TKR Almost one year out

[Ginger1210]

Absolutely Cabu i was exactly the same i had four years of pain and bone grinding together, that`s when i sought out a surgeon who looked at my knee and recommended a PKR he said outcome 90% successful and i could even be walking between one to two miles a day at week 4 and 6 . I was so tired and worn down by my persistent pain that all i could see was being back to normal and free of pain my wife could see how i was struggling as was a keen as i was to get it done and return to relatively normal life. I am pretty confident this will happen in time but my thanks to bonesmart i now know this will take longer and it certainly is a bumpy road. Hope you continue to recover well.

 

[Flowerqueen]

I agree with you!! You do everything right... elevate and ice... take your pain meds and go to PT..... only to have one good day and 2 bad days!!! Very frustrating for sure. I had my surgery 4 weeks ago

 

[Cabu]

Hi everybody
I’m feeling like I’ll never return to normal both my legs are swelling and my operated one has a tendency to swell more. I’ve started wearing compression tights again to limit the swelling.I don’t do a lot of “going for walks” but I am back to doing nearly all the household jobs and taking short walks around the garden.


Today I just can’t seem to think I’ll ever be able to go shopping or even drive. I know that’s just my headspace at the moment but even with my bad knee(before op) I could jump in the car and head off if I needed to,now I have to rely on family to get me things in town, I suppose I’m just finding the whole journey frustrating. I’m not even sure what I do wrong that gives me pain and what I do right that doesn’t.I haven’t been to a PT so I haven’t a clue how my ROM recovery is really going. I can bend and straighten my leg but to what degrees ,I have No clue.

I can sleep ok most night but still only in a semi sitting position,I’ve tried sleeping in my side and it’s a no go yet,the last couple of mornings I’ve definitely felt that I was sorer and stiffer in the mornings that I was going to bed at night

Also I’m due back at my surgeon in 2 weeks and I’m worried he’ll say I’m behind, or I haven’t done enough work.
I think my family think I’m all fixed because I do most of the housework and have stopped going back to bed in the middle of the day. I feel I’ve used up all my Mammy needs help time


Anyway thanks to bonesmart I get to vent my frustration with people who understand
Hoping everybody’s recovery is going according to plan
Catherine

 

[FourCats]

Catherine, you have the right to vent! All of us are having the same ups and downs. And as far as recovery ”going to plan”, I’ve realized MY plan is not the same plan my new knee has! I take one step at a time with the trust that there will be a day when those steps are a dance of joy.

 

[Cabu]

@FourCats ”the plan” is an elusive one it seems

 

[Sisterpat]

FourCats is right. Your new knee will dictate the course of progress, not your preconceived idea of when it should happen. We would all like it to happen yesterday ! I was not even allowed to drive till 6 weeks. Though it may not seem like it, you are still early in the process. Try not to be discouraged. And the heck with what your OS says about your progress! You have lots of time. Hang in there. You are not alone.

 

[Cabu]

@Sisterpat Thank You !!!
Only for all the knowledge I’ve gained from bonesmart I’d know nothing but like lots of people when I’m feeling moany I forget the valuable good information that says I’m going ok and only recollect all the bad things I’ve ever heard from people about TKR.
It’s always great to know other people get it !!!

 

[Jockette]

but I am back to doing nearly all the household jobs

I think my family think I’m all fixed because I do most of the housework and have stopped going back to bed in the middle of the day.

You are 6 weeks into a recovery that takes an average of 52 weeks. (one year). You need to still be doing quite a bit of resting and elevating. It’s really early to be back to doing most of your household jobs, unless you live alone and there no one else to do the things that can’t wait.

Feeling like you will never return to normal is common:

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Post op blues is feeling depressed, weepy, nervy, shaky, fearful of the future, anxious, overwhelmed by what is happening to you, convinced it's never going to get any better and finally, uttering that most intense of all cries "I wish I never had this done!" It arises out of a variety of...

bonesmart.org

 

[Cabu]

Hi everyone ..I’m 7 wks after RTKR and I’m still taking Tramadol and Paracetamol 3 times a day, plus pregabalin twice a day and an anti-inflammatory once,usually at night. I notice a lot of people on here don’t seem to be on that level of pain relief,and to be honest most days I have zero pain if anything a little stiffness maybe but I don’t do a lot of stuff mostly just light housework and cooking for the family. However I ranked very high in the ODIC the last couple of days and it wasn’t even doing something enjoyable or exciting I had to do accounts for our business and I was very behind so it was nearly two days of sitting,even though I got up and walked around fairly frequently and Iced a fair bit my new knee has taken serious offence to the sitting position for so long and now I’m elevating and icing and taking all the pain meds available but they’re just not cutting the achey,burning and shooting pains in my knee.and of course it’s pretty swollen. Who’d have thought sitting doing no physical work could be such a bad thinganyway bonesmarties hope recovery is going well for you all,I’m hoping to go back driving this week fingers crossed and a whole new level of the ODIC awaits

 

[Sisterpat]

I still have days like that, Cabu, and I have a month on you. Yesterday the knee was burning like all get out! I AM driving without any problems so I’m hoping the same for you. It just all takes time .

