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1cruiselvr recovery diary

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lynne, My doc had me rest for the first three weeks with no pt at all. Idid heel slides and quad sets and leg lifts--all the exercises they give you in the hospital. The first day of pt, my rom was 120--now at six weeks, 138. I am going for 145. Don't worry about resting and healing these first few weeks. K
 
Lynne, I wrote you a long note last week, but I left the computer and it timed out--twice that happened. Silly me. You got a note from Skigirl who had 120 ROM when she began PT at three weeks post op. I think she's the very lucky exception. I am still struggling at four and a half months post op. I'm icing more at work now. Just wrap two gel packs with an ace bandage. Often I get busy with some students or with planning and forget to take my meds--still taking acetaminophen three times a day. Then I start hurting. Only 2 1/2 days with students, two days of meetings and finish packing up my room for a move to another part of school. That's tough work, but I asked for some help with this, and I've gotten it. Two students are going to come in to help as well, and I'll take them out for lunch and ice cream. I keep trying to get the right balance of ice and elevation, exercise, regular life tasks and rest. It's my biggest challenge. When I'm working it's simply not possible to ice and elevate every time my knee begins to swell and ache. So glad summer is coming.

How are you doing with your recovery? Are you sleeping through the night? In less pain? Hope you can notice improvement. Juniper
 
Also, I did not have a full tka from this last surgery, but a removal of scar tissue and a poly liner replacement. I am lucky in that rom has not been a problem--mostly knee cap issues.

I am also happy that I had my surgery in the spring when I don't work. I can't even imagine going back to work at six weeks where I am now. If I do too much in the day, my knee swells and feels hot and tight. l have the luxury of icing it at that time, realize that it would be much harder to work in an office or classroom. K
 
juniper said:
I keep trying to get the right balance of ice and elevation, exercise, regular life tasks and rest. It's my biggest challenge. When I'm working it's simply not possible to ice and elevate every time my knee begins to swell and ache. So glad summer is coming.
How are you doing with your recovery? Are you sleeping through the night? In less pain? Hope you can notice improvement. Juniper
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Hi Juniper....I am doing ok. Thanks to sleeping medication, I am sleeping better but my supply will run out soon so I don't know how I will do then. Also, going to see my new dr next Tuesday. Anxious about that. I had been seeing my old dr for over 2 yrs so transferring to a different doctor is going to be a little stressful. My extension is still poor so next week I'm getting fitted for a brace that I will have to wear to help with that. It's not a 24 hr brace; you start out slowly 30 a day for 7 days, then 30 min 2x a day, etc. My flex is good - 120 when the PT applied pressure. Probably 110-115 on my own. I will have to discuss going back to work with the new dr next week as it's been about 12 weeks. I would love to have another month because work will expect me to be 110% and I'm not there yet but I don't think the job will wait or the dr will approve more time off. When I go back, I will use the ace bandage/gel pack idea for icing as I am sure I will need it as my knee is use to getting alot of rest at home.
Also, suffering from extreme stiffness. I can't wait for that to go away. Are you stiff?
Thx for the update on how you are doing. Keep in touch. ~L~
 
skigirl said:
lynne, My doc had me rest for the first three weeks with no pt at all. Idid heel slides and quad sets and leg lifts--all the exercises they give you in the hospital. The first day of pt, my rom was 120--now at six weeks, 138. I am going for 145. Don't worry about resting and healing these first few weeks. K
Click to expand...

Skigirl.....Now I understand why you were able to reach such good rom so fast. My rom is 120 with extra PT pressure, probably more like 110-115 on my own and it's been 12 weeks since TKR. I thought I was doing good until I read your post but now I understand that you weren't reporting post TKR. Thx for your interest and comments. Take care. ~L~
 
LYnne, Yes, I did not make that clear in my post. Mostly, I just wanted to reassure you that it is okay to take time in the beginning to heal and nnot feel rushed. You rom sounds great-- better than average and I think you are doing well. If you have to return to work, be careful. I know that my leg would swell until about 4 months. The stiffness you are feeling will also leave at about that time too. It will get less and less until you won't even know when it stops. You are on the right track and doing well. For those first few weeks of work try not to schedule other things so that you can go right home from work and rest and ice. K
 
Skigirl....thx for the information. I can't wait for the stiffness to go away. Right now it feels like I'm trying to bend a rock. I am not looking forward to returning to work but since I need my job/paycheck, it can't be helped. I hope I can survive sitting at a desk for 8 hrs a day (with small short walking breaks). It's my worst fear as I have trouble sitting in one position for very long right now. So it makes me wonder how I will achieve sitting for my job. ~L~
 
Lynne, lots of folks bring in a footrest to go under the desk. It can be as nice as an ottoman and as simply as a box. That allows you to sit with a straight leg--and you can ice at the same time.

