What to Expect Two Weeks Post Total Knee Replacement

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I'm 16 days post surgery today.  Everyone will tell you that they cannot predict how your recovery will go, that it's individual for everyone, and that the rates at which things change differ greatly person to person.  I'm sure that's true, but I still think it's helpful to hear about other people's experience!

So far, I felt that the pain during the first week was less than I expected.  That may be entirely due to the fact that I was given stronger meds in the hospital (where I stayed for 24 hours), and was taking a combination of Tylenol, an anti-inflammatory and oxycontin once I got home.  I really wanted to wean off the Oxy, so fairly quickly started taking that just at night, and just when my pain was moving above a 5 quickly. 

As I move past the two week mark, I'm feeling a little frustrated. It's hard not to drive, be able to really go outside, or do much other than walking around the house. I am also not sleeping well at ALL which adds to the bad mood.  It's not the knee so much as it is everything around the knee - from back to quad and hamstring to calf.  It's sort of like when you wake up and are in an uncomfortable position, and then you move or stretch so you feel better - except the moving and stretching in this case does nothing.  Sort of a low to medium discomfort almost all the time. 

That said, here is what I CAN do at 2 weeks post op:

Walk - I'm learning to walk without swinging my leg out to the side a bit, which I've been doing for a year or more. It's hard to learn to walk again!  I use one crutch but don't really need it.

Put 100% of my weight on my new knee leg.

Bend my knee to 100 degrees.

Get on the stationary bike and almost make a full revolution - I just go back and forth to get it moving and get a little bend in the knee (home PT helped me a lot with this). 

In terms of daily activities, I can make dinner but I pay for it later (too much standing while chopping etc.).  I can shower easily without a shower stool.  I can work from home, seated, with breaks to ice and put my leg up.

Keeping the knee moving is a priority but is harder than you'd think once you go back to work, if you have a seated job like I do (I'm a writer). 



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