Bikeknit
member
And you will be hiking those hills and mountains again. I remember gradually going from delighting in a walk to dreading one as my knees got worse. Now I forget about them and enjoy the walk. So will you before you know it!
Bilateral TKR 2 years out and facing up to facts
- Thread starter Ghostpipe
- Start date
10 weeks out and decided to broaden my horizons. Went for a short !walk up and then down a rough and stoney path with a reasonable gradient. Aghast at how weak my legs are, but there is a big plus. I walked like a normal person ( in case you are reading, Newkneemelodee) and cautiously (in case you are reading, Merlin). Apart from a bit of the steel band effect, a few minor clunks, and the odd buckling of the worst knee on the descent, there was no pain, grinding and scraping! My new knees are smooth operators.
Sisterpat
Former BoneSmart staff member
Ghostpipe, hooray!! 
What an achievement! Yep, it’s amazing how weak the surgical legs get! About 6 weeks post-op my first TKR I tried to step up onto the FIRST step of a ladder and was amazed to discover I just couldn’t do it! Gonna take a while to build up that muscle strength.
Keep up the good work!
What an achievement! Yep, it’s amazing how weak the surgical legs get! About 6 weeks post-op my first TKR I tried to step up onto the FIRST step of a ladder and was amazed to discover I just couldn’t do it! Gonna take a while to build up that muscle strength.Keep up the good work!
One of my biggest problems is standing still. After about 10 minutes food prepping, for example, I find myself hopping from leg to leg, and my knees feel as though they are going to explode. So I do everything on the hoof. Pace round the bedroom whilst cleaning my teeth, a few circuits of the kitchen whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, etc. etc. I suppose this is a drawback of having a bilateral, literally no leg to stand on.
Did a big supermarket shop this morning, put me out for the rest of the day. Too much standing and looking. Walking for the same length of time would not have been a problem.
Another lesson learned, send hubby instead and take a chance on what he brings back.
Did a big supermarket shop this morning, put me out for the rest of the day. Too much standing and looking. Walking for the same length of time would not have been a problem.
Another lesson learned, send hubby instead and take a chance on what he brings back.
Sisterpat
Former BoneSmart staff member
Ghostpipe, me too! Preparing a chicken casserole for supper...chopped peppers and onions, sat down. 15 minutes later minced garlic, weighed out pasta, sat down. Shredded the cheese, sat down. Got the picture? Now I have to get up and cut the chicken 
. Guess what comes next???
. Guess what comes next???
BBCG
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
I can totally relate!! I do have a good role model for being in the kitchen without standing: my nom had polio and one leg was much shorter and had no muscle tone, so she always had a kitchen stool and an end counter she could sit under to cut stuff!
But, I’m in the same situation: I can’t stand to stand still! Since I’m really the only cook, due to my husband’s vision issues, I gotta get this solved too!
But, I’m in the same situation: I can’t stand to stand still! Since I’m really the only cook, due to my husband’s vision issues, I gotta get this solved too!
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!BBCG, don’t know how you managed to cook at all at first, I just couldn’t manage. It took me a couple of weeks to start helping my husband , who is no “new man”, he tried hard, but I think I lost more weight with his cooking than I did in hospital! We have had a lot of takeaways in the last 10 weeks.
Nice one, SP
Nice one, SP
BBCG
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
Clearly, this is a topic with some fun in it! So, I’m really not cooking yet: I stood a week ago to sauté some special crab cakes, since my husband really can’t see well enough to safely use our stove, but it made my knee very grouchy!! He was a really good cook, tried to devise dishes we might eat put somewhere and enjoyed it too. (Stoves are not designed to be friendly to those with low vision, as most are digital, with shiny black backgrounds, making it impossible for him to see anything displayed there.)
We’ve been very fortunate to have had a friend set up a MealTrain for us, so the most I’ve needed to do is warm stuff up in the microwave or toaster over. Not high caliber gourmet cooking, needless to say! I pre-froze a few meals before surgery, and a friend who has a much bigger appetite made us a heap of veggie-Turkey pasta sauce so I froze some of that, too. Our MealTrain meals seem to be coming to an end later this week, since no new signups have occurred, but a few folks have sent us GrubHub gift certificates. Once they’re gone we can break out the frozen goodies, but we’ll manage okay on that for a week or two I think. Once I can drive, I can pickup pre-made meals at the local grocery store where they do some nice dishes, until standing isn’t such a big deal! One task today is to figure out how to thank my GrubHub buddies since I may not have their email! Then I need to research dishwashers as ours has apparently given up on us.
