After knee replacement surgery

Posted by beatricefay @beatricefay, Jun 16, 2016

Had left knee replaced 9 days ago. Right knee two years ago. Having a problem with inflammation so hard to bend knee and exercise. Trying to ice and raise knee above heart. Doctor suggested getting compression hose. Anybody have this experience and can offer suggestions. So tired all the time from pain interrupting my sleep and painkillers. My insurance refused to pay for the painkiller recommended by surgeon so have to take one with more opiates. That's frustrating. Two years ago it was covered but now too expensive for me to use. Seems the drug companies, not our doctors are determining what we use.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Joint Replacements Support Group.

Beatricefay let us know how it goes. Niazumbanut not sure if Mayo does bilateral but mine was a godsend.

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@ronnie3716

I have a total knee replacement tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous. So many people respond immediately with
"The first two weeks are the worst, filled with pain" . Nice of them to share : /
Those of you who've had it, are those first two weeks really so bad?
Thank you for the video with legs raised against wall, super helpful.

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Dont worry I dont know if you believe in God . If you do just put yourself<br>in his hands and ask him to be with you during this ntime and help you. Do<br>whatever the Dr. tells you and it will be fine. Best wishes and hope you<br>can tell us how it went.<br>

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@beatricefay

Hi @blswilliams,
I'm icing as I write this. It does make my knee feel better. Did you have both knees done at the same time? I can't imagine that. Sorry to read about the break. Are you okay now? I try to keep ahead of the pain with the meds but they cause so much tiredness. I'll just focus on the future benefits.
@beatricefay

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Hi @blswilliams,
I'm so impressed with your positive attitude and doing a bilateral knee replacement. Quite honestly, I don't know how you could have managed the pain. I do agree our mindset can have an effect on how we respond to surgery, but when I'm up during the night and can't sleep, even a good book can't take away the stress and tiredness. Those long nights are hard. I will however try to focus on the final product which will be a pain free knee that will take me to new and interesting places. Beatricefay

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Instead of a knee replacement I opted for stem cell therapy and prp 2x. That was six weeks ago and I am pain free and with only a slight discomfort
when going down stairs. The first four days after the therapy required a cane to walk but after that no therapy was required...the total cost was $4,000.
To me it was well worth it.

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@dongee

Instead of a knee replacement I opted for stem cell therapy and prp 2x. That was six weeks ago and I am pain free and with only a slight discomfort
when going down stairs. The first four days after the therapy required a cane to walk but after that no therapy was required...the total cost was $4,000.
To me it was well worth it.

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Wonderful you are truly blessed. Can you be more specific on how damaged your knee was and where did you have the procedure done? I asked about this on my last knee surgery which was only a partial knee replacement but was told stem cell therapy would not work.

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@beatricefay

Hi gailfaith, niazumbanut, ronnie3716,
Good luck to ronnie3716 on your upcoming knee replacement. Keep us up to date on your progress. Thanks to gailfaith and niazumbanut for your support and good suggestions. I'm now doing home health PT but want to start out patient PT next week. I'm trying to decrease pain meds but sleeping through the night is still challenging. I know I have to give it time. beatricefay

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I am now 20 days post TKR on my left knee. Thank you to all of you who offered your knowledge and experience. It all helped me a lot.
I am walking well with a cane. I'm hoping by another week, I'll be walking without assistance.
I did have a bump when a bruise on the back of my TKR leg was thought to be a blood clot. Hot, swollen it matched some of the symptoms. I had an ultrasound and NO clot.
PT 2x a week. Swelling around knee persists.

All in all, not as painful as I thought it would be. The old knee pain is gone!!!
Large wrap around ice gel pack is my biggest help. (Bought from my PT)
Take 1-2 opioid pills a day. Looking forward to being off that.
I believe everyone has their own experience and should react to their own personal recovery. There is no right way to your recovery.

This forum is so outstanding because I learned so much, I was prepared for whatever my recovery entails.

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@beatricefay

Hi gailfaith, niazumbanut, ronnie3716,
Good luck to ronnie3716 on your upcoming knee replacement. Keep us up to date on your progress. Thanks to gailfaith and niazumbanut for your support and good suggestions. I'm now doing home health PT but want to start out patient PT next week. I'm trying to decrease pain meds but sleeping through the night is still challenging. I know I have to give it time. beatricefay

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Thanks for the update, Ronnie. So glad to hear you are doing well and that Connect was able to help with your recovery. Keep up the good work and keep us updated!

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@beatricefay

Hi gailfaith, niazumbanut, ronnie3716,
Good luck to ronnie3716 on your upcoming knee replacement. Keep us up to date on your progress. Thanks to gailfaith and niazumbanut for your support and good suggestions. I'm now doing home health PT but want to start out patient PT next week. I'm trying to decrease pain meds but sleeping through the night is still challenging. I know I have to give it time. beatricefay

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Hi Ronnie3716,<br>Great to read you are doing so well. It's now about 5 weeks since my knee replacement and although I'm told I'm doing well, I still have pain which keeps me up at night. Have tried all kinds of combinations of sleep aids and pain meds but still can't get a decent night's sleep. That has been the most difficult part of this process. I'm still using a can for support. The PT is most important in getting back my flexibility. For anyone else planning a knee replacement, know that it takes a lot of patience. The pain can get discouraging but hopefully at one point I'll feel a lot better. Ronnie keep up your good healing. BeatriceFay

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@beatricefay

Hi gailfaith, niazumbanut, ronnie3716,
Good luck to ronnie3716 on your upcoming knee replacement. Keep us up to date on your progress. Thanks to gailfaith and niazumbanut for your support and good suggestions. I'm now doing home health PT but want to start out patient PT next week. I'm trying to decrease pain meds but sleeping through the night is still challenging. I know I have to give it time. beatricefay

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Good to hear!

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@beatricefay

Hi gailfaith, niazumbanut, ronnie3716,
Good luck to ronnie3716 on your upcoming knee replacement. Keep us up to date on your progress. Thanks to gailfaith and niazumbanut for your support and good suggestions. I'm now doing home health PT but want to start out patient PT next week. I'm trying to decrease pain meds but sleeping through the night is still challenging. I know I have to give it time. beatricefay

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I am happy for you keep the execises and walk.<br>

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