Floridagirl
new member
Hey everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
I had a total right knee replacement on 10/26, after years and years of needing one. I am "self pay", having no insurance (but I am part of a "bill sharing" program, which was very helpful.) We had to pay for my in-home PT, so we could only afford 13 visits, which stopped at week 7. Because we had a limited time together, the PT person worked hard with me. I reached my goal ROM of 115 by the 7 week mark.
Now, at 9 weeks, I've finally started to drive, and I'm walking semi-well with a cane, and without a cane around the house. But now I have some questions I'd like to run by you folks to see how I'm doing.
1) STIFFNESS: After sitting more than 30 minutes I am tremendously STIFF! I mean, painfully stiff! Is this normal? When will this go away?
2) MEDS: I'm now at the point where I'm taking the prescription meds about twice a day: once before I go to bed, (and I basically sleep thru the night) and around noon. My doctor mentioned that this last scrip will be my last. So is this normal? I have about 5 pills left. With this much stiffness, will advil or tylenol still work?
3) PT: I think my PT person was aggressive with me, knowing he only had 7 weeks to work with me. His suggestion was 8 times a day, which wouldn't allow the "rubber band" to shrink back and get stiff again. I never could quite work in eight, or even six for that matter. I usually did four or five times a day. Now I'm doing one or two. Is that normal for nine weeks, or should I being doing more sessions? Could only doing PT once or twice a day be the reason for my stiffness? And how long do you think I should be doing these little sessions before just daily activity will suffice?
4) TIRED: Is it normal (at 9 weeks) to be extremely tired after spending about 15 to 30 minutes in a store?
I know, lots of questions! Sorry, but I've been thinking about this for awhile. Thanks so much for any suggestions you may have.
I had a total right knee replacement on 10/26, after years and years of needing one. I am "self pay", having no insurance (but I am part of a "bill sharing" program, which was very helpful.) We had to pay for my in-home PT, so we could only afford 13 visits, which stopped at week 7. Because we had a limited time together, the PT person worked hard with me. I reached my goal ROM of 115 by the 7 week mark.
Now, at 9 weeks, I've finally started to drive, and I'm walking semi-well with a cane, and without a cane around the house. But now I have some questions I'd like to run by you folks to see how I'm doing.
1) STIFFNESS: After sitting more than 30 minutes I am tremendously STIFF! I mean, painfully stiff! Is this normal? When will this go away?
2) MEDS: I'm now at the point where I'm taking the prescription meds about twice a day: once before I go to bed, (and I basically sleep thru the night) and around noon. My doctor mentioned that this last scrip will be my last. So is this normal? I have about 5 pills left. With this much stiffness, will advil or tylenol still work?
3) PT: I think my PT person was aggressive with me, knowing he only had 7 weeks to work with me. His suggestion was 8 times a day, which wouldn't allow the "rubber band" to shrink back and get stiff again. I never could quite work in eight, or even six for that matter. I usually did four or five times a day. Now I'm doing one or two. Is that normal for nine weeks, or should I being doing more sessions? Could only doing PT once or twice a day be the reason for my stiffness? And how long do you think I should be doing these little sessions before just daily activity will suffice?
4) TIRED: Is it normal (at 9 weeks) to be extremely tired after spending about 15 to 30 minutes in a store?
I know, lots of questions! Sorry, but I've been thinking about this for awhile. Thanks so much for any suggestions you may have.