TKR Back with a question

[funkymuse]

Boy I'm with you on finding the courage to 'cancel all of my PT appointments!' sigh. Hope the cold didn't get ahold of you my friend! Try some Ginger tea (ginger powder in tea with maybe a bit of milk and sweetener), and REST! Depression is hard.....thinking of you this morning and hoping you got some rest.

 

[Josephine]

1. 4 Mostly, what I consider, too much stiffness at almost 9 weeks.

Of course stiffness is pain! I thought I left a footnote to that effect "other forms of pain such as soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness"

2. I was prescribed Hydrocodone acetaminophen 7.5-325 1-2 every 6 hours. I never took 2; I probably averaged 1 every 6 -7 hours. A few times I did not stay ahead of the pain.

Well that was ill-advised!

3. Most of the time slight.

slight swelling is okay at 7 weeks.

I let them measure last week and said "just tell me I am over 100". I was.

That's the way to do it!

5. I ice a lot. Maybe 15 times a day when I am in all day

You need to ice for at least 40-60mins and more than 4 times a day.

6. I elevate when I can see some swelling. I use pillows. I may have tightness confused with swelling.

Elevate more!

7. My activity level varies

Well you are doing rather a lot, specially the supermarket trips which should be a lot less at 7 weeks. A LOT less.

I am trying to increase slowly because I have to go back to work 1/4.

That will only be about 10 weeks. I think you probably need a little bit more than that.


Warm up on bike 8 minutes full revolutions - okay
squats with pulley 20x 3 - NO squats - at all!
leg press 20 x 3 - never, ever use a leg press. It can cause premature loosening of the tibial component. In fact, never use any gym machines at all!
chair slides with stretch 5 hold for 10 - you mean heel slides? This is not a good way to do them, never mind that you are already over 100 so really don't need to do them at all!
heel slide lying down 5 x 1 hold for 10 count - you only need one heel slide -correction, you don't need them at all!
roll big ball lying down 20 x 1 - don't do this - very bad

My knee is so tight in the morning. Will it ever be normal?

Stop doing the exercises and make sure you take your pain meds reguarly.

I have not figured out if I should heat or ice.

Whatever gives you most comfort or ease.

I can feel like I'm a failure when I read some of the posts.

You have to remember that when you read other people's threads, to always say to yourself "THIS IS NOT ME!"

I just did a couple of slides on the bed. All of a sudden I have pain in the center of my knee

Than do as I've suggested and stop doing them! You don't need them anyway.

I want to cry and I don't know why.

You have depression. Have you discussed this with your GP? I think a short course of anti-depressants would be in order.

I guess I just couldn't keep up trying to be positive when I didn't feel like it so now the secret's out.

Who asked you to keep up a front? I'm sure we didn't. And as somebody said a few posts back, BoneSmart is just the place to whine. Nobody here is going to judge yo for it!

today I'm angry and I'm frustrated and I was not prepared for this.

Of course you weren't! But you're not doing yourself any favours by being so impatient. You've been told time and again that knee recovery takes upwards of 12 weeks. You're not even half way though that yet.

I don't understand how people can go back to work at 4 weeks or 7 weeks.

Neither do I! But you're planning to return at 10½ weeks which I think is equally unwise!

 

[jakeleg]

@ Josephine, thank you for your answers. I appreciate your advice about machines and other exercises. I did mislead you about grocery shopping.

I was out yesterday and monitored closely. The trip inside for bread and milk was no more than 100 ft. I am parking close to wherever I have to go so the walks are short.

I was extra discouraged and missing my husband yesterday. Unfortunately, I still cry at times when thinking about his last months.He was 72 with shoulder out of the socket and no possibility of a successful replacement. Too many things over the years and he had no fight left. His spirit was good despite all the pain. I think yesterday was an exceptionally bad day.

My mood is improved just thinking about not doing those exercises. I will see about medications. Thank you again.

