66 days post op after bilateral TKR's

Bones, joints and muscles
1

Greetings from Sydney. This forum has assisted me to understand some of the awful stuff we go through after surgery and to know I am not alone in feeling downright horrid some days. Today is a great one though.

I ceased heavy pain medication a couple of weeks ago and that was a mistake. I am back on Norspan 10 mg patches and can now do all my exercises and achieve a few hours sleep before I need to top up with a Tramadol.  I've lost 12 kgs in weight simply because my appetite diminished but now I'm trying to eat 3 meals a day and include protein at every meal instead of nibbling and feeling like I want to sleep all day.

I am allergic to many pain medications (unknown until post op) so pain was a big issue for me. If you are contemplating TKR's or have already had them, then get your pain medication stabilised and physio will be so much easier. I have also found hydrotherapy (pool walking) to be a god-send. Today is the first day post op that I feel any where like normal. I was a fit, energetic 63 year year old before my op and I hope to return to that state with much improvements in my knees, in the near future. I believe I will be looking at 6 months recovery time before I can resume a "normal" exercise program of spin, walking, boxing and weights.  

No one tells you about the pain, the depression, the disruption to your life, especially not your surgeon. Just be patient, eat well, try to get a walk in each day or a swim and stay positive. At nearly 10 weeks I can see the light at the end of that long tunnel.

Best wishes

Lyn

2

Hi lyn

I am 14 days po today and it has been a up and down ride.there were some very dart days with the depression and there have been up days. The folks on this forum have helped me alot. I am here in the US so somethings are a bit different. Reading what people go through and how they have coped have made me see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am only 48 years old so I thought this would of been easy. I don't like taking pain medication what a mistake that was. I was playing catch up all the time I was in tears and I feel I went backwards with my recovery. Talking to people hear have made me see the light. Take medicine wheb your scheduled to and that helps get through the days.

Today was my first physical therapy session and boy did I feel it all day. Major complaint I have is the stiffness and the tightness in and around the knee. Trying to get comfortable at night is a big issue with alot of people so any words of advice will be greatly appreciated.

I am still walking with a walker should be moving on to a cane by end of next week, again my fault for not following medicine schedule as there was a set back. Live and learn.so everyday seams to get better, I know there will be setbacks ahead however if I follow my exercise program and go to therapy and take meds I will get thru this.

So good luck keep the post going as I read them all day long and everyday

Thanks

Tom

3

Hi Lyn!

Welcome! So glad the forum has helped you! I discovered it about six weeks into my first TKR at about 3:00AM when I was TRYING to sleep but couldn't. It was a good thing to discover, and I have learned a lot being on here.

Experiences differ from person to person and even knee to knee. My left one was first last June, and my right one was last October. My right one was much easier than my left, and that was a huge surprise for me because my right leg has ALWAYS been my trouble leg.

My pain post surgery was minimal compared to the pain I experienced before surgery. Of course there was the swelling and the very heavy leg feeling that lasted way too long, but overall I was VERY happy to be done with the severe pain I had been enduring for about five years.

You will find more good days as you go, I think. The operations are pretty brutal with much healing needing to take place. At nearly one YEAR post surgery with my first TKR there are days that are rougher than others, but most allow me to do my gardening which I love, shopping which I missed so much over those pain years, and being able to keep up with my long-legged family by walking normally for a change! My right knee which was replaced last October really was a trooper and caught up with #1 by Christmas. It was nice being able to cook, make cookies, and decorate without being in so much pain.

Wishing you continued success as you find the best management for yourself and much enjoyment of all the things you like to do!

Visit often!

It is nice to be among those who really understand!

4

Thank you so much Cheryl for your kind reply. I am a very positive person with a supportive sister who I live with. She's had two hips and one knee replaced so I kind of knew about the pain! Lovely to hear about such great outcomes you've experienced. Wishing you all the best too! 

5

Being positive REALLY helps! I try to find the humor in everything, and, honestly, sometimes things can be so bizarre that laughing at them seems to be the most appropriate way to respond!

