TKR 1st post since TKR on June 4

[bottomshollow]

Lori, you just keep doing those heel slides and other bend exercises along with your bike

and walking

. Just do them slow and easy for a bit many times a day. NO PAIN ALLOWED. You may have better ROM by the end of the month--you never know if you don't give it a try.

 

[Josephine]

I have been reading a lot about the Iliotibal band & it's been very interesting. I wonder if that may be part of the problem.

Warning: do not try to pin down your 'problem' to one structure. It's a fallacy. Fact is the entire knee is effected, not just one bit. Remember "everything it connected to everything else"!

I take 1 Percoset every 4 hours and I feel it if I don't. It's not really pain, but more of a huge, tight, restricted feeling around the whole knee, which is probably due to swelling. It's not huge but as I read the swelling can be inside & less noticeable from the "outside." It feels like it has a wrap around it, a tight one at that. Hmmm???

Oh yes it is! Did you read those articles Judy posted for you? Specially the one on pain management? If you had, you would have seen this

Often when people say they have 'no pain' they are thinking of the arthritic pain they had before. Post-op pain is different and manifests itself as
soreness
burning
stabbing
throbbing
aching
swelling
stiffness

One more thing, the PT guy said really only ice for 5-10 minutes at a time. Is that adequate? Every hour?

No it's not - hardly worth the effort, imo! I iced for hours at a time, often went to sleep with it on. A rare instance where more is better!

Ugh! Just got a call from my OS & said I'll probably need a MUA in Sept.

Well, you know you don't HAVE to comply if you don't want to. You'll only be about 12 weeks out then and you'd be amazed what a difference a few more weeks can make. Beside which, early MUAs are on record as being largely ineffective MUA: the ineffectiveness of early MUA (JBJS)

Remember you have to sign a consent form beforehand? If you decline to do that, they can do nothing! All you need to say is that you'd sooner give it some more time and see how it goes. That's perfectly reasonable and logical thing to do. Depends how you feel about it and what progress you've made in the last 2-3 weeks, be it ever so little.

 

[Lori]

I must confess, I have never slept with the "ice " machine on! I can see I haven't iced enough. I have the unit that is hooked to a little Igloo cooler & the wrap goes around the knee. Right after the surgery I kept it on longer, but I have only used a bag of corn until it thaws for a few weeks. I think I'm not doing that correctly! I think I may have used the ice machine for a week or two after coming home. I'd better get that thing hooked up again. It does feel good when it's on!

I'm still not sure: Ice every hour??? Or a few times a day??? I'm doing the 1 Percoset every 4 hours, because it really relieves the stiff, steel plate feeling, otherwise it feels like a big balloon. It's not hot, just a bit warm in different spots. I promise to do more "chillin out!"

 

[kneeper]

If it feels like a big balloon, I'd ice at least several times a day and elevate too. glad you're chillin'

 

[ChrisO]

Yep ice is the way to go if you still have the steel plate feeling.I'm 11weeks out and still have it sometimes. My ice machine at home couldnt keep up with me and my polar ice wraps. We bought bags of ice at the gas station. It was more than a week before i read on this site to Freee big plastic cups of ice And toss them in the cooler with water. ChrisO

 

[Jamie]

Ice away....in recovery like this is really is impossible to do it too much as long as you keep some type of fabric between you and the ice source (so as not to get a skin burn).

 

[Lori]

I had the ice machine on for a half an hour this am, after riding the recumbent bike for 15 minutes. Too stiff & too sore to do much more than that on the bike. Then made lunch, then went to the store (Target), then iced when I came home, again it was stiff. So today, I was only able to ice twice. I'm figuring that I'll be told to do less & ice more. I almost hate to say this, but it feels so good with that ice water around it. Ugh! It's hard to be inside on a recliner so much of the time. I have started to again ask for a few more things, instead of getting them myself. But even after icing for the 30 minutes, my knee got so stiff again. That steel plate knee cap feeling! Ugh!

 

[bottomshollow]

Lori, I saw in your post to Greeny regarding sleep that you are taking a lot of pain meds just to be able to sleep. Maybe you should talk with your OS or GP about a prescription sleep aid to see if you can get your sleep pattern back into rhythm. Just a suggestion.

I always feel a bit sorry for folks who dream--vividly & realistically. It's been at least 5 years, and probably longer, since I can even remember dreaming. I'm sure I do--but I never wake up and remember a dream. It makes sleeping a lot easier.

 

[Lori]

The dreams seem like they last maybe a minute, maybe less. They aren't like a big storybook dream. Here is one example, the Christian band "Switchfoot" (a group that my whole family loves & have seen in concert a few times,"Dare You To Move" is a big hit of theirs) came over to my house for dinner! That was all the dream, just at my front door for dinner. See what I mean, random!

And I don't dream this way every night; I usually don't have any dreams, just with the 2 Percoset. Last night was better.