 

[SusieShoes]

Yes, don’t do the exercises, especially if that will help your mood. By not doing them, you’re helping both your knee and your spirit. Those short trips to the grocery, plus the getting up and sitting down, and doing what you need to do at home, are exercise enough.

No wonder you are feeling blue, missing your husband so much and thinking about him. I would be lost without my husband. I hope at this season, and every season, you can find happy times to remember also, and to keep him close in your heart with joy.

 

[jakeleg]

@funkymuse, @ rubyyarn .@SusieShoes Nice to wake up to your posts. I liked my answers from @Josephine. She great. I almost consider it an honor to be gently reprimanded by her. Imagine how how many times she's heard all this! I switched from coffee to tea in her honor this morning.

Yesterday was just an exceptionally bad day. I think I was worn out with it all.
I really like the young people at my PT facility. I wish I could tell them more of what I've learned here. I do think the push is coming from Medicare and insurance.

The new government guidelines look at every person the same way. My husband would have died if his doctor had not fought Medicare to keep him in the hospital. I'm not even sure the doctor got paid for one of the procedures that helped save his life. After 19 days in the hospital, he had 6 weeks in a nursing home for IV antibiotics. Pneumonia is bad stuff.

So...I'm going to rely on ADLs, icing, elevating. I will be back at work at 12 weeks. I work with nurses so I think people will be understanding if I'm not my zippy self. They have already seen me go thru meniscus and rotator cuff surgery. 3 surgeries in less than 2 years! What a shock. Had not had anything since tonsillectomy in Manhattan at age 23. I guess I have been very lucky.

I don't know how to thank everyone here. There are so many good posts. I tried the witch hazel on my bruise this morning. It was a very light bruise about the size of a quarter. It's gone. Wonder if it will return. That's a good trick to know.

Going to the chiropractor at noon. I rely on him and his opinion, as well as Bonesmarties. I'm cheering for everyone. This is not for sissies as Bette Davis said about old age.

 

[Josephine]

jakeleg, Thank you for your kindly post! I am most honoured!

I switched from coffee to tea in her honor this morning

That was nice of you but I haven't drunk either of those beverages for almost 40 years!

 

[Tanya76]

Glad you are having a better day @jakeleg.

 

[funkymuse]

Wonderful post @jakeleg - I lost my 2nd husband to cancer and I can't imagine going through a knee surgery without my current hubby around. God bless you...

 

[jakeleg]

@sistersinhim what is a wave elevator. I might need one. Thanks

 

[funkymuse]

You ok @jakeleg ?

 

[sistersinhim]

@jakeleg, it a leg elevator. That's what I call them, anyway! They are the large, wave shaped foam leg lifting elevation device. Many like the Lounge Doctor. I had bought another brand, but it was rather large for my recliner, so it used it in bed. I bought a Lounge Doctor for my recliner after my ankle/foot breaks.

 

[jakeleg]

@funkymuse I've got allergies this a.m. so took a Claritin. Didn't do much good but slept till 7. I guess my mood is better. Some times I just dread waking up to my knee. I've got a dry hacking cough, can't breathe and I'm yawning and sneezing every few seconds. We need some colder weather to reduce pollen and I need to reduce swelling in my knee. Lovely, huh? Tell me about your work schedule and how you are getting along. I have part time job. I will appreciate any secrets that make day easier. Thanks

 

[jakeleg]

@sistersinhim I would like some opinions this morning. I went out yesterday , did not overdo; came home rested and iced till it was time to go to sleep. I used my Iceman, but don't like to leave it on all night.

Today I iced with gel pak before I got up to make breakfast. Knee was tight and also swollen on the outside, sort of a squishy lump. I have something similar on my right knee (meniscus repair and cleaned up 1/16). My scar is beautiful, if I say so myself, but knee turns purple and angry looking very quickly.

I have been debating elevator wedge of some type, but really didn't want to spend the money. They seem kind of expensive for a piece of foam. But, what do I know?
Could I be doing something in my sleep to cause swelling?

