Recently, I have received comments and emails regarding how frightening my blog is. I have written about this before, but believe something else needs to be said.
MINDSET: Your mindset going into a tkr is what determines how well you will recuperate and how hard you will work. The pain of recuperation is intense. And…that’s a mild description. If you go into a tkr thinking “Oh my god, this is terrible”….it will be terrible. If you go into the tkr thinking “I’m going to make the best of this”….you will.
PAIN LEVEL: Also, if your pain level prior to a tkr is not to the point of you thinking “I don’t want to deal with this pain anymore. It is limiting my life. I can’t do what I want to do physically. Enough is enough!” …maybe you are not ready for a knee replacement. Personally, I was carrying crutches with me everywhere I went for a year prior to my surgery. My knee was locking up whenever it wanted. I didn’t know what to expect or when it would happen. The pain was debilitating. I despised the uncertainty. Even the task of walking caused excruciating pain. And…I absolutely love to walk. I walk when others grab a cab, that’s how much I love it. I wanted to walk painlessly.
Prior to my tkr, I couldn’t move from a sitting or prone position without extreme pain. I needed to adjust my spinal column to lessen the pain.
RECUPERATION: The amount of exercising needed to recuperate from a tkr is immense. It’s extremely easy to get frustrated (and we all do it). The time needed to do these exercises and see results is not a quick fix. It is a long and very arduous process. Everyone is different. Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yourself.
Anyways, I hope this helps those thinking about undergoing a knee replacement. At least you’re lucky enough to read about all that is involved regarding the long recuperation process. Many of my readers, and myself, were not that lucky. I went into the surgery thinking I’d be kicking butts within a month. Was I wrong.
Having a knee replacement is the best thing I could have done. I’ve received the same feedback from many of my readers, also. In fact, this blog has turned into a very welcoming support system. For that, I am grateful to everyone who has contributed. 
You’ll know when you’re ready. Listen to your intuition. Kindly don’t blame me for providing realistic information. I could write about a tkr negatively, but I don’t. There are far too many positive results involved. Yes, the information can be surprising and eye opening. Don’t tell me I scare or frighten you, I don’t like hearing that since that’s not my intention. It is all in your own mindset and how you interpret information.
Thanks for listening and best of luck to all!
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Filed under: recuperation | Tagged: Booktoots, ebook, ebooks, knee exercises, knee injury, knee replacement, knee surgery, mindset, negative mindset, positive mindset, rehab, thinking patterns, tkr, tkr recuperation, tkr surgery, total knee replacement, walking
Hello Marie, I’ve just returned home from Vancouver and have been catching up on some of my favourite boards including this one, when I came upon your post.
Needless to say I was annoyed to read that some people find it easier to focus there fear on your blog, than find the heart to face their own fears.
I hope you realize it goes without saying that those of us that have faced down these demons and deal with our situations on a daily basis, take a great deal of pleasure from your writing and musings.
Keep up the good works…………
Rick
Toronto
Hi Rick,
Thanks for the kudos. It’s always nice to hear others enjoy reading my words.
hi there, anita again! i totally was at the enough is enough stage. i was using a cane. i felt ridiculous. esp considering that just 4 years ago, i was a weightlifter. ugh.
(btw- i got lyme disease at 42, was not diagnosed for a looong time, it went into a type of RA and at 46 i’m getting bionic parts and bone cut off. joy)
i do my own pt everyday and struggle thru the pain with the mindset that i didn’t just do multiple $40K worth of agony inducing surgery to wimp out on working thru it. i have a different set of rules and timelines due to the achilles surgery, but that’s ok. i love it that you’re up front, blatant and honest. i’d rather have a harsh truth than a pretty lie any day. and you can routinely hear me stop, point at the knee and say, “i’m the boss of you, you WIll work and do what i say!!!” my husband just shakes his head and laughs.
two more questions tho, first, when does it become more comfortable to sit normally for a length of time. i still can’t do restaurants cause i become really uncomfortable in about 10 minutes.
did anyone else get this itchy thing going? i ended up allergic to all pain meds, and am now down to just tylenol and advil alternately, but i’m still itching like crazy. anyone else you know have that problem?
I am now 4 months out of having a left total knee replacement. I was also at the enough was enough stage, I had been an aerobics instructor, my body was use to exercising, and I had problems even getting out of a chair, and from lack of exercise I was starting to gain weight. I was bone on bone. PT is hard and you have to really work at it, but, it’s worth it. I can now get out of a chair and walk without fear of my knee locking or giving out on me. I still get stiff after sitting, but it’s not like it was before the surgery.