TKR 2nd knee, 2nd recovery

[Sara61]

Today I had my final visit with my surgeon, typical the click was nowhere to be seen or heard, the knee bent perfectly, measured at 137 and extension of O which he said is excellent for a 3 month old knee, my knee even bent from standing- kinda made me look a bit foolish as I explained the symptoms I had, had and the trouble with the bending and straightening, however my knee didn't exhibit any of these problems today.
He has said I need to stop limping & to not use a crutch and I am to concentrate on relearning to walk correctly as otherwise a bad habit will form.
Admittedly my knee feels better than it has in a long while, maybe I have turned " the corner" possibly the internal swelling has reduced as I have very little pain, apart from the anti-inflamatory pills I am not taking any other medication.
I even managed to drive the car part way home with no issues whatsoever, I even practiced an emergency stop and the knee behaved well, I will start doing little journeys close by to regain confidence
Praying this will continue, almost scared to hold my breath thou, let's see how tomorrow fares.

 

[Jockette]

I hope this good turn continues! And isn‘t it so typical that the problem magically disappeared when you were with the surgeon. That happens all the time.

He has said I need to stop limping & to not use a crutch and I am to concentrate on relearning to walk correctly as otherwise a bad habit will form.

I really think the limp will mostly disappear on its own as you heal, mine did. I would keep using the walking aid when you feel you want it, it will help you feel safe. Concentrate on a good walk, heel to toe, but don’t stress over that concentration, you are still early in recovery and things will improve by default, as you heal. You had quite an extreme setback so try to take things easy.

I even managed to drive the car part way home with no issues whatsoever, I even practiced an emergency stop and the knee behaved well

This is great news!!

 

[Susie-Q]

Yay, @Sara61 ! Positive progress and moving forward!!

 

[glidefloss]

Admittedly my knee feels better than it has in a long while, maybe I have turned " the corner" possibly the internal swelling has reduced as I have very little pain, apart from the anti-inflamatory pills I am not taking any other medication.

Hi @Sara61 , congrats (and continued) on such good progress!

What anti-inflammatory pills are you taking? Any side effects of note? I was prescribed Meloxicam but somehow never took it and instead relied on Aleve and Advil but will likely take it when I get my LTKR on April.

As internal swelling has gone down, has your knee started clicking or feel like clicking? That's something that my knee started doing a couple of weeks ago as swelling subsided. The clicking hasn't been a problem though - and they remain a lot less noisy than my creaky left knee.

All the best for your continued recovery!

 

[hawk2go]

Today I had my final visit with my surgeon, typical the click was nowhere to be seen or heard, the knee bent perfectly, measured at 137 and extension of O which he said is excellent for a 3 month old knee, my knee even bent from standing- kinda made me look a bit foolish as I explained the symptoms I had, had and the trouble with the bending and straightening, however my knee didn't exhibit any of these problems today.

Well that is terrific news given your recent challenges @Sara61. I do understand the frustration that your knee behaved well with your Dr. especially since you had to go through so much to get properly diagnosed by other doctors. C'est la vie. It's still good news.

Now I order you not to overdo it because you've turned a corner but do enjoy your new liberation.

 

[FCBayern]

Who knew our knees are like taking the car to the mechanic @Sara61, "I swear it's been squealing all week and stopped just as I turned into your driveway!" All in all great news though!

 

[Algarve46]

@Sara61 Great News. Onwards and upwards.

It's good to hear you are back on the wine and I thank you for the recommendation of Monte dos Perdigões, which is delicious. To return the favour I think you may like "Pioneiro" a full bodied red from Setubal. It's available exclusively at Intermarche supermarket. Enjoy.

I've now got a date of 24th March for my surgery.

 

[Catalien45]

Hi, Sara! I’m so excited to see your progress! You have been through so much, & just seeing you be able to do “ normal” things like driving partway home, is such an uplift!. I still get so excited just doing things that I so often found myself Not doing because of that constant pain....my husband will often say, “ Look at you - you’re walking NORMAL!” I find my biggest challenge now is, not overdoing. Our son & his girlfriend have been here for 2 weeks visiting, it’s been wonderful, & we will truly miss them when they return to Germany tomorrow. But I’m also looking forward to returning to my many cleaning out-reorganizing projects. I’ll have to join you in heeding @Hawk2go’s sage advice. There is so much sage advice here. Hawkie was the first one to give me the Bonesmart mantra of “ slow & steady, slow & steady”. I do remember that you often did the paint by numbers.... you do seem to have a good handle on finding some things that give you joy & distract you from the frustration that can occur with this recovery. So I try to take that example with me, & let myself enjoy those things when I need to slow down. Thanks for that.
I’m looking forward to seeing you enjoy getting out & enjoying it. As my middle sister often says, “ life is good”. Enjoy.

 

[CamGram]

Yea @Sara61 that’s a great report! Congratulations!!

 

[sistersinhim]

Ah, the freedom of being able to drive again! How wonderful.

 

[patriciad]

Wonderful to hear of some real change with your recovery. Being able to use so little in the way of pain meds is such a step forward ( how’s that for a terrible pun) So hoping that the worst is definitely behind you, your knee will continue to heal and you can start to resume and enjoy more everyday activities. You’ve been through the mill and it’s great for us to see you so much improved. Congratulations!

