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I contacted my ortho and he said the effusion (swelling) is common postop and demineralization would improve with increased weight bearing. Since I was having trouble sleeping, he did give me a prescription for Tramadol. I have used it for five nights now and have been getting great sleep. I plan to try 1/2 tablet tonight along with an Aleve and see if that works so I can cut back. I am doing my regular postop exercises along with walking 40-60 minutes per day and biking 30-40 minutes per day. I am doing pretty well and am sore, especially from standing, so I have to rest a lot. I take an Aleve once or twice per day and the Tramadol at night. Hopefully, I can get off of the Tramadol soon. Is this everyone else's experience? How long before I have no pain- I am 8 weeks postop now.
Replies to "I contacted my ortho and he said the effusion (swelling) is common postop and demineralization would..."
Hi @hellothere - My TKR was April 2017 and I was still having some pain at 8 weeks. At 9 weeks I had my last PT visit, and by 12 weeks I was pretty much pain free. Hang in there. I think you've got better days coming right around the corner. Are you doing the walking and biking on your own or are you going to PT? Either way, I'm impressed! Keep us posted, ok?
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@hellothere My ortho was very conservative with drugs. He had me cutting them in half, then in quarters. I did as he suggested, as I understand Tramadol can be addictive, so that was the last thing I needed. I had the complication of not being able to take ibuprofen though because I am post-transplant. The only OTC pain reliever I can take is Tylenol and frankly, that's not worth much. It does help a bit but I have read that they are finding ibuprofen to be as effective as the prescription narcotics.
I am happy that things are slowly improving for you. I guess patience is the whole thing. As I mentioned, I was pain-free relatively quickly. I am sure you will get there too.
JK