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Miserable from TKR: What can I do to get better?

Posted by tracy70 @tracy70, Sep 29, 2021

I had a right TKR 2 weeks ago. I have been miserable. I was in severe pain for 1 1/2 weeks. I am still in pain. I have a lot of stiffness. I have burning in my knee. I am depressed. I can’t sleep. I have taken more medicine in the past 2 weeks then I have in my entire life. I have been having pt at home. I start outpatient pt next week. My lower leg/knee hurts so bad when sitting. I cannot straighten my leg all the way out. When laying down, there is a gap between the bed and the back of my knee. I try to do the exercises that pt told me to do. But it hurts so bad. I wish I would have not had this surgery done!

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marc919 | @marc919 | Nov 19, 2022
In reply to @heyjoe415 "I feared as much. It would be like someone suggesting I run in the shallow end..." + (show)
@heyjoe415

I feared as much. It would be like someone suggesting I run in the shallow end of a pool.

Well, I do hope you can get back to tennis. 115 is a pretty good ROM. But only you know how you feel.

Be well.

Joe

Jump to this post

Thanks Joe, My surgeon said it could take up to a year. Just got to hang on. There are small improvements so that's good.

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heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | Nov 19, 2022
In reply to @mabfp3 "Hi Tracy, I had TKR surgery two years and two months ago. When I read what..." + (show)
@mabfp3

Hi Tracy, I had TKR surgery two years and two months ago. When I read what you wrote, I could totally identify with all that you are going through! Like you, I was in agony! I couldn’t sleep and was up all night just crying with the pain. They had given me a couple of different pain meds, but the first one did nothing for the pain, the second one made me very nauseous and with the third one, I broke out in a rash. So……..they told me to take Tylenol, Extra Strength, and that is all that I could have. It was absolutely *brutal* because the Tylenol didn’t even touch the pain!!! I got very depressed (had never had depression in my life!), lost my appetite and lost about 20 lbs because I just could not eat anything. This was for my right knee. The surgeon told me that it takes a full two years to completely recover. It has been more than two years now, and I will say that it is much better, but still vulnerable. I can’t kneel down or do certain exercises that I used to do. My left knee has “severe osteoarthritis “ according to a recent MRI, but I am *never* going to have that surgery again!!! I just went to the ortho dr a few days ago and got a cortisone shot to that knee. He told me that I can probably just continue to do that (the shot) because I told him that I could *never* go through something like that again. He did tell me that it is one of the roughest surgeries to go through. Know that I am thinking of you and keeping you in my prayers for a good recovery in time. I have had three or four surgeries, plus two babies, in my lifetime, and honestly, that pain was *nothing* compared to that knee surgery!!! Time will heal it, but it just takes a lot of patience with that pain!!! All of my best to you.

Jump to this post

mab,

I'm sorry about the trouble you had with TKR. Did you do all the stretching exercises after surgery, like pulling your ankle towards you to increase ROM and extending your leg on a yoga bolster to straighten your knee?

I wouldn't necessarily rule out another TKR. There is a lot you have to do to recover but it's doable. My surgeon used the Mako robotic assistant and that worked great. But I still had to do a solid month of exercises to stretch the knee, every day. And I got my legs in shape ahead of surgery, working with a trainer. That helped speed my recovery.

All the best to you!

Joe

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1 reply
heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | Nov 19, 2022
In reply to @oceanspruce "Tracy, You are still VERY early in your recovery. Recovery can effectively take up to a..." + (show)
@oceanspruce

Tracy,

You are still VERY early in your recovery. Recovery can effectively take up to a year, with progress coming very, very gradually, week by week, month by month. I'm 2-1/2 months and 3-1/2 months past my two TKRs and I'm still having lots of pain and stiffness in both knees. However, I have been improving. I can walk without a cane, walk up and down stairs, drive a car, and continue working as a carpenter and doing everyday activities. Hang in there, be patient and hopeful, and remain disciplined with your physical therapy. Best wishes to you.

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You did, and are doing, all the right things to ensure a successful TKR oceanspruce. I did the same thing and the results now are great. But the first two weeks after surgery can be rough, but doable. And in my case, the pain lessened each day. And my Dr. used the Mako robotic assistant.

Great work!