 

[Jazyb]

Hi Lori

I am just catching up with your thread. I am so sorry you are a little down in the dumps with your TKR. You have had some excellent advice and guidance from all the good folks here. Al I can add is to ice, ice and ice. I used my machine for months and found it so effective and comforting. I will keep my fingers crossed for you that your ROM improves and that tightness you mention that runs up your leg improves. I had the uncomfortable tightness and it took ages to ease and a lot of effort on my part - lots of gentle stretching really helped.

Take care Lori and good healing wishes sent to you

 

[Lori]

Thanks, Jazyb. As you know, it's so good to know there is someone out there that understands. Been doing stretches, biking & walking. It always feels so tight & so stiff after getting up from a chair, a bed or really anything. We'll see what the OS says on 8-31.

 

[Jazyb]

Hi Lori

You are welcome I am just hoping for your sake that the tightness will slowly ease, as it did with me. Just keep doing what you are doing and my fingers will be crossed for you for the 31st August. Take care and keep us posted.

 

[ewhrn]

try moving the seat closer, you will bend more without knowing it.

 

[Janet2012]

Hi Lori, I'm sorry you are feeling that you are lagging behind. There were several of us that had surgery on or around June 4, and no two of us have the same recovery. Your pre surgery ROM could be a limiting factor, but you are already doing much better than that! Hopefully you will gain a little more. I had one knee stuck at 90 from week 3 to about week 6 or so, and now it is close to 120. But what you can be thankful for is that you have good extension. If I had to chose one over the other, I would take extension, because without it your knee can't lock, which would cause limping and an unstable knee. Good luck at the OS on the 31st! I hope you get some encouragement.

 

[Lori]

I will try the seat action, but I can't make it around if I move my heel from the pedal. I try to do it with my toe on the pedal & it won't go. I'll try though.

 

[Josephine]

Lori, you are doing TOO MUCH! Everything you write screams that out to me. I know it's about 8 weeks but you are holding yourself back by doing that. Did you read my post at #22? And whatever you do, don't push the seat closer until you can easily do a full rotation where it is. You'll only hurt yourself.

 

[MaryGrace]

Lori, you're not alone. I had a left TKR on June 5th and have had the same problem of not bending beyond 90 degrees for 2 months post-op. So frustrating especially when it seems we're doing all the right things. Pain management, physical therapy, pool therapy, stretching, strengthening, walking, resting, icing, elevating and still I could not increase flexion. My PT said there really wasn't anything more he could do. I also have keloid scars from previous surgeries as well as my new TKR scar. When I saw my OS after a dozen therapy appts, he recommended another two weeks of PT before considering a MUA. I had read scary stories about manipulations. However after no further progress and some research and lots of prayer, I agreed to have the MUA at 10 weeks out from surgery. For me it was just a quick procedure and easily tolerated. Afterwards, I used a CPM machine for the first time along with everything else I had been faithfully doing, and I'm very happy that I can now bend 100 - 115 degrees. What a relief to be walking more normally now! Before I walked stiffly and it was affecting my hip and lower back. I can also do stairs now. Lori, don't despair! Hopefully you'll be encouraged by my story.

 

[Lori]

MaryGrace! Yes, your story sounds almost exactly like mine! I also have keloids from my other surgery & even before the TKR, my OS said he could feel all the scar tissue. And, yes he also said there is plenty old scar tissue after the TKR. So, I'll hear what he says on 8-31 & decide what to do after that.

Thanks so much, it's encouraging to hear positive results!

 

[Titianlady]

Oh, Lori, slow down!! Listen to Josephine!! Every time you cause yourself pain and overwork that knee, you are creating more scar tissue.Thank goodness I had a fabulous PT that knew that and actually scolded me for working too hard between visits. He is the one that informed me about pain equals swelling which equals more scar tissue to lay down. I had my TKR on July 10' so I am not quite 8 weeks out. I still have internal swelling if I try and do too much. And believe me, your knees idea of too much and yours will differ greatly! Some days just standing in my kitchen to wash up a few dishes is too much for it at the time. Some days I have no swelling at all, and others, it is there at the littlest use.There is a ton of healing yet to be done. I know it is frustrating, but recovery from this surgery takes a long time, up to a full year, and more for lots of folks. Slow down, elevate and ice,ice,ice. Take your pain meds by the clock even if you don't feel you need to. Your knee will thank you. Think twice about that MUA. If you are dead set on it, at least wait a few more weeks and see if anything improves. We are here for you dear heart.

 

[Lori]

I have slowed down a little. Less determined walking (I was trying to go farther, now it's just to keep it moving & bending). I still don't sit & ice as much as I should.

I have a question about the ice machine. Mine is a "Polar Care Glacier" model. It looks like an Igloo cooler that can be used for picnics. Can I use the blue frozen cold packs instead of ice? The blue frozen packs are the ones that can go in coolers & lunch boxes, some are gel & some are hard plastic? I have a bunch of those & I wonder if that would work in place of ice? In my model, I add water to the (real) ice & the cold water circulates in a Velcro wrap that goes around the knee. Using those "ice packs" would make it lots easier than needing so much ice all the time. Also, why did someone add alcohol to the ice water? Does it melt slower?

Thanks for any info!