My favorite laughing moment came on the second night of my hospitalization for my first TKR. Our hospital has a rule that TWO nurses and an aide must accompany a patient to walk to the restroom. There we were...all FOUR of us and my walker AND my IV pole walking across the room to get to the restroom. The aide was transporting the pole, and the nurses had me, one on each arm. They needed to remind me how to throw my leg out and lock my leg so that the nerve block wouldn't cause my surgical leg to collapse. My steps were about an inch in length. I felt like a year-old kid walking for the first time! We finally get to the restroom (about eight feet from the bed but in reality it was TWENTY MILES AWAY!!!)😉

Then FOUR of us, a pole, and a walker needed to maneuver ME to sit down on the toilet. It was a scene right out of an "I LOVE LUCY" episode! The aide had to crawl under all the IV tubes and make sure nothing was twisted. FOUR of us were squeezing in a space made for a single person. All of a sudden I just started to LAUGH!😁 Well, THAT got everyone laughing because it all was REALLY FUNNY!😁😁😁😁

I was finally situated, and my CREW closed the door and waited for me to pull the call rope.

Success!😁

Things just got more HILLARIOUS as the night progressed. I had to pee about every half hour, so we got REALLY GOOD at shaving off minutes as we practiced throughout the night.

Good times!!!😁☺😋😄🙋😊😁

6

Reading this I could picture it in my head did make me laugh you certainly forget about your dignity when you go through this op x

7

Hi Cheryl,

You talk about throwing your leg out and locking your leg after having the nerve block? I had a nerve block and was never told this? I haven't had a TKR but had a broken patella 15 months ago that was wired, the MUA due to lack of bend, then removal of wire and I am still having a lot of issues with pain. Your post made me wonder if I wasn't given the correct treatment - I was released from hospital the day after surgery and they didn't get me into PT for 8 weeks after surgery!

8

You and I are almost identical! My surgery was March 18 with manipulation on April 27. I went off my pain meds a few weeks back also. Although there have been a few times I thought about taking them. I was shocked by the pain after surgery and the recovery. My Dr said for the first 3 months I will wonder my I did it! That should have been a hint to me that this was not going to be easy! I to have lost 20 lbs. Between the pain meds and just being in pain I had no appetite. I have good days and bad days. Some days my knee feels so thick I can barely do my at home exercises. Then other days it's pretty good. I think between week 8 and 9 is when I turned the corner. My other knee needs to be done in a yr. Up until recent I wasn't going to do it. My bend now is 108 and my straight is 0. This forum has made all the difference in my recovery. Hard to explain to my husband what I'm feeling. Every one on here has been there done that! Good luck in your continued recovery. It's nice to hear from someone at the same stage I am. Have a great day Lyn. Linda

9

That is FOR SURE on the "forget about the dignity" thing!😂

Strange how BIZARRE seems to become the NORM when you are in a hospital setting!

10

Hi dd62!

My first hospital PT people did NOT mention HOW I should go about "locking my leg". They just told me to DO IT! ( Of course my first PT people just went on and on BLAH-BLAH-BLAH as I TOLD THEM I was feeling like I was going to FAINT also! Enter my trusted nurse Cassie...Angel From Heaven...who put her body between me and the Crazy First Two PTs and gently helped me to sit on the bed and then helped me lay down on it before I WOULD faint!)

Anyway, my blood pressure was 80/60, I was sweating A LOT, and, had Cassie not intervened, I would have crashed onto the floor. She told the Crazy two first PT people that my PT session was now O-V-E-R as she gave me a cold cloth for my head and also checked my temperature. She stayed to monitor my blood pressure again after five minutes. It was once again normal, so she was able to float down the hall to rescue others in her awesomely amazing Angel Nurse way!😊💗

The next morning a different guy came for my PT session. He took everything very slowly and asked me how I felt often throughout my session. He gave me easy to follow guidelines on how to push my heel down on the floor which would help my leg to lock before I took a step. He reminded and encouraged me WITH EACH STEP until he saw that I got it. I progressed well during that session because he was patient, really paid attention to ME like Cassie did, AND he thought of ME and not just in completing some PT agenda.

I was discharged the next day. Home-care began the next day with a nurse and a PT. I had three visits a week from my PT for three weeks. My nurse came once a week. My nurse then discharged me, and I began outpatient PT.

I have discovered that every country handles things differently. Different insurance companies handle cases differently. There seems to be a GREAT variance between doctors, hospitals, and PT procedures from what I have read here on this forum.

I was discharged on day three with my first TKR. For my second TKR I went home on day two because I was progressing well enough not to need an extra day.

