After knee replacement surgery

Overall, I’d say average. Oxycontin round the clock for 3 days after discharge, tapering off to 6 Tylenol/day until 2 week mark, now 1 or at most 2 Aleve per day. Sometimes none. Does not mean no pain, but it is tending down to pre-surgery level and slowly improving. Would be much better if I did not do the exercises....... necessary evil for now, helpful in the long run. Thanks for asking!

@ellerbracke I had a TKR just about a year ago but never had need for any type of insert. I was in considerable discomfort for a while but it literally lifted overnight suddenly! These days of course the surgeons are very judicious about prescribing narcotics so I was on very little, and being a post-transplant patient I can only use Tylenol for pain relief. I had a small prescription for hydrocodone that after a short amount of time I was told to cut in half, and then in quarters, and also tramadol and gabapentin that I only took at bedtime.

I never had trouble with extension, but did with flex, and I do not believe I am at the flex they want you to achieve even at this point. I heard that number was 120, and I suspect I am a bit under that because I know my right knee is, which was done a few years ago, and my left knee does not flex as well as that one.

I have an appointment with my ortho at the end of the month. I will be curious to see what my flex is then. I am still working on it.
JK

JK: I envy you the ease with extension. I have longstanding back issues, and I need my legs to be balanced so I will not cause any more problems. I had arthroscopic surgery on same knee 11 months ago, and, being an overachiever, was so proud of my 130 degree flexion in no time at all, and I suspect that I neglected the extension a little bit. With all the walking for exercise, and gardening, etc., I do, the slight imbalance MAY have hastened the progression of arthritits to the point where pain was constant and limiting. So this time, I’m getting it straight before getting it bent (it’s ok anyway, around 110 to 115 after 4 weeks). As to opioids: same surgeon did 2 shoulder arthroscopies - 1 each side -, 1 knee arthroscopy, 1 knee replacement. Each and every time he was generous with prescription, and each and every time I returned the leftovers. I hate opioids with a passion, but nothing beats a decent night’s sleep when you had surgery and pain.

Hi everyone, it’s time to open a new group dedicated to joint replacements.

All discussions related to joint replacements, such as replacement of knees, hips, shoulders, wrists and elbows as well as preparing for surgery and recovery can now be found in the Joint Replacements group here, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/joint-replacements/.

+Follow the Joint Replacements group and continue to connect with others and share your experiences, ask questions and encourage each other in your rehab.

@ellerbracke I envy your flex in such a short amount of time. Don’t neglect the exercises for this though. Mine has actually regressed. I thought I was doing enough nut obviously I was not.
My surgeon was extremely conservative about the narcotics, as is my PCP. I live in NH and there is a huge opioid problem so all of the doctors here are being very conservative, almost to a ridiculous extent. PCPs generally know their patients enough to be able to make a judgement. I needed some pain meds before a weekend and my ortho is an hour and a half away so he asked my PCP, who knows me very well, to give me a small prescription to get me through the weekend, but he would not!
JK

So sorry you have so much pain. My Doc gave me Oxicodon, Its Very Effective. I'm not an addictive kind of person. All it does is keep me pain Free for quite awhile. I highly recommend it!
This and Vicodan don't do anything that would want me to b addicted. Wish there was not so much of a fuss cause Oxicodon is Best Pain med I ever had.
Also like diclofinate - takes a while to kick in but, effective and long lasting. Very Little harm to innards.

Hi Beatrice ..... I'm sorry you're having so much pain .... a joint replacement is no easy surgery, that's for sure. About 5 years ago I had a knee replacement and my doctor gave me an Rx for Vicodin. I only took 1 or 2, and then switched to Motrin - 4 at first, and then 2. My maternal family, including my mother were all addicted to alcohol and I didn't want to chance it. About a year later, I had to have a "revision" meaning they did it all over again because something about the first one still hurt. That one has turned out beautifully. And, I did the same thing .... took Motrin. For me it worked even better than the Vicodin.
abby

@amberpep they are saying now that ibuprofen, which of course is what Motrin is, works pretty much as well as the narcotics. Unfortunately I am not able to take it being post-transplant. I presume it must conflict with the immunosuppressants. Tylenol is very little help. As I have mentioned my ortho is very conservative so I had very few opioids.
JK

Hi - new here. To make a long story short, I'm a 54 year old female who had a running injury spiral into a total knee replacement in March 2018. I recently had an illness that planted me on the couch for 5 days and it has become very evident that the swelling & pain I have been complaining about since March gets significantly worse when weight bearing. Has anyone else had swelling and pain this far out from surgery and if so, what whas the cause?

@melcpa86 My second TKR (total knee replacement) was in October 2017, I just had my one year check-up last Thursday. My first was six years ago. I had more pain after this one than after the first so my ortho was seeing me every two weeks to keep track of it, he is very good. It suddenly lifted at about the 6 week mark, and things went much better then! At any rate, I think you should make an appointment and see your ortho just in case there is something wrong, I don't think it should bother you for that long. It's always best to have them evaluate it. I was very pleased that mine stayed on top of it until it was better. If anyone is in the Boston area, I would highly recommend him. He is actually very well known beyond the Boston area, and is the primary developer of a custom made replacement knee.
Now, the one I had done more recently is great. We were on vacation recently and I was walking over six miles a day! The knee that was done 6 years ago does still hurt a bit after that much walking but the one I had done last year was tired, but painless. Unfortunately it never did get the desired amount of flex, but the doctor said he can go in, in an outpatient procedure, and snip some scar tissue that will help with that. I think I will do that after I have addressed a couple of other, unrelated issues.
JK