i am 3 days post op TKR right leg and the pain has been unreal! I am just walking now with a zimmer but how do you manage the pain without heavy opiods which make me very nauseous?
My right hip was replaced 5 months ago, but the knee replacement has been so much tougher and although i appreciate that it is very early days i am not coping great at the moment. Any advice and support would d be hugely welcomed. Thank you
i had my knee replaced 10 years ago left hip 3 years ago and right hip 8 weeks ago
knee is very hard and painful take pain meds. every 4-6 hours and use your ice .
knee takes time and patience.
do your exercises and hang in there.
Susan, thank you. i will keep hanging in there . today i should move onto elbow crutches which will give me a little more independence. however i will try to only take non opioids for pain relief as i do not want to rely on any drug that can become addictive - like mst or pregabalin. i have been on them before and it us difficult to cone off them. thank you again for taking the time to reply.
I haven’t had a knee replacement, but I’ve heard that it’s tougher than a hip. A friend bought a special knee icing machine from Amazon, said it was really good for keeping the swelling under control. (maybe you already have one.)
Also it’s important to stay ahead of the pain. I took a whole range of drugs for the first fortnight, and then reduced them a bit.
I wish you all the best.
Judith, thank you . i will check out what is available on Amazon to cool the knee as i am sure the swelling makes the recovery much more painful. i will also keep on top of the pain meds as it is the only way to manage and not get overwhelmed. The staples come out in 10 days and i hope the tightness and the itchiness will then ease off- although it seems a long way off at the moment! thank you for getting back to me x