knee replacement
 

7 weeks ago today i had a total knee replacement done on my right knee.
i went home 2 days later...had a visiting nurse 3 times and a physical therapist 6 times who released me because i was 0-122 in flexing and 4 out of 5 strength.

I do everything except run and jump.

My question is this...WHEN is this going to stop hurting? The ache is constant...and consuming.

I go back to the doctor next week. He told me that i will like him in 6 months.

Does that mean i will be in constant pain until that time?

What can i do to make this better?

I elevate and ice as much as i can. I take a pain pill three times a day.

But i am so tired of this.

Sounds like you are progressing quite well if you are 0-122 bend and 4 out of 5 in strength....but the pain would be troublesome. I just had my second knee operation done May 21st (little over 3 weeks ago) and I can walk, walk briskly, still going to PT 2 times a week.....but I am not in pain when doing this, except when I push the PT. My real issue is swelling of the knee that causes tightness in my bending and when I do that I incur pain or a sharp grabbing....but again I am only 3 week from surgery. I do feel aches while turning in bed. I assume the pain pills are heavy duty like NARCO, but after 7 weeks I am surprised you are still on them. Right now I ( at 3 weeks) am on one One pill a day and that's only before I go to PT.

Based on my first knee operation, my ability to do things greatly progressed between weeks 4-6 and by week 8 I was I was playing water volleyball (jumping etc) and full swing golf on Championship. Could have played earlier but why chance it. For me, First knee is OK and second is progressing on schedule.

One question I will ask you is.... Did you get a metal (blood) test done before surgery to determine if you were allegeric to metals such as colbalt, titanium etc? There was a poster recently on this board who after 9 months after knee surgery was still experiencing pain and it was determined she had a reaction to the metal used in the knee. You should find her posts and read them....it is something to consider.

Hopefully as time passes you will progress and the pain will subside...good luck.

no i did not get a blood test for metal. In 1993...i broke my left leg and had a plate and pins put in it and i did not have a reaction to that.

yes i am taking norco...which i believe stops next week.

I can walk....but not without a limp. Like i said....i do everything i have always done since week 2...except for run and jump. My flexibility is wonderful...it is just this darn ACHE that is driving me bonkers.

i also have the swelling and then the tightness like you describe.

I have not had any more therapy since week three because i was 0-122 and the doctor was elated. Flexibility is not the issue...though i am not sure why i am still limping.

thank you for your well wishes....i keep hoping this ache will stop soon.

Follow this thread...

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...ee+replacement

My pain was very minimal just days after surgery. I took a pain pill only for physical therapy and rehab. Might be you aren't allergic to the metal in your leg, but could be to the metal (likely nickel) in your knee. I sure wouldn't wait another six months to determine whether I'm happy with the new knee or not. Good luck!

Thank you for the link. I read the thread and found it very informative.

I go back to the dr next Wednesday and I will certainly discuss this with him.
I am a very impatient person....and get frustrated easily....though I am not a cry baby. I just feel like this ache that feels like a deep headache in my knee.....should be easing up. Then I get mad at myself for not being able to overcome it.

I hope the dr is right....4 months from now I will love him...but right now I surly do not.

My wife had about 8 more weeks of therapy than you. She too had flexibility but her doctor still kept her in physical therapy. Could it be that your doctor stopped your therapy too soon?

If my flexibility was at 122 he could not validate more therapy ......I still had 3 more therapists visits the insurance would pay for...but i had to need it.

I do wonder though how more therapy would take away the ache? I had three weeks of therapy....6 visits.

I vacuum, I clean house, I mow with the tracter, I go up and down stairs, I work.
The issue is not bending my knee...the issue is the deep penetrating ache ....the swelling, then the tightness.

Maybe I just expect too much.

This probably wont help but I had a hip done one year ago . The swelling was for about 6 to 8 months that alone will cause pain. I still get aches a little in the operative area but nothing like before the surgery.Remember they cut your knee out and put in a new one. Ask them to ck for blood clots dont want to scare you. By the way I notice the leg feeling better with every passing month.

