I have now completed six weeks post op. I hear that it is a milestone of sorts in the recovery process from Total Knee Replacement.
I would LOVE to hear from those of you who have reached this point and/or remember just where you were physically, emotionally, spiritually at this point.
On October 9th I will have a Total Knee Replacement on my RIGHT KNEE. Looking for other's experiences as I move forward with recovery on LEFT KNEE and ahead with surgery on RIGHT KNEE!
THANKS! Very interested in hearing from you all!
Iremember the six weeks point easily, because it was when I went for the six week check up with the surgeon. I was walking well then, about two kms a day . . and stillusing crutches only because my physio kept insisting on it. the surgeon asked me to walk without them, and no problem at all . . Two kms a day he said was perhaps too much! Stairs were still very difficult going d
own though . .emotionally, I think I was just getting over the 'Oh my god I wish I hadn't had it done' stage' . . .I was still taking tramadol (zaldiar) three times a day and I think that was giving me quite a lift emotionally . . certainly when I stopped taking it at about eight weeks, I noticed a huge difference.! My other knee doesn't need doing at the moment, so can't comment on that. . .
Wow. You are obviously stronger than me. I had my first TKR on 16/6 and am still very much in the recovery phase. I was scheduled for 3 months for the 2nd one but I've put that on the back burner! I've found the whole thing torturous, emotional and just plain hard work! I have been "riding" my exercise bike (instructed to by the physio - moving the pedals in a forward and backward motion as I could not fully rotate them) and yesterday slipped off the pedal with my good leg, allowing full rotation on the peddal with the bad leg - much pain, tears and swelling!
I admire you and hope you will go well with the next op.
Hello.
I had TKR 3 years ago so just trying to remember what I was like at your stage.
6 weeks was when i saw surgeon again.
By that point I just managed a 90 degree bend.
Surgeon said I could go back to swimming but not to do breast stroke for another 6 weeks.
Unlike martin I never did regret having TKR. Not for one minute.
It is a long hard road to recovery but well worth it in the end.
Good luck with the other knee
Take care and keep in touch
Love Sarah xx
You are at four weeks. . believe me, there seems to be a great leap forward at six weeks! Hang on there, and you'll experience it yourself!
Hi Cheryl
I returned to work at the 6-week stage following both of my TKRs. My first one (Dec 2912) felt quite reasonable at that stage, but I ended up having an MUA 5 months later, 'cause I couldn't then straighten it. My recovery really started from there and that knee is good now. I had my second TKR done last Sept and this time it was a bespoke one. I woke up in pain and it just continued in that vain really. I was walking reasonably with my crutches for the first 4 weeks, but things went backwards after that. Around Feb time my knee started to stiffen up and I had an MUA in Mar. Unfortunately, it didn't straighten it and I'm now going back into hospital 25/9 to have my knee opened up again.
I work at home, on a computer, and the constant sitting for long periods has (I believe) hindered both of my recoveries.
I wish you well with both of yours...you are very brave having them so close together.
Patsy
Good luck cheryl
i had mine done 7-7 and still have a lot,of,rough spots along this journey. It was important for me to have picked a good time to have had this done with no pressure going back to a job. I babysit my granddaughter and put that on hold.'figure on just concentrating on my recovery. It is a big deal
i am still doing pain meds 3 times a day and a lot of ice. Mainly try to stay off my feet for too long of a time as I start to acke and swell.
Good luck to you
Manipulation under anaesthetic.. they give you a spinal block, then force the bend and extension . .you don't feel it at the time, but I imagine it's sore later . . Has to be in one of those continuous motion things to keep the movement in the knee. . .
Hi Cheryl
I have also just passed the 6 week point. My knee is still a bit swollen and bruised and a light pink colour and feels like it has a tight band round it. Other than that. I am walking ok and can go out without crutches (though I would take open a strange place for security). I have been doing the exercises religiously but still find the knee bend painful. At the physio last week I managed 110 bend which nearly sent me to heaven, but it doesn't feel any easier when I exercise. I have not done stairs yet although I am trying an exercise on one step show me where you push your knee into the step and slightly raise your other foot.
