Hi Cheryl,
I had knee replacement on my right knee in September of 2020. Like you, my recovery was extremely difficult! The surgery was done by a top Boston surgeon. In my lifetime, I have had several surgeries, along with two babies, and I *never* experienced pain like I did with TKR! I told this to my dr and he said “Knee surgery is the roughest surgery that you will ever have”. So, so true!!! My biggest problem was that I was allergic to several of the pain meds given to me. The first med was just “okay” but it didn’t begin to touch the pain that I had. It just didn’t help! The next two meds I either had severe nausea or broke out in hives all over my body. So…….they told me to just take Extra Strength Tylenol!!! Forget it!!!! It did *nothing* for my pain! I could not do the in-home PT exercises because I was in such pain, so my recovery was very slow. I lost my appetite (along with 18 pounds!) and I felt so depressed because I wasn’t getting better. I couldn’t sleep at night due to the pain. It was awful! Finally, I started PT at a facility near me and those therapists were just so encouraging! They completely understood my pain and worked with me, slowly but surely, to build up strength in my quads. It took a long time…..I went for PT twice a week for six months!!! My knee is now just “okay”……I can’t kneel on it and it sometimes gives me stiffness and some pain. I will *never* go through another knee replacement!!! My left knee is also bad but I won’t put myself through that ever again! I will rely on cortisone shots every 3-4 months, along with over the counter gels, Advil, and a knee brace. I am thinking of you and all that I know that you are going through! Don’t give up because you *will heal* eventually, but just know that it is a long recovery. Be patient, do all that PT tells you to do, and it will get better with time.