Thank you...I know i am impatient....and i push myself really hard...and that in itself could be part of the problem. I have been on the go since week three doing whatever i want....and sometimes you have to pay the piper for doing too much.

It has gotten better each week....i just think it should be like new..TODAY...lol

The doctor was very pleased with me last time...called me a rock star....but i will certainly talk to him next week about all the issues raised here. God knows I WANT to be better...I hate this.

I can honestly say that it took a full 10 months to a year before my knee felt "normal" and pain free. I had a rough go of it, but I know others who have had the same surgery that were just fine after 6 months. Everyone is different and heals at a different rate. If you're doing everything you're supposed to, and not OVER doing it, then you just have to give it time. Good luck!

My wife got a knee replacement last April (2014). She swears by ice and Biofreeze for pain relief. Her doctor told her that the aching would be gone at the year anniversary. She said to tell you to be patient. She bought a Knee Ice Pack by A to P Total Knee Wrap on Amazon for $79. Best money ever spent. She still uses it regularly to keep swelling down. Good luck. It will get better.

thank you both for the encouragement.

Yesterday i went the entire day with no pain pill other than tylenol.....AND we went to the baseball game so i did a lot of walking.

I will look for this BIOFREEZE product today...that could be the ticket i need! I use the ice pack they gave me in the hospital and it does a pretty good job.

I am glad to hear others took a while to heal...I was beginning to think i was a wus.
My knee replacement has not affected my golf game...since i have never played golf in my life...:1rotfl:lol

But i truly do the yard work and housework and went back to work week 3...so i have not let it keep me from doing the things i need to do.

I do ride my stationary bike and surprisingly...it does not hurt...i was afraid it would but my flexibility is amazing....if it is not equal to my other knee...it is very close.

So if i could just stop limping and stop the ache...all would be good.

what i really want...is to be to the point...my knee is not constantly on my mind. Those of you who have had this done will understand what i mean. I dont want to worry about it anymore....I just want to live normally and not be constantly reminded of a bad knee.
I had arthroscopic surgery 8 years ago on it where they determined i needed a new patella but was too young so i lived with the bone spurs and bone on bone...and now that i am 60 they went ahead and replaced the knee....now....i just want my life back...

I got the biofreeze today...and i will tell you it did help. Today i even decreased the tylenol i took...so things are moving upward.

Thank you all for being so helpful

Everyone is different healing from surgeries. There is no perfect surgical model of anyone's knee replacement.
I DO understand the pain and icing can be your friend, but most of my friends also did a lot of water therapy. It helped them significantly getting into a pool. Easy to move and reduce swelling and stiffness and also allows you better range of motion. Example: doing squats/lunges in a pool with no pressure but you're getting great resistance and rebuilding your muscles. Swelling and stiffness can last for quite a while.
Water therapy for me was the best but now, I am dealing with an entirely different problem.
Pain on the other hand should get much better between 10-12 weeks. Listen to your doctor but, most of all: only you really KNOW your body. Document your pain levels and symptoms in a daily journal. You may be surprised that you ARE getting better as the days go by.
Wishing you a 100% speedy recovery.

thank you very much. I AM getting better...i know that i am....i just want it to be over....I am goofy that way.

You all have been so helpful....and i am so appreciative!

I knew this was going to be a process and time was the answer.

The one area i KNOW has improved is sleep....I can sleep a full 6 hours now without waking up and getting a new ice pack or taking a pain pill...and that is tremendous progress.

Pain pills are good but they tend to keep your body from healing itself. When the body has pain it will try to heal that area faster.

An update…..I went to the doctor today for my 8 week check on my knee. The good news…he is ecstatic at my flexibility of 130 and says it is impossible to do better than that…the bad news…I now cannot hyper extend like I could 4 weeks ago….So I have to work on it. He says much of it is from swelling…from OVERDOING…imagine that?!?!?!?

