So thank you again

Today is a down day. It is the 12th day from surgery. Yesterday I felt better after I finally took a shower. I have no strength to get in the shower again and I am devoid of much energy. I'm sleeping a lot. I hope I get better. The doctor wanted me to upload pictures of my knee which is one of the areas that hurts so much, but I don't know how to do that so I'm stuck, hoping for the best. I have an ice pack on my knee/thigh area.

Hi @cindiwass, everyone reacts to sugeries differently. I found recovery from knee surgery for severed ligaments longer and much more painful than open heart surgery. You're probably exhausted from showering yesterday. Probably best not to attempt that alone at this point. Maybe the home health aid can help you take photos of your knee. You will heal and get better, it takes time. Don't forget to eat to keep your strength up. Protein is essential. Wishing you the best.

Yes thanks, it's always good to hear what I'm going through is not abnormal as I am somewhat afraid I will not recover successfully. I know each one is different but...how long should it normally take for the pain and inflammation to go away? It's day 12 I think and I still can't walk without a walker or without pain. (sigh) I hate to keep crying like this but I'm beginning to understand what some people might go through with pain. Not that I like the lesson but it certainly is instrumental in helping me be compassionate.

@cindiwass Hang in there! I wish I could reach through my phone and get those pictures for your doctor. Please keep up posted on your progress. You are definitely a strong person.

My husband was using a walker for a few months after his hip repair. Now he uses a cane. I remember having lots of pain and inflammation with my knee surgery. I went to Physical Therapy everyday for four months and used crutches for that period. (I was in my late 20s). One day I snapped at my mother and she told me to take the pain pills. At that time, it was aspirin with codeine. Taking them made a difference, at least, diminished the pain.

I can understand that. Thanks for sharing so i don't feel like I'm going downhill. It is more painful than I had anticipated. I was reading that taking Aleve and acetominephen together is OK, so while I take the Tylenol, I may add the Aleve to that.

Aw...thank you. It took me so long to get to the point of accepting an operation...so now I have to live through the recovery to the best of my ability. But now that you mention it, I will ask a younger friend to help me upload those pictures. Actually the knee doesn't look different than the other knee but it sure is painful when I move. And that's my question to the doctor who is incommunicado now because he's so famous/popular in these parts -- he has a large staff but I'm guessing the best they can tell me is that, 'yes, there can be side effects from the operation -- people progress at different rates, etc.' So we'll see, I'll let you know. I can't figure why I can't figure how to upload the photos, however, I'll work on it. But the swelling doesn't show much at all, so it's a waste of time for me to upload it, but anyway maybe I'll learn how to upload photos from this phone. It's the pain there by the knee that bothers me and I wonder why.

So today the PT came and he walked me through several exercises. I am slow, slow, slow to get up without encouragement but I know I must. I'm not trying very hard though. I know that's not good, but my knee is in pain and the reminder of it when I think of getting up inhibits me from getting up and moving. He did take me through some exercises, some hurt a little, but when I get up next time today I will attempt to walk more than I would ordinarily do so. The pain is slightly less, not much less, I still can't bend the knee much or raise that leg straight up from a prone position on my recliner. I can, however, better get in and out of bed without help, although while it is said it's ok to sleep on my side which I love to do, I cannot. I hope the day arrives soon that I can sleep on my side, my favorite way to go to sleep.

Have you thought about getting a seat for your shower? If you are at the point where you can get the knee wet, it might feel good just having the water run over the knee. I’m also a side sleeper and it took a while before I could sleep on my side after surgery (the opposite side from the hip that had surgery). The main reason was because of the scar tissue so be sure to do your exercises as much as possible. It is really surprising how just a little stretching everyday can help you recover faster.

I have an appointment with the doctor's OFFICE (not the esteemed dr. himself, he's so incredibly busy) and hopefully she., his assistant, will give me a good reason for the pain by my knee and hip. The OT suggested a shower seat but I don't think I need one. I can stand for a while. It was truly refreshing when I got out, I noticed a great improvement, but that quickly passed. The big thing for me is to get into the shower now. It shouldn't be too hard but I am so lazy, don't really know why, I think it's also anxiety and depression, reluctance to experience pain, since we moved and the condo is a mess and I have no real help to get it straightened up. I will work on doing the exercises.