it is almost 4 weeks since I had my op for TKR and I am feeling miserable! Sick of all the pain, nausea from medication, and now lack of appetite. I've even gone off tea and coffee. Am now drinking hot water and lemon. Nobody told me how tough things would be after operation. I'm trying to do all the exercises etc. Feeling very down and tearful. Can anybody help me please?
It's a very familliar pattern Hilary...Just about everyone who has it done goes through it....Not to mention the not being able to sleep...Have you got that issue too?...I kept a web blog about my experience of having it done...It's still 'live' on the web, but for some reason I can't figure, I'm not allowed to post publically on here...It might do you good to read it, because if nothing else, it would make you feel that you're not the only person on the planet going through it...Just keep plodding on and take it day by day.
I'm you want to read the blog, private message me, and I'll send you the link via private message.
Oh dear, I've been exactly the same as you, I am now nearly 8weeks post tkr surgery and the last 3 days I have finally felt a lot better. Last week I went to doctor as I couldn't stand it any longer, he has changed my medications and I feel so much better, also I had a urine infection so I am now on antibiotics. I still have pain and stiffness in knee but the pain is not so bad. The nausea has gone and I have just got my appetite back. Please go to your doctor and he may change your medication too. Try to rest as much as possible, ice and try to raise your legs above heart to help with swelling. Try to keep up with exercises but don't push yourself. My doctor said you have had major surgery and you cannot rush your recovery, just go with it and be kind to yourself. I hope this helps. I too didn't realise how bad the recovery would be, I've never experienced anything like this. Hope this helps best wishes Jannette
Thanks so much for your reply. I'm beginning to realise that there are many others going through the same thing! I will try and be patient
Don't know if I would have gone through it all if I'd known about all the pain in advance!
hi Janette. Thanks for replying. I'm on Tramadol, Vimovo and Paracetamol and fine that Tramadol is the only one that works even though it is the strongest one and inclined to make me feel very nauseous! It seems to a long haul - I've had other operations but this us absolutely the worst ever!
i will try to take it a day at a time. Yesterday I hit Rock bottom with it all. Each day seems to be a struggle. Physio today - my second session and it's painful too. Trying so hard to be positive
Well in fairness they 'did' tell me it was going to hurt. But the problem is, you really don't comprehend what they tell you, and it's obviously pain like nothing else you've experienced before. So you don't really have a grasp on what they actually mean!
Hi Hilary,
I do think you underestimate the type/amount and duration of the pain anyway so even if you had known you would have never been prepared. I am a registered nurse and i work on the ward on which i had the surgery so i was aware of the pain but even so, i wasn't prepared for it because i thought i was quite god with pain. How wrong i was! I am almost 4 weeks post TKR like you (24 days to be exact) and I have been feeling exactly the same as you, some days are better than others. All i can say is, we have to think of the long term result and keep focused on that. We have to think that everything we do today is for the long term good, i.e going thro the exercise pain, sleepless nights, walking pain etc. Don't look for changes day to day, compare yourself from week to week, as the improvements are so minimal you don't actually see them, but they are there! Do as much as you can exercise wise, but be kind to yourself and listen to your body. Everyone heals at different rates so don't compare your recovery to anyone else's!
If your medication is making you feel nauseous you must go to the docs and get your medication changed. If they're making you feel nauseous so you cannot eat, that's not good as you need good nutrition to heal. Hang on in there Hilary, we'll get there. I know what you mean tho' you think you'll never be normal again don't you, but we will!!
Hi Hilary, its only 4 wks gone Wednesday since my tkr and I am feeling exactly the same as yourself.
My surgeon did explain to me that recovery would take a long time and that I would be in extreme pain.
Don't be surprised if you have days where all you want to do is cry, I have had a few days when I went into total meltdown.
It's a natural reaction, after all we have just had major surgery.
Today I feel I have gone backwards, I have more pain today than yesterday but if you read other posts on here you will see others have been exactly the same.
Try to do what Jannette1 said about rest, ice and elevation it does help a lot.
I'm in County Durham UK
Keep in touch and let me know how you get on xx
Hi Hilary, my doctor has given me a BuTrans 5 patch, which I have to change once a week, then I am on codeine and paracetamol every 4 hours plus Etadalac once a day I have to take them with or after food. . I have been on them 3 days now and I feel so much better in myself because the nausea has stopped and my appetite has come back a bit. I would definitely go back to doctor, I just carried on and when I went for 6 week check up I was told some of my symptoms were probably due to medication and he was right. I feel my pain is under control a bit better too. Just wish I could sleep at night but hopefully that will come. Hope this helps Jannette
I have a FIXED BEARING UNI-COMPARTMENTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT coming up soon - any advice welcome
Hi Hilary!