He said he would rather I overdo that not do enough….i am leaps and bounds beyond the others he operated on the same day. I do not have to go back until next april 27. He says it will continue to hurt for a year but will diminish with time. We discussed allergy to the metal...he said in my case he did not beleive it was an issue at all.

I have not taken the pain pills in a couple of weeks...just ibuprofen and tylenol. It still hurts...but it is better than it was.

So ……I am not jumping for joy that I had this done yet….but i am sure I will in the future.

Yes. And faithfully performing the recommended therapy.

thanks sister friend.....and i appreciate those who have gone before me and can share their wisdom with me!

My doctor also told me the same that yours told you about pain meds....TAKE THEM! and i did for 6 weeks.....but i feel better not taking the narcotics now...they really messed with my tummy and the pain is much more tolerable so over the counter meds help just as much.

Knee replacement swelling and pain
 

I see you all stopped discussing this about 3 weeks ago so forgive me. I had my knee done on December 1. I still have a little swelling and I still have that ache, although not as severely or constant as I used to. My doctor told me that it would take almost a year before it was back to near 100%. I have the flexibility and the strength but still have some trouble going down steps. I am beginning to think it is mostly in my mind.

Also, he told me I would take more time to heal than others. I am 6'2" and 280 lbs with heavily muscled legs. He said it all have to heal and it just takes time. What has helped me the most was swimming. I can exercise but still not have weight on my knee.

Good luck. I understand the impatience but believe me, it doesn't make it feel any better. I am just waiting it out and not letting it hold me back.

thank you for sharing that...I am 11 weeks from surgery today...the deep inner ache is gone...most of the pain is now on the surface and where the drain was.....i still take lots of motrin and use ice packs.....and i still have lots of swelling the more i am on it. About three weeks ago i started having pain in my hip and my back....i think it is from not walking correctly....i "favor" the knee especially in the evening.

I am holding my doctor at his word...at the 6 month mark i will like him again...lol

I am small...and the doctor did indicate that was an advantage so i can understand your size might make recovery a little more difficult. I hope you progress quickly and you feel better real soon. I am still not to the point that i would recommend someone go through this...but maybe that is on the horizon.

I am sorry to hear about your pain, I had total right knee replacement last Nov. and never had much pain. I did the exercises they said but was not impressed with the rehab place so I started going to Anytime Fitness, riding the bikes and leg lifts etc. I did wear those support hose and finally bought a pair that zip up. Please do check for blood clots. Good Luck.

In respects tp pain meds the quicker you get off them the faster you will heal.

Cathy, I think it's been three months since your TNR? I hope that things have improved a lot for you. Please let us know how your knee is doing.

Thanks for Asking! My three month mark was last Monday the 27th....I have improved greatly. I am still taking Tylenol but the pain has changed from that deep penetrating pain to a more tolerable pain that feels more like the nerve endings are reconnecting.

I am walking much better....there is still a little LAG...for lack of a better word....the new knee does not respond quite like a natural knee...but i think with time that will come. I still have some swelling...especially if i have been on it a lot....but for the most part...i am doing great.

I am not to the place i am happy i had it done....but i can see that i probably will be within the next few months.

I asked a friend of mine the other....which was worse...your hip replacement or your knee replacement?...his response was the knee took much longer to recover from. i asked the dr the same question and his response was also the same.

I am doing well....and i so appreciated all the helpful responses I got from the folks here.

I'm glad to hear that you are gradually improving.
After two years, I still have swelling if I "aggravate" my new knee, nothing that an icebag won't help.
I cannot kneel on the knee where I had my TNR, while others have no problem doing that.
At my two-year checkup, I asked my Surgeon why I wasn't A-OK (but I'm much better than before the TNR).
He said "Some people react better than others to having strange things implanted in their body".
I hope I never need a pacemaker. :shocked:

I see you have a horse farm up for sale, sounds great.
I had a horse, Jets Encore, for 23 years and I miss him terribly.

