WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER SEVERAL DAYS/WEEKS/MONTHS AT HOME

None of our group had any idea what to expect from our new knees, apart from the obvious things such as lack of mobility, pain and stiffness, all of which we hoped would soon improve. We were entering unknown territory, without a map. At first we were involved with mundane things like: how to get about the house (slowly); how to get comfortable in bed (not really possible initially); how to deal with the different levels of pain; how to get to the door before the postman gets fed up and leaves! 

We kept in regular contact, comparing symptoms and found this extremely useful in terms of accepting that what we were experiencing was normal .... a symptom shared is a symptom halved (sic).  The symptoms listed below were common to most of the group although not necessarily at the same stage in the healing process or to the same degree of severity.  They occur independently of one another and you can experience all or none of them at any given time.  DON'T PANIC!  What you are feeling is part of the normal healing process.

• Pain

Yes, there is pain.  In the initial stages when you first come home from hospital every part of your leg seems to have a different pain. However these are a result of the operation and of your hospitalisation and the majority of them will fade and disappear in a relatively short time: believe it or not, within a few months you will actually forget that you ever had this discomfort. And until this happens, you will find they respond very well to regular doses of your favourite painkiller combination.  Week by week the different pains make themselves known to the sufferer, they are conquered, disappear and are replaced by a totally new set. After about 4 months you will realise that most of these have disappeared as the soft tissue heals, and the more you can follow the programme of exercise and rest, the quicker you will attain this.

• Numbness

Strangely enough this is a constant companion of the pains.  The whole leg from mid-thigh down to the ankle will be totally numb and this sensation will last for up to one year.  This is completely normal.  After about 5 months you will notice a reduction in the level of numbness and gradually more and more feeling will return to your leg and knee. This is very much an individual thing and you may be very different.  I was told by an orthopaedic surgeon that this numbness will fade entirely with the last section to regain feeling being the outer side of your calf, immediately below the knee - and he was right!  

• Odd Sensations

We all experience odd sensations from time to time but soon realised that these were perfectly normal after discovering that the others were experiencing them too.  Some of these include:

1. the feeling of little insects crawling over your skin

2. the joint becoming very hot to the touch, or sometimes just feeling as if it is hot but not to the touch

3. pins and needles - but not quite maybe just pins and no needles (more a tingling sensation)

4. a pulling sensation from the front of the knee down toward the ankle - as if a ligament was being stretched

• Tight Band

Once you start getting about and using your knee more you will discover that after periods of exercise you experience the sensation of having a stiff, tight band wrapped round your knee.  This restricts movement but seems only to be a result of working the muscles, ligaments and tendons and it disappears when you rest the joint.  So far almost all of us have experienced this and we continue to experience it months after the operation.

• Tiredness

Obviously the leg will become tired; don't forget, a;; your major leg & knee muscles and ligaments were severed  and rejoined, not to mention the nerves as well. Clearly the amount and extent of the tiredness will depend on your muscle tone before the operation as well as your determination. If  you are sure it is only tiredness resulting from working the joint, then try to persevere and gradually push the boundaries. The more you are prepared to work at strengthening and toning the whole leg, the quicker you will feel the benefit of  having had the replacement done.

• Tissue Healing

This takes longer than you think and can give rise to all the symptoms above and maybe others which we, as a group, have not yet encountered.  

One thing to remember is that you CANNOT break your new prosthetic knee, except by really abusing it. Normal use and even strenuous exercise will not damage it.  While you were on the operating table the surgeons had your new knee bending up to 130º (practically doubled back on itself).  If you can come close to this you will be doing really well and I won't discourage you by telling you how fantastic my own knee bends are!