TKR Macknit's recovery thread

[Helizabug]

This when it helps not to be a Christmas person. Chanukah is a much smaller celebration, easier on the knees . . . As long as the dreidels stay on the table and someone else fries the latkes, that is. Still lower key than your lovely Christmas celebrations.

 

[Sara61]

@Helizabug I'm ashamed to admit I'm not familiar with Chanukah, all I can hope it is less commercial than our Christmas sadly the true meaning of Christmas in many households is non existent.

 

[jaybird]

Heliabug, I’m with you. Thanksgiving is the big holiday in our family, which is why Ihad my surgery a week after that. We do a little something on New Years, and we do always but up a tree (done very early this year), but that’s more of a “ nice sparkly thing in the living room during the darkest part of the year” thing, but that’s pretty much it for us WRT holidays.

 

[Helizabug]

I do feel sad when commercialism guts it of its meaning for people. It’s a lovely holiday. I hope BoneSmarties enjoy the prep, but treat their new joints with kindness!

 

[Macknit]

There are so many people that I have met through this forum with many different beliefs and spirituality. I personally care for all that brings Light to the darkest time of the year....my faith recognizes hope, peace, joy and love in all that Christmas is intended to bring.

This time of year can create stress, but it also brings excitement to me! I've spent a few hours, in between decorating just caring for the knee and knowing that the commercialism is not my goal for this time of year.

Another week is upon us and I hope that everyone is resting and healing well. And good luck to @sondrals on the upcoming surgery!

 

[Macknit]

I just need to whine....a bit too much activity lately and my other knee/leg is bothering me too!? It is almost as if the L knee and hamstring are having sympathy pains for the right ones!? Can that happen? Like there is a cross over switch in the brain with our nerves??

Well, just kidding, but I do think my over activity is causing me to limp a bit more which then throws the Left knee into a twist!

Oh well, thanks for listening...I'm sure if I take it easy things will come around! I just need to heed my own advice!
REST!!!

 

[Jockette]

Been there!

 

[Sara61]

I think I know exactly how you are feeling, like you I felt great beginning of last week so much so that I managed 3 hours in a mall on Friday a good 45 minute walk along on a promenade near the sea on Saturday and Sunday preparing for and entertaining friends for lunch - by Sunday night my knee was full on agony and not happy at all - fortunately yesterday I was a couch potato for most of the day so fingers crossed this week a little better. How you manage with having to go work everyday beats me .
How are you at getting comfortable at night in bed, I seem to spend the night tossing n turning waking up 3 - 4 times and cannot find a comfy position ( I use a pillow in between my legs ) then when I do I wake each time in pain as it's so stiff i mean really stiff so much so I need to use my good leg to shift it, I feel that if needs a jolly good spray of WD40...
Early days still I know but it is, a trial only hope 2020 gets better.

 

[Helizabug]

You know, whine goes well with cheese!

I’m not looking forward to being knocked down a peg when I’m ready to roll. It feels like these knees are exotic plants that need a different kind of care than we’re used to.

It’s all so dramatic right now, for me, in these early stages.very clear what I can and can’t do. Later, I imagine it will be very challenging to strike the balance between effort and recovery.

I’m learning a lot from you folks who are months ahead of me. Thanks, and whine all you want.

 

[marieltha]

You seem to do a great job of listening to your body. Twisting (overtaxing?who knows) my “good knee” while the left was a newbie is how I sprained its medial ligament. Do you have arthritis in your “good knee”?

 

[Macknit]

@marieltha Unfortunately, yes the "good knee" is arthritic too... I posted on your PTT thread, but I should explain my misbehavior here too (sorry for a duplication):

Part of my issues began when I decided to go back to my regular walking routine (it is a 5 mile-loop, I had been doing about 2/3rds of it with no problems, then this past Saturday I felt was the day to try the full thing)!!! I definitely caused one of those regression lines on my recovery chart!!! Wrong decision!

As @Jockette stated: "I’m probably more inactive than is good for my general health, but I’ll risk that to keep my knee and foot happy."

This is why I keep regressing, as soon as I feel better...I've spent the last 3 years walking regularly, losing 45 lbs and really working on my general health. So I have this built in fear that I'm going to lose all that progress and maybe even do harm!? Instead, I've set my self back with the knee/leg and yes that is where I'm doing harm! What's a girl to do??
I'm going into work late today and give myself a little extra TLC with my ice machine!

I’m not looking forward to being knocked down a peg when I’m ready to roll. It feels like these knees are exotic plants that need a different kind of care than we’re used to.

I love this analogy....some call them drama queens but I like the exotic plant title more! They are very very sensitive and we just need to recognize when to back off, I obviously haven't figured that one out yet!!

 

[marieltha]

Love the exotic plant analogy also!
I’m ready for my right knee to be a well-tended orchid, like my left knee, but it seems more like the carnivorous Venus Flytrap from
“ The Little Shop of Horrors”!

