almost 4wks post now and yesterday I got my daughter to take me to the shops as I haven't been out of the house much at all (other than my daily - short - walks).
Walked far too much at the shops and here I am now, in the middle of the night, suffering
. Not quite sure what to do - iced, exercised at bedtime, iced some more and have had plenty of pain meds but it's really painful, that tight band feels like it's going to snap my leg in two and so uncomfortable!
i have my second physio in the morning so really not looking forward to that!
Why, oh why, did I do it?!
Hi Susan, I know how you feel,Im 4 weeks post op too and Ive been up for a couple of hours now, get so uncomfortable in bed. You probably did a bit too much yesterday so your body is telling you. Dont worry too much about physio just explain and ask their advice. Ive also got physio in the morning, but you can only do as much as you feel able. I try and run before I can walk lol, and my body soons starts complaining! Have you tried massasge? Hope you get some sleep.
As mentioned before, feeling a little better and trying to leap mountains before you can crawl over ant hills. Pain meds, all allowable, add lots of fluids (water or ginger ale), elevate plus the ice. If you have a recliner now's the time to make it your buddy. It'll get better but 4 weeks is a little early to be testing it out at high speed.
Hi Susan, we do it cos we are desperate to get out of the house and feel normal again. I am 4 wks today, bilateral knees, and I did the same last week. It was such a beautiful day, and my husband was taking the dog for a walk up to our local shops. I can manage that thinks I as my recovery is going so well. I was in terrible pain for days after, and set myself back almost a week as I was in no state to continue my regular exercise program, which then makes everything stiffen up again. I knew I should' nt overdo it, but did it anyway. Now I am back to smaller walks around my back yard, increasing the number of steps a little each day. We have to remember we are still in recovery from a major trauma, and slowly is the best medicine, as frustrating as that can be.
Good luck with your recovery.
Alison
I did the same early on in recovery at three weeks I felt great now at six weeks not so great, it's odd but each day each week different, just want to get on with chores but unable to, we will get there. Patience I suppose, take care
I'm 4 was post op now and am beginning to get really frustrated because I can't do the things I want to. Outwardly I appear to have recovered amazingly but I still find that doing anything extra, other that exercise, massage, icing and rest, completely shatters me. I want to get out in the garden, I want to give the house a good clean, but I can't. When will it get better?
Because were human lol im 13/14 weeks post op and seing physio FIRST time 24.6.15 for that tightening band!!!!! I get it everytime I walk a distance????? Then I feel like im dragging my leg??All you can do is start a new day and carry on with the ice heat meds etc x x hope it goes soon x
Hi
i am 7 weeks now, and absolutely hate that very tight band feeling and the stiffness that makes me want to walk with a straight leg, AND AFTER ALL MY HARD WORK, I AM DETERMINED TO WALK NORMAL, so I hope not to need it for much longer but at 5 weeks I was getting cabin fever, so I have the cheapest travel wheelchair (Amazon). My good friend takes me to the inside (smooth floors) shopping mall and I walk some and ride some !
The leg is so in control its very wearing and I find it hard to explain to most people how one minute I'm fine and the next laying on the bed tired out.
i have a day pacing myself but find the evenings before bed the worst for some reason my body temperature drops and I am always cold.
i feel I am doing ok but the swelling around my knee is still there, not hot or a worry, but will I ever get my jeans on again ? Still wearing wide leg trousers, is anybody back in tight jeans and how long before the horrible tightness goes,
sue x
Hi Sue, I still get tightness in my thigh when I have done more walking than is good for me, and I am 14/15 weeks but everyone is different. I also found that a change in body temp a problem but I had that at 3/4 weeks. I had a fairly hot shower and had my winter houscoat on and this warmed me up. Continue with meds if you need them, I am off them all together now. Can't get into my jean, and I can't bear anuthing on my scarr so resort to skirt and in the house raise the skirts off my knee!
hi hazel glad you mentioned about the jeans cos I cant wear mine either and I thought it was me being me lol ive bought those lovely coloured cotton pants very trendy lol but I went to a horse show last weekend and it was sooo cold found a looser pair of jeans and I wore a loose fitting elastic knee bandage underneath this helped stop the rubbing and also greatly supported my knee with all the standing about it also helped it stop swelling up!!!!
Don't feel so bad Susan. I had my first op 12weeks ago and second one four weeks ago. I thought I did too much with the first one, so took it much easier with the second. It didn't make a jot of difference. I still have the same spasmodic pain, bad nights etc. I think it's just the nature of the beast. I have just had three dreadful days but this morning not too bad at all. Hang in there, it will get steadily better, although it is a bit of a rollacoaster. Stay tuned to this forum, it is a life saver.
