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eriu40 · 06-29-2009, 07:24 PM

Thank you, newtail. It does me good to read everyone's postings on here, so that if things don't go as quickly as I'd like, I can remind myself that this is normal. When I had my knee scope done two years ago, I was in a panic when I still had knee pain two weeks later!

I am a nurse anesthetist who does the anesthesia for these types of procedures every day (did a TKR today). It's so strange to be on the other side of the health care equation. Yikes. I realized today that deep down, I just don't believe that I will ever be without pain again. Did anyone else feel that way pre-op, and are you glad (or not) that you finally had the operation? How about folks who are still in their 40s? How was the recovery for you? How has your quality of life improved? Thanks.

IWillSurvive · 06-29-2009, 10:34 PM

I am a 57 year old women who has had three TKR, yes three, one was a revision because the original failed after only 6 months. Most important thing to remember is every knee is different except that they all take longer than we like to heal. I had been walking up and down the steps, the baby way as I used to call it, for about 7 years and most of the time had to come down the stairs backwards. I can now go up like a normal adult and am getting better at going down. I think it is mostly my fear of falling since that was a normal mode of how I usually got downstairs (not the way I wanted it for sure). Range of motion usually will be good enough to do most things you couldn't do before surgery, it just takes a lot of work, time and patience. As for pain, that depends on how bad things were. I still have ocassional pain and my surgeon has to keep reminding me that TKR does not make your knee brand new, it just makes it a whole lot better. It is not always possible to cut out all the arthritis but it is SO much better than before the TKR that it is worth it. Yes even my third knee was worth it as most days I feel like a million bucks compared to how bad it was before surgery. Will I run a marathon, no but that's okay because I can walk and live life pretty much normal, I just have to remember that my knees are still like they were when I was younger and pace myself accordingly. Would I do it again, you bet I would and I would have done it a lot sooner as the stronger your muscles and your joint, the faster your recovery. You will still get to the same place it is just a matter of how long it takes. Each month will be better and then one day you just hop out of bed and think "wow, I feel great, just like a normal person". Give yourself a full year before you get to 100% of what you can get to. Don't worry about the measurement of the range, worry about what you can and can not do (walking, steps, driving, sitting, getting up off the floor). Good luck to all.

taberrose · 06-30-2009, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eriu40

Thank you, newtail. It does me good to read everyone's postings on here, so that if things don't go as quickly as I'd like, I can remind myself that this is normal. When I had my knee scope done two years ago, I was in a panic when I still had knee pain two weeks later!

I am a nurse anesthetist who does the anesthesia for these types of procedures every day (did a TKR today). It's so strange to be on the other side of the health care equation. Yikes. I realized today that deep down, I just don't believe that I will ever be without pain again. Did anyone else feel that way pre-op, and are you glad (or not) that you finally had the operation? How about folks who are still in their 40s? How was the recovery for you? How has your quality of life improved? Thanks.

Uriu40, I am 46 and had TKR on 2/20/09, it was the third surgery on my left knee with the first one at 31. Before the TKR, I was in constant pain to the point that at the end of every day I was limping badly. The surgery was classic textbook and recovery took longer than I thought it would initally. Most likely due to my own impatients. The therapists all said I was doing wonderful and ahead of the usual time frame. I am now at 4 months and 1 week. Last week I went camping and hiking, I did dutch oven cooking for a group of 35. I got tired and a little sore but did very well. I was surprised, each day I could feel a little more stregnth. Stairs are easy again and the good part is, is that there is no pain. I force myself to push myself by thinking "If it doesn't kill me it will make me stronger." I too did not think that I would ever be without pain again, and yet now I am. Good luck to you.

junebea · 07-02-2009, 09:32 PM

When does the pain end? I am 9 weeks post op and still in pain. I am only at 90% flexion also. Can't seem to get the swelling down either.

antelyn77 · 07-02-2009, 10:30 PM

9 weeks. yes I was in pain too. I had my surgery(bi lateral) in November and at 9 weeks I had good flexibility able to do my physical therapy and get around but was still in pain and having ALOT of problems with pain medication. Definitely still needing it despite the side effects. Until 12 weeks I had significant pain, then it began to change. Its definitely a 3, 6, 9 then ultimately 12 month healing process. Dont get discouraged. Many people and even the doctors make it seem so easy but it is not. Keep doing therapy, it takes constant work. I gained good flexibility however the focus of my life was physical therapy--I did it daily for nearly the first 12 weeks. Very little noticable progress every day, but each day added up.
BTW Im now nearly 8 mos and Im just now having parts of days where I feel 'normal' and move fluidily, easily and with no pain.
Hang in there. Your right on track as far as my experience goes