My ortho told me that the recovery for a hip is 3-4 months; knee is 6-12 months; shoulder is 10-18 months.

yes i had 2 horses....ages 29 and 27 for 24 years. Sadly we put them down march 31 2015. One had broken fetlocks...the other was very arthritic.

I miss them terribly...this place is not the same without them. There is a picture of them included in the listing.

I cannot kneel on my knee yet...i have tried and it sends pain right through me!
I still use my ice packs....i keep telling steve i am addicted to ice! lol

Our dear friend...who introduced us to the Villages...had his knee replacement 5 years ago. He plays golf and baseball...and has since week 11. I asked him how he can do that...he said he applied ice internally and externally...vodka on the rocks and an ice pack! lol That's my Jim! He is freakin remarkable!

my dr. also told me 6-12 months for the knee. He said whatever you have at 12 months is what you will have...so work hard to get all you can.

My flexibility is 130...i need to work on straightening my knee a bit. I am a minus 2.....not bad but it could be better.

Ice for knee
 

ICE is your friend. You can never ice too much, especially is there is any pain or swelling. I remember hating icing several times a day, even weeks into the replacement, but in the end it was worth it. Good luck.

I used ice practically 24/7 for over 3 months....i am now almost 5 months out. The pain is MUCH better...the swelling is MUCH better. I take Tylenol occasionally...other than that...I am doing very well.

Just curious
 

Just curious - who is your doctor that did the surgery? I am scheduled for replacement in a few months and sure don't want to be out of action for 6 months (softball) I was under the impression that 8 to 10 weeks was realistic to return to activities like running, golf, etc.

Hi, Cathy....
I had a knee replacement exactly 8 weeks ago this coming Wednesday. I was in the hospital for 3 days and went to a rehab facility for 10 days (the rehab PT was fantastic). Then home with in-home therapy for 6 visits and now I go to outpatient therapy for 12 visits - or 3x a week. Up until I went to outpatient therapy I really was quiet on the couch and drugged. Haven't taken pain meds in 2 weeks or so...

I am virtually pain free and I'm amazed.... (If I step on it or twist it I might get a sharp pain). I do feel a tightness and ice my knee in the evening - but I am really thrilled with the results. I was also told, and I believe the medical personnel that have told me, that it will take up to a year to feel totally 'normal'...

May be that you decided to do too much in the beginning....

I wish you best of luck and take it easy!

Had 8 wk checkup today and fully cleared for all activities. I had Dr. Nguyen, one week in home PT and then 6 wks at Physio Med on Rolling Acres Rd. One thing I noticed in your posts and in others is that you use ice and Nguyen's protocol is heat, no ice. I found that heat anywhere on or around the knee but not on the incision really helped with pain. I had day surgery (not on Medicare). I was off the operating table at 12:15 and walked out the door at 3pm. My other knee is being done 10/26.

Remember, you had major surgery. Lots of various tissues have experienced trauma which rehab and doing stuff can aggravate. I had my first total knee eplacement done in 1999 and the pain disappeared totally after 3 months. At that time my insurance covered 3 days in the hospital and 10 days inpatient in a rehab facility. After three weeks I was able to do pretty much anything I wanted to do but the tissue was still recovering so total pain free took longer. My other total knee replacement was done in 2011, 3 days in the hospital then home with a PT person showing up three days a week for an hour each day. That went on for 3 more weeks then I was off to an out patient rehab and getting back to normal was a couple more weeks. While pain free was about the same time as the first knee, the journey was worse because insurance didn't provide the intensive and focused rehab as the first knee. We are all different but tissue recovery will take time even though our tendons and ligaments might let us do the things we need to do.

My doctor is in Missouri.

I was in the hospital 2 nights..and i had therapy at home 6 times. that's it. It sounds to me like many of you had a great deal more therapy than I did.

I am doing so much better than i was...and i did overdo entirely too much. But i have 130 flexibility.

I am not athletic....so I have no reason to run and jump...but i do everything around the house...and take care of 10 acres on a tractor.