I am in a lot of pain 3 weeks after TKR

Bones, joints and muscles
1

the pain 3 weeks after a total knee replacement is really bad 3 weeks. i am on codeine, paracetamol and nuproxen. do i just have to put up with pain or go back to doctor to get stronger pain relief. thoughts please.

2

Try Tramadol 50 mg per day and Gabapentin 300 mg if nighttime pain and insomnia is unbearable. Bangkok-Johnny 5 TKR operations. Most recent a two-stage TKR/TKA revision. Tons of pain. I also strongly recommend swimming pool walking & swimming, daily if possible, and of course your physiotherapy.

3

thank you. just feel i need some stronger pain killers so that i can exercise more and sleep at t night. will ask my doc to prescribe drugs suggested. cant wait to go back to swimming when wound has healed.

4

Hi Linda, go back and see your Dr and get more pain relief, your only 3 weeks you will be in pain. I am just gone 4 and a half months and have final got of strong pain relief. The night times are the worse I some times need some thing stronger than panadol at night. Excercise and ice , strong pain meds and rest. Take care Jeannie

5

Linda, you poor thing! YES you need adequate pain relief, and everyone's different. you can get long acting pain relievers to have morning and night then breakthrough meds during the day. Elevate your leg to reduce the swelling and ice often. 3weeks is still early..sort out the pain meds with your dr. x

6

thanks Mary. nights are worse as no distraction so will go back to doctor. doing lots of elevating and icing which does help. x

7

I agree with the others, go back and ask for a review of pain meds. Everyone is different. At 4 weeks I'm on 4000mg paracetemol plus Voltarol Gel, works for me, but not for everyone. Don't use a pool though unless your wound is completely healed with no scabs and don't overdo it. As it's easier in water and less painful it can be easy to overdo things.

8

i slept with pillows under my leg for 4 months and used ice for pain for almost that long. Ice helps the pain

9

Hi Linda,

I am 6 weeks post op TKR. I was where you are not long ago. I was on Norco 10/325 ..they helped me rest some during the day but nothing was helping me at night. I was up all night long every night just praying for daylight. Ice Ice elevate.I could occasionally get some rest by mounding up my bed covers and throwing my leg up over them but that was occasionally. I still can't sleep well. I just went through 2 nights of zero sleep next night 2 hours then I was finally able to just crash for a good while and last night back to up till 4am. It's a tough road..Good luck!

Melissa

10

Three weeks? I was still drooling on my pajamas at eight!!! It is very typical for a doc to readjust med choices, dosages and timing to provide you with better relief. It's a trial and error thing. Just know that all of this EASES the pain...it never fully goes away...just not possible. Lots of ice and elevation are of great help. Once your incision is healed, Voltaren Gel (diclofenac) is a goof topical anti-inflammatory that could really help.

11

thanks jeanne. just did not expect so much pain. i am going back to docs for something a bit stronger - as you say nights are bad.

12

Thanks Lynda. so helpful being in contact with people who have gone through/going through same things.

13

thanks Melissa. its reassuring that i am not the only one going through this and this amount of pain is normal.

14

thanks - good to know i am not doing so badly

15

thanks Karen. elevated and iced this very moment!

16

Expectations is the scourge of us all!!!!! After four knee scopes, a hip replacement, two spine laminectomies and two spine fusions (plus lots of other ops), I thought I would get past the knee in a breeze. ** WRONG!!!!!** This is the most painful op recovery on the planet and the docs NEVER give you any warning. We all did this with certain expectation and the hit the brick wall 80 mph.

Get rid of ALL your expectations about pain, time, being able to do x in y weeks. These don't exists in TKRVille. Be Zen: "I'll be better when I'm better." Only way to get through it. Time, work and patience. That's the only way to see it.

17

I was on slow release Tramadol, Co-Codamol and Diclofenac. Not pain free but it did help.

18

Get stronger meds , and maybe try one for nerve pain like Lyrica , I found nerve pain the worst and morphine based drugs dont really stop it . What you are feeling is normal, I had very bad pain for 6-7 weeks then it dramatically reduced

19

thanks Jenny. looking forward to reduction in pain!

20

thanks David