Lord does it hurt. Had a nerve block which ended Saturday, today the numbness is coming alive OWE OWE OWE Doc told me to sleep on me back with legs straight, I have never been able to sleep on me back, ever. Today has been a very pisspoor day for sure, swamped coats with pain meds in pocket, did not have meds with me today for 10 hours. Yes I know, most important thing, stay up on pain meds. It’s been a while since I have talked to the Lord as much as I have today.
Who else has gone threw the joys of a TKR, got any encouraging words to pass on?

The wife just had both knees replaced, one last year and the other three months ago. The first couple of days she had a fair amount of pain, but keeping up with her meds allowed her to get through that time. Afterwards keeping up with her meds and frequent icing made the discomfort manageable. Be sure to do the physical therapy according to your surgeon's recommendations including the home exercises. She's now walking pain free and has regained full range of motion. Good luck with your surgery.

Had to wait 6 months to have surgery due to ins problems. Knee getting worse all the time. I was hurting so bad before surgery that surgery was a relief. I felt great after and what pain I had was minor.

Haven't had to do that, so all I can do is wish you luck.

Tansun,

Hang in there brother - it will get better.
I had both knees replaced at the same time, which is rarely done (long story)
Sleeping on my back was a bitch, as well as the pain.
Typically never take drugs, but following doctors orders to the letter paid off.

As hard as it was to exercise, do compression stretches and move with a walker as soon after surgery it was key to improving.

Ice packs alternated with a heating pad gave some relief -

Good luck to you Sir. I am waiting on the VA to approve a TNR on my left knee. I know it will be miserable in the short term but it's the long game that I am aiming for.....

My aunt had both knees done, my neighbor had one done and they both are much better for it....

Two brothers have had knees replaced. The weeks following the surgery were no picnic. But both said it was very much worth it.

Good luck

My wife's scheduled for one in a couple weeks. It's hard to believe how many people there are with bunged up knees. We're constantly running into people who've had it done.

I had both done (not at the same time) it s painfull for sure.Take the pain meds as prescribed, do the exercises they gave you,and hang in there.
It will get better.

Start taking stool softeners now and drinking lots of water.

Do as much pre-therapy as you can now.

Google home made ice packs and make 4 or 5 gallon bag size. Ice will be you friend.

Hit PT with a vengeance. Yeah it will hurt but will make your recovery much faster.

Get up and get moving every chance you get. CrowRifle is right about stool softeners. Constipation is a bitch. Ice too, keep the ice on unless you are moving.
Move, move, move, get up and get going.

I had the TKR. During rehab a PA told me that 3 Motrin and 2 Extra Strength Tylenol provided just as much pain relief as one Vicodin.
That worked for me, I got on the Motrin and flushed the damn Oxycodone down the toilet.

I had TKR on my right knee about 6-7 weeks ago. I too had a pain blocker . 1 nite in the hospital and was feeling good for a day. Pain was comimg back, took a

couple pain pills , made me higher than a giraffes pussy, had to stop them. Went to tylenol. Got rid of the walker too soon, set me back.

My kneee was very bad , bone spurs inside , outside ,bone outta place . Much better now . I had to do it. shoulda done it 15 years ago.

Same here, and when the time comes I hope they have improved the procedure and product big time. Right now it looks like something Dr Mengele invented.

In a few weeks you’ll be a lot better. In a few months you’ll be glad you did it. I’m 6 years out of getting both of mine done. Best medical decision I ever made!

Ron

I had TKR a couple years ago. Went home from surgery with the pain pump. It lasted about 1.5 days before it ran out of juice. I never messed with it - just let it do it’s redescribed thing. I had a subscription for the pain pills but hate taking meds so figured I’d see how it was without them. It turned out to be fine so I never ended up taking any. It was a little uncomfortable but not any worse than the bones grinding against each other like they had been for a few years. At 48 I was the youngest patient my Doc had done TKR on but I was out of options. As many say - I wish I had done it sooner.

Hopefully your pain subsides. Don’t let it deter you from doing therapy - it is the key to getting back up to speed ASAP.

