TKR Back with the other one!

SDkate

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Found my way back to this site, 6 years postop left TKR and today I am 5 days post right TKR (11/9/2021). Plus it is my birthday today, I think I am still a kid at heart because I enjoy celebrating them.

I did not find myself researching the preop area before surgery this time; even though it was 6 years ago, I felt pretty well prepared this time. My previous surgeon has retired, so I will end up with very mismatched scars on my knees – the previous surgeon used a small scar approach and it healed very, very nicely. I think this new scar is going to be big and bulky and bumpy. Not a swimsuit model anymore (okay, I never was ;) ), so I am wearing all of my various surgical scars proudly!

I may not have much to contribute this time around, am hoping that my postop course is uneventful. I am no longer traveling for work, and am instead working remotely, so finding a position to sit comfortably at my desk for a few hours every day will be my first goal for next week.

Thank you all for detailing your journeys and for helping me to get through the immediate postop period.
 
Hi and Welcome back!

Here‘s a refresher course for you:

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​


4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access to these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
Welcome to the other side again @SDkate !
finding a position to sit comfortably at my desk for a few hours every day will be my first goal for next week.
Well I guess if you were with us the first time around you know that trying to return to any type of work too early can create problems. I know you are working from home. But concentration and pain manage are challenging enough in the early days without the pressure of work. I do hope you will reconsider such an early return to work - even if it is only a few hours per day.
 
@SDkate, I can relate regarding scars. At my age, I have quite a few, and not just the two knees.
They are like a roadmap to my life, with each telling a story. I can see myself one day saying “That ain’t nothing! Look at this one - it happened when…..”
 
Happy Birthday!! :flwrysmile:

There are a bunch of us second-timers around here and I know you will have plenty to contribute (if you want to).
 
@Taoquest Our knees have the same birthdays.
My scar has almost disappeared BUT wish the inside felt like the outside looks, lol.
Hope both your knees are doing well.
I still have the second knee to go but not until this one is pain free.
 

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Thank you all for the birthday wishes!! It was actually a pretty uneventful day, which is what I'm still supposed to be having. I'm on day 5 of Percocet, have enough left to get into part of Monday before I would need a refill, but I really don't want to get a refill. It takes the edge off the pain, but I'm at the same point I was with my left knee, where the opioid is making me very nauseated and I'm going to wean down on it starting tomorrow. Here's hoping that a few more years and another surgery under my belt (left wrist ORIF in 2016) will allow me to tolerate pain better than it did last time. The burning nausea just isn't worth it.
 
Welcome to the other side again @SDkate !
finding a position to sit comfortably at my desk for a few hours every day will be my first goal for next week.
Well I guess if you were with us the first time around you know that trying to return to any type of work too early can create problems. I know you are working from home. But concentration and pain manage are challenging enough in the early days without the pressure of work. I do hope you will reconsider such an early return to work - even if it is only a few hours per day.
Yes, I felt pretty crappy most of today and tonight, and I'm not sure what made me think that one full week off work and then one week working 4 hours a day would be manageable. I'm realizing that this is still a major surgery and I'm probably still going to spend several days just managing pain. Time to talk to my boss about being off next week as well.
 
I originally planned on taking one week off. Surgery on a Thursday, I hoped to return the following Thursday. Ended up waiting till the following Monday so I had a week and a half. I worked with laptop on recliner. No desk for me. I tried it for a Zoom meeting and let me tell you, getting up from a rolling desk chair, not a good thing :heehee:. My work isn't intense though and I can take plenty of break for PT, strolls around, etc. And I wasn't on painkillers which would have been a dealbreaker. Some jobs are easier to return than others. If I had to be on my feet at all, I'd be taking that 12 weeks.
 
I am 10 weeks tomorrow and am going in to work for an hour and half today. My work requires me to be on my feet and my boss is very flexible. I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes. Definitely not ready for a 4 hour shift yet.
 
