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10 days post tkr and pain unbearable
I am a head and neck cancer group member as well.
Now I have had a tkr 10 days ago. I was not naive going into this new adventure and knew it would be very painful post surgery however, the level of pain I am living with is much greater than expected. I am no stranger to pain (surgery number13). Also, I have a very high pain tolerance. The swelling and bruising is as expected. The incision and staples look good. No indication of infection. The pain is in the knee joint. The dr originally put me on Hydromorphone. It wasn’t even softening the pain a bit. So he now has put me on Tramadol. No difference.
Have been icing and painfully completing all Physio exercises. Basically been doing everything I have been told to do. Movement in joint and leg is as expected etc. I am hardly sleeping and in constant pain. I realize that the first two weeks are supposed to be the worst and then it will slowly improve. I guess my question is what others have experienced in the first few weeks and/or if anyone has any suggestions. Or I am not too proud to hear that I am just being a big wimp and to suck it up. 64 year old male in otherwise good health and not overweight.
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Everyone I know that has had TKR says it is extremely painful.
TKR is not an easy surgery from everyone I know that has had it. I am so sorry and I am praying fiercely for you right now for relief. God Bless You.
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1 ReactionThanks 🙂
I had my second TKR 5-1/2 weeks ago, & am still in a great deal of pain. (However, I never took opiates, & have been taking only Tylenol for pain.)
I have been taking Tylenol along with opiates. Doesn’t even touch the pain. I suppose I will find out more information on Tuesday when they remove my staples. I was expecting a lot of pain and my original plan was to control it with Tylenol only. But nothing seems to work.
TKR as we all know is major surgery and it takes lots of time to heal. I just passed my 1 year and it’s much better but I still have pain from it. I exercise, walk, and try hard to be active. I use lots of ice on the knee and I massage my knee a lot. It can take up to two years for some to completely heal. I use ibuprofen when the pain gets bad per my doctor. I did well after the surgery my range of motion was 138 2 weeks after surgery and it is still holding there. Give it time to heal, take the meds, and ice, ice, ice. We are warriors and we will get there. Good luck with your healing! It’s a tough one getting through it!
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2 ReactionsYes tkr is painful we all know I have had tkr and revision …. But honestly after few days I was able to get away from the pain when I was not moving that is . Stay ahead of the pain that helps , take Tylenol opposite tramadol…that is what I did my first tkr helped so much … my first tkr extremely painful woke up in pain …dr put in knee that was two sizes two big …. I struggled until I got second opinion new dr with old dr X-rays told me scheduled revision surgery for 1 year from tkr …. I woke up no pain this recovery was so much better…so hang in there day by day will get better …. Ice very helpful as much as you can tolerate …, I remember the first time I had rough time even elevating…. So find a way to get comfortable even for moments… I also did myofascial release it helped so much with pain …. Helps with swelling ….let me know how you are doing ….
Can you provide more detail on how your oversized prosthesis was diagnosed? Was it an off-the-rack knee? Can you say who did the revision?
My original dr was not taking me serious…. I was in pain and stuck at 70-75 flexion no matter how hard I pushed …. So I took x- rays that he took to dr Kolesar he is awesome orthopedic in Nepa …. I seen his pa for the first time he is the one who actually read the original X-ray plus they took some of there own … that very first visit told me it was 2-3 sizes to big that is why I was stuck…I was so relieved it was not me it was something the dr did … few weeks later see dr Kolesar he explained why it was too big why I could not get no motion and what had to b done …. I had to wait 8 months to have revision , because you can have surgery within a year … was long suffering year … I did the pool I got the most movement there did myofascial release , graston , surrounded myself with a team of people to help me through … I had surgery immediately had relief was amazing… don’t get me wrong had pain doing therapy and everything but nothing like initial surgery…..it felt from the beginning that everything was jammed in there that there was no room ….
I know it hurts. I am 9 weeks from my 1st TKR. As others said, stay ahead of the pain. I took 10 mg hydrocodone with 300 mg acetaminophen every 4 hours, followed every 2 hours by 400 mg ibuprofen. I rented a NICE1 ice+compression machine with a timer, 20 min on, 20 off and kept my leg elevated so that I could sleep with it on. In subsequent weeks, I reduced meds to every 6, then 8 hours, then just after PT, so that by 4 weeks, I was only using OTC acetaminophen as needed. I have found Samantha Smith https://youtube.com/@dr.samanthasmith?si=Meur5e0BA542i5Fz to have the best prehab & recovery PT approach.
Awesome ROM after only 2 weeks.