The knee itself does not hurt.
But they say it takes 8 months to a year to completely heal, and right now it is still swollen, the nerve damage to my lower leg may or may not fix itself, the lower leg bone itself still causes discomfort.
I was told that while the thigh bone is connected to the hip and does not move during the operation, the lower leg has to be held fast, with clamps I assume. It was quite painfull for almost two months. And, from what I was told sometimes the bottom replacement piece has to be hammered in place. The physician's assistant who saw me at the 8 week mark told me the pain down there is normal, and that the operation is "quite violent."
I dislike anything that affects my brain, like drugs or alcohol, but the narcotics they gave me were appreciated, and I even got one refill.
Now I'm down to 3 Tylenol before bed so I can sleep straight thru.
I had put up with bone-on-bone contact for almost 30 years, and it is so wonderful to be pain free and be able to walk more than a 1/4 mile.