Adventuress
junior member
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2022
- Messages
- 26
- Age
- 59
- Country
Canada
- Gender
- Female
I had a left TKR on March 22, so am now just over 3 weeks post-op. All in all, things have been pretty smooth. Took Tramadol and Naxproxen along with Asipin and a few others for the first 2 weeks, but steered clear of the stronger narcotics, but had them on hand if required. Since the op similar to another contributor, I have had a mild fuzzy, numbness in my left heel from mid-instep. It seems similar to what I used to call fuzzy feet, which I would get in both feet at the end of each hiking season. This usually took about 2 months to go away and was due to nerve compression having hiked 100's of km. I am hoping the sensation in my heel also subsides. It has a strange cold feeling to it. I also have numbness around the healing knee. I am thinking all this is normal and will resolve once healing and swelling reach a certain point.
At just after 2 weeks I was able to flex 120 degrees and was walking with a cane in the house and with a cane and hiking pole when out for walks. I was also using a stationary bike (initially for about 25 -30 mins, but dialed this back to multiple shorter sessions). Sessions with the physio have gone well. I am also trained as a physio, but not practicing, so have some insight, but probably a little too zealous. In my enthusiasm, in week 2.5 I started reducing meds while increasing walks and bike together with physio. I found that my ROM in flexion reduced to 90 degrees, as I experienced a painful tugging in the medial quads just above the knee, which was also sore to touch. Also had a sleepless night, where I seemed to be needing to shift my position constantly. I decided to increase meds to every 6 to 8 hours and come off them more slowly.
Today, a full week later, I have not needed to take any pain meds since last night and do not have pain, just swelling if I stand for too long. Also have been using cryo cuff and elevation regularly. I noticed another contributor had the feeling they were laying around all day. I head to bed around 8pm these days and get up around 7am. Certainly, there is a lot more laying around than I would like, but I intersperse this with 5 -10 mins of the stationary bike (forward and backward) 3 - 4 times daily, walking around the house, a nature walk at least 1 x 1km walk per day and eating and all the other usual daily chores that I am able to do to lessen the extra work my husband has taken on. My mood is mostly positive and it has helped reading other people's experiences. There have been a few low days, especially when I seemed to have lost ROM (now back to 120 plus.
I am also lucky enough to have a SCENAR biofeedback device, which helps trigger the body to send endorphins to where they are needed and to improve healing. Looking forward to walking without a cane and feeling strong enough to engage in some of the adventures I have done in the past.
At just after 2 weeks I was able to flex 120 degrees and was walking with a cane in the house and with a cane and hiking pole when out for walks. I was also using a stationary bike (initially for about 25 -30 mins, but dialed this back to multiple shorter sessions). Sessions with the physio have gone well. I am also trained as a physio, but not practicing, so have some insight, but probably a little too zealous. In my enthusiasm, in week 2.5 I started reducing meds while increasing walks and bike together with physio. I found that my ROM in flexion reduced to 90 degrees, as I experienced a painful tugging in the medial quads just above the knee, which was also sore to touch. Also had a sleepless night, where I seemed to be needing to shift my position constantly. I decided to increase meds to every 6 to 8 hours and come off them more slowly.
Today, a full week later, I have not needed to take any pain meds since last night and do not have pain, just swelling if I stand for too long. Also have been using cryo cuff and elevation regularly. I noticed another contributor had the feeling they were laying around all day. I head to bed around 8pm these days and get up around 7am. Certainly, there is a lot more laying around than I would like, but I intersperse this with 5 -10 mins of the stationary bike (forward and backward) 3 - 4 times daily, walking around the house, a nature walk at least 1 x 1km walk per day and eating and all the other usual daily chores that I am able to do to lessen the extra work my husband has taken on. My mood is mostly positive and it has helped reading other people's experiences. There have been a few low days, especially when I seemed to have lost ROM (now back to 120 plus.
I am also lucky enough to have a SCENAR biofeedback device, which helps trigger the body to send endorphins to where they are needed and to improve healing. Looking forward to walking without a cane and feeling strong enough to engage in some of the adventures I have done in the past.
