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TKR Anyone have a good stationary bike?

Can I endorse everything said above? I've had 2 TKRs. The first I did what the PT said and ended up with inflammation leading to adhesions and MUA. The second I was confident enough to take charge of my own recovery. I said no to PT. Iced and elevated but kept moving around as much as possible. Just lived life. Result - 100% better and faster recovery. Let that poor knee heal first. It's most likely very swollen as a result of the trauma of the op. It's not going to be very mobile until that's reduced and it won't reduce if you continue to traumatise it by trying to do PT exercises. I don't know how PTs can't work that out for themselves.
Good luck. You will be better each week as time goes on.
 
My sister had her TKR two years before I had mine and she told me I'd be sorry I had it done for the first two weeks but it gets better from there.

I'm 17 months out from my TKR and quite pleased I had it done. Now. Before surgery I asked my surgeon how long before I'm back to where I am pre-sugery in terms of mobility. I'm sure it varies a lot with how bad off you were before you had it done.

He said 6 weeks and for me that was about right. Everything after that was an improvement on my condition before surgery. By 10 or 12 weeks I could do a normal day of activity meaning work and maybe a couple of hours on my feet through the day but still had some stiffness and discomfort.

Your activity level or time frame may be entirely different but don't think of a year as the time until you can resume normal activity. It's more like a year until you are as good as you are going to get. Even that isn't really accurate. At 16 months I noticed a slight improvement on ROM. My new knee will now go back further than my natural knee. But I've been able to keep with normal busy activity plus hiking and biking without pain since about 6 months out.

Everyone is different and your recovery might go more quickly or more slowly but you'll soon be better than you were pre-surgery and it's all gravy from there.
 
I don't really remember how my leg straightened pre op.
My legs are goofy looking anyhow.

I have the bending over 90 degrees now. PT says that should take 3 week level. And I had 90+ in first week.
I temper the encouragement though from the stories of recovery time due to my age NOW... (78) ugh.
Got an email from a friend today relating two of his relatives. One 75 and one 80.
80 died before recovery and 75 had it easy. So he says.
Right now I consider depression to be my bugaboo over pain.

PT says bend is "more" critical to mobility. OR... she's trying to humor me.

Very much on the fence about ...regret.

Course, my knee limited my lifestyle.
Ironic, as the TKR has STOPPED any "lifestyle."

We have too few smileys to choose from. I want a mad one. ...heh... I guess.
 
I'm gonna stick Jajakio's post on my wall.
If I can move around in only 6 weeks, I think I'd throw a party.
 
As of today you are 11 days post-op? Very early days.

Pre-op pain is bad, crippling, horrible, demoralising, and only gets worse. Post-op is exactly the same, maybe worse, except for the last bit. At the moment your body is still shocked -- some lunatic charged into the room and attacked you with saws, hammers and other assorted weaponry, cut bits of you off and hammered foreign material in. It's no wonder it's a bit hacked off!

Except for the last bit? That is, pain only gets BETTER.

Your despair is IMO partly due to poor briefing. It should have been made clear that one's condition post-op is often worse than pre-op for a few days or up to a MONTH later. One has to learn to roll with the punch, to relax, take medication, let the body do its thing and heal. It will do this all on its own. PT is helpful (some say not really needed...) with this process, but the key element is time.

But it will happen. Millions of TKRs are done every year; wouldn't be so if it didn't work.
 
Pyrite said:
Right now I consider depression to be my bugaboo over pain.
Click to expand...
Post-op depression is very common. Hang in there. It will pass.
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Pyrite said:
Very much on the fence about ...regret.

Course, my knee limited my lifestyle.
Ironic, as the TKR has STOPPED any "lifestyle."
Click to expand...
The TKR has only limited your lifestyle for a short while. Where you are now is not where you are going to end up.

The first month is hard, very hard, but you will be making progress all the time.

Knee replacement is truly major surgery and you can't just bounce back from it. It can take as long as a full year for all your wounded tissues to recover completely - but you will feel much better long before that.

Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint, so learn to pace yourself. Know that your knee is getting a little bit better every day. By 3 months you should be able to do most things.

I'm about your age and I love my artificial knees. They've given me back the life I wanted. the life that arthritis stole from me.
 
Intellectually I know all that.
Now If it will just filter into my pessimistic side I'm sure it will help.

Yeh, I'd have to say things are better than a couple days ago.