We’ve been very fortunate to have had a friend set up a MealTrain for us, so the most I’ve needed to do is warm stuff up in the microwave or toaster over. Not high caliber gourmet cooking, needless to say! I pre-froze a few meals before surgery, and a friend who has a much bigger appetite made us a heap of veggie-Turkey pasta sauce so I froze some of that, too. Our MealTrain meals seem to be coming to an end later this week, since no new signups have occurred, but a few folks have sent us GrubHub gift certificates. Once they’re gone we can break out the frozen goodies, but we’ll manage okay on that for a week or two I think. Once I can drive, I can pickup pre-made meals at the local grocery store where they do some nice dishes, until standing isn’t such a big deal! One task today is to figure out how to thank my GrubHub buddies since I may not have their email! Then I need to research dishwashers as ours has apparently given up on us.
Over time standing without getting so stiff will improve. The amount of time you can stand will get longer and the "recovery time" from bouts of standing will get shorter, but it will take while.
I did a lot of things by "installments" whenever possible. When I could I would do partial prep ahead of time for meals (chopping onions and putting them aside comes to mind). I found sitting (and depending on the stage of recovery, elevating) for a while in between tasks better than walking because it seemed like the log leg came on from being on my feet--bending the leg by sitting helped loosen it up. But you will hit a point where you've simply just done too much.
I did a lot of things by "installments" whenever possible. When I could I would do partial prep ahead of time for meals (chopping onions and putting them aside comes to mind). I found sitting (and depending on the stage of recovery, elevating) for a while in between tasks better than walking because it seemed like the log leg came on from being on my feet--bending the leg by sitting helped loosen it up. But you will hit a point where you've simply just done too much.
BBCG, what a wonderful community you have around you.
Kneeper, you are so right. Walking as exercise is not as bad as standing still, as each knee rests for as long as there is pressure on it. But when you add in chores, the time spent on your feet adds up, and before you know it you’ve overdone it. I’ve done just that today, and have been really sore this evening, just from doing a lot of prep on and off all day for a batch cook in addition to exercise.
Kneeper, you are so right. Walking as exercise is not as bad as standing still, as each knee rests for as long as there is pressure on it. But when you add in chores, the time spent on your feet adds up, and before you know it you’ve overdone it. I’ve done just that today, and have been really sore this evening, just from doing a lot of prep on and off all day for a batch cook in addition to exercise.
MerlinWizard
member
- Joined
- May 17, 2021
- Messages
- 142
- Age
- 58
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- Male
- Country
United States
Standing still has been pretty good for me. But standing for a long time (> 10 minutes) still isn't easy. As you've discovered, moving around seems to be easier.
I am the "cook" in our home. Not by choice mind you, my wife can cook and cook well. She just doesn't like coming up with different ideas whereas I will make things up as I go. Problem is, if it turns out - I won't remember what I did!
We also, host all of the family functions and that has been somewhat of a high bar to reach for me. I usually do a big Mother's Day meal and although I set out with good intentions, I couldn't finish strong and had to sit down for most of the cleanup. My wife wasn't too happy with me.
It does take a lot of you for even the most seemingly easy tasks and for me that has been a real bummer. I find myself being the most depressed during those times. But, I have Faith that things will continue to get better and they are. Just not fast enough!
I am the "cook" in our home. Not by choice mind you, my wife can cook and cook well. She just doesn't like coming up with different ideas whereas I will make things up as I go. Problem is, if it turns out - I won't remember what I did!
We also, host all of the family functions and that has been somewhat of a high bar to reach for me. I usually do a big Mother's Day meal and although I set out with good intentions, I couldn't finish strong and had to sit down for most of the cleanup. My wife wasn't too happy with me.
It does take a lot of you for even the most seemingly easy tasks and for me that has been a real bummer. I find myself being the most depressed during those times. But, I have Faith that things will continue to get better and they are. Just not fast enough!
11 weeks out now. Having a fit of the miseries today, those things in the middle of my legs have been planted there by the devil. Just when things were starting to look brighter, they have both started new stabbing tricks to send me back to bed with the ice and Bonesmart. I’ve rested for two days, treated them with the greatest of respect, and still they persist.
The worst feeling is that of losing control, independence and yet more strength just when I was starting to regain those.
Read a few stories on here, just to remind myself that all is not lost, and that I am in a far better place than some people, Thank you.
The worst feeling is that of losing control, independence and yet more strength just when I was starting to regain those.
Read a few stories on here, just to remind myself that all is not lost, and that I am in a far better place than some people, Thank you.