I have worked too--I was a curator in a museum. ONe of those jobs where there were no funds for a decent salary
and enough work for four people.

At first, I worked non stop--and then, one day, I thought Wait, what am I doing? So, 12-1 became mine. I would not attend meetings during that time and I would not book an appt either. Every day I grabbed my lunch and walked for an hour. I love being outside and that time was so refreshing to me--just to breathe and relax a little. My boss thought I was crazy at first and I did get some flack. But, I noticed that he began taking a lunch no matter what too.

So, try to find a spot--close your door or go to a Christian Science reading room where you can lie on the floor and put your foot up. A gym would be perfect. Even 30 or 40 min of having your foot up will help a lot.

Also, I wore thigh hi support stocking when I went back to work. I got them on line at discount surgical stockings. I got black ones with no feet in them which are really pretty comfortable. They really helped control the swelling. I worked in a store after my last tka and the stocking saved the day for me. Kelly
 
Skigirl....thx for the great suggestions. I will certainly use them. I especially like the 12-1 time to myself idea. It's going to be hard at first because coworkers will not understand my needs. They will think if I'm back to work, I must be 100%. And, as others have pointed out, we look ok, so people assume we must be ok. But I will get thru it somehow. I'm not the first TKR'r (lol) to go back to work and still have knee issues. I said it before and I will say it again, I just can't believe how stiff my knee is...every day I hope it's a little better, but SIGH, it is not. ~L~
 
Lynne, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your surgeon. That WOULD be traumatic! One thing you might consider doing is to write a note to his family and tell them what his care meant to you. People sometimes never get to hear the wonderful things their loved ones do and how they change lives. It could be a meaningful thing for a grieving family.
 
Jamie....thank you for the great suggestion. I will see if I can get his family's address. I just learned he wasn't suppose to be in town but stayed back in anticipation of the birth of a grandchild. His grandchild was born soon after his accident and I heard he was able to see his new grand baby before he passed away. Such a tragic loss of a wonderful, giving, person.
 
If you cannot get his address, just give your sealed envelope to his clinic staff. They will get it to his family.
 
Nice suggestion Jamie. One of the most moving notes I got after my dad's death was from one of his neighbors.

It was written in pencil--but called my dad "the nicest man in the world" and talked about some of the things my dad had repaired for them when they were unable to pay for repairs on their house. I cried. K
 
Skigirl....what kind of compression hose did you get? I've been looking online and see many choices - thigh high, knee high, different thicknesses, etc. I'm totally confused on the subject. I would like to get some before my return to work so that I can keep the swelling down. Right now I wear something they gave me in PT that's just some stretchy material they cut to fit the length I needed to cover mid calf up to mid thigh. It's raggy looking now so I would like something more professional for work. Any info you can give me on the subject is greatly appreciated. ~L~
 
Lynne, I asked my pt about them and he told me to get some that were about 20 mm or less.

I wore the footless ones that are black. But, that might not work for work for you. But, they re fine if you wear slacks. I like the footless ones and so, cut off the feet of all of them--I would just roll up the bottom, it never ran or anything.

I also got some of the microfiber opaque stockings from them--I think about $20 or so.

Mostly I bought the cheaper end of the stuff--I almost always wear slacks. With the footless ones, i put on a sock and they are invisible. Kelly
 
Skigirl....were they thigh high in length? I see some footless in nude that work with a skirt...I'm not into being fashionable just comfortable and work won't care, they know I've gone thru major surgery. I will look for 20mm or less in thickness. Do they come in pairs (1 for each leg, that would make the cost even better, 2 uses instead of 1). Oh shoot, I just checked online at the discount website and nude is on backorder. Wonder how long? ~L~
 
Lynne, yes, they were thigh high in length--they have sticky stuff on the cuff and they do actually stay up. Sometimes I have to put them a little, but make sure you don't pull them too tight. Yes, you get two in each package, which is great. I got two pair and made it through with them.

Try the footless in black and usually they tell you when you order about the back order. you can also call. They seem to be a good company--good service. k
 
Skigirl....ok, thx. I will give them a call tomorrow. Hopefully, they will be able to tell me what size I should order and when nude will be off backorder. Since I wear mostly skirts to work, it would be less noticeable if I got nude. ~L~
 
Thanks for the thoughts. I'm hurting pretty bad tonight. I think it is because we went to see my mom which is close to an hour and a half drive one way, and I'm just not used to riding that long.
 
pmonroe, It took me awhile to be able to ride in the car without intense pain so I understand. Sorry to hear you are hurting. Hopefully, you are elevating, icing and taking your pain meds right now. Hang in there, it does get better with time. ~L~
 
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