junebea · 07-03-2009, 12:25 AM

Thanks! Good to know it gets better at 12 weeks as I have to go back to work then. I keep working at PT, but progress is slow on flex. What are you using for pain. I am trying not to use Vicodin except at night, but that means I have to take two 650 mg Tylenol every 8 hours during the day plus 2 100 mg Celebrex. My doctor is OK with this. He prescribed my Oxidodin 10 mg if I wanted at night, but warned me that I could get addicted to it, so only gave me 14 tabs. Now I'm scared to take it!

eriu40 · 07-03-2009, 03:19 AM

Taberrose, thanks so much! I can't wait for the day when I can go hiking again! I was a huge hiker up until about three or so years ago. Now, I can barely make it from my car to my house, and I also limp pretty much all the time. Giving up hiking was probably the most difficult thing for me, and I miss it all the time.

I'll have to remind myself constantly that the recovery is more difficult and takes longer than a lot of people (including myself) might think, while remembering that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm scheduled to go back to work 8 weeks post-op. Does that sound reasonable to people? I'm a nurse anesthetist who spends a good amount of time sitting in a chair, although I do have to walk and push a stretcher from the OR to the recovery area in between cases. I could have someone else push the stretcher for me, if necessary, I think.

eriu40 · 07-03-2009, 03:23 AM

Thanks for that, IWillSurvive. I am so looking forward to my knee replacement on 7/15, but am a little afraid of the recovery! It's nice to hear how well someone is doing so far out.

IWillSurvive · 07-03-2009, 08:22 AM

Junebea, the pain and flexion issues could be from the swelling. Have you tried things like the ice machines that cool for a long as you want, I used to just sit and wear mine for hours at a time and while sleeping. Also a great trick my therapist taught me for the swelling was to use my TED compression hose, just cut the foot off at the lower calf and use it like a compression sleeve, it will give you compression from the mid calf to the thigh, that with elevation and ice can do wonders for swelling. I used to wear my sleeve for almost 4 months whenever I was on my feet, put it on before you even get up out of bed, only take it off to sleep overnight. Told my surgeon I was doing it and he loved the idea, best of all it worked and wearing it for PT and icing first I was able to get more flexion. Good luck.

IWillSurvive · 07-03-2009, 08:31 AM

Don't worry about the recovery, it will be hard and painful no doubt about it. But it is a different sort of pain, scary at first but then you realize that just standing on it doesn't hurt like it used to before the surgery. The pain is from all the trauma of the surgery iteself to your bone and muscle, so in some weird way I took comfort that the arthritis pain was mostly gone and it was just surgery pain I had which I knew would ultimately go away. The most exciting thing is when you can literally get up on the day of surgery and walk with a walker. Just hang on to that vision and most important do not be afraid to take pain meds. I was on so much pain meds before the surgery that the vicodan didn't do a thing for me. My doctor understood this and immediately put me on oxycontin, percocet, celebrex, lyrica and cough medicine, yes cough medicine somehow it makes the other drugs more effective. My doctor warned me about the addictive effects of oxycontin but I didn't get addicted and I started at 10mg twice a day and moved up to 30 mg twice a day along with 2 percocet every 4 hours. If you are in too much pain to do PT you won't progress. Just be aware of the addiction possibility and take it for the pain when you need to and slowly just back off on the days when you don't need it. I am not addicted and I sure had a ton of meds. Best of luck to you.

itsanewday · 07-03-2009, 08:20 PM

eriu40,... At 8 weeks PO (right TKR) I was sawing up large trees with a chainsaw, tossing the cut sections up onto the bank of a ditch. I carried my heaviest saw up and down the ditch... which I couldn't do a year ago. When the fluid in the knee got to be too much for comfort, I quit to return the next day to work on the trees. Hope you have good luck with recovery.

junebea · 07-03-2009, 08:37 PM

Yes, I use the ice machine; but have a hard time sitting with it on for more than an hour at a time. I try and do it at least 2 hours a day. I don't know about the compression sock. I can't stand to have anything tight around me knee even tight pants bother me. My knee is so sensitive to touch. I have tried using the ice machine at night, but am such a light sleeper that the pump keeps me awake.

junebea · 07-05-2009, 12:03 AM

Thanks ever so much Iwillsurvive, your compression stocking thingy worked wonderfully. I spent all day on the 4th (except 2 hours in the pool) with one on with very little pain and I spent the day walking and with my leg down way more than I normally do. I really appreciate the suggestion and will definetly use it when I go back to work in 3 weeks. Again, I can't thank you enough!

