TKR Susie-Q's 2nd TKR Recovery Thread

No zingers last night and I slept better. I still woke up with the knee feeling sore, I'm assuming from the sideways movements I only seem to have when sleeping. I hear ya, I told myself I was going to ice first thing this morning and it's now almost noon and I haven't yet! :nah:
 
Hey @Susie-Q, I'm glad that some of the pain is subsiding. Take it easy while you're figuring it all out.
 
Yes, the zingers and nightly twitching are gone. I was a little sore this morning in the knee but I chalk it up to hubby and I playing a spirited game of badminton in the yard last night. :tennis2:
 
I slept WAY too long on my left side last night and woke up with a very sore left hip. I think it triggered some zingers in my knee too as I felt a couple during the night. :nah:
 
Ouch, but that must have been some good sleeping! I hope as the day goes on you'll start to feel better.
 
Yeah, I slept pretty well until my daughter's 16 lb cat came in and walked on me. The pain in my hip is fading and not hindering me in any way. I got some groceries and am now vacuuming, doing laundry and cleaning....
 
Good that the pain is going away. It's strange how we can wake up painful because of the way we have slept!
 
Well I missed my 1 year Knee-aversary by one day. :curtsey:

Last Aug 30th (2021) is when I had my second TKR, 11 years after the first one. My knee is so much better than it was that the pain I had has become a distant memory. Stairs are easy now, walking is pain-free (at least in my knees) and life is good. I still have some scar sensitivity, if I bend down and put my left hand on my knee, it's a little sore. It also might be because I've been putting my right ankle up on my left knee to stretch the bottom of my foot, so it could be a bit sore from that pressure. (I have plantar fasciitis in my right foot :groan:) To the left of my scar it's still quite numb but I can feel where nerves are slowly coming back. I have definitely gained ROM since discharging from PT back last Dec. The left can just about bend as much as the right, somewhere in the mid 120s. I'm still not super comfortable kneeling on it but with some practice and using a pad, I can get by fine.

To all of you waiting to get a replacement or in the early days of recovery, hang in there! You will get there with time and patience!
 
What a great report! Proof that progress can be made quite a while after surgery. I wouldn't be surprised to see you have even more improvements by this time next year, even if you opt for no additional formal therapy. In the end, if our replacement joints allow us to get back to whatever life we had before arthritis did its damage or to improve our physical abilities with additional strength training and sports (if that's what we desire), the surgery performs a miracle. Congratulations to you and your knees.
 
Great news @Susie-Q! :yahoo:

Sorry about the PF, I know that's painful. My newest knee has zero numb spots but there is an ever dwindling numb spot of the older TKR.

I am practicing kneeling. I read that kneeling on very soft spongy surfaces like a sofa or easy chair and moving to increasingly dense surfaces like a kitchen chair or foam pad for 5 minute clips over a period of several weeks helps desensitize the weird kneeling sensation. The final surface is the hard surface of floor or ground.
 
Happy belated knee-versary, @Susie-Q !

I'm just a couple of weeks behind you, and I also still have an area that's numb on the lateral side of my scar. I'm sure it will continue to disappear as we continue to heal.
:cheers:
 
I read that kneeling on very soft spongy surfaces like a sofa or easy chair and moving to increasingly dense surfaces like a kitchen chair or foam pad for 5 minute clips over a period of several weeks helps desensitize the weird kneeling sensation.
Yes, I can kneel on the couch, bed and even the carpet for short periods of time. It's still a bit difficult to get up and down off the floor but part of that is my bulk, not the knee! :heehee:

Thanks for the cheers, @benne68 and @hawk2go , you're my knee buddies and you're right behind me! :snork:
 
Something I wanted to ask my fellow 1 year kneeaversary peeps..... The only time my joint hurts is when I'm lying on my back in bed, I bring both knees up and then put my left ankle on my right knee. My left knee is then bent and gravity has it fall sideways. Something inside the joint kind of hurts and doesn't feel lined up right. This is the only time. Every other thing I do there is no pain. And when I say "it hurts" it really only feels like, yep, there are some parts in there that are not original to me and I can feel it, kind of like when you kneel on a new knee and it feels "weird". Does anyone else still have that sideways discomfort at this stage post-op? Just curious. I'm not worried about it, it was just something I noticed. I can also get that same feeling when I'm sitting and I put my left ankle on my right knee and let my knee fall with gravity. It may be something that resolves with time.

Also, when I'm kneeling on the floor with both knees, there's no way I could ever sit back on my heels ever again. My knees just won't bend that far. I'm sure it has to do with the design of the implants, they are not designed to bend that far.
 
Hey @Susie-Q. I also still have occasional "weird" sensations when I move in certain ways. Not exactly the same position as you describe, but also when I'm in bed trying to settle in. Don't know if that helps.

When it comes to kneeling and sitting back on my heels -- I have the exact same issue. When I attempt to get my body into child's pose during yoga calls, my teacher puts her hand on my back and tells me to sit back. Not happening!

Even so, I'm so grateful for the range of motion I do have and the fact I can get down on the floor for yoga class without pain!
 
Your knee implant does have some limitations to motion - especially the sideways rotation like you would be doing when you put your ankle on the opposite knee and the knee bends and twists. This can be the implant. But it can also be soft tissue that may or may not be able to eventually loosen up to be more comfortable when doing this movement. As long as the movement doesn't hurt, you shouldn't be hurting anything inside. Just don't force any movements with your knee. Do everything gradually. You're a year out from surgery and that's actually not all that long in the whole scheme of things with a knee.
 
I will be traveling to the UK (London and Winchester) this month and there will be a LOT of walking. This will really be a good test for my bionic knees.(both the old one and the new) Since my last posts I have gotten new orthotics for my shoes and some sandals from ABEO. I will report back and let everyone know how things went. I know @benne68 has been on several trips in the last year and has done very well. I expect to do the same! :fingersx::fingersx::fingersx:
 
You go girl! Enjoy, @Susie-Q

FYI: I alway pack a compression sleeve, some KT tape and an analgesic cream -- just in case. I subscribe to the "if I carry an umbrella, it won't rain" philosophy of life! :tada:
 
@Susie-Q Sandals may not be the best choice for footwear in the UK. Today is cold and showers. Summers in the UK are not like Summer in the US. Check the weather reports before packing!
 
No, I won't be wearing my sandals for more than a quick walk down the block if it's warm. I'll be wearing my tennis shoes most of the time. Also, UK summers are very similar to our summers/weather here in western WA. In fact, when I've been checking the weather often this year (my daughter has been living there since Jan) the temps are almost always very similar. We are never that hot here or rarely so.

The next 10 days here are upper 60s to mid 70s and I just checked and London is the same.
 

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