My progress at 5 weeks TKR

[Guest guest]

I wrote earlier about my knee not progressing in flexion enough. I am only at

about 90 degrees at this point and that is with tremendous effort. My PT pushed

it to 95, but that wasn't real because it tightens right up. I understand that

I am supposed to be farther along. When I push it with aggressive PT, every

muscle in my leg cramps up. I have developed sciatica on the side with the TKR;

it used to be on the other side. I am taking CAL-mag and drinking plenty of

water. I tried flexerol in hopes that it would relax my muscles enough to push

the PT. I get feedback that I should have done more sooner and that I now have

scar tissue that will require some kind of surgical intervention. I couldn't be

that aggressive in weeks two and three because I was sick from the meds and

exhausted from being up all night.

I feel like they replaced my knee but didn't deal with the fact that I couldn't

straighten this knee for years, that I walked with a limp, and that my muscles

have been shortened for years.

The pain meds never worked. They make me too exhausted and spacey to want to

work. I sometimes take them at night so I can sleep, but they only make me

sleepy and don't mitigate the pain. They also make me emotional and weepy. I

thought that more flexion would happen after some of the swelling went down, but

this doesn't seem to help.

I am seeing my surgeon, who is 5 hours away, for my post up check-up next

Tuesday. I feel like they (and my PT) should have told me the approximate

progress I need to make, so I would have some goals sooner in this process. I

also wish that they had sent me home with the continuous motion machine so I

could make progress while laying down to rest.

I am rather distraught and feel like I am worse than I began. Has anybody

continued to make progress in flexion later in the process? Is another painful

surgery inevitable? Devora