total knee replacement

babytiger

Anyone had one lately ? I had mine last thursday and was wondering ,how long do you usually walk with 2 sticks and move down to 1 stick.Also I seem to get a lot of sharp pain on the inside of my operated knee .Thanks Eileen

stickywicket

Whoa there, Eileen! None of this trying to run before you can walk! One week is no time at all in the TKR recovery process. Your current need is to rest, elevate and exercise.

Have you been given exercises? A follow up appointment with your physio? An emergency contact number? I once had to get back to my ward soon after a TKR. I can't even remember what the problem was now but I know they sorted it quickly.

This is a big operation for all it's routine. You've been chopped about, sawn up and hammered in there and it's not just the joint itself that has to settle but all the tissue and tendons & other bits that have been mullocked about.

If in pain check with your ward or physio or GP. As for the sticks - you should have been told when to ditch one but, I suspect, not yet. Again, if in doubt, check with the experts. However, Arthritis Care do deal with surgery in one of their publications. (Top right of page.) Good luck & take it easy. I've had one of mine 30 years now so, with care, they do last.

jilly

Hi babytiger ,I had a TKR a couple of years ago , it took me 6 weeks to go down to sticks so you are doing well. Dont push yourself to much it takes longer than you think to get back to being pain free. I was told i was doing fine but it still took me 6 months to feel i could bend it painlessly. ....jillyxx

barbara12

Hi and welcome to the forum
Sorry I cant be much help, but I am sure others will be along soon, I just want to wish you well with it, and like someone has said please dont run before you can walk..

elnafinn

Hi again Eileen,

Yep, you are being an inpatient patient like I am after an op. If you have only had the op a week ago then you are probably meant to be doing RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Along with doing some exercises that you should have been taught whilst in hospital. I did not start attending physio until two weeks after being home and I was 6 days in hospital. I did leave the hospital using only one crutch but there again, we are all different. I hated using two, I felt that I would do myself more damage that way because I could never remember which arm to move forward with which leg, so my aim was to get onto using one very quickly.

We are all different but we all get there in the end. It is a major operation and we have to remind ourself of that fact. I had a lot of post op pain but good movement in the knee, others have no pain so it all depends on the individual and how bad the knee was before the op and how bad the other knee is too, which is having to do more work while the other one is convalescing.

It took 9 months for our friendship to blossom and before I forgot all about the operation.

Hugs
Elna x

babytiger

Hi to be quite honest I was using the frame in hospital and the day I got discharged(sunday) they had me up on sticks and showed me how to go up and down stairs. I had 4 flights to climb to get up into my flat..it went better than expected. As for exercises etc they never told me anything.Even the occupational theripist was supposed to call (she never) so basically I feel I have been dumped lol.I have the district nurse coming next thursday to take staples out so will quiz her about my tablets etc. Sorry for all the silly questions

barbara12

Please dont apologise...you just want to move on...I haven't had surgery yet because I am such a wimp...and I am sure when I do...then the silly questions will come..
You take care of yourself..and please let us know how you are doing from time to time.

stickywicket

Your questions are not at all silly, Eileen, but the hospital should really have answered them long before they sent you home.

Right now you should be resting, with your knee elevated, for most of the day. You should be doing exercises about 4-6 times a day. And not much else.

I presume the physios did exercises with you while you were in hospital. These are the exercises you need to keep on doing. They're important because they help your muscles become strong again and help you to get the maximum amount of movement out of your new knee.

Did the hospital send you home with some medication? If so, your GP will probably be able to prescribe more. I really feel you need to talk to a health professional about where you go from here, Eileen. In your place I would ring the ward I was on or ring my GP. Do you live alone or do you have someone to cook and clean for you?

elnafinn

Hi Eileen

It sounds like you have not had good post op care whilst in hospital. I would chat with the district nurse because you should have been shown exercises to do a few times daily whilst in hospital, not only how to deal with stairs as they have to know you can do this before discharge can take place. They seemed in a great hurry to let you go, I must say.

Hopefully this link will work for you. These were some of the exercises taught to me by the physio whilst in hospital to do both there and when I returned home.

http://www.thephysiotherapysite.co.uk/physiotherapy/physiotherapists/downloads/knee-exercises-after-total-knee-replacement-tkr.pdf

I hope this helps you a little.

Elna x

ps please do not feel embarrassed to ask any questions you like, none of them will be thought silly. I am so sorry that you have not been treated in hospital post op as you should have been.

elnafinn

Ps if you click on the link, you need to scroll down quite a way to get the exercises that you should have been told about whilst in hossy.

Elna x