i only have paracetamol for pain relief and the knee is so swollen i cannot do exercises given me - i wish i not had the op
hi
how long ago did you have the op? I would expect you to have more than paracetamol. You are quite right, you cant exercise with a painful swollen knee, get some more pain meds and try iceing your knee.
GOOD LUCK,its a very hard op to recover from.
I would have thought you would have more than paracetamol. celebrex will help the swelling, i agree you cant excercise when swollen and in pain. I only excercise when swelling is down. No one can really prepare you for the amount of pain we endure.
i am unfortunately unable to take any other pain relief and the swelling is unbearable as i cannot walk very well and do the exercises
good morning maureen x swelling is hard because when it swells up you are very restricted with movements x you need to get a cool gel mat and put it infreezer x wrap it around your knee at least four times a day x it really works with keeping sweliing down x hope this helps x purchase it from home bargains x
If you really can’t take any other pain relief my thought would be to use ice and elevation for 30 mins to help the swelling, then do the exercise as best you can after icing. Repeat the icing after exercise. Try to build up the exercises gradually. Start with just a few heel slides ( even if you only manage to bend your knee the tiniest bit) and repeat that at least 3 times throughout the day. With walking, get on your walker or crutches and do a length of your hallway and living room then build it up to more lengths, making sure you use ice for the swelling afterwards. The exercise is absolutely essential to your recovery so you’ll need to dedicate your whole day to your rehabilitation for a while. In the early weeks my mantra was ‘pain meds / exercise / ice and rest / repeat’ and that’s what I dedicated my day to really. Just aim for small improvements - adding just one more heel slide to your reps or managing just a few more steps. You have to do it and you can! GOOD LUCK!
thank you - i am doing the slides but with difficulty as the swelling restricts mei have ice coolers in freezer and replace one with anotherso i do know i am doing the right thingmany thanks
Oh dear. I’m so sorry. Perhaps you need stronger pain relief.
how long ago did you have your op? you must keep using the ice pack it will help with the swelling.
10 days ago now - using ice packs too back at hospital for review tomorrow but my pain is horrendous and not under control with just paracetamol hopefully ill be addressed tomorrow
10 days is still early days. Once the pain relief is sorted out, you will be able to do the exercises. My knee is still very swollen after nearly four months. I wish you well.
thats early days. i had mine done 17 weeks ago. pain has subsided and just take paracetamol at night. whole leg is still bigger than the other but apparently it takes a good year for it all to get back to normal.
stick with it and you will be pain free soon.
good luck
You are only 10 days post op. This is still very early days.
When I had my TKR 7 years ago I was told it would be about a year before I began to feel the benefits and I reckon that was about right. Sorry if this sounds a really long way off to you at the moment but better to be honest.
It was a long and painful recovery but I never got to the point where I wished I had not had the operation. It does get better with time.
Hope you are addressed when you go back to the hospital tomorrow.
I was extremely lucky and had an excellent consultant.
About 20 months ago I had an infection in the knee that was replaced.
Went back to the same consultant and again he was excellent and sorted it out.
Good luck for tomorrow. Hang in there.
Take care and keep in touch.
Sarah xx
Then it will improve with time. I felt the first 4/5 weeks were horrendous and I would never make progress and be able to bend my knee again. Now after ten weeks I have 135 degrees bend. You’ll get there.
thank you for taking the time to reply - it certainly helps to hear from others who have had same problem i have an excellent consultant and hospital too take care and thank you again
Im sorry you
too are suffering. I too had so much swelling I could barely bend my knee. I am now six months post operation still living with pain day and night but I am able to walk somewhat. I also wish I never had the surgery. I am seeing my surgeon tomorrow to try to get answers as I believe the joint is either improperly fitted or too large.
ICE is your friend. It helps with swelling and pain. You will see such difference if you can ice often. I borrowed an “Active Ice” machine from a neighbor and had that running while i slept. It helped so much, BEST OF LUCK
I went downstairs at 3.00am this morning to get the ice pack out of the freezer. I dropped off to sleep with it still on my knee.
Try some Voltaren Gel (RX in US, generic diclofenac elsewhere…check for interactions first). Best topical anti-inflammatory you can get. You can use it 4X/day…great at bedtime. Caution: Do NOT use it directly on the incision line until it is fully healed and your doc says it’s OK.
We all felt the exact same way about the op in the first 12 weeks. Then things start to change gradually. Gotta give the knee TIME to heal, you have to put in the WORK, and you have to learn PATIENCE. These are your tools. The typical “full recovery” usually takes a full year with most people reporting “feeling more like themselves” around 9 months. Once you get your ROM back…
…start the mandatory muscle rebuild…
…so you can walk correctly, regain your balance and are able to do stairs normally again. You can get there just like the rest of us.
Put this on your fridge…
“Never give up! Never surrender!” - Tim Allen, Galaxy Quest
I do not understand why I did spectacularly well after the operation for around 1 weeks, but am now struggling nearly four months in with pain and stiffness. I blamed myself for doing too much a few weeks ago, e.g., walking around seven miles in one day at the seaside. I felt better after starting to take it easy, but up and down again.