still needing pain meds three times a day. Is that normal
also the tightness like a tight band around my upper,part of Knee
All very normal and still very early days. Your knee will feel tight for a long time, especially if you have been sitting for a while. It will also swell a bit after you have been on your feet exercising. Just remember to ice, elevate and take your meds when you need them.
Concentrate on straightening, as well as bending, as that's really important to getting back to walking normally (I know, as I had probs with both of mine after the first few weeks and am about to go back into hospital to have my 2nd knee opened up again).
Patsy
Hi Tebow, while I didn't have pain at your stage - I am 8 weeks post op - I definately had the tightness. I think it was very shortly after 5 weeks that I first began to feel a thawing on the upper part of the knee as the nerve numbness starts to recede. As the others say .... elevate the foot/knee, ice it after exercise and stretch. It's a long process!
You must have had yours the same day as me 7th July. I am still on meds at least 3 times a day. My knee is very tight and painful after sitting for a while. But it's the pain behind my knee and back of thigh that is worse. Still haven't slept more than an hour at a time at night due to waking with pain in calf.
I'm guessing the tightness is where the tourniquet was on you during surgery. On ME, that was the worst pain! It felt like someone stabbed me above my knee with a STEAK KNIFE! It just NOW feels OK. I am almost seven weeks post op.
I take Ex. Strength Tylenol Rapid Release capsules, 1000mg. every 8 hours. I write the time I CAN take them on my hand. If I don't need them then, I wait until I do.
Most days I don't need them as often during the day as through the night.
Everyone is different. You take painkillers for as long as you need them, perhaps not the strong ones but downgrade to Paracetamol or Ibuprofen.
Dont compare your knee with others - it doesnt work. Get well at your pace it isnt a race so take care
Very normal indeed on all counts. Strengthening the quads helps with the band that I've always referred to as a girdle. My 1st time around it lasted for months. This, the 5th opening of the knee, it was cone within the 1st couple of weeks however; a different set of woes took its place. This is the 1st time I have ever had extreme pain in the shin and ankle. Still no explaination. Just got back from a short shopping trip and icing both knee and ankle. I have PT this afternoon and it will be my 1st outpatient session and maybe my therapist will have a solution.
Very normal. I am 16weeks post op and I am still on pain killers and anti-inflammatories. As others have said, don't compare yourself to others. I did and I started a thread 'Really Starting to Worry' as I thought I was doing badly. Spoke to my PT today and she thinks I am doing well. And don't forget we are all different ages on here and all have different levels of fitness.
Thanks everyone for suggestions and thoughts
this entire ordeal has been like no other as it just goes on and on. I did write in a journal how i was doing from one week to the next. That proved to be helpful as I would forget. I could in fact see small improvements, so that in itself was helpful. They were small but at least I was heading in a positive direction.
Yes I had mine on July 7th
Are you sitting most of the time?
I find that if I am up for more than 30 minutes I start to swell and need ice
Very, Very normal, part of the course....it will get easier but you must still take meds, exercise and ice, even elevate..... its a long journey.
hi OFG i had that shin and ankle pain for awhile after my revision my physio put it down to not putting my foot down properly on the ground and favouring the other leg with you that could be your problem as you had the leg imobilized for awhile the leg is weak !! shin pain for me was the extra rods i think but both did go when the leg strenghtened it was very tiring
I am still unable to reach 90. Degrees. My PT. told me today I was way behind. The knee is still swollen though., I would appreciate feedback.
Very well could be the case. I was in an immobilizer and on minimal weight bearing as the prosthesis had been removed due to staph infection. It was taken out Mar 4th and the new knee inserted June 25th. Again I was put back in an immobilizer with 50% weight bearing for 3 more weeks so no doubt the walk and leg strength is minimal. Just left my 1st round of outpatient PT and my therapist said I had lost over 50% of my leg strength in 6 months. I had been taken low level therapy in rehab and home health but nothing compares to being in the PT gym
isnt it unreal how muscles weaken so fast when not used !! as i said before after 3 full openings within a year and a half my muscles were very weak and im just coming up to 12mths post revision and im still doing strenghtening excersises to tone up the muscles in that paticular leg i beleive that the cramps in my calf was due to weakness in the leg as i went back to sport and im in a big competition in september with a cork team and ive had to play golf (well its a shoter game of golf) its alot of walking up and down hills so its pushing me to the brink ,i love the game but i have to work harder than anyone on the team so leg strenght is so important to me .i was like you when after revision i had to do rehab in gym at a very slow pace and in fairness to gym instructer he kept an eye on me and added new excersises every 6wks and slowly i could do more on my first day at the gym i struggled to step up on the step with the weak leg first i felt sooo old but as wks went on it greatly improved good luck to you in rehab your doing so well after all you have been through
I had TKR over 3 years ago so it is difficult to remember, trying to think back that far.
I would not worry too much about having to take pain killers as long as you are able to bend and straighten the knee more and feel you are improving.
It does get better.
Take care
Sarah
Hi colito, I too am behind the curve in terms of bend. I am 8 weeks post op and altho we can push the knee to 90 we can't get it past that. The pt tells me he feels real resistance when he applies pressure. I s ee my surgeon early next week and there is talk of mua which I am nervous about as it's taken me a long time to get where I am and I don't want to risk that progress. However from other notes on the forum I see that some people have had plateaus then more bend. Everyone is definitely different. Good luck and I think a journal is a great idea. ? It will serve to remind you of your victories.
Just be careful of anything that creates torque. The twisting motion is very rough on the joint. Running a vacuum, taking leaves, turning on a golf swing, etc. I was allowed to hit 20-30 yd chip shots after six months and after a year, Actually hit a golf ball off the tee. Dr's are different as the people they treat but I've never known anyone that was allowed to do any twisting motion.
yes i see where your coming from unfortunatly im after commiting to this for a few more weeks when september is over i will be putting away the clubs for the winter and maybe for good the winters here are cold /wet/and windy ,so im never going to play till summertime which is very short in this country i can tell you . but thinking of what you said it could be time for me to give up the game or just play the very odd time for fun but its hard to play for fun when your used to being competitive so maybe put them away for good would be best at the end of september .pitch and putt is as i say a short golf game the longest hole is no longer than 70 meters shortest is 30 meters majortiy of them are 40-55 meters not very long but a twist all the same
I know the feeling.....I carried an 8-10 handicap for years. Now I need help figuring which end of the club to use. I bought a new set of clubs 2 weeks before the knee blew up on me several years ago and have used them 3 times. One of my grandsons was horsing around with my driver last fall (that wasn't the story I got) and snapped the head off a non repairable $400 driver. I may never get to play again but I'm not getting rid of my clubs. They can bury them with me.