hard surgery. Its a shame you have had to go back to work quite soon. It takes it all out your body, because your energy is going to heal the knee area.... And tiredness seriously affects mood. Read around on here.... you are not alone for sure. If you find you are feeling depressed constantly... then I would say go and see your GP and get some help. Make sure people you know around you help you and ask them to... this is not a time for taking pride in independence... people really don't appreciate how major a surgery a knee replacement is unless they have had it done themselves. you may need to educate them a bit. the sleep problem does get a lot better but it takes time and your GP might be able to give you something to help that. realise that mentally every single person who has had this surgery will have found it challenging.... it is.... and those mood troughs are completely normal. however, I would say you need to seek support and encouragement. I am sure you will get some here, but try and get those who know you well and who are around you to encourage you too. Do nice things from time to time... anything you do enjoy.. yes, I know its hard because of the energy. but even if it is something little like watching a comedy programme, listening to music you like, or eating something you enjoy.. all the little bits can help. and you are making progress... it may not feel like it and the time does seem long, but the days will come when you look back on this and it doesn't seem like a long time at all. so patience is needed.

I am now almost two years post op. It's great to have my life back. you will get yours back too. but you need to be patient, care for yourself and let yourself be cared for by others too.

hope you feel better soon.... but don't struggle on alone..

Jenny everyone of use that has had TKR has been through the same thing that you are going through . Yes tho recovery is a long hard. process but hang in there it is going to get better I promise it's been a year for me I am so happy I had the surgery I can walk no more pain be strong do therapy listen to doctor and. listen to your body God Bless