If so, what do you recommend? I sleep on my back and don't move because of chronic neck problem. I've been a 100% back sleeper since I got a mouth night guard. ( Boy, that UPS truck did a number on me!). Maybe I move my legs in some way that I don't know about.

I wanted to go out for a quick trip to the bank. I am postponing that til late this afternoon to see if rest and icing will help. I have been been icing my right knee just in case it's getting overworked. Am I obsessive? You bet. I trust Bonesmart all the way. Thank you.

 

[sistersinhim]

Are you elevating above your head at night? I used ice all night long for several months. It's completely possible that you are moving around in your sleep and aggravating your knee. If you elevate, that should minimize the amount of moving you do.

I think somedays we can over do and not realize it. You are only 2 months and the knee is still very much traumatized from the surgery. It doesn't take much to anger it. Most of the time the anger doesn't show up until the next day. I think you need to take it really easy today. I found that if I did something extra one day, the next day or two I had to spend resting, icing and elevating. A most swollen, tight and painful knee is a such sign that you have done something your knee isn't ready for yet. Give it a chance to recover.

 

[Jockette]

An elevation wedge, or whatever you call it, might seem expensive, but if it reduces swelling and thereby makes you feel better, it is priceless and worth the money.

At 9 months I still sleep with my leg on my wedge all night every night! I took it with me to Ohio last week.

My hospital sent it home with me, I don’t know what I was billed for it, and to be honest, I don’t care. I love it!

 

[SusieShoes]

Sleeping with legs elevated on a wedge, or pillows, could help. Here's a link on the Do's and Don't of Elevation that shows how to make a three pillow wedge. For four months I slept with my legs up on my foam wedge (Lounge Doctor) and I found it minimized my knees' unhappiness. Whenever I would try to sleep on my side --my preferred position-- with legs positioned normally on the bed, one or both of my knees would wake me up after just an hour. That finally changed at around four and a half months and I stopped using the Lounge Doctor. It was the very last assistive device to go.

Because I like to calculate the per use cost of my purchases, I did so for my TKR ones. The Lounge Doctor cost me 75 cents a day, and 7 cents an hour. I used it probably 22 hours a day at first and 10 hours a day later on. My legs were elevated CONSTANTLY. As far as I'm concerned, it's the MVP of my recovery.

 

[jakeleg]

@SusieShoes what type of Lounge Doctor did you use? I looked on Amazon. There are several. If I'm going to spend the money, I want to get the right one.
Thanks

 

[funkymuse]

Hi @jakeleg ... sorry for the delay.. went to work today. At work, I wrap my knee snug with a ace wrap with a cold gel pack underneith. I keep 5 in the work freezer and switch them out about every 45 min. I keep it pretty cool the entire time I am there. It keeps it from feeling like a swollen un-moveable log! I sit at my desk and I either elevate it on another chair, put it up on a small footstool under my desk or sit with it slightly bent. So you might try the gel pack idea! (Also I promised @hempsteadjb I would tag her on this info., so she could see what I do at work as well.)

As far as your leg getting swollen at night my experience is that if I don't move it much it gets stiff and slightly swollen. I have taken to sleeping on my side because of my low back issues and my body enjoys it. My knee does not seem to swell in that position but I am using ice packs for a couple hours throughout the night. Even if I elevate it, it gets stiff if I don't get up at least twice in the night and walk the house for a little while.

Ah the joys of a TKR!!!

 

[SusieShoes]

I bought the Standard Lounge Doctor in medium size. I’m 5’7 and it was the right size for me. If you’re shorter, you might want the small one, and if you’re tall there are two larger sizes. I chose mine by reading reviews and because I liked how it looked. Turned out to be a good purchase.

Any foam wedge that does the same things (isn’t completely straight and not too flat) would do the job,

 

[MSgirl]

FYI everyone: I just found a 10% discount on the Lounge Doctor Facebook page. Free shipping also. I ordered one.