PT began the evening of my surgery in the hospital, and continued at home then in outpatient PT for three months with my first knee and for two months after my second. I had PT sessions with#1 Knee until the day before my surgery with #2 knee.

I got A LOT out of PT sessions, and starting them right away got me moving toward becoming independent. The strength training on my quads, the stretches I learned, and all the balance work were VERY, VERY helpful. My PT, Sandy, was an amazing person who challenged me just enough yet knew when to back off when something hurt or was too much for me at that time.

I hope this has helped you understand MY experience.

I hope you are doing well in your recovery!😃

11

Hi dd62!

My first hospital PT people did NOT mention HOW I should go about "locking my leg". They just told me to DO IT! ( Of course my first PT people just went on and on BLAH-BLAH-BLAH as I TOLD THEM I was feeling like I was going to FAINT also! Enter my trusted nurse Cassie...Angel From Heaven...who put her body between me and the Crazy First Two PTs and gently helped me to sit on the bed and then helped me lay down on it before I WOULD faint!)

Anyway, my blood pressure was 80/60, I was sweating A LOT, and, had Cassie not intervened, I would have crashed onto the floor. She told the Crazy two first PT people that my PT session was now O-V-E-R as she gave me a cold cloth for my head and also checked my temperature. She stayed to monitor my blood pressure again after five minutes. It was once again normal, so she was able to float down the hall to rescue others in her awesomely amazing Angel Nurse way!😊💗

The next morning a different guy came for my PT session. He took everything very slowly and asked me how I felt often throughout my session. He gave me easy to follow guidelines on how to push my heel down on the floor which would help my leg to lock before I took a step. He reminded and encouraged me WITH EACH STEP until he saw that I got it. I progressed well during that session because he was patient, really paid attention to ME like Cassie did, AND he thought of ME and not just in completing some PT agenda.

I was discharged the next day. Home-care began the next day with a nurse and a PT. I had three visits a week from my PT for three weeks. My nurse came once a week. My nurse then discharged me, and I began outpatient PT.

I have discovered that every country handles things differently. Different insurance companies handle cases differently. There seems to be a GREAT variance between doctors, hospitals, and PT procedures from what I have read here on this forum.

I was discharged on day three with my first TKR. For my second TKR I went home on day two because I was progressing well enough not to need an extra day.

PT began the evening of my surgery in the hospital, and continued at home then in outpatient PT for three months with my first knee and for two months after my second. I had PT sessions with#1 Knee until the day before my surgery with #2 knee.

I got A LOT out of PT sessions, and starting them right away got me moving toward becoming independent. The strength training on my quads, the stretches I learned, and all the balance work were VERY, VERY helpful. My PT, Sandy, was an amazing person who challenged me just enough yet knew when to back off when something hurt or was too much for me at that time.

I hope this has helped you understand MY experience.

I hope you are doing well in your recovery!😃

12

Hi dd62!

My first hospital PT people did NOT mention HOW I should go about "locking my leg". They just told me to DO IT! ( Of course my first PT people just went on and on BLAH-BLAH-BLAH as I TOLD THEM I was feeling like I was going to FAINT also! Enter my trusted nurse Cassie...Angel From Heaven...who put her body between me and the Crazy First Two PTs and gently helped me to sit on the bed and then helped me lay down on it before I WOULD faint!)

Anyway, my blood pressure was 80/60, I was sweating A LOT, and, had Cassie not intervened, I would have crashed onto the floor. She told the Crazy two first PT people that my PT session was now O-V-E-R as she gave me a cold cloth for my head and also checked my temperature. She stayed to monitor my blood pressure again after five minutes. It was once again normal, so she was able to float down the hall to rescue others in her awesomely amazing Angel Nurse way!😊💗

The next morning a different guy came for my PT session. He took everything very slowly and asked me how I felt often throughout my session. He gave me easy to follow guidelines on how to push my heel down on the floor which would help my leg to lock before I took a step. He reminded and encouraged me WITH EACH STEP until he saw that I got it. I progressed well during that session because he was patient, really paid attention to ME like Cassie did, AND he thought of ME and not just in completing some PT agenda.

I was discharged the next day. Home-care began the next day with a nurse and a PT. I had three visits a week from my PT for three weeks. My nurse came once a week. My nurse then discharged me, and I began outpatient PT.

I have discovered that every country handles things differently. Different insurance companies handle cases differently. There seems to be a GREAT variance between doctors, hospitals, and PT procedures from what I have read here on this forum.