I am due for check up end August (very busy where I live in Surrey so have had to wait), but will carry on with the physio.
Oh yes, I also tried an aqua physio session (cost me) which was very helpful. One to one with the physio who puts you through your paces.
Haven't been swimming yet.
Generally feel the hellish part is over - and it was hell for the first two or three weeks - but way to go yet.
This Forum has been so helpful and I thank you all foreign your contributions. Oldfatguy (who I agree should be renamed Oldwiseguy) has been particularly encouraging and I in particular thank him for emphasising hydration. Why, oh why, don't they tell you about this in hospital? And why don't they tell you that you'll be climbing the wall in pain in the early days instead of saying "you may feel some discomfort"?!!
Good luck Cheryl. Let us know how you get on.
Typos here and there, sorry. Thank you all for your contrubutions
Hi, at six weeks I was in emotional meltdown thinking I would never get a great bend and would never feel like my old self again !!!! By the following week I felt totally different, very positive emotionally and better bend physically. This recovery is a series of ups and downs but there is light at the end of the tunnel and the support on this site from others is fantastic.
Or under general anaesthetic as both of mine were.
fair play to you cheryl going for your other tkr in october im afraid my 6wk point on bi- lateral was not good as he made a mess of my knee but the 6wk of my revision was much better i remember going to see the surgeon for check up with the 2 crutches and only needing the one going home plus when in to see him he asked if i could stand up from the chair without holding on to the table and i did i felt so happy about that and he sent me on my maiden voyage accross the room (which was pretty big) without crutches and back i was a little unsteady but was able too ,i supose looking back i knew then it was possible that this time id make it to the end
Sounds like you are doing great!!!!!!
hi tebow im doing pretty good im never going to be fantastic as some others are but ive got a life now i can go to local shopping centre which is nearby i walk there and pick up messages and bring them home ,i go at least twice a week for a forty min walk to a woods and do the full walk its uneven path and alot uphill before my revision i was spending alot of time indoors and no way could i do all i can now .it still hurts abit but i can deal with that
Glad to hear that your other knee is OK for now!
My right knee has been my worst one at least for the past four years. I'm hoping by doing my left first, which was bad but didn't FEEL as painful as my right, I will have a more solid "helper" leg as RIGHT KNEE is going through recovery.
I know what you mean about STAIRS! I am finding that I have been compensating SO MUCH over these last four years that I have to RE-LEARN the propercwayvto do just about EVERYTHING!
Thanks for responding! Wishing you much success as you get stronger and stronger!
Thanks so much for the vote of confidence!
I have been trying to listen to my body and be as aggressive as I can without hurting myself.
As all of us have dealt with LOTS of PAIN BEFORE our surgeries, the LAST THING we want is to get NEW PAIN!
OOOooooooo! I just was at PT and made my FIRST rotation forward and backward on the bike. That is the first time to be able to do that in OVER FOUR YEARS!
I can't even IMAGINE how painful that slip off the pedal was for you! SO SORRY that happened!
I do NOT trust shoes, so I ALWAYS do PT in my BARE FEET. When I do the bike I hook my toes over the pedals. The bike I use also has straps.
I am realizing how poorly I move, so I ask my therapists to call me out EVERY TIME I shuffle, or move stiffly or just look WEIRD.
I have asked my family to do the same. It is helping me be more NORMAL.
It has been sad for me to realize how I have LOOKED in pain as much as I have BEEN in pain!
hi cheryl i laugh when i read about asking family and therapist to let you know when your not doing it right my hubby is the same any time i carried the leg as he put it he would tell me sometimes i wouldnt realise i had done it ,but he was right every time so it corected me , even though sometimes i felt like telling him where to go !!!! another thing my physio said to me if you want to look ten years younger do not hold on or grunt when getting up from sitting position it made me laugh but it stayed with me and i always did what he said it made me feel better
also cheryl i buy sketchers runners they have so many styles and they are the most comfortable of shoes i dont wear anything other than sketchers like you i dont trust any other shoes for pt so now with out and about they feel soft on the feet and help me .i have not worn sandals or shoes since my ops i need the security of the runners