Thanks everyone. Wasn't sure if to exercise this morning before physio, but found I had to do something to try and stretch that band. She told me not to shop or do anything with standing around and she wasn't bothered if I do any walking or not! She's more concerned with bend and straightening so gave me different exercise to do. By' 'Eck I'm sore now!
She also confirmed what many of you say - I must take pain meds regular to keep them built up in my system, so phoned the docs for more Tramadol - he wasn't happy but gave me more for now. Trouble is, I can't concentrate on anything when I take them - everything goes a bit hazy!
It gets so boring and frustrating being stuck at home all day . . so easy to want to get on with life and overdo it! I know i overdid it the first time I went to the hydrotherapy pool, and the next day I really suffered! Hopefully, it will settle in a day or so . pity about the phsyiuo precisely today though! that's not going to be fn. double meds i hope!
Everyone is different with their reaction to drugs, it seems. tramadol was fine for me, although I only took Zaldiar, which is 17.5 mg tramadol and the rest paracetamol . . three times a day . .Maybe he's giving you too strong a dose? Just a word of warning. . when you do decide to stop taking tramadol, do it gradually. I tried the cold turkey approach, and it doesn't work!
You are way early in being able to do many tgings you want. 2 things the medical profession doesn't warn you about in advance of this operation, patience and long term pain. Everyone thinks and wants their life back to normal by the time the stitches/staples are removed and get frustrated when a couple of therapy sessions are over and nothing much seems to have happened. Surgeons are just that, whack and run specialists. Once they are comfortable the bleeding has stopped, no apparent infection or blood clots they are on to the next person as far as the healing process, therapists give you the process and then it's your baby to nuture. Like my therapist told me the 1st time I went through this and has told me every time since, I can give you 15% of the process but 85% is up to you. Therein lies the big concern. You have to push hard but more important, you have to know when to stop and heal. Going to far to fast is a sure revelie for disaster. Things they don't emphasize is rest as much and as often as you can. Drink more water than you probably ever have in your life. Learn when you are pushing beyond the pain level that is healthy. I personally laugh at the old "no pain, no gain" adage as some BS being thrown around by a high school football coach. Everything you do for the next 8 to 12 weeks is going to cause pain, just different levels. Keep taking your pain meds. There are no gold stars handed out for running around in misery because you want to be brave and not medicate. The last thing is back to the original thought.........patience..........none of the docs ever told any of us that the byproduct of this proceedure is that we will learn to be patient, one way or another. When you see a little dust, ignore it. A trip shopping turned down will just save you some money. Rest is your ally to a faster recovery. Enjoy the break.......who knows you may never get a chance in life to take it easy again.
The problem is that I already take the slow release Targinact, naproxen and pregablin too! For the knee pain over the last few years and I think I am a bit immune to them
I once went cold turkey from the Targinact by accident - I'd gone on holiday to Canada (from UK) and thought I'd taken enough. However, I ran out of them, but Thought I'd be OK as I had co codamol with me for if the pain got really bad, but I didn't need them, so I thought I would be OK on those for the last few days instead. Now, I didn't realise then that they were addictive ....! And neither did I realise that I would go cold turkey on the aeroplane on the way home ....! I was up, down, up, down, fidgety, sweaty, up and down some more for the whole 9 hours - not a flight I want to remember!!!
I know exactly how you felt! When i stopped tramadol, the first night there was just NO WAY i could stay still for more than about ten seconds . . To begin with, I didn't realise what the problem was . .until the cold sweats, diarrhoea, trembling, and a whole list of other effects started. . vthen it dawned on me! i didn't have any more, so had to wait until I could see the doctor for another prescription . .worst couple of days of my life!!!
I stopped taking Pregablin 3 weeks post op as that stuff was really doing my head in. I am normally a really patient and tolerant person, but that stuff made me edgy, impatient, and forgetful. I was even more ditsy than normal. My poor husband helped convince me as he couldn't cope with my erratic responses to the most simple things.
Still take Targin as needed, but starting to notice a trend that the nights I take it, I toss and turn endlessly trying to get comfortable. naproxen is my only regular.
Those side effects are interesting - I have all of those, but didn't know which meds to put them down to!
Poor you, I guess we have all done it, we start to feel a bit more human and rush things a bit,I guess the only thing to say is hope you feel better soon, and try not to do it again, I am 12 post op and doing ok but from time to time I do the same , I guess we just want to get back to normal,best wishes to you