Week 3 post TKR

Posted by amytro @amytro, Feb 24, 2019

Good morning! I am looking for folks to share their experience of the third week post-TKR. The first two weeks were very hard but I feel like I've turned a corner in week 3. Flexion is 113 and extension is 0. Still using pain meds on a regular schedule. PT is getting less excruciating, sleeping positions easier, etc. I'm now pretty much on the cane only, using the walker only to get me out of the shower. Does this sound right to others? Are you about in the same place? Mostly I'm interested in if you are still using the meds. I still need them!

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@cov13

I'm just past the 2 week mark and am making little progress. My home PT chastised me for not putting the work in and told me I should be on a cane by now. I am sleep depraved, nauseated, can't eat, barely drink, dehydrated from over a week of diarrhea, hot and cold flashes but no fever, weak, and dizzy. How can I put the work in when I'm so sick? Now I'm terrified that I have ruined my recovery. Will I be able to recover 100%? My home health nurse says I have a bug. She took the staples out and the incision looks good, so there isn't an infection. Not sure what to do. I only had oxycodone for the first week but am taking Methocarbam 750 MG every 6 hours. It is a muscle relaxant.

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Sorry to hear …. I hate to say but possibly might be the med you are taking…… I am no dr but if it started when you started meds maybe it’s worth a look …. call dr maybe they can help ….,you are correct you need to be moving it is an important time in your recovery, I hope you figure this out so you can get moving you will feel so much better….

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@cov13

I'm just past the 2 week mark and am making little progress. My home PT chastised me for not putting the work in and told me I should be on a cane by now. I am sleep depraved, nauseated, can't eat, barely drink, dehydrated from over a week of diarrhea, hot and cold flashes but no fever, weak, and dizzy. How can I put the work in when I'm so sick? Now I'm terrified that I have ruined my recovery. Will I be able to recover 100%? My home health nurse says I have a bug. She took the staples out and the incision looks good, so there isn't an infection. Not sure what to do. I only had oxycodone for the first week but am taking Methocarbam 750 MG every 6 hours. It is a muscle relaxant.

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Are you sure you aren’t allergic yo your medicine? Your home health nurse obviously has never had a TKR. For some it’s harder. I had my 2nd one this year. Much harder this time than 6 years ago when I had my 1st one. One day at a time. Just keep working it will happen it just may take longer to get through it. But you will get there. A PT Facility might be better for you if possible. Good Luck!

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I am nearly 10 months post TKR and I think you are dojng great.
The pain you are having could be nerve pain which is what I struggled with and only Lyrica which is a medication specific for nerve pain gave me any relief.
Also maybe you should use your walker a little more to take pressure off your knee

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@cov13

I'm just past the 2 week mark and am making little progress. My home PT chastised me for not putting the work in and told me I should be on a cane by now. I am sleep depraved, nauseated, can't eat, barely drink, dehydrated from over a week of diarrhea, hot and cold flashes but no fever, weak, and dizzy. How can I put the work in when I'm so sick? Now I'm terrified that I have ruined my recovery. Will I be able to recover 100%? My home health nurse says I have a bug. She took the staples out and the incision looks good, so there isn't an infection. Not sure what to do. I only had oxycodone for the first week but am taking Methocarbam 750 MG every 6 hours. It is a muscle relaxant.

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What do you mean - a home health nurse took your staples out? All incisions are closed now without visible stitches, much less staples. And a nurse would not perform this procedure outside of a medical office. And why would your dr prescribe a muscle relaxant when you should still be managing pain? Maybe I'm missing something, but this isn't adding up. Also, it's much more likely you'd be experiencing constipation rather than diarrhea, due to the oxy.

As for ruining your recovery, the exercises post-op don't require a lot of exertion, mostly flexing and extending the knee.

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At ten days I went to the Dr. office and his nurse removed the staples and he came in and checked everything over to make sure everything looked good. I didn't know staples could/should be removed anyplace other than an office. Due to severe constipation and a bowel prep at 9 days I stopped pain meds however I managed it with Tylenol (sometimes occasional Tylenol 3), muscle relaxer at bedtime and Gabapentin. At around six weeks my surgeon stopped giving me an pains meds so I was able to talk with my regular NP and she gave me Tylenol 3 which works for me if I take it sparingly when things got bad. I am now at 10 months and still experience soreness/stiffness. I want to be done with this but it is so much better and I am doing everything I did before except getting off the ground (it's a process). I think for where you are you are doing great. If you can I would do PT at the office as it's much more effective.

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@cindymattern

At ten days I went to the Dr. office and his nurse removed the staples and he came in and checked everything over to make sure everything looked good. I didn't know staples could/should be removed anyplace other than an office. Due to severe constipation and a bowel prep at 9 days I stopped pain meds however I managed it with Tylenol (sometimes occasional Tylenol 3), muscle relaxer at bedtime and Gabapentin. At around six weeks my surgeon stopped giving me an pains meds so I was able to talk with my regular NP and she gave me Tylenol 3 which works for me if I take it sparingly when things got bad. I am now at 10 months and still experience soreness/stiffness. I want to be done with this but it is so much better and I am doing everything I did before except getting off the ground (it's a process). I think for where you are you are doing great. If you can I would do PT at the office as it's much more effective.

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I start out patient PT tomorrow. My surgeon was very pleased with my progress today.

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@ezas123

Sorry to hear …. I hate to say but possibly might be the med you are taking…… I am no dr but if it started when you started meds maybe it’s worth a look …. call dr maybe they can help ….,you are correct you need to be moving it is an important time in your recovery, I hope you figure this out so you can get moving you will feel so much better….

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I asked my surgeon today if it could be from the Methocarbanol. He said it shouldn't but switched me to Flexeril.

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I think you are doing very well. I'm 2 days shy of 3 weeks and am still using the walker. I can walk without it but I don't feel safe. It is more peace of mind than necessity. I take my muscle relaxant every 6 hours like clockwork. I don't have any more pain meds so I just take Tylenol, which helps with the aches. I get muscle spasms and my knee clicks when I walk which freaks me out. I still get grabbing pains like i did before surgery. I can only sleep in one position. I can get to 0° with pushing and I'm only at 100° flexion. There are people better than us and there are people worse than us, so I think we are both doing great.

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@cov13

I start out patient PT tomorrow. My surgeon was very pleased with my progress today.

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That's so awesome! You are really going to start seeing progress in so many areas. I had my surgery on a Monday and started outpatient surgery that Friday. I will say the car ride wasn't the most comfortable (I had 45 minutes one way) but the difference that it made was great. They have so many more machines and things that aid in your progress.

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@cov13

I asked my surgeon today if it could be from the Methocarbanol. He said it shouldn't but switched me to Flexeril.

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That is good …. Just I read the precautions of that med and you were having a lot of them …I have learned I have to listen to my body , and adjust accordingly…. Just like you are doing …. I hope this works for you…. Keep moving like everyone says it’s a marathon not a sprint .,,..slow and steady

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