Week 4 Update. Crazy day as we experienced the remnants of Fred. My neighborhood was under a flash flood warning and tornado watch. After getting 3 inches of rain in two hours, I thought that we were doomed. I could hear the water rushing through the overflow channel at the end of my street. We lucked out and the afternoon rains were gentle and short-lived. I did not want to experience flooding after a TKR! Because my house is on a slight elevation, I have only ever had my crawlspace flood. And there is nothing important in the crawlspace. But the floodwaters leave behind a lot of mud that has to be power washed from my driveway and sidewalk.
Hard to believe that I am only at the 4 week mark. This journey seems longer than 4 weeks. I spend my days icing and elevating to keep the inflammation in check. My extension is 0 and my flexion is slowly increasing, with the bare minimum of stretching. I am grateful that I have had quad strength since day one and am able to take care of myself and my cat. I desperately wish that I could take anything for even minimal pain relief, but my body doesn't like meds. I have tried magnesium gel, which didn't help, and tomorrow I am going to try arnica gel. The pain is manageable, but is pretty constant. The good news is that it isn't that deep throbbing or achiness that some people have, and I can sleep through it.
I have chronic inflammation from Lyme disease and an autoimmune disorder. I was wondering how it would affect my recovery and now I know--my knee needs to be treated very gently or I quickly backslide. I am not a patient person, so it is tough to rest as much as possible. I know that I am not alone in this regard. Monday's fairly gentle PT session was too much, so I cancelled tomorrow's session. I will do no more than one PT session a week and may cancel even those.
Despite all of this, I remain optimistic that I will have a good outcome, and am still certain that I needed this surgery. I couldn't walk without pain and could only stand for a few minutes without pain. I went overnight from walking 2-3 miles and gardening to not being able to do anything. I am very fortunate to be retired and have the time to recover.
United States
The “firsts” are always important as we recover. I had a pretty good day pain wise because I did not attempt any bending stretches. I did plenty of walking around the house for exercise. I am a little nervous about driving myself to PT tomorrow—I hope that my car will start and that I can find a parking space. There is on-street parking only. Another “first” in my recovery! I also entertained myself by looking at my hospital bill for same day surgery. Yikes! Thank goodness for health insurance.
