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TKR 8 Month Update

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Legin said:
Both of mine are.rescue dogs. Both mutts full of character and very loving. How are you today.clipless..
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I'm doing better, thanks! Yesterday was my most ambitious hike yet- under 3 miles but a lot of ups & downs, including many deep stairsteps down to a waterfall and back out. We decided to return via what looked like a shortcut, but wasn't. More steep ups & downs, scary edges, and we surprised a coyote. Then, when we thought we were almost done, another long "staircase" down a ravine, across a bridge, and up the other side. And one last stair climb back to the cars. Whew!

I took one extra-strength Tylenol before the hike, and was exhausted afterwards, but my TKR knee felt surprisingly good! I can only conclude that it enjoyed all the extra bending. Also, thank goodness for trekking poles.
 
@Clipless your walk sounds very strenous but exciting. Well done. I'm not sure that I'd like to meet a coyote though. But 3 miles on hard terrain with steps! Well done! Trekking poles are wonderful. They've saved me in lots of situations.
 
I am so pleased at your progress. Three mikes of hiking that is amazing! I hope one day to do as well. Today at PT I managed a 106 ROM on my own with no pain! a great day fior sure. Keep it up
 
@ numbzee 106! That's great! Now that I'm done with PT I have no idea what my ROM is. Do you still have swelling? I do. It's not terrible, just sort of shapeless, blobby, and unattractive. I wonder does that ever go away??
 
@Clipless do you still Ice your knees? even though my swelling is gone I still ice every morning and evening..sitting here at 6am on my 3rd cup of coffee with my trusty dura-kold wrap on listening to country music and thinking about our trip to NYC this weekend...

Vinny
 
Hi, I still have a lot of swelling. My new knee looks nothing like the other knee! Someone said your Modeling career is now over! I don't think our knees will ever look normal after all this but then who really cares as long as we can walk without pain I haven't been icing as much lately I just tired of paying so much attention to The Knee some days.
 
@numbzee , I think we'll get there! I have two friends who are years healed and their TKR knees appear totally normal as far as I can tell, except for the scar. I currently avoid wearing shorts when out & about so as not to terrify the villagers, and I'd prefer to look better in leggings, but leggings are too comfortable NOT to wear.
 
When it comes to swelling you should always think of that great white rapper from the 90's Vanila Ice and his medley of hit..Ice Ice Baby...I am probably the only person with a Vanila Ice CD I guess....but it does really help with the swelling

Vinny
 
Thank you very much for the reminder, Vinny. Yes, I ice and elevate, especially late afternoon into night. Some days when I'm busy I don't ice as much as I should, and all bets are off when I go back to work. Maybe at lunch.
 
Thanks for the encouraging possibility that our knees can look normal in a year or so wow that's nice to know!
How are you doing today?
 
Not so good, @numbzee .I had to take a percocet for the first time in ages. All I did yesterday was a little shopping & errand running. However, yesterday morning I tried *very hard* to perform some straight leg lifts minus the extension lag. This effort, which everyone deems so important, always inevitably irritates my knee. I found it getting stiffer & more uncomfortable throughout the day, lower back too. By early evening I was in real distress- elevated & iced until I fell asleep.

I wonder if I should completely stop doing that exercise? I see the OS next week, will definitely ask him.
 
Iam so sorry you are having a set back. Maybe you should stop that exercise until your OS checks you over. I have found that this new knee exercising has opened new areas of pain and stiffness. My lower back hasnt bothered me for years now all of a sudden it's acting up. We are using muscles and tendons we haven't used for awhile and now a lot is off balance I guess. Let us know what the doctor says.
 
If it hurts like that the pain is a bright flashing red light. Leave it till its checked out.

Legin THR Sep 14
 
@Legin , Not exactly sharp pain. It is, unfortunately, reminiscent of my pre-surgery knee pain. I get into trouble every time I try quad sets. I did not do them today. In fact I did nothing, and I feel better for it.
 
:groan::groan: Sorry to hear you've been having discomfort. Like the others said, maybe don't do that exercise for a while and mention to your OS . Hope you have a better day today. These knees just smack us in the face now and again !:headbang:
 
Still swollen, stiff, and sore from Thursday's misadventure (straight leg lifts, WTH!). Yesterday I hobbled around a local mountain bike racecourse to get pics of our local middle/high school team. Not comfortable AT ALL compared to last week, but race pics are super-motivating for these kids, and I love taking them. Event ran long. My teen and I raced (in a car) directly to CalTech barely in time for a lecture and book signing by "Bill Nye the Science Guy". My son drove, thank goodness, but... um, yeah- there was a long line for the signing and my knee killed me the entire time. Worth it, I suppose, for my son scored a hilarious selfie with Mr. Nye!

Once home leg up & iced. I dragged out the straight leg brace and slept in it. This a.m. I'm ~30% improved, but my ROM is still down. I will continue to baby the knee until it feels better. I have an appointment Thursday with OS to get cleared to return to work. I'm a bit worried: Is something wrong? Am I ready to return to work? And how will my employer react if I need more time??
 
It must be really frustrating. Every now and again, similar stuff happens to me, one day everything is fine and the next I do something new (vacuuming the living room!) and something hurts big time so it's back to the sofa, leg up and ice. But it does go away with rest. Your ROM will recover when the swelling goes but the whole process sucks doesn't it?
Sending you warm wishes from a chilly UK.
 
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