Just had my knee replaced last last week and my leg and ankle are very swollen..I ice two to three times a day (elevated) just wondering how much swelling is acceptable. Any with similar situation?
Hi there swelling will get better can last up to 3 months. The best thing is ice and elevate. I also done a lot of ankle pumps that will help keep your ankle moving. I am 3 weeks out and still have some swelling I elevate one hour in morning and hour at night seams to help me with swelling, ankle pumps ankle pumps
Good luck
Tom
At your stage and for the next few weeks, a lot. Just remember, this proceedure causes much trauma in all areas. Soft tissue, nerves and bones have been damages. They all have to heal in their own time and way. Just take your pain meds as prescribed, do your excercises, rest, hydrate, elevate and ice, ice, ice. Don't be up and around unless you have to be. At 3 weeks you'll have a little better idea how things are going and 6 weeks will be your next benchmark. You will have different pains and some will come and go and for some unknow reason, return. Sleep whenever you can. Your physical and mental state have been through a lot. Give them a chance to heal
You will be swelling for at least 4 months or longer. Some days will be worse than others depending on how much you've exercised or if it is damp outdoors. The road back is a long one. But the pain will lessen.
Thanks Tom....I'm icing right now and because u mentioned it I'm doing my ankle pumps. I was just a little concerned with the amount of swelling...I see my surgeon next Wed. So I'm sure everything is normal. I had my hip replaced 3 years ago and never had any swelling (none concerning) so this being my fist knee I'm in uncharted territory....thanks again for responding.
Your welcome. I think we are all in uncharted waters. This forum is fantastic a lot of encouragement and support from everyone.
Tom
Thanks Jeanne...just a vote of confidence from someone who is down the road from me helps. I have been exercising a lot in the last two days so I'm guessing the abnormal amount of swelling is ok. Thanks again.
Starting to see that now. I'm glad I signed up...never done this before. Probably will haveore questions down the road...so it's nice to know people are out there. You take care as well my friend.
My legs have been swelling for 15 years since my first heart attack. It is sometimes hard to know if the swelling is from tkr or from the poor circulation in my leg. Some days I am so swollen that I can't exercise when I know I should.
One nice thing about this site, there are people on here from every time zone so if you can't sleep and its 3 a.m., someone will be awake to answer your questions. I spent you another post but because of a punctuation error the moderator caught it. Reminds me of my Jr. High English teacher.
Hi!
Swelling is a strange thing. I had LOTS of it with my left TKR but almost none with my right TKR.
Same doctor. Same hospital. Same BODY!
Two very different experiences just four months apart.
Some things to try include: 1) Drinking lots of water. It helps swelling to lessen. 2) Try compression hose that reach to the thigh. You can also use Ace bandages to compress the legs. I had my legs down on a long car ride to and back from the funeral of a dear friend four weeks into my first TKR. Swelling was TERRIBLE! Compression hose REALLY helped once we arrived home. 3) Ibuprofen or some other anti-inflammatory medication will bring down swelling. 4) Elevating both legs by laying on your bed facing the headboard with your legs parallel to the wall against the headboard will feel GREAT and bring down swelling. This is my son's method that he modified for me. He is a distance runner and lays on the floor with his legs up the wall after his long runs.
I hope these tips help you. Swelling is NASTY! It feels SO MUCH better when it GOES AWAY!
In the beginning, which you are now, ice more often than you're doing. Some go 20 min every hr. I have mine somewhat controlled. 4 weeks po yesterday. I also have a ice sleeve that wraps around the knee and continually pumps cold water. I put it on last night and slept with it on. Just great so I've just settled in with it for tonight. This is the first night that I am without pain, so far. Knock on wood! Stay with the site, lots of info and support. It's a long journey, or the first 4 weeks at least. All the best.
Uggh...sorry to hear. Never had any swelling from my hip replacement so this is new to me. I just can't believe how much it can swell up from day to day....and I'm peeing a lot at night. I guess that's were the extra fluid is going.
All good all good old fat guy? You already made me laugh....good medicine. Just going to take one Oxy before I turn the lights out and hope for a good night sleep.
Thanks Cheryl...I just got another compression sock today at PT. and I have been trying to elevate my leg when I'm icing but I don't think it's high enough. One tip a guy said was to keep doing my ankle pumps which I kinda forgot to do. However, I'm doing really well in PT, it's been on week since surgery and I can walk without aid(crutches, cane.etc..) around the house. I'm only 50 and I think since I'm use to being active I may be pushing too hard too soon. So I'm going to back off on some of the exercising that I'm doing. Thank you for responding and for the tips...I never thought of using an ace bandage bit now I'm going to get one and control the placement and tightness.
O my gosh Anne...I just used an ice sleeve at PT today and I'm amazed.. I so want to get one but the therapist said they are around $1,500...so I won't be getting one any time soon. But man do the feel good and work. They also used electrical stimulation today which felt great. Thank you for responding and I will stay with / on the site for info and maybe help others along the way. I just took an Oxy and will be going to bed shortly...thanks again for the advice.
The product for icing I have had great luck with is a colpac. They come in several sizes but I use the biggest one as it covers the entire leg hip to knee. It is a plastistic filled with gel. They freeze quickly and are pliable so you can wrap them around the leg. You have to put them in a pillow case or towel as they can't touch bare skin or will cause frost bite. One of our local pharmacies carries them at a reduced price as a courtesy to the hospital run physical therapy dept. They are also available at Amazon. I had to replace mine today as the seam split and the goop was getting all over the place. I paid $29. By the description you use for meds etc I am assuming you are in the US as I am. I'm in the metro Kansas City area. This is my 5th rehab on this leg and I've had 11 surgeries. I've tried about everything but the one constant.........take your pain meds on schedule and rest as much as possible. If you've never been on opiates before you will find they can be constipating and it can happen before you know it. Keep Colase on hand and if that dosent do it, try mirilax as well. Drink lots of water. Keep a glass or pitcher by your chair. Proper hydration will also help the swelling as it keeps the soft tissue from getting dry and tight.
Glad you are doing well.😊
Just pay attention to what you body is telling you and always rest as much as you can. Try not to overdo it because you will actually lose time if you have to regroup again due to being sore and achy.
You will discover for yourself what works best -- the compression sock, the Ace bandage or some combination of both. At one point I found that the compression sock was really uncomfortable in the thigh area, so I cut a slit in the tight top elastic and wrapped my thigh area with the Ace bandage. Perfect.🙌
Hi bpaschKevin,
Hope you are fling better.
1. Re the ice sleeve, check out a cryocuff? It sounds similar and I see them on Amazon for about $90. I was issued with one on discharge from hospital.
2. Re icing, on this great forum, one of these great people advised me to ice at least 7 tes per day, I do this now for about 15 - 20 minutes per session and it really helps
Also before I go to bed I do maybe 3 icing sessions every half hour and it also helps.
3. Re walking unaided after 1 week. I am 6.5 weeks PO. I v walking with 1 crutch since last week on advice from PT. However I do wall unaided indoors, but when I do for any period greater than 15-20 minutes, I swell big time.
We are all different and you know your own capabilities but walking unaided after one week seems incredible and from my experience is too much too soon.
I wonder what other TKRs think?
Best wishes, Take care,
Alan.
I borrowed from a neighbor, but I think 250. Was what she paid.