 

[Jockette]

Who’d have thought sitting doing no physical work could be such a bad thing

We call this The Movie Sign:

Pain: Movie sign in TKR

The movie sign (pain in the knee with a prolonged period of sitting) There are two leading theories for the movie sign. 1. while sitting we predispose our knee to change normal position so structures can impinge on a swollen and inflamed synovial lining 2. as we sit the knee's intra...

bonesmart.org

 

[Cabu]

Hi everyone 7 wks +4 days update

I had an appointment with my surgeon today. I was worried that I’d be very stiff after the trip of 50mins in the car and that would impede my bend and walk and things.I brought my trusty frozen peas and I iced my knee the whole way there. I needn’t have worried though because he was very pleased with my progress. He felt that I was further along in the recovery process that he expected me to be,I was surprised because I felt maybe I was behind. He didn’t ask about or check any numbers re ROM or Flexsion. He just asked me to bend my leg while sitting and lift it straight out from a sitting position both of which I find pretty ok to do. I can actually bend my new knee under a chair when I’m sitting as much as my other one but they’re a nice bit apart when I try and bend them side by side laying on a bed

He also told me to start weaning off Tramadol,so I’ve gone from 3 a day to 2 to start with. I asked him can I drive and he said I could so-that’s a big yippie for me(and my poor hubby whose been non stop in the car for the last 7 weeks) just to celebrate I took a little 20 min drive this evening.I’ll probably pay for that tonight or tomorrow on top of the earlier drive to the appointment and home and the extra walking I did around the hospital to get to his office,but it was so worth it to be able to sit in the car and just go. Thankfully I had no trouble at all with the driving. My surgeon was so lovely to me and kept saying he was so pleased for me that it was all going so well.


The other thing I wanted to say was that I only had two sessions of out of hospital physio very early on (day 8 and day 11) and I never got around to getting anymore after that so far. Ive just done what I could re stretches and moving at home.I was worried that I should have been going to a physio or doing more but the advice here helped me greatly and allayed my fears.I also feel like although my new knee is still a long way from the finished product it feels like a toddler that’s sleeping though the night but still needs lots of care as opposed to the first few weeks when it was a new born never sleeping angry colicky baby. To any one in the first few weeks reading this,hang on in there it does get easier. I’m hopeful my recovery will stay on track,I expect a few challenges along the way but today I feel like I’ll manage them.
The last thing my surgeon said to me today was to remember to learn walk before I could run and don’t do anything stupid that could jeopardise a smooth recovery

Anyway bonesmarties bedtime here in Tipperary (11.37pm)after a very busy day !!!

 

[Sisterpat]

Beautiful, Cabu! BoneSmart works and you are living proof! Great encouragement for everyone here. Keep up the great work!

 

[Flutter1]

Wonderful news! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Jeaniesknees]

I love this!

"The last thing my surgeon said to me today was to remember to learn walk before I could run and don’t do anything stupid that could jeopardise a smooth recovery"

 

[BBCG]

I love your quotes, too, Cabu! I transitioned off of Tramadol fairly easily and I hope you do as well!

I’m at 8 weeks today, in fact, and for the past 3 days my life has been “pretending to be normal”! And each night I am SO tired! So, it still means we have the energy drain thing going on.

I really appreciate the “movie sign” concept, too, as I tried being normal yesterday, walking around a potential store-move location, then sat in a meeting about it, drove hither and yon! By night time my leg felt like an irritable toddler who was overtired! Thanks for the ideal images of our ODIC legs!

 

[Cabu]

As predicted the “toddler knee” wasn’t happy at all last night but at least I know exactly why and the freedom of being able to drive the car was worth it. On the plus side I seem to have graduated to sleeping(well Laying there when the knee woke me only around what felt like a thousand times )my side for most of the night so a plus to negate the negative.

I don’t feel too sore now that I’m up and moving,I hope I’m going to have a couple of @BBCGs “pretending to be normal” days !!!

Happy Friday everyone !!

 

[Ginger1210]

Hi cabu i am a week in front of you for recovery, it can be frustrating but you are correct you have to take the positives out of each day. I went back to work two weeks ago part time and light duties. It has not been easy i have two good days and one bad, but slowly i am doing more and lasting longer between rests. This forum is the best.

 

[BBCG]

Good for you, Ginger1210… going back to work is a tough call as to timing, but I’m glad you can ease back in, it sounds like. I had a couple of busy/on-my-feet-lots days, but I’m able to get away with that occasionally it seems, as long as I elevate it later, and perhaps ice…

 

[Cabu]

Hi @Ginger1210
Yes you do and the thing is it’s easy to do that on the days when you feel your making improvement. I’ve also been back doing some work,I work from home so it’s not too traumatic on me and I can stop and do as I please really and that’s a great help but like you I notice I can definitely do more before I’m feeling like I need to ice or need to rest. I think too the longer we are recovering we are doing things to help ourselves unconsciously so it doesn’t feel as much of a drag as before.life with a new knee is great on the good days