DEPRESSION POST TKR

Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable or down in the dumps.  Most of us may have experienced this before for short periods particularly after certain incidents or a major surgery.

It is quite common for people to have feelings of depression after TKR which is a major surgery.  This usually happens during early recovery.  Symptoms experienced includes crying, anxiety, fear etc. Some people may even feel a sense of regret of having done the surgery or they may be convinced that things are not going to get any better.  These are typical negative thoughts which actually contribute to the depression.

Some people may even have depressive feelings before surgery. This may be due to the shock of finding out that we need TKR. So we either get into a denial stage and procrastinate or we decide to do the surgery. Even if we do decide to do TKR, we may feel very anxious with the waiting period.

From my TKR forums, I have come across many people saying that they felt depressed during early recovery.  Some would just burst out crying non stop and some just felt down in the dumps.  Personally, I did experienced it for a brief period.  Mostly, I felt depressed about the negative comments from certain family members due to their lack of understanding.  I also felt lonely when my husband and children either left to work or school and all the down time made me miserable.

There are a variety of factors that contribute to such depressive feelings which includes:-

1.     Temporary loss of mobility and feeling confined to the house
2.     Discomfort from pain, swelling and stiffness
3.     Loss of privacy
4.     Loss of independence as we need to rely on others for help
5.    Side effects of medication which may cause some chemical, emotional and physiological 
       changes in the body
6.    Loss of confidence in normal daily activities
7.    Fear of falling down, fear of things not going to improve further etc.
8.    Feeling anxious about how long recovery is going to take
9.    Negative comments from family members or friends due to their lack of understanding
10.  Lack of sleep
11.  Regret doing the surgery
12   Loneliness
13.  Self pity

These feelings of depression during early recovery will usually fade out as we begin to be more active and return to regular activities.

To prevent or minimise depression during recovery, I would like to suggest the following:-

1.   Have adequate knowledge about TKR so that we can be better prepared.
2.   Learn from other people's experience by joining a TKR forum.
3.   Keep a positive mindset.
4.   Reward our self with something that we like even for a small milestone. 
5.   Try to get out of the house even for a while as soon as we are able to as this will lift our mood. 
6.   Educate family members about TKR so they can be more understanding and encouraging.
7.   Family members should provide necessary support and show more care and concern.
8.   Be aware of recovery time so that we do not have unrealistic expectations.