Thanks so much for your message. I feel so much better.
I'm 5 weeks this week and I know my doc will not be happy. I'm healing alot slower than I thought I would. I don't have the correct numbers showing my awesome progress--my leg doesn't straighten well yet, I have a pretty good bend going. I'm not driving yet, took a first nervous trip to the grocery store w my husband. Getting off the pain meds was a b***h. Now I take xtra strength Tylenol 2 every 8 hours. I also smoke a lot of weed. Keeps the depression and anxiety at bay. I will be getting better a little slower than I thought. You don't need to achieve success according to someone else's definition in order to feel good about yourself. Stay strong
"...than I thought I would..." "...a little slower than I thought..." See a pattern??? STOP THINKING!!! It only gets you into trouble. This is not a race. There are no milestones at specific times. The worst thing we all do is make up these dumb numbers in our heads and get upset when we don't reach them. Just stop!!!
This is both most brutal AND the most Zen of all surgeries: "Your knee will be better when it's better." Just like when we asked our parents from the back seat of the '55 Chevy when we'll be at grandma's. The answer was always: "When we get there." There's no other answer and no one can give you a completion date. The reality is that a complete recovery usually takes a year. Own it. Anything else just leads to depression, anxiety and frustration. Let it all go and enjoy the weed...
I appreciate your feedback so much it makes me feel like going on one of those 'crying jags' that were so frequent in the beginning. Only when my husband told me he doesn't care how long it takes, or how much my knee does or doesn't bend, to take my sweet time if I want, did it make me feel like I had control over something right now. I don't really care about having a limp- sorry, but I don't. All I have to be able to do is carry a 45lb backpack and walk a few miles a day. In about a month, I'm gonna start walking on the sand for excercise- I've been eyeing the beach(oceanside, ca) for about a week now, considering what a challenge it will be. Thanks Chico for reminding me to chill the f**k out. I do dread the stern look and words my doc will be giving me in two weeks, just like my first appt w him. It took me four days to get thru the critique he gave me. Feelin a teeny bit better every day- not a lot, but better than yesterday. ✌🏻
Depressed? Jedi Mind Trick...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-and-post-operative-depression-604195
Remember...you are NOT in control of when the knee will fully heal. You CAN control the amount of work you put into it, the food and hydration choices you make as well as your own mindset. There are soooo many things you can control...just not the knee... Try some of these...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-power-of-rest-some-great-strategies-to-try-on-a-tkr-617892
...and post this on your fridge...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-reality-of-a-tkr-recovery-in-one-picture-626038
Have fun!!!
Good morning Chico-my extension sucks. I focus on walking correctly trying to complete a solid stride during my walking times- I feel like it'll happen but not anytime soon. I'm pretty sure my husband has sabatoged part of my recovery by being an awesome enabler this whole month and two days after surgery . Thanks for your comments... to me and others
You might want to double-check this post...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/walking-after-a-tkr-593409
,,,to make sure you are walking correctly and tracking your steps. Remember that 5 weeks is waaaay early in your recovery. You have to take control of it...OWN IT!!! It's all about you.
I had my TKR on Jan 10th of 2018, i was released from the surgery center the next morning with a walker and home health therapist visits three times a week for 2 weeks. No walker after 2 weeks, no cane after 3 weeks. No pain meds after 2 weeks, only OTC anti inflamatory meds. After home health I have 31 outpatient therapy sessions scheduled. Measurements at 2 weeks post op, 98 degrees flex. -17 straight, 3 weeks 110 flex / -12 straight. 5 weeks 120 flex / -12 straight. I believe the therapy is helping with ROM but recently my knee began to swell and now every movement is painful. I have applied ice and compression since the flare up to no avail. I believe that I may have GOUT setting in since I had it in my foot prior to surgery. Dr took me off the preventive prescription prior to surgery. Hopefully I can resume the meds soon, or a setback is inevitable.
Gosh, no cane after 3 weeks!
Thats quite quick off supports. We are all different though.
Were you advised that or just didn't need a stick or crutch?
