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Total knee replacement day 6

Posted , 23 users are following.

Jillystev3012
Jillystev3012

hi,

can anyone please tell me how i should be feeling and doing on day 6 total knee replacement.

I know everyone's different but if anyone is feeling the same as me iit may reassure me.

my leg feels like a ton weight and is so stiff and tight.

I am performing all my exercises as told by physio 4 times a day and it is quite a struggle due to the pain in my kneecap, especially straight leg raising. When walking with my elbow crutches which i try to do more of each day,my leg feels very weak and i feel like my knee could give way. I am presuming this is due to weakness in the quads muscle. I am probably wanting to run before i can walk, but i don't feel like i am performing very well, which is making me feel very tearful. I am not usually a giver upper and i'll try my very best as i want the most out of this new knee! Please tell me what you was like in week one. Xx

1 like, 82 replies

82 Replies

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  • delia56360
    delia56360 Jillystev3012

    Posted

    You are on your way to a tough journey it will be 6 months before you start to feel normal !! You need to take day by day as every day feels diffent take your meds do your excercises and elavate that leg and plenty of ice .. I am 6 months in now ...I had all sorts to deal even a good noghts sleep was tough. I have to say i even go quite depressed as well but this is the journey you go through 

    But we all get there in the end so keep going and just dont expect too much to soon Trust me is does take time 

     

  • deborah90838
    deborah90838 Jillystev3012

    Posted

    Hi, I'm 12 days post TKR and at 10 days I felt exactly the way you are now. In fact instead of being teary I had a total boo hoo with my therapist. Just in the last 2 days has the tightness eased a tiny bit, the bend increased 2 degrees, the exercises coming a little easier, the pain pills needed every 5 hours needed every 5 hours instead of 4.

    Exercises 4 times a day sounds like a lot. My PT has me doing them twice a day with lots of ice and rest inbetween.

    Here's to our continued recovery. Keep your chin up!

  • lesa70198
    lesa70198 Jillystev3012

    Posted

    Hang in there! You are still very much in the early days given you are only day 6! Don't give up. Keep doing what you are doing and don't give up. I had both knees replaced and day 6 I was still in the hospital with 3 hours of PT/OT per day. It was hard but you will get better each day you do what you are doing. It is painful so make sure to take the pain meds, especially before PT. Best Wishes.
  • jeffchicago
    jeffchicago Jillystev3012

    Posted

    How long should I be icing my knee at each sitting? 20 mins? 1 hours? 
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 jeffchicago

      Posted

      Usual suggestion is 20 mins and then you can redo it in 20. Best investment I've made is the blue gel colpac. They can be formed around the leg comfortably and refreeze quickly. To just have to be a little more gentle with them as the seams are fused together by some sort of heat process and they will split and there is virtually no way to repair them that i have found. Sure a lot better than battling crushed ice in plastic bag. Just be sure and don't apply directly to skin as they will burn. Wrap in pillow case or towel or just directly on pajamas. They are available through Amazon. The pharmacy in our local hospital stock a all side as. Get the biggest size so you can really get coverage.you also might want to start massaging Vit E oil into the entire area. It softens the tissue and heals the wound internally as well as the external scar. Both cvs and Walgreen carry a quality oil in the vitamin section
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 Jillystev3012

      Posted

      Others have mentioned the 4x's daily being somewhat excess and I feel the same way. Just loosen up a little when you get up in the morning and then dobtge excercises efore lunch. 2nd time late afternoon. Sometimes to have to just see what wo t is best for you but one suggestion I have.....always go slow and make sure you are making every move count. Just speeding things up to get it done just slows the process. Take pain meds an hour before. This will allow you to get the maximum out of them
  • lesa70198
    lesa70198 Jillystev3012

    Posted

    My PT recommended 15 minutes.
    • jeffchicago
      jeffchicago lesa70198

      Posted

      thanks. Also...nurse was in this morning and said I should ice the front AND back of the knee to see real results. So now I'm using ice machine under knee and frozen peas on top of knee and wrapping the, together with Velcro straps. Big difference after one use. Just FYI....
  • judy16658
    judy16658 Jillystev3012

    Posted

    Day 6 is very early in the healing process. It sounds as if you are doing very well. I had heaviness and swelling, also. At a post op vusit, the doctor clarified how I should be elevating my leg: on the bed, two pillows on top of a box for height, three times a day for an hour each! Time consuming but it worked wonders. I only had to do this for about ten days and then the swelling was minimal, ROM much improved and leg felt great.
    • leslie92039
      leslie92039 judy16658

      Posted

      That is great to hear, Judy!  Thank you for the tip.  I haven't been elevating it much at all.  On the sofa, I have it up, but not actually elevated higher than the cushion.  I sit around most of the day anyway, so I might as well benefit from it!  Truly, many thanks for posting this; I appreciate it immensely!  BTW, how big is the box?
    • Jillystev3012
      Jillystev3012 leslie92039

      Posted

      Hi leslie how are you getting on?

      i still have a lot of pain especially at night. The swelling appears to be receding and bruising coming out. My leg still doesn't feel like it belongs to me and feel a lot of numbness on the top of my knee. Walking with crutches still as my quads don't feel like they'll support me. Trying to keep positive but it is hard! I feel like i've moaned all the way through this message, sorry!