I was discharged on day three with my first TKR. For my second TKR I went home on day two because I was progressing well enough not to need an extra day.

PT began the evening of my surgery in the hospital, and continued at home then in outpatient PT for three months with my first knee and for two months after my second. I had PT sessions with#1 Knee until the day before my surgery with #2 knee.

I got A LOT out of PT sessions, and starting them right away got me moving toward becoming independent. The strength training on my quads, the stretches I learned, and all the balance work were VERY, VERY helpful. My PT, Sandy, was an amazing person who challenged me just enough yet knew when to back off when something hurt or was too much for me at that time.

I hope this has helped you understand MY experience.

I hope you are doing well in your recovery!😃

Sending prayers of calm and strength to you today!

13

Hi Cheryl pt is so important. I'm glad you discovered your pts were not right early on. I went to my first pt for 6 weeks 3 X's a weekend before I left and found my now pt. My insurance covers 30 pt sessions per yr. Unfortunately I wasted 18 on the first one. They were into jamming and cranking. Ouch! My new pt doesn't believe in that. So with the visits I have left he is working on strengthening. Good luck to you and your recovery!

14

Hi Linlee!

Glad to hear that your Jamming and Cranking PTs are O-U-T and Kind Strengthening Guy is IN !😁 It makes SUCH a difference when the PT understands what REALLY works for each individual patient!

Wishing you GREAT sessions with Kind Strengthening PT Guy! 😊

Let us know how things go, OK?

15

Hello Lyn! You are a brave soul!!!

I am just a few days less in days out from my tkr (left only), and am experiencing such a similar recovery struggle. Meds that help the pain leave me so nauseous, even with a med for that; after a week or so of usage as prescribed I cannot tolerate the full dosage so cut back to pre-physio and night time use only. Ice is near and dear to me as a help in pain relief.

I have difficulty pushing through pain in home excersizing. At physio I will push through trying to get the extention and flex, and will push through afterwards to get some errands accomplished.  I assume this may be why I am going backwards now in extending and flexing on my own when measured at physio. I;m afraid I will not have made the progress I want by the time I return to work in 3 weeks. and am not so confident I am up to the demands of my job. I have not pushed myself up to now to return to work before I was physically recuperated as fully as possible because I don't want to undermine my recovery..  But it is not progressing as I hoped...

16

Hi Anne

I saw a MD at my hospital today. He said for me to not expect TOO much too soon. I believe, except for injury or damage incurred post op, i am healing at a satisfactory rate. If you are concerned you should perhaps seek further input. Good luck and keep updating us.

17

Hi Tom

Yes, it is SO important to take the medication. Every day is a trial during those first few weeks but, truly, one day at a time works best and be kind to yourself. When you feel well enough try to take a short walk or better still a warm swim. I've found the warm water to really help. In Australia, my surgeon had me on two canes 48 hours after surgery. Build up your upper body strength, eat well and try to stay positive. We have all been through so much and we need to be patient. 

18

Hi linlee. Yes, week 9 I too started to feel like I'd improved. I saw my surgeon's assistant yesterday and he was very happy with everything except my right leg straightening. I am a public patient and had my op done at a large teaching hospital in Sydney for free. My surgeon is a athlete's specialist and I was VERY lucky to have him do the operation with assistant from some brilliant young registrars.

The young Assistant said it's a matter of building up the quads so I'm giving the quad exercises as much time as I can. I must say the weight loss feels amazing. I am going to keep it off! Stay well and nice to hear from you.

19

I take walks daily not long but enough to get leg moving. I would love to go into a nice warm pool, however here that say no pool for 8 to 12 weeks. I am moving around house with out walker so slowly getting there. I had my staples removed yesterday and it feels a little better. I found doing exercises about an hour before bed with a med makes it easier to get some sleep. Pain is getting better still stiff as you are aware. However there is pain in upper thigh area. Bruising is also starting to fade. I am very thankful for all the words of encouragement from everyone. So thank you to one and all.

Thanks

Tom

20

Hi lyn,

Leg straighten will get there, during my pt today he pushed down on knee and was able to be almost 0 I am at 11 without pushing.

I also started lying on bed face down with leg over edge and let gravity do its thing, I do this for about 5 to 6 mins twice a day, yest it's uncomfortable but seams to help.

Again thanks

Tom