 

[Macknit]

@Sara61 I see I'm a tad behind in keeping up with my thread! It's already Friday... and I've had quite a busy week.

How are you at getting comfortable at night in bed, I seem to spend the night tossing n turning waking up 3 - 4 times and cannot find a comfy position ( I use a pillow in between my legs ) then when I do I wake each time in pain as it's so stiff i mean really stiff so much so I need to use my good leg to shift it, I feel that if needs a jolly good spray of WD40...

I cheat

That is.... I always take my 1000 mg acetaminophen (paracetamol), a sleep aid, a muscle relaxant and magnesium. I've always had some insomnia and restless leg syndrome....so before the pain issues, I didn't take the acetaminophen or the muscle relaxant, but they help me to relax a tad as I drift off to sleep... as they wear off some nights I do have to get up and ice...which does make work the next day a bit slow.

Speaking of work...It has been snowing again here. A wet heavy snow that hovers around the freezing point and then rains and freezes, bringing black ice. So I followed a snow plow about 90% of the country road to the highway. The snow plow then turned Right and I turned Left toward the on ramp of the highway. As I crested the hill I hit black ice, NOT speeding, but ended up doing a 360 in the middle of the road! Almost went off the road into a large ponderosa pine and then spun back to my side of the road! (Luckily, no other cars in either direction!!!) Whoo-wee what an adrenaline surge!

And adrenaline is a pain "killer" or suppressant! My knee was great with all of this ...

Just not the rest of me!

I hope all is well for the weekend ahead and that everyone is comfortable with their knees! (However, I don't recommend doing what I did to get your adrenaline to bring comfort to the knees!)

 

[marieltha]

So glad you and your knee came through the black ice physically unscathed! Too scary.

I agree with you and have resumed the Tylenol at bed and am sleeping better.

 

[jaybird]

Yikes! Scary stuff - glad you’re OK.

I am so glad to no longer live where we get that stuff. I had just the scenario you describe happen when I was 17, (intersection of EW Hwy and Connecticut Ave, Chevy Chase, MD, 1.5 blocks from my home at the time) except I hit both the trees and the traffic in the opposite left turn lane and completely totaled the 1977 Chevy Malibu I was driving at the time. Amazingly, I and the occupants of the other three cars involved emerged without a scratch.

 

[Macknit]

@jaybird oh my, that's a tough one too!! I told my husband I do really love the snow, but he may just have to drive me to work any time we have these conditions again!!! Luckily, the next storm is about 5 days out and my adult boys are home from the military! Maybe I can bribe them???

 

[tlfiore]

@Macknit I read about your spin-out last night and meant to post. I am SO relieved you were uninjured. An auto accident on top of TKR recovery would be awful, especially injuring the new knee. Ugggghhhh...I am grateful you were uninjured. I fear the snow/ice here, too. I won't bore you with details but I had an awful auto accident last December 6th...first auto accident ever...and I was hospitalized. Since then, I've grown fearful of driving on "black ice" as it's called. But I know it was a freak accident with me being unaware of the rapidly changing weather conditions that day. All-in-all, I'd day I'm a pretty good river with zero accidents in 45+ years of driving.

I see you are preparing for Christmas and the holidays. How is everything going for you? How are you managing work along with everything else? I swear, you are my hero and you give me encouragement & inspiration.

 

[Macknit]

@tlfiore Well, yesterday was probably not my most productive day at work...that adrenaline surge totally exhausted me once I arrived! I was late as I had to let the shaking to stop before I got on the highway! I, too, am grateful there were no injuries!

I'm sorry to hear about last year's accident; I have only hit a post with the bumper in a parking garage, and haven't had any accidents where I'm the driver. This was a miracle in the sense that I avoided trees and cars!

Christmas decorating is almost finished!! We usually are earlier in the season, however I am just a bit slower this year with my knee. DH has been a true peach and other than the tree (which is always my job) He only needed minimum help with the outside decorations, and mostly used my critical eye to see if lights were straight, etc! I did have to redo one of the tables that we put decorations on as he had the tablecloth inside out! But I am not complaining, he really does work hard at helping around the house, because of my work.

The knee has definitely given me "squawks" for over-doing it but as long as I stop and rest, then it settles down quite quickly!

I just popped into your thread and read your post. @Celle has some great advice and the over-activity is exactly what I continue to be reminded about!

My military boys arrive in town tonight...I am so happy and excited!

 

[Helizabug]

We’re grateful to you and your boys for their service!

 

[sondrals]

@Macknit im so glad you’re ok! What a scary experience! I worry about that here when I start driving again we still have 5-6 months left of winter. I may rely on Lyft and Uber for a bit until I’m completely confident in my driving. We have a lot of black ice right now because it warmed up and rained 5 days ago and then froze again. Glad I don’t have to go anywhere right now.