 

[Sara61]

One step forward and ....Well about 20 back at least I know better but... Last night we were invited out to dinner so having felt so good the last couple of days, I decided its time to ditch the slouch wear, so I put on my jeans and Dr.Martin combat boots, both felt comfortable and we had a fun evening out with friends. Today everything hurts my knee feels like its been run over, the tight band has come back with a vengeance so currently icing ( I chose a glass of wine over pain meds at lunch today) Thankfully we've a quiet weekend ahead.
Find myself chanting out load " bend the knee" whilst walking but the darn thing doesn't want to bend, even hubby now chants bend the knee hopefully one day this will happen on its own, as I do look very silly walking at the moment .
Wishing all my fellow bone buddies a quiet uneventful pain free weekend xx

 

[CamGram]

Sorry @Sara61 but I bet the evening was worth it! Sometimes we just need to feel normal for a night (dressing like ourselves, seeing friends, having that wine) and it’s worth whatever price we have to pay.

And I’m right there with you, chanting “bend the knee” as I relearn how to to walk properly! Hang in there - you can do this!

 

[sistersinhim]

Oh, Sara, one night of normal fun and you're paying for it for the next few days. At least you know it'll improve as you treat your knee with TLC.

 

[Susie-Q]

Oh Sarah.....maybe the boots were a little heavy for that baby knee? I know the first few times I wore jeans it was a weird sensation on my scar. I hope you bounce back from this quicker than you think. Have a good rest of your weekend.

 

[Scaredycat10]

Oh Sarah.....maybe the boots were a little heavy for that baby knee? I know the first few times I wore jeans it was a weird sensation on my scar. I hope you bounce back from this quicker than you think. Have a good rest of your weekend.

I am going to chance jeans, for the very first time since last October, when I go to church this morning. Up 'til now, it's been [M&S] thermal leggings. Very soft but warm.

Wish me luck!

 

[MARYCOOL]

At nearly 4 months I broke out the jeans last weekend! They felt great, but man do I love leggings! I also wore new boots with Dr Sholes comfort insoles! They are not heavy like Doc Martin's, but it felt good to be "stylin,"!
Have a great Sunday! I am on the exercise bike watching it snow!

 

[Mrty2019]

@Sara61 Just stopped in to see how everyone is doing and read your latest posts. So sorry to hear about all your troubles. Sounds like a bakers cyst then a fall, lots of pain and your can't bend your leg without using your hands to help. You were so close to me on surgical dates that I used your postings as a roadmap for my recovery. You have really had a time of it. I think I would put the Doc Marten's away for a while though.

Thursday it will be 4 months for me and I feel really normal and hope you get to that point soon. Sounds like you have another doctor working with you now so I hope that helps you get on the mend. I know the recovery is difficult enough when things go ok, but what you have gone through has to be miserable. Take care! --Marty

 

[Scaredycat10]

At nearly 4 months I broke out the jeans last weekend! They felt great, but man do I love leggings! I also wore new boots with Dr Sholes comfort insoles! They are not heavy like Doc Martin's, but it felt good to be "stylin,"!
Have a great Sunday! I am on the exercise bike watching it snow!

My jeans were fine.
They weren't my super skinny ones as lockdown has somehow shrunk them , just skinny and my scar was absolutely fine.

Snow? We had the most glorious Spring like day yesterday. Biting wind in the shade but a beautiful day to be able to go for a walk without wondering if I'd 'get there', never mind 'get back'!
A definite glad to be alive day.

 

[Sara61]

Just passed the 3 months post surgery mark, for plenty by now life is back to normal, for some of us we are slowly tagging behind.

If I were to compare between my two surgeries, the greatest lesson I have learnt is patience with oneself and do it the BoneSmart way.
Although I had a huge setback at week 4, having gone from a great start to being almost at week one with very little, & extremely painful movements of the newly operated knee, with the dedicated help of my new orthopaedic doctor & physiotherapist we began again with the basics, using the cpm machine twice weekly starting at 10 minutes 1st session and now on the 6th session at 45 minutes doing a gentle back and forth movement with the knee.

There is some contradictions regarding the benefits of this machine but for me it took a very painful knee refusing to bend to a strong pain free knee the difference in the last 3 weeks is quite amazing, my gait is improving daily I'm now crutch free at home, driving myself to and from physio, shopping etc. (just using an elbow crutch whilst out purely for support.)

My original surgeon and his team contradicted themselves, first stating no PT was necessary but when I started complications they then said I needed harsh physiotherapy otherwise I would need MUA, these people saw me 3 times, I smiled sweetly & ignored their suggestions knowing 1st hand. what harsh PT does...having a ROM of 137 at my final consultation with the surgeon on the 2nd of March, the suggestion of a MUA was totally absurd, my knee could bend, what they didn't understand was, it didn't want to bend.

The surgeon never X-rayed my knee after surgery, fortunately I had the back up of the local hospital ( as they had sent me to a private hospital due to the backlog of patients ) so the new doctor took the initiative to dig deeper and finally rectified the problem.

I know, I still have far to go, but I'm confident I'm finally in caring hands, each day brings new improvements and my life is getting somewhat good again, however most importantly was the help and support of my BoneSmart friends and staff, you all have been thru similar circumstances, some still ongoing, only people whom have had this surgery understand fully the ups and downs of this rollercoaster ride, families and friends although mostly sympathetic unless they have experienced it first hand, really have no idea, it's not a recovery I lightly recommend but knowing from my left knee in 2019 it does get better and the after is worth the price of what we go thru to get to that stage.

For those starting this new journey, choose wisely your surgeon & physiotherapists don't be bullied, choose a surgeon with years of experience, look for someone whom has a caring and supportive manner.

This race is not won by competition, each knee and each recovery is unique, the old eighties saying "No pain no gain ' does not apply to a joint replacement, it infact it is the total opposite, if it hurts don't do it, as they say " the tortoises always wins the race."