I'm a month out from my second knee being done. Had the first procedure last June. It has turned out to be a good improvement as that knee was bone on bone and had me crippled up. I hated doing the therapy but realized it was a must. I'm not looking forward to going through the procedure again even though I know it's required. My motivation comes from the knowledge that after the 2 are done there's a good chance I may be able to make a long dream "bucket list" hunt happen.

This.....had both done 5 years ago. Stay in front of the pain with meds, stool softeners are vital, and loads of ice.

You’re gonna wonder why in the heck you waited so long to do it.

Good luck, Tansun and do your post op therapy with dedication. Pop a pain pill before each therapy session.

Best of luck for a good outcome.

Two words,

Do your physical therapy with a vengeance, like a mad man, until you are about to pass out. Then do more. You will recover more quickly and thank me later.

Oops, more than two words.

Wife is four weeks out. Has had a ton of pain. Totally compliant with PT, both at the rehab facility and at home. Still not quite as far along as Doc would like but she's been working very hard. Twenty years ago she had nine months of chemo that required four days in the hospital for each infusion due to how toxic and high dose it was. Several surgeries and bone marrow biopsies. Followed that up with a bone marrow transplant.

In the years that followed she was hospitalized with pneumonia several times and was septic twice. Been through a lot and always seemed to tolerate pain very well. The TKR, however, was a whole different ball game.

She was supposed to get the other knee done in a month but she's saying she'll never do it. Found research that indicates those who've had a bone marrow transplant don't do as well with TKR. That might explain her difficulties.

I had mine done 7 months ago glad I did now.There we’re times in the first month that I wished I didn’t do it.You won’t sleep very good the first couple weeks I slept the best in a recliner.It will get better good luck

Wishing you well. It will get better. It just takes a while.

Wow! Never had to experience anything like that, I here that is pretty rough…..and then the physical therapy starts!

Praying for you partner…..less pain and a fast, complete recovery! 👍 memtb

I have had both my knees replaced.my advice is for people who have not had surgery yet. My doctor had me start doing exercises 6 weeks before surgery to strengthen all my muscles. I went home same day that I had replacement on my second knee. Lots of ice and exercises at home and physical therapy 2 times a week. Cut back on pain meds soon as possible. I didn’t use a walker after one day and was driving in a week. My doctor really believes strengthening your muscles before surgery is very important. I have several friends who have had knee replacement by same doctor as I did and all have come out almost as good as I did. I was71 when I had second knee done and now walk like I did when I was 40.

Make sure you do the therapy...it will determine your ultimate range of motion in that knee.

Yes, strengthening your leg muscles is definitely a must before they do that surgery.


link

Good luck with it.

As others have said, pain pill (or Advil/Tylenol at least) 15-20 minutes BEFORE your PT sessions to give them time to start working.

Then, when you think you've done the PT thoroughly, ask the PT person if you can go another minute or two on each exercise, especially the stationary bike. If they tell you 5 minutes, ask if you can go 6 (or just forget about their little timer) . 10 minutes, do 12. Push yourself as hard as you can physically go, once you get the OK from the doc to do exercises.

When they get to bending your knee to check the angle, you want it to be better than they expect. You'll thank yourself later.

Having said all that..............................I didn't think the pain was all that bad, comparatively. I had two major rotator cuff surgeries that also involved biceps tendons and bone spurs, and they hurt way more than the TKR.

One scheduled for April and next as soon as he will do it.

Concerned that it is going to ruin my Deer hunting for the year!

I have had three surgeries on my RT knee. Last one was to replace it. I sure hope it WAS the last one. It does get better, it does. Do your PT as mentioned before, it really pays off. Right off the bat, it really sucks, Keep up on your meds, you don't want to play "Catch up". But not to worry, you will prevail..........

KB

I had both knees replaced at the same time in February of 2013. They got infected and I had to have a pic line in and got antibiotics for forty days.

I didn't have much pain. The worst thing for me was having my feet on something when lying down to keep my legs straight. If you don't do that, you might not be able to straighten the legs later.

Good luck.

When's your deer hunting start?

I had mine done in March I believe and was hunting elk in Oct. Probably could have gone earlier, but that's when the tag was for.