TriCin · 07-05-2009, 07:37 PM

I am so excited!! I am 3 months post surgery on the 7th of July and am finally feeling like I have made some headway! I still have pain and swelling but it seems it is bending easier and it is more of a heavy ache than actual pain! If that makes any sense.I just had to share I am so thrilled!

ginnypan1 · 07-05-2009, 08:05 PM

Hi eriu40! I'm 48, and had TKR on 5/12/09, I'll be 8 weeks PO on Tuesday! I had a knee injury in my mid 20's that required some ligament and quad surgery. I was told I was a good candidate for TKR two years ago, but silly me, I put it off! I was barely able to walk by the time I finally broke down and decided to get the surgery. I did not have full ROM due to the prior surgery, and had developed a terrible limp, and a very weird gait. I was living on etodolac, a OA drug. Eight weeks post surgery, I have 103 ROM, still working on it though. I had a walker the first week post surgery, and then went to a cane which I only use now if I'm out and about in a crowd of people or if there are curbs that I might need help with. PT is great, I go 3x per week. My husband is a little over protective, so I have not driven yet, but plan to see how it goes in an MT parking lot tomorrow. Doc said play it by ear after 6 weeks... We need a banister on our basement steps so I have not really been down in the basement yet...
If you can do any straight leg raises before surgery, get started NOW!!! It can only help after! Good Luck!

ginnypan1 · 07-05-2009, 08:09 PM

It's totally worth it!!! The post surgical pain is terrible for a couple of days, the stiffness is uncomfortable, but not painful. I really wish I had done it sooner!

ginnypan1 · 07-05-2009, 08:11 PM

Wow, itsanewday! 133 ROM! That rocks! In four months! I hope I get there!

ginnypan1 · 07-05-2009, 08:29 PM

I had my TKR on May 12, 2009! So glad to hear that I am not the only cry baby! It was definitely the drugs! I also got a terrible headache from my pain pills, thank goodness I haven't needed them for the past 3 - 4 weeks!
I am 8 weeks out and have a ROM of 103ish... I have almost no swelling, and no pain at all... I do have stiffness... I'm hoping to be able to play tennis NEXT summer! I still have a weird gate due to the pre surgery pain I was in which caused me to walk funny, BAD habit! I'm finding it difficult to walk normal! But I'm getting there!

You may be able to appeal for more PT! I had alot of muscle cramping prior to surgery, but have not had ANY post!

IWillSurvive · 07-06-2009, 10:00 AM

Junebea, I am so glad you tried the compression sleeve, I knew it would work for you! Learn to love it, it will be your new best friend. I hunted online until I found them for about $10/pair in white so I have a lot. I also got some great glue called It Stays that is a roll on and keeps the stocking from rolling, washes right off with water.

When you go back to work, make sure even if you aren't wearing one, you have a spare in your handbag so if you notice your leg starting to swell you put it on right away. My best suggestion is to put the comporession sleeve on BEFORE you swell, it works better and won't cut off circulation. I used mine for PT and it was easier to get flexion and also used it in my pool, pool exercises are great for TKR recovery. I

f you find your scar is sensitive, you can use a simple gauze pad over the incision and then the stocking won't rub. Also have your PT teach you how to rub the scar tissue with a terry towel, sounds crazy but your scar can be very sensitive and you have to desensitize it, only takes a few minutes at a time and you will notice a dramatic improvement in a few days. Often PT forgets to tell you this little secret and having anything touch your scar can be a killer unless you desensitize it.

Continue with the recovery and just remember that it takes time but you will get there, only person you need to be in a race with is yourself. I have done this 3 times and each time it does get better because I know more about my body and learn more tricks. I guess practice makes perfect, sort of like nursing babies, the first one is the hardest, lol.

eriu40 · 07-06-2009, 05:53 PM

Hi Ginnypan,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, as it sounds very similar to mine. I didn't have an injury, but was diagnosed with arthritis in my knee when I was 32. I'm now at the point where I can barely walk, and much of the pain I'm having is from the sciatica that they tell me I have from my wacky gait. The surgery is 9 days away, and couldn't come soon enough. I'm so tired of being in pain. I can't wait to hike again. I used to be a big hiker before things started getting really bad a few years ago.

Has anyone done any hiking post-op? If so, how has that gone? What distances are you able to go?

Thanks.

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