Would I do it again? Will probably have to at some point on my right knee, but thanks to all the support I've gotten here, I'll know what to expect and how to get through it.
I'm finding that this process is like childbirth. You have one, then a few years later you tend to forget how painful it was and are ready for another. I MUST keep reminding myself that I'm only 15 days postop. I'm finding that I'm so stiff and sore after PT, and I know I'm overdoing it, but not sure exactly what moves are causing the pain; some of them feel pretty benign at the time.

I feel like working at home, I should be able to return to work sooner, but just finding that sitting at my desk fore more than about 1/2 hour isn't possible yet. My manager isn't pressuring me, it's self pressure and fear about being laid off if I miss to much work. I was laid off about 3 months after my LTKR, fortunately landed on my feet and back at the same company in a roundabout way. But as I've gotten older, and hoping to work for another 3-4 years, I worry about just keeping a job.

Thank goodness I don't have to stand or walk for work, but I do wonder if being a few years older and a few pounds heavier is making weightbearing more painful? I'm not dealing well with this amount of pain yet ...
 
Even the little things teach patience and perseverance. Dozed off for a bit in my living room chair and when I woke up, had to use the bathroom rather urgently. I have to either go up 6 stairs or down 6 stairs, and the one in the lower floor is a bit closer so headed for that one. Barely got sat down in time, but when I went to get back up, remembered that we don't have a riser on that toilet. There's a wall edge to grab with the left hand, but noting with the right. It took me 3 tries to stand up from that toilet. Things most people take for granted, like standing up from a toilet, took me about 5 minutes and 3 tries to accomplish.
Don't know if this will help but I have no grab handles in my toilet and I push myself up using my hand on the toilet seat at the front between my legs. Works for me.
 
@SDkate Just want to let you know I moved your latest post to your current recovery thread.

I'm only 15 days postop. I'm finding that I'm so stiff and sore after PT, and I know I'm overdoing it,
Yes, you are overdoing it. Some PTs really don’t understand this recovery and give us more than our knee is ready for. And yes, it can be really hard to figure out which movement is the culprit. I hope you can slow things down so you don’t cause yourself unnecessary additional pain. :console2:
 
I can finally say that once I was up and moving around this morning, my knee was feeling sooooo much better. I'm finding I can walk more comfortably around the house with my cane, and when I walked into my PT appt. today with a walker and a confident, fluid gait, Aaron (my PT guy) could tell how much better everything was feeling. He only added one new move to my "workout" today, 3 minutes on a bicycle, no resistance, just very slow pedaling. Didn't feel bad at the time, but was pretty sure I'd be sore tonight, and the knee is very stiff and sore right now. My ROM measured 0 0 95. I know that the flexion of 95 is pretty good for not quite 3 weeks after surgery, not sure what the two other numbers mean. I'm just happy to be feeling improvement and am starting back to work for 4 hours a day on Wednesday.

I hope everyone on this site is doing well, or as well as they can. Time for me to take a Perocet and a Tylenol, strap on the ice bucket machine, and head to bed!
 
Positivity is the key in this process, I think once you are up and moving around better you have turned a small corner, just try to go slowly and not get carried away, as your knee will jolly well remind you, just try and use your good old friend Mr. :ice: when you are relaxing.
 
Thank you everyone on this site for your encouragement and support. Making slow but steady progress along my personal trail.

I need to most thank my husband for his support, Uber service, and overall assistance. I've been trying not to be too demanding, but when I've asked for assistance he's always gotten or done what I needed. He was already the head chef in the house, but he's now also cleaning up after dinner, which I appreciate. He put up some Christmas lights and an inflatable nativity scene today, so we have Christmas cheer at our home. Thanks honey!
 
I found that I could take my walker and move it in a forward position over my toilet seat- thus it gave assistance to push up on lower rungs of walker to get off the toilet seat. This may not work for everyone- it obviously depends on what type of toilet you have- but because I’m short- I didn’t need an elevated seat on my toilet & this walker position was a lifesaver!!!!
 

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