    • leslie92039
      leslie92039 Jillystev3012

      Posted

      Hi Jilly!

      I am in the same boat.  Yesterday was AWFUL for me.  I woke up in pain and the meds didn't work at all.  Worst, I was so down that I flet like I was going to sob at any moment.  I was fearful that I was never going to be over this.  I SO feel your pain.

      My pain is all over my leg at different times of the day and night. The swelling is causing tingling all the way down to my toes.  The PT guy came for the first time yesterday, and he helped immeasureably.  Icing and elevating my leg, usingthe walker and the CPM really made all the difference by last night.  Now I have a full time job doing PT for me!

      I am so happy that we are at the same place in this process.  WE can commiserate.  Don't worry about staying positive.  Not much to be positive about right now.  By the way, I have to do th other knee too.

      Take care of yourself, Jilly, and let's keep in touch.

      Leslie

       

    • Jillystev3012
      Jillystev3012 leslie92039

      Posted

      I'm with you on every step leslie! Bless you!

      i too have pain all throughout my leg and back of my knee but i think it's due to swelling and also other muscles compensating for the weak ones.

      i've been reading a book today that i'd forgotten i'd bought pre-operatively and i've found it really reassuring. It answers people's questions about how they're feeling after their knee replacement and all my questions are there! There's no wonder we feel like we do after reading what we've been thro during surgery. I'm sorry you have to have the other knee done, but hopefully you might have forgotten about the pain by the time you have the other one done, and you will be feeling that much better with the knee you've had done now, that you will not be able to wait for the other one

      doing!

      hope you get a good night sleep! 

    • leslie92039
      leslie92039 Jillystev3012

      Posted

      Hi my new TKR buddy!

      Glad you have been reading the book. Apparently, this is THE most painful orthopedic surgery one can have.  No one told me THAT pre-op!

      If you google TKR--images, you will immediately see why the recovery is so hard.  That alone made me feel less like a sissy.

      Are you in the US?  Just curious.  It's 12:20pm where I am now.

      I hope you sleep better tonight.

      Best to you,

      Leslie

    • Jillystev3012
      Jillystev3012 leslie92039

      Posted

      Hi Leslie,

      i'm in the uk, it's 20.07 here now.

      i tried to watch an actual tkr on youtube today but couldn't fnish watching it, it's gruesome! But yeah, we're very brave really! We'll conquer this! I just keep images of me marching along on a hike painfree and enjoying life!

      whereabouts are you in the Us? I'm in Yorkshire.

      Hope you have a better day tomorrow and an even better day after that!

      Take care!

      Jill

    • leslie92039
      leslie92039 Jillystev3012

      Posted

      Hi Jilly! I'm in Austin, Texas. Not a native Texan, but enjoying living here.

      Gruesome is exactly the term to describe our procedure! At least we know WHY it hurts like hell!

      Today, the pain level is more tolerable than yesterday. Doing my PT exercises is helping, for some reason! Icing helps with the swelling and that awful feeling my knee is going to explode! Less nerve tingling, too. Do you have that CPM machine which flexes your knee ? I am using it 3 times a day, for 2 hours each time. Don't know if it's beneficial. We'll see.

      Hope your progress is ongoing each day. "Talk" tomorrow!

      Leslie

    • Marthaelena
      Marthaelena judy16658

      Posted

      Hi I'm a 56 year women. I just had a knee replacement 2 days ago I'm icing as much as I could but there's a tea called Arnika it's for swelling blood clots bruising so I've been applying it on with a towel I will be able to drink it in a week it does wonders I really don't have any bruising maybe about a 50 cent piece so it works take vitamin c that helps alot of water I exercise, excise they don't tell me too I use my walker to help me up but more my cruthess. I feel pain only when I do too much walking so I take my pain meds which is hydrocodone 10/325 with ibuprofen that's helps pain for a long time. Hope this helps.

    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 Marthaelena

      Posted

      I hohope you are applying anything to the incision as that can be very dangerous. That's how infections get started and I can tell you from experience you don't want to risk it. This is a process, some slide right through and others have difficulty but it's still an up and down thing. You are on a good pace for early recovery, just don't overdo it and create setbacks. Its a marathon not a sprint much damage that you can't see has been done. Be patient but continue your efforts.

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