Hi All,
This is my first post and I would be interested to hear any thoughts that fellow TKR patients have.
I am 47 in 2 weeks and have suffered for about 10 years with joint trouble. I had various scrapes and drills and arthroscopies etc on both knees over the 10 years of increasing pain. Eventually joint pain became like a form of tourettes syndrome for me and I would shout out in pain in the middle of a supermarket startling shoppers as bone met bare bone.
I eventually had a Uni compartmental replacement 6 years ago on my right knee and I slowly recovered quite well but regret not rehabilitating properly as I had just started a new job. My left knee had worn badly and following 2 minor ops the consultant suggested a TKR late last year. I was very reluctant at first as I'm 46 years old and very young for the full op. He told me however that he had done 10 ops in 12 months on people of my age which did reasure me.
4 weeks post op and I think that I am doing OK. Day 2 was horrendous as the physio warned me it would be the worst day. I could not even lift my leg off the bed and I wondered what I had let myself in for. I can say that the following day was much better and each day following it has improved. Today 4 weeks on I have walked better than ever (with just the slightest hint of a limp not used crutches for 2 weeks). I keep up with painkillers every 6 hours or so and also exercise and stretch as I should. If I do too much my body lets me know and I struggle the next day.
One real issue for me are the compression stockings ! I hate them and they leave deep ring around my leg just below the knee. Surely that can't be right ? I have left them off this morning and I wondered if that would cause me problems ? I am wearing them 24/7 otherwise.
I work in the Midlands 70 miles from my home in the North West and I travel there and back 4 days a week. I am itching to give it a go as I drive an automatic but I think it may be too soon as I can spend up to 3 hours at times in trafffic. Does anyone have a similar commute ?
Sorry for the chapter and verse !
Mike
Hi Mike, I personally think it's too early to be contemplating that sort of daily journey. I also drive an automatic and in a way it's worse because I was not using the operated leg it was stuck in one position and would become stiff and ache. Even as a passenger long car journeys needed several breaks. I went back to work at 4 months but still found it tiring and since then have suffered a back spasm which my Doctor thinks was perhaps going back too soon. It's a big op and the body needs time to recover :-)
p.s the stockings are uncomfortable and I have a scar on one leg from wearing them but I was too scared to stop wearing them until the 6 weeks in case of DVT :-)
Hi Mike , I am 10 weeks in and never had the compression stockings , I even flew to Asia for work after six weeks and my surgeon did not feel necessary to wear even on the flight. So am unsure why they think still necessary for you (I am 54). I was also driving after three weeks , automatic too but was my right knee.
Best of luck
Another p.s.... You may want to check with yr consultant as mine advised you could drive after 6 weeks, not sure if car insurance will cover you if you drive before then, may be worth checking out?
Thanks for your reply Suzanne, I think you are right about the car journey, I may just try one day and see how that is then work from home for a few days (luckily I can do that!). I will check with the consultant as my follow up is on the 2nd March. I will cheak the insurance too.
Thanks again.
Hello
i had compression stockings but thigh length and they really helped the swelling. Knee length are useless. They put knee length on me in hospital and my consultant had a fit. Get some thigh ones. I hated them but they helped and i still wear them if my leg is very swollen. I am 10 weeks and nowwhere near driving yet.
Hi Mike, Like you I had a very fast recovery and like you suffered with the socks! My consultant is fanatical about wearing them, so I went along with it hating every moment. I saw him at four weeks and because I was so active he allowed me to finish with the socks, shear bliss!! He also agreed that I could start driving, but to take it slowly and stay off motorways until I had been driving a week or so. To be covered by your insurance you must have your consultants agreement to drive. I am 11 weeks now and doing longish journeys, but not every day. I do find my leg is quite stiff following a long journey and I am tired the next day, I think you should first talk to your surgeon and then ease back into driving as you feel comfortable to do so.
I also think it's way too early for that length of commute, you would be sitting in one position for a long time and you'd also have to check re insurance
Ive had a hip replacement as well as a TKR and have never worn compression stockings my surgeon doesn't believe in them 
Hi David,
They insisted upon them and it's in all of the literature I was given and in write ups on the web too !
I have noticed that they are not neccessary in the USA and I wondered why !
I am sure that a day off won't hurt and I have only 2 weeks to endure ! I will take them off when I can't handle it !
The worst thing is that I am an all year around wearer of shorts when i'm not working even with the UK climate. The white stockings are not exactly a great look!!
Thanks for your reply Sally, I will take a look at what is available. I have physio on Friday too so I will ask them.
Good luck with your recovery.