:)
 
@Pyrite, keeping a positive outlook is easier for some and very difficult for others. That is a critical reason for staying in contact with your BoneSmart family! We all know what this experience is like as we have all been there, done that. For some of us, having an positive outlook is in our nature. We have our down moments but we tend to bounce back very quick. Leverage us when you feel you are having difficulties pulling yourself out of a bit of funk. Nothing helps to get your mind straight than to have a cheerleader providing support and encouragement. Despite what you see from your perspective, we can see that your recovery is doing fine.
 
Got bushed yesterday so I'm going easier today and tomorrow can get back to the grind.

I think a "day off" may be a good thing.
 
Well, when I say I was a good as presurgery six weeks out, you have to keep in mind I was pretty bad before I had my knee done, I could barely hobble through Wal-Mart and on a bad day I would quit before I was done due to pain.
 
That's what has sorta bothered me because all I was needing was cortisone shots every few months.
But they were lasting shorter and shorter and finally to the point where they would not do them anymore.
Couldn't walk around block anymore and had to halve my bike rides.
No bocce. Couldn't bend.
and if I went on uneven ground I'd get pain.
But sounds like nowhere near where you were.

And yep, I was hobbling through stores.

A knee brace HELPED...but it was time.

So....here we are.

Oh, the day of rest is working. I feel pretty chipper and the pain is WAY down.

fingers crossed here, boss. :)
 
Resting is good - with just a little walking around the house.

You don't need to work hard at PT.
It's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.

Also, there's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
 
This is one great commonsensical forum. The encouragement has dispelled a BUNCH of stuff that was bothering me.
Latest revelation (and I believe it) is that ROM will come with time. My doc sorta scared me with HIS prognostication but then too he was dealing with my email about not being able to take narcos.

I can ....feel... improvement. :)

Today is a ...bit... of a regress but I'm gonna hobble around the house a bit and then do some icing.

Hey.... I discovered MY icing trick.
It didn't seem to be helping and then I had an epiphany and wondered if I moved the ice pad UP to where I hurt.

BINGO!

Now I'm icing my lower thigh and getting far better results.

Anyhow.... things look brighter thru the Bonesmart glasses. :dancy:

(that smiley is a LIE :wink:)
 
Pyrite,
Glad the ice is helping on your thigh, good thinking!
Pyrite said:
Today is a ...bit... of a regress but I'm gonna hobble around the house a bit and then do some icing.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a normal recovery, two steps forward, one step back.
:elevate:
 
@Pyrite, the key to your recovery is to listen to your own knee as it will tell you what works and doesn’t work. PT has its place (for some it has NO place in recovery) but it must be with moderation and with no pain. I think you are beginning to get a good idea of what works for you.
 
In all of this recovery, your knee is the boss. Listen to the messages it sends you. Is it more painful or swollen after an activity? Then that particular activity was too much for it right now. Cut it back, or leave it for a while longer.

Is your knee happy after an activity, and not having increased pain, stiffness, or swelling? Then that activity is OK. Continue doing it, but not to excess.

Sometimes, your knee may feel OK during the daytime, but it may keep you awake with pain during the night. That's also a message from your knee that you overdid something during the day. Try to have an easier day tomorrow.

Your role is to listen to your knee and speak up on its behalf. Do everything you can, to keep your knee happy.
 
Omgosh I still remember those first few weeks after surgery! I can honestly say TKR is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’ll be 12 weeks on Monday ....amazing that much time has passed! The depression, the insomnia, the fatigue, the loss of appetite seemed like it would never end. It wasn’t until week 6 that I finally slept, then everything started to turn around. Everyday i could more. Until the day the PT pushed my knee back too far, twice. He set me back almost 2 weeks! I couldn’t bend my knee due to swelling. I never went back.

There is so much involved with TKR that I didn’t know. Unfortunately I went through the first few weeks without Bonesmart. It’s a community of people from all over the world who understood and had been there after a TKR. To say Bonesmart helped me is a major understatement! I am thankful every day for all the people who helped me and shared with me their journey.

I can finally say at 12 weeks I’m glad I got the knee done. Unfortunately, lefty is in bad shape. :gaah: So next year I have to do this again. I find a lot of comfort knowing that I have support and understanding for the next one.

Look forward to celebrating your triumphs! It will get better.
 
Day 14 and finally turning corner.
This is the first day I can pretty safely say I think I'll be glad I did this thing.:)

Even stood without thinking and wasn't supported with the walker. GAWRSH!

Won't make that a habit but it's encouraging.

Finally also hitting the range where the Tylenol alone ...is.... doing it.

(now if this isn't a fluke......:egypdance:)
 
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