Did you get a big increase in pain then or did you find you just didn't need it?
Good wishes for your recovery.
Hope your problem gets resolved soon.
I am now at 5 weeks and am still in quite a bit of pain although my ROM is 120 and I can walk pretty good with my cane. I have a very hard time sleeping and toss and turn quite a bit. I was wondering if anyone else has the problem of hair loss. My hair comes out in handfuls when I brush and has since the 2nd week or whenever I started paying attention. I found that this can happen from the stress on the body but was wondering when it will stop. I also have on and off depression where I stay in bed all day feeling sorry for myself and not caring if I ever get right but you can see by my ROM that I end up working my exercises. Went to first PT and he told me that I was up too much and had too much swelling in my knee. He said you know you are supposed to spend most of your day lying, icing and elevating but since I can get around now this is hard.
Five weeks is waaaaay early. At that point, I was still drooling on my pajamas... This takes a full year. Give up all your expectations and timelines. The knee will heal when it heals.it will NOT be rushed!!! You have to give it time, do the work and have patience. That's the formula. Throw everything else out the window...you'll be a lot happier and saner...
Thanks for the reply, I would respectfully disagree with your assessment on how long the recovery should take. You get out of it "What you you put in to it". My recovery may be accelerated due to the effort that I put in. I was blessed with a great home health therapist that explained everything to me in the beginning, all the negatives and positives. By following his home exercise routine to the T, my ROM improved drastically by the day. I am just about pain free, only minor discomfort while exercising. I go through all the exercise routines 3-4 times a day.
Everyone's different. We've had some remarkably fast recoveries reported as well as some elongated ones. The vast majority of us tend to fall in the middle with a year being a huge milestone...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-tkr-recovery-bell-curve--563756
We ALWAYS wish people a fast, speedy recovery but after reading over 3,000 posts on here over two years, that does not seem to be the case. I wish you a "minus three standard deviation recovery"...
I think Chico is right, I don't think he said how long recovery should take, but how long it could take. No two recoveries are the same, there are no stages to be at any time after surgery. At 5 weeks 120 flex / -12 straight you still have some way to go, unless you get 0 straight you will limp. The fact that your knee is swelling and every movement is painful should tell you that you have still a way to go yet. Good luck, I'm almost 20 years since my tkr and have had no problems, but I didn't try to rush recovery.
Quite right . You cant hurry love, or TKR recovery.
A couple of days ago I was at -12, now -7 and 130. By no means am I trying to rush my recovery, I know that everyone's situation is different, and wish all a speedy and safe recovery. But I truly believe that if you sit by and wait for it to heal you are in for a long recovery. Strength is the key to stability, the sooner you strengthen your quads and core muscles the sooner you will be walking pain free.
Absolutely. Just remember that this recovery is NOT linear. There are advances, setbacks and plateaus...all normal. I got stuck at -4 for weeks before breaking through. Time, work and patience...
Did your therapist ever put you in the torture device they call the toothbrush? They elevate your foot in a contraption and use tension straps to pull your calf and thigh down for 3 to 4 min a session. Not the most comforting exercise but it yields great results on the hamstring stretch and improves the straightening of the knee. Just an option you might want to look in to.
Hi I'm 45 yo and in pretty good shape. I'm almost 5 weeks out of RTKA. I'm in the same boat. Although I feel pretty than before sx I have post sx pain and weakness. I didn't think it would last this long. I'm now using a cane with caution. I had to stop formal pt for a few days due to pain and discomfort. I was off the narcs for about four days, I hate the side effects but pain for so bad I had to start again. Saw my surgeon two days ago and he seems to think I'm right on track and the knee looks great. He said I had to work on my walking because was sliding my knee out.
I really thought by now I'd be further ahead and definitely of the hard meds.
Dr said hang in there 3 months is the Mark he feels will be the turning point but up to a year to really heal. I asked if I could use a brace for stability and they said yes so that's been helping wonders.
Hang in there group atkesst it's winter and not summer time.
Also, my ROM is awesome since day after sx.