I, too, was surprised at how recovery from my TKR surgery was so intense!
It was SO MUCH MORE involved than other surgeries I had experienced! ( From 1981 to 1988 I had two C-sections and a Myomectomy, which is surgical removal of a fibroid.) With all three of THOSE surgeries I was up walking by evening, and making dinner in a couple days for the family as well as with two of them also caring for a newborn. I thought abdominal surgery was rough and I handled it. Knee surgery...it probably is not nearly as rough.
I was WRONG!
As you have found, a TKR is quite a rough surgery. From what I have heard ( after the fact, of course!), it is an EXTREMELY brutal surgery with lots of pounding and sawing and cutting . There is a lot to be done to literally REPLACE the knee!
To be honest, I had had so much pain for so long, I was EAGER to have the surgery. I was NOT prepared, however, for a leg that felt like a tree trunk filled with CEMENT. I was NOT prepared for being unable to even lift my leg an inch that first day at Physical Therapy. I certainly was NOT prepared for the two drains, the nerve block, and the THREE PEOPLE who needed to help me and my like of IV fluids to the bathroom every half hour for the three days I was in the hospital!
All I cared about was getting rid of my KNEE PAIN! I wasn't ready for all that the surgery brought with it!
Once the shock started to wear off, I realized that I had MUCH MORE work to do with THIS surgery. Thankfully the nurses and aides were so very helpful, and each day got a bit easier. I was discharged after three days, and through prayer, journaling, and those frequent potty trips, I began to feel more human. I tried to move as much as possible, drink lots of ICE water to keep hydrated and wash out toxins from the anesthesia and the medication, do my exercises, and eat well. I got off the Hydrocodone after two weeks because it made me feel loopy. I used a belt to help me move my leg on and off the bed. I was getting faster at getting to the bathroom. Things were getting better. My leg was feeling a bit less heavy. What I DID notice was the PAIN I had felt for so long in my knee was GONE! ( Of course I still had DIFFERENT pain from surgery, but at least that awful knee pain was gone that I had experienced in increasing amounts for many years.)
At about six weeks things got much better. Nine weeks was a big milestone, too. Physical therapy helped TREMENDOUSLY because feeling stronger made me feel more positive about my recovery and more willing to KEEP working at everything.
Well, four months later, I did it all AGAIN! I had my second TKR! I was pleasantly surprised that it went a lot easier for some reason . Maybe my body was stronger. Maybe I knew what to expect. Maybe one leg just is more of a bugger than the other one. I don't know. What I DO KNOW is I am REALLY glad I had both surgeries!
You are still very early in the recovery process. Your body, not to mention your KNEE, has been through a great trauma! My best advice is to appreciate each new thing you can do that you couldn't do on that first day. Praise yourself for having the courage to DO THIS! Rest, eat well, drink lots of water, do your exercises, and above all, STAY POSITIVE!
Being positive helps your endorphins to form. Endorphins help manage pain. You feel better, so you want to DO better.
Each week gets easier. Be patient with yourself. You will turn the corner in all of this VERY soon.
Sending prayers of strength to you today!
Hilary - I have been on this forum since September to get me through the dark days of post op. Everyone who has answered you has given great advice. We've all been through the same pain, emotions and doubt. I spent many days those first 4-5 weeks crying....just couldn't help it. It actually helped! No, the Dr's don't or can't tell you how you're going to react to this type of operation, but I think they should and can be more specific about the pain (although some go through this with better management of the pain), If you haven't experienced this type of pain, it is hard to explain. I think we can all agree that you will experience some or all of: intense pain, loss of appetite from meds, consipation, brain fog from meds, depression of some sort, sleeplessness, doubt or regret, feeling alone and very emotional. I can remember just going through each day like a zombie, doing what was needed; exercises while crying, elevating leg, icing, napping and staying hydrated. I couldn't eat anything and the meds on an empty stomach made things worse. And then miraculously 6 weeks had gone by and I felt like I turned the page on the worst of it. That seems like a long time when you're in the thick of it, but time does go by. Truly, each day is a step towards a more normal life. Now at almost 5 months out, I may be living with some residuals, but it seems, again, everyone has them: stiffness, numbness, nerve pain, clicking but it's all things I can live with. And I'm sure these issues will disappear with time. Am I ready to have my other knee done? Not there yet, mentally. I'm going to put that off as long as possible. One last thought: I remember the Dr's saying that recovery would be 70% after the first 3 months, then the next 30% over a year or so...they just can't tell you the degree of pain to expect. Hang in there...time will pass...things will improve, and by 6 months out, you will have forgotten many of those dark days. My PT was a life saver, I looked forward to each visit. You have many people thinking of you!
