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8 weeks post op TKR , is exhaustion normal still

Posted by weaser1993 @weaser1993, May 9, 2024

I’m 8 weeks post op TKR, and I was just inquiring if it’s normal to be exhausted still and just not feeling like myself yet ? This is my second TKR and don’t remember feeling so tired for so long. Katrina

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dmk | @dmk | Sep 20, 2025

Agree everyone is different but I felt that way til I could sleep without any pain at 3 1/2 months for me. Hang in there

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daostas53 | @daostas53 | Dec 29, 2025
In reply to @heyjoe415 "It's been two years since having both knees replaced. I'm 69 y/o now and in the..." + (show)
Profile picture for heyjoe415 @heyjoe415

It's been two years since having both knees replaced. I'm 69 y/o now and in the gym every day. I do a lot of cardio, mostly spinning, some rowing. I'm grateful, to say the least.

I've seen people post here about their TKR experiences, and they certainly vary. Post-surgery fatigue though is new to me. At 8 weeks it could just be emotional exhaustion from the physical therapy and rehab. It can take up to one year for the knee to fully heal. That may be causing some fatigue.

As for pain in the lower part of the kneecap - it could be incorrect prostheses size but that would show on an Xray, and the surgeon should always correct that during surgery. I don't think that's it.

Have you been doing exercises on a leg extension machine? On this machine, the legs start at a 90 degree angle and the ankles are underneath two pads. The knees are then extended to work the quadriceps.

My surgeon made it very clear - DO NOT USE A LEG EXTENSION MACHINE, EVER! The reason is that the patella tracks unnaturally when the knee his bent and unbent. If you're doing this, I'd stop.

And the leg extension exercise has no functional use, well unless you walk backwards a lot. A better exercise is simply to extend your legs from a seated position, lock the knee and hold for 30 seconds, give or take. I still do this and squat exercises to strengthen my quads.

Hope you find an answer, and all the best to you. Joe

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@heyjoe415 I appreciate everything in this answer. Thanks.

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shandra | @shandra | Dec 29, 2025

Oh yes !

We are all built different but is it possible you are doing more then last time? 8 weeks is so early yet your body hasn’t healed yet and needs you to rest and eat healthy high protein food . We only get one body , listen to physio they are very knowledgeable

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heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | Dec 31, 2025
In reply to @daostas53 "@heyjoe415 I appreciate everything in this answer. Thanks." + (show)
Profile picture for daostas53 @daostas53

@heyjoe415 I appreciate everything in this answer. Thanks.

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Hi @daostas53,

Thanks so much for your kind words. They mean a lot!

Joe

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heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | Dec 31, 2025
In reply to @shandra "Oh yes ! We are all built different but is it possible you are doing more..." + (show)
Profile picture for shandra @shandra

Oh yes !

We are all built different but is it possible you are doing more then last time? 8 weeks is so early yet your body hasn’t healed yet and needs you to rest and eat healthy high protein food . We only get one body , listen to physio they are very knowledgeable

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Well said Shandra. Thank you.

I'm 71 now and had both knees replaced in 2022, then my right hip and left shoulder this year. I'm running out of joints to replace....

As to why I needed these replacements - one word - osteoarthritis. This is hereditary. I got blue eyes from my mom, and osteoarthritis. Can't win em all!

When surgeons say it takes a year to fully recover from a joint replacement, they mean it. Functional recovery and pain reduction occur early, within a few months. But joint replacement surgery is a shock to the body, and one year sounds about right to adapt fully.

So my advice is to use caution while exercising once formal PT ends. For example, I'm waiting a full 6 months post-shoulder replacement (anatomical, thankfully) to go back to chest presses, overhead presses, and chin ups. These exercises put great stress on the shoulder. I might be able to handle it. But there's also a risk of injuring the shoulder, and after all the rehab, I don't want to go backwards.

Hope this helps someone! All the best.

Joe

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mayo99824 | @mayo99824 | Dec 31, 2025

I am 6 months out on my hips and feel fine most of the time but get the odd ache now and then. I probably over do it or twist in an odd way and my body lets me know not to do that. Eight years out on my knees and it still happens but pretty rare now. I only get really tired if I exercise more intensely than usual. But I am almost 70 so that may be related to age.

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lynnn | @lynnn | Dec 31, 2025

I am 12 months post TKR and had not had a full night sleep and many nights no sleep due to knee/leg pain. No pain during the day but lived a half life due to exhaustion. Recently my dr. prescribed a pill for nerve pain - Pregabolin. It
is stopping the night pain, but I am concerned about warnings for seniors on this med, such as breathing difficulties. So far, after one week, no problem and I am sleeping. But I want to find out what is wrong with the nerves around the knee and not cover the pain with a pill. I’ll ask my doc if I should see a neurologis although she had not suggested it.

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aspenleafing | @aspenleafing | Jan 3 12:32am

I had a TKR some 15 years ago and it took me longer to recover from the exhaustion than made sense to me. When my husband was in rehab with his second TKR a nurse mentioned how your loss of blood during the surgery affected that exhaustion…even if you had a transfusion. I hadn’t gotten any extra blood but I know that it was a borderline decision at the time. It hadn’t occurred to me to adjust my diet to account for blood loss.
My question today has to do with a fall I had in the last six months. I hit that knee first and now my pain doctor has suggested a genicular knee ablation. Does anyone know about those in this situation?

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