Total knee replacement
Posted , 15 users are following.
I'm 62 and had a left TKR 6 days ago under General anaesthetic. I know it's early days, but when does the pain/stiffness start to decrease?
0 likes, 18 replies
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Notes on Total knee replacement
Lynn195013 mo68614
Posted
hello Mo, I am going in for mine done on the 2 may, Iam 68 i keep thinking I wish Ihad never booked it, can you take me through your experience please, they say I will be home the same day!!!! I am having a general.. wish I had not agreed to it..
CHICO_MARX Lynn195013
Posted
I wrote this over 2 years ago...
The TKR Experience
Now I'm three years post-op and I rarely think about it. Had the op at 68. Kneeling on hard floors or concrete is still "twingie" but that's nerve pain, not the physical knee. I use a 4" foam pad indoors and padded tactical knee pads outside. Else, the knee only feels a tad stiff if I don't use it enough. MUST STAY ACTIVE!!!
Yes, the first 30 days are usually hell but it gets better, though slowly at first. The most welcome change occurs around 3 months when you've done PT, your ROM is back and you're off the meds. After that, it's the muscle rebuild to get back the strength in your atrophied musculature (quads, glutes, core, etc.). Walking correctly and balance get restored. Stairs are usually the last major hurdle. Time, work and patience...then you dance at your one year a-knee-versary!!! Everyone is different so don't compare yourself to anyone else. Get rid of all expectations and take it a day at a time.
Was all that short term pain and "suffering" worth it? Hell, yeah!!! Now I live in zero pain. Click on my name, Discussions and then See All. I have 30 discussions out there on a lot of topics (sleep, depression, exercising, etc.). Hope they help your recovery. Don't worry...in the end, there are waaaaay more successes than the reverse. It is so common to hear people regretting the op when they are early on but then rejoice at the one year mark calling it the best decision they ever made. All a matter of perspective. Fear then agony then joy. Normal...
pyesangel mo68614
Posted
Whoa there mo68614, It's only been 6 days!!! This is a long drawn out process to recovery. Everyone is different in their experience but no matter it is a long process. I was 68 when I had my left knee replaced. I am now 72. There were times I wished I'd never had it done, but I hung in there and made it through, you will also. It takes a year to 18 months to fully recover. Stop and think of what the surgeon did. He/she cut the tendons, ligaments, tissue, moved the knee cap out of the way, sawed the bone, drilled holes, hammered and otherwise to get the new parts to fit. Not a walk in the park. Mine was done late, so they didn't get me up til the next morning to walk, and walk, and walk. No resting on my laurels. I was home two days later, with home PT for about 6 weeks. Then PT outside my home for about 4 months, 3X's a week. It was no picnic but you have to do the work or the surgery will be for nothing. Take your meds as directed, ice your knee and elevate the leg. The pain should lessen in a couple of weeks maybe sooner, maybe later. Everyone is different. Be sure to look up Chico_Marx, he has a lot of good information and advise. Good luck!!!