I felt lousy until week 5 on my first knee and 6 on the second. Even then my soft tissue was not healed and I absolutely could not sleep. My legs are still somewhat stiff (they feel like gumby rubber) but are not painful.i am at three and a half months on the right knee and two on the left. The left hurts if I stand for a prolonged period of time and I still get minor pain going down steps. No pain killers needed for the last month, appetite fine. Hang in there. Each week gets better.
My goodness! I read your blog a year ago, before my first TKR, and really appreciated the insight it gave me - it allowed me to set my expectations and not be too surprised by anything! I'm now a TKR veteran, with 2 under my belt, but still go back and read your blog from time to time.
How are you doing these days?
Hi Hillary ,
I am at 8 weeks post TKR. There has been a big change in the last week or so. I am in the Boston area in the USA, I am unfamiliar w/some of the drugs that some of u mention.
i can only speak for myself in that I know that I have a strong adverse reaction to most meds. I asked not to be put on Percocet , vicaden , morphin, or OxyContin . I was actually only on codeine and Tylenol in the p.m. These did not make me nauseous and I was able to handle the pain. As of now, I take Advil or alleve when needed.
i was determined not to be nauseous on top of being in pain.
Perhaps u can have ur pain meds reavaluated so u wouldn't be so sick. It is very important to eat. Both my pt and dr. Stressed this. Important to help heal ur nerves, muscles, blood vessels , etc.
that all being said, I still do not have the greatest appetite, but do eat 3/x a day. I'm not sure what it is that affects the appetite , aside from drugs and pain. Hopefully u will find some answers to ur predicament !!
best wishes and thinking of you😀🙋🏻
I must say all of you that mention that u had the 2nd TKR months after 1st r very brave!!! I can't even consider it at this time and hope to not have to have it done. My other knee hurts sometimes but I hope it's because I'm favoring it. Kudos to all of you that r so brave!!
Oh Hilary, you poor thing! I think 4 weeks is a horrible time, it seems like ages since surgery yet still so far to go.....
I dont think anyone can truly understand the pain levels involved until they've been through it....
It's always worth checking with your GP to see if there's an alternative to the Tramadol if it's causing you severe nausea - it's a VERY effective pain med but not everyone can tolerate it.
And with your nausea, is there anything that you fancy eating at all? Anything? If so, just have what you can stomach for now. Regular eating habits will soon return. Ginger is very good at easing nausea, try a ginger biscuit or maybe ginger tea or ginger beer....with my first TKR I think I existed on a couple of slices of wholemeal toast and honey a day for the first couple of weeks.......
I hope you have a better day tomorrow, and keep talking to us on here, we really do understand xx
Hello Terri
I'm going to speak to my GP tomorrow re medication and hopefully he can suggest a change. I had my 2nd session of Physio today and I was able to talk about how awful I was feeling. I got through the exercises quite well and he was pleased with my progress - this gives me hope! It's all very up and down though and I am comforted by all the kind messages of support today. It is good to share ups and downs with others who are going through the same thing. I pray I do not have to get the other knee done!!
Hi Hilary18612
You have come to the right place to find out what you are few and experiencing is normal. I first posted on here post op day 6. I was so scared my surgery had gone wrong with the amount of pain I was suffering. I am now only day 11 post op and still in a lot of pain. I had my surgery outside my own country and the only pain relief I have been given is Panadol. It's not enough as I am pulling back on my rehab due to pain. I was talking to my niece in Australia she is a nurse and her husband is a surgeon. They both said it can take a good 6 weeks before pain will ease. The people on this forum are so helpful and understand what you are going through. Hold strong I know I am trying. Cry when you need to, sleep when you can xxx
Hi Cheryl it's jodie
You give the most positive and up lifting advice. Don't leave this forum as people like me and so many others need to hear your words. Thank you xxx