Joe

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padre520 | @padre520 | Nov 19, 2022

I thought my TKR was bad. After reading all yours mine was a walk in the park. Yeah, it hurt like HECK the first week and I would shake in pain while in the hospital between getting my pain meds. But after the first week probably it stopped hurting so much. I honestly think that was due to the CPM (constant passive motion) machine that I was using. When they first brought that into my hospital room, I thought they were trying to kill me. But after a few days I would actually look forward to using it. It got to the point that I would put my leg in it, turn it on and fall asleep for the two hours it moved my leg. So, if your insurance did not get you one, you might want to look into buying one off ebay. It was a life saver for me. Where my problems started was me just being me... STUPID. I really pushed the limits of my "new" knee at about the one year point. In short I was trying to get my house ready to rent out and move to England for three years. That was a year and a half ago. I thought I just strained it but It has never gotten any better. It has gotten to the point that I cannot walk for more then a couple hundred yards. I am coming back to the states for two weeks in March 23, will see my surgeon then and see what is wrong. I really hope that you all get thru your pain and don't pull a boneheaded stunt like I did. Check into getting a CPM machine.

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ellerbracke | @ellerbracke | Nov 19, 2022
In reply to @marc919 "Ha! I read pickleball and made the sign of the cross. A pet peeve of mine...." + (show)
@marc919

Ha! I read pickleball and made the sign of the cross. A pet peeve of mine. But thanks anyway.

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Yup. Husband feels the same way. Pickle ball is for wimps who don’t want to run. Husband is 80. Is super annoyed that he can’t get enough singles tennis partners in his age decade, so he ends up playing with/against his 19/15 yr. old casual tennis playing grandsons. Losing, of course, but he’s getting a good workout. 15 yr. old is good enough for high school tennis team, so no slouch.

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marc919 | @marc919 | Nov 19, 2022

Good for him, I can't wait to play again. Need to get rid of numbness first.

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mabfp3 | @mabfp3 | Nov 20, 2022
In reply to @heyjoe415 "mab, I'm sorry about the trouble you had with TKR. Did you do all the stretching..." + (show)
@heyjoe415

mab,

I'm sorry about the trouble you had with TKR. Did you do all the stretching exercises after surgery, like pulling your ankle towards you to increase ROM and extending your leg on a yoga bolster to straighten your knee?

I wouldn't necessarily rule out another TKR. There is a lot you have to do to recover but it's doable. My surgeon used the Mako robotic assistant and that worked great. But I still had to do a solid month of exercises to stretch the knee, every day. And I got my legs in shape ahead of surgery, working with a trainer. That helped speed my recovery.

All the best to you!

Joe

Jump to this post

Hi Joe,
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful reply. Yes, I honestly did all of the stretching exercises after surgery, with *great* difficulty, the ankle slides along with a special black brace that was sold to me from the hospital, which was extremely painful to use. I did a lot of strengthening exercises before the surgery, but I guess that I didn’t do enough of them. My surgery was done in Boston, at a top hospital, where that Mako robotic assistant was advertised, but I don’t think that it was used in my surgery, unfortunately. When I inquired about it to the surgeon, he told me that at the time, it was only being used with hip surgery. Just had a cortisone injection to my left knee a few days ago. I know that it will wear off in a couple of months, but honestly, I just could *never* put myself through such a torturous surgery again. So glad that you made out well with both knees!!! Good for you!!! Happy that you worked with that trainer ahead of time! That is very important to have your quads in shape ahead of the surgery! I thought that I had done that ahead of time, but I guess all that I did was not enough. My problem was not being able to have some sort of pain med to get me through it. All my best to you!

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willw | @willw | Nov 26, 2022

I'm ten weeks out. Today I stood up walked a few steps. I have soreness in my foot that I wish would go away, but the PT is helping with that. I regretted ever getting this surgery 😫....I'm slowly coming around to accept that by Spring, I may be okay. The PT told me that the new knee is strong and not to worry about it buckling. I was on oxicodon for about 4 weeks. I was too delirious. Now only over the counter...which I'm slowing. This has been really traumatic for me. I'm 72. My wife tore her meniscus while making my bed. She's doing better. Somehow we are going to survive this thing. Best of luck. For me each day has had minor (very minor) improvements...hang in there

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