Thanks for the "reminder"
@Layla - of course that was a month ago and I'm now at 16 months on the TKR and 5 on the PKR and very happy that both are progressing well and there's not much I'm not able to do (prolonged kneeling excepted so having to find new techniques for weeding the garden!).
Apart from the first few steps which tend to feel a little stiff after waking or sitting too long I can't really think of any mobility issues. I've never worried too much about ROM and both knees have more than enough for all my regular activities (the partial has already "overtaken" the PKR in that respect).
I still have numb/tingling patches just below the kneecap, on the outside of each knee but not causing any problems and both knees click quite noticeably - sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both (or neither) but not painfully and not affecting movement. It does sound like the numb patches and clicking are common aftereffects so I'm not worrying about either. Finally, although I don't feel/sense any swelling, after a particularly hard day out on the farm or a longer than usual walk there is a sense of tightness (like a bandage has been applied) around both knees: not painful but an excuse to put my feet up in the evening.
I still do regular sessions on the static bike and rower - both set to default/low resistance as I'm more interested in mobility than strength but also slowly building up to (hopefully) improve my cardiovascular condition which really suffered the last couple of increasingly immobile years before the knees were upgraded. As an incentive to work on that I recently booked flights to visit my sister in Canada in September and for my wife and I to visit Northern Peru in November. Quite different "challenges" as for Canada I just need to be comfortable being able to walk 3-5 miles a day on flat, even terrain while for Peru I need to feel good about 5-10 miles most days, much at altitude (12000+ feet) with some steep rocky and/or slippery trails, for both trips carrying full birding/camera gear. At home we live at sea level with no significant hills to practice on. Something to work towards/look forward too in any case!
So, all good so far and I do feel blessed with my outcome reading the challenges that some Bonesmarties have to go through. On the odd occasion I feel less positive I just try to remind myself that after 5 years of prescription painkillers within 2 weeks of the 2nd knee I was off all pain meds and - most importantly - for the first time in many years I have mechanically pain free knees (a bit of discomfort doesn't count!). Yipeeee
United States
We all know how fast time flies.
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