Do the PT as thoroughly and in as dedicated a manner as absolutely possible and I doubt you'll have issues.

Praying today for relief and a successful procedure.

5 years out from my second TKA. It hurts some in the beginning, but it gets better. Don’t measure improvement day to day. Week to week is more realistic.

March 29 for me too. Left one first. Pretty nervous about it.

My left one is ready for replacement now.Found out last week after an MRI on my right knee,I'd be better off replacing it too.Large radial tear in posterior medial meniscus,subtle fraying of the lateral meniscus,chondral abnormalities,Baker's cyst.Doctor said as invasive as it would be to repair it,he recommends replacing it.So maybe this year I will get both of them done.I've been taking 600mg of Ibuprofen twice a day for almost a month now and that has been working better than anything I've tried.It has really helped with the pain and my mobility is much better.

Kind of haste now.

Before a few big surgeries I had, i settled on about 3 of my best stand sites.
I went in with a friend and prepared ground blinds, cleared some shooting lanes
Just something simple. 3 sides of burlap and some brush and already had a chair there at each covered in plastic.

I knew my situation would be rocky but it was great to have at least some place to park my ass and call it better than nothing. Whatever it takes

Everyone is different and also different in our perception of pain.

Your 8 might be a 3 to me. Or Vice versus


How many motorcycle crashes and how many times ya been bucked off and stomped by a horse

😃

That’s for the words folks, the color starting to come in now, bruising from the upper thigh all the way down to me toes one solid purple color…lol

I’m six weeks out tomorrow. Don’t try to measure progress day by day; better week by week, or even in 2 week increments; I turned “the corner”, I believe about week 4. Take pain medicine (IMO, Tylenol for adults is like spitting into the wind, and I gave it professionally) and use a lot of ice packs, particularly after PT or your own exercises. Don’t be afraid of the narc’s if prescribed to you but use them only as directed.

Emotionally, hang in there; as mentioned, it will get better. While it may come sooner, these can take up to 6 months to a year to really heal, so take the long view.

And to reiterate, the PT for a TKA afterward, is about as important as the surgery itself. Hurt now, feel better later.

Gave anesthesia for hundreds of these. The femoral nerve block with Exparel is wonderful to help you ease into recovery, but when it wears off, it’s a real awakening. Your experience is common — take heart!

EDIT

Oh yeah, your leg can look like an ugly foreign body for several weeks due to the bruising and swelling. Pretty typical.

FB2
The surgery is the easy part - doc and nurses will make you comfortable and give you plenty of information. The surgery will take 60 to 90 minutes and your done. I can't stress that enough - relax, they're there to help you improve.

Nurses will have you up and walking not too long afterwards and then you'll be released to go home. You and your wife will have plenty of good easy to follow instructions - take your pain meds as instructed for the first few days until you decide on what works best for you.

Physical therapy, is super important and you'll be in good hands - I got excellent reviews on the place near you that I think you'll be visiting. You're going to want some kind of ice bags to use at home. I bought mine at Walgreens, but you can get them just about anywhere.

You'll be scootin around in no time.

Sevear car crash in 17 required me to have a TKR at 51.
14 days after I hunted and killed a gobbler. 4 months after I was in Idaho chasing Sept bulls.

Not going to BS you. First few weeks sucked, I would trip on a blade of grass. It gets better with time.

I only have 90deg of flexibility in that knee, the worst part is. If I set very long it becomes very sore and painful. Have to keep moving.

Good luck and Start PT immediately.

Here’s my free advice regarding anesthesia from being a professional gas-passer and needle driver: ask your provider for a spinal (while there’s not a consensus, there are studies that show fewer post-op complications with it for a total knee) and then to give you a “lighter” general anesthetic with it. For the last step ask for a femoral nerve block in recovery (your legs will still be numb) with Exparel, a local anesthetic in a lipid vehicle which will last 1 1/2-2 days.

This is the smoothest (best ?) anesthetic I’ve found to transition from asleep to fully awake and not be grimacing in pain. Any hospital that does knees should have an anesthesia department and personal willing and able to do this.