Mike
Am sure u look cool Mike 😀. Each surgeon is different of course, am sure a few days without them will be fine , never did me any harm without them , sure will be the same for my second TKR in 7 weeks !
Thanks for the advice Liz,
I will take it on board as I don't want to go backwards. Until Sunday just gone I had been struggling with the bend of the knee but I seem to have made a bit of a breakthrough in the last few days. I can get 95 degrees and know that I can push it on further. I was really worried that I may have to have it manipulated as I was getting less then 90. I am told that I could get up to 120 degrees because I am still young possible even better. I will just keep steadily increasing the push without over doing it. How is the bend with your Knee ?
Mike
A hip and TKR means! that you have been through the mill ! It is strange that some consultants have different ideas.
I will take on board what eveyone is telling me and be careful re the driving !
Thanks
Mike
Wow, Good luck with that David and thanks for the vote of confidence. It feels good not having them on for a day ! I will wear then tonight though, very attractive for my wife !!
Mike
We are all different but as for me, I could never have handled the trip on a regular basis especially the return trip after a days work. As far as the hose........I was made wear them after the tkr and the revision. When I 1st went into this I was told the 2 most dangerous things about the surgery,,,,,,blood clots and staph. The combination of the shots in the belly and pills later on plus the hose were essential for blood clot prevention. However, as I recall, they took them off a couple of times a day for relief. The other thing to keep in mind, an accident. Being involved in a rear end accident and jamming the knee could really set you back. I was in good shape and moving well last Oct when I let a kidney infection get the best of me causing a drastic drop in BP and I collapsed on my knees and forehead. I split my head open on a hardwood floor but didn't think I hurt my knee......wrong.....3 weeks later pain started and now I'm back in PT. It's caused a pocket of fluid that inflammed the entire joint. I had to have it drained this week and am expecting a repeat next month. So, any thing you can do to lessen chance of secondary injury, the better off you are.
Hi Mike, I am also 4 wks post rgt knee tkr. Some days I have really good knee bends and little pain. Whilst other days very stiff and painful to do most exercises. I am hoping it will all gradually get better. Now only seeing the physio 2 weekly, rather weekly. Having other knee done in a month or so. Wanting to use swimming pool to do exercises in maybe next week. Don,t know if anyone else has done that.
Hi Mandy,
Very brave with another straight away but so they tell me the second is less stressful because you know what to expect.
I want to go swimming too and the scar has virtually healed just a tiny bit of scab left in one area. I was told by the nurses to wait until the scar was fully healed to avoid infection.
I do find some days better than others but the last 3 days have been the best so far, so fingers crossed. Good luck with the 2nd op and I am sure that you will improve every day.
Best Wishes
Mike
Hi Mike, I am one of the lucky ones, (although I give most of the credit to my brilliant surgeon) I left hospital with 0 straightening and 110 bend. Now at 11 weeks I have 150 bend and have this afternoon climbed over a five bar gate and walked through long grass up a massive hill on a two mile walk with the dogs. That said, I still can't walk up stairs properly (still use one leg hop) and can only manage down the stairs using proper gait with careful guidence from the banister, and my tendons can be quite painful at times. My surgeon has signed me off as recovered, and says the stairs will come in due course and the tendons will be fine.
I'm 3 weeks out from TKR and doing pretty well. They tell me I'm doing really well but I gotta tell you the nights are still hell, meds or no. My range of motion and walking with a cane are pretty good. I asked my PT about the stockings. He said typically people were dying to get them off but from all of my years with knee damage I've always had some sort of brace on and he suggested that my want to wear the hose may just be a psychological thing. I'm even refraining from doing a cross dressing joke here. To me it seems they shore up the knee joint and keep the swelling down. I do ice and elevate immediately after taking them off. I hope this is relevant in some way to this post. These posts, for me anyway, are kind of uplifting. I see a lot of people going thru a very traumatic sugery with aplomb and it helps me to grit my teeth and move forward.
Hi Mike I am 11 weeks post op and have been back at work for 5 weeks as a sales rep and delivery driver jumping in and out of a Van all day. First week was pretty tiring but doing Ok now. I'm male 58 years. I also had a triple by pass back in 2011 and they were worried about blood clots even though I take aspirin daily so made me wear the socks. I hated them and gave them away after 4 weeks. My surgeon said I could not drive until I saw him st the follow up appointment at the six week mark. He then have me the OK to drive and return to work. The Van is an automatic and I had s right knee TKR..
All is going well now, the new knee is awesome and I walk pain free for the first time in years.
Cheers Timo