Today is 16 days since the op, I'm walking better but still have some pain behind the knee, why I don't know! The swelling hasn't gone down much, and again I would have hoped by now there would have been some improvement. Maybe I'm too impatient. Also, the dressing came off on Friday, gosh what a neat job the surgeon did and the bruising very minimal. In fact, the nurse changing the dressing said she had seen some knee replacements with bruising covering the whole leg and I had got off lightly! Her only concern was a very small opening almost at the end of the incision which was weeping slightly, and therefore another dressing was put on. I will have it removed this coming Friday, and fingers crossed I will then be dressing free. Unfortunately, this dressing hasn't stuck so well, and consequently I am having to hold the edges down with micropore tape.
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| The micropore holding the edges down; the dot on the dressing is where it's weeping and very little bruising |
On Saturday, I went for a gentle stroll around Furzon Lake. I felt good, took my stick 'just in case' and walked for about 40 minutes. Saturday night and all of Sunday I suffered as my whole leg ached. Hmmm, me thinks I over did it, note to myself, stop trying to run when you can only just walk!
The exercises are also going well, but still I haven't succeeded in getting the bend to 90 degrees. It's the pull at the back of my knee that's stopping that, also I think the amount of swelling is not helping. I am seeing the physio the second week of September, so hopefully he will be able to put me right then, but I will phone for advice if, by the end of this week, I still see no improvement.
5 comments:
Knee replacements are more painful to recover from than hip replacements Robin had two of them and attended several weeks of physio.
You seem to be doing very well, it all takes time.
Well done Irene.
I am glad you had minimum bruising - but INSIDE has a lot of healing to do. That takes 6 to 12 weeks normally. (For NHS patients)
The nerves have all been disturbed (to put it mildly) and need to sort themselves out - into what is pain and where it is coming from. That takes TIME - up to 6 months often - but may explain some of your strange painful episodes. (The numbness at the sides can last for 20 years)
I am surprised your physio is happy to let you go out and about with just a stick and not use 2 crutches to give you a more even gait. The more pressure you put in the wrong places, the more it will swell up - ICE PACKS several times a day might help.
Did your surgeon tell you that this is the 2nd biggest operation they do on a human body? Heart is 1st, then knees. It's a very complicated thing with lots of bits to pull and push about, all that has to settle back into the correct places - for the best long term outcome.
I know it's boring, but I have been glad I took the 1st 6 weeks slowly - RICE, Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate (so that is Resting Up a bit more). In 5 years time, you'll be glad of all the nerves and arteries and ligaments all being knitted back in the correct places !
Once you start physio properly - at the classes ideally - with other patients - you'll be able to compare where you are all at. I learned a lot during the classes. We did it in a hospital gym with Wobble Boards and bikes - but that is around the 12 week mark before you should do any of that.
But well done on being determined, just give you poor old knee a bit of time and then it will serve you well again for years to come.
Take care,
Ann M
I think that the swelling not going down is symptomatic of some overdoing of the walking, Irene. Forty minutes is a long time to be walking for a knee that still has wounded flesh and tendons around it. And let's face it, 40 minutes is quite a long time for many people your age to be walking, regardless of a new knee!
How about you set yourself a limit of 15 minutes walking for 4 days, see how it is on Day 5 (a do nothing day), and then move to 20 minutes for 4 days, if there are no ill effects from 15 minutes? If you increase by 5 minutes after 5 days, you will soon get up to 40.
Patience, my lovely friend, patience. I've got heaps of it, but clearly you don't have enough of it ...
Mxx
If there’s an exercise bike you can use and you’re comfortable on it will help enormously over time. Paula
Thank you all for your welcome advice, I have listened and will do as I'm told (: But It was just a gentle stroll...honest. Because of my snail's pace, it took 40 minutes. Ian made sure we turned back after 20 minutes, and I did have a rest at the café for a welcome cup of tea, and I did have my stick. You are all quite right, though, I should take it slower. From now on, I will be the model patient. Xxx
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