TKR Becca's TKR Recovery

[Becca]

Oh! I just found a great way to pick-me-up! Retail therapy without leaving the couch and with ice packs on the leg! 4 new pairs of shoes are on their way and I am happy about it. Maybe the happiness with make my leg unswell!

 

[Becca]

I found my long-lost friend, sleep, last night after a long separation! After 5 1/2 weeks, I finally had a decent night! I can't believe it! I went to bed at 11:00 p.m. and got up at 7 a.m. Oh, it feels so good!

 

[amab]

Congrats on the full night's rest! The lack of sleep is one of the biggest challenges of TKR.....at least in my experience.

 

[new knee in June]

Good morning becca,
You sound wonderful I found retail therapy a few years ago ( amazon )I am still paying it off
I am still waiting for the elusive my knee seems to get stiff & when I move but I do go back to
Sleep in the morning. I am entering week 6 & hoping to only get better
Have a great weekend, remember ice, med's on time, elevate, gentle stretching.
Great post,
Diana

 

[Ready]

Hey, the sandman must have been busy last night, because I had a pretty good night as well. I didn't sleep straight through, but was awake for just a few minutes when I woke. Just got out of bed when the
phone rang about 8:30. I feel like a different person, and I bet you do, too. What a blessing. Here's to hoping it happens more frequently .

Within the hour, our new couch and recliner will be delivered. I cannot sleep or even rest on either as they are both over 20 years old and WELL used by all. The chair is held together with duct tape and takes 2 hands and a major body twist to recline. I haven't reclined in that chair in 4 years. The couch has bumpy wooden boards in all the wrong places. Now at least I may have an alternative if the sandman takes another extended vacation.

Have a great Friday. During the school year, I really like Fridays. During summer, I look at them as another glorious week of vacation passing by.

 

[daughter stalker]

Congratulations on finding your friend "sleep". I sure with I could find mine! Have a wonderful day!

 

[Becca]

Ready

Amazing what a little sleep will do, isn't it? Congrats on the new furniture today. At least if you have trouble sleeping again, you will have a nice place to be awake!

Yes, it is amazing how I long for Fridays during the school year but now they are just marking time...the inevitable countdown. Teachers go back in my district on August 12. :rolleyes: I am acutely aware that is exactly one month from today. How about you? When do you go back?

 

[Becca]

We have a park across the street from our house. Today is the first day I was able to make a complete loop around it since my surgery. Small milestones, people. Gotta take the good and be proud no matter how small! Happy Friday, y'all!

 

[Ready]

Hi Becca. The new furniture is wonderful. I have a swivel recliner with memory foam. It's had plenty of time to memorize my bottom today. Nice to make the loop around the park today. My mile stone was walking up a flight of stairs with reciprocal stepping and not holding onto the railing. Coming down wasn't as successful, but like you said, "Gotta take the good no matter how small ."

Teacher workshops for are the last week of August. We have this law in MN that we cannot start school until after Labor Day. The resort owners lobbied for that bit of legislation, because of course they are the experts in education.

Enjoy your weekend.

 

[Dulcimer Diva]

LOVE it, Ms.Fixit!!! The squeaky wheel gets the grease; and the last impression any doctor wants to give is that of a sadist or at the very least an unfeeling ice cube. Not good for business.

It doesn't help matters when the NY Times (which ought to know better) keeps running articles with titles like "Painkiller Overdoses on the Rise Among Women" or "Opioid Pain Relievers Overprescribed, Studies Show." The authors (and probably the so-called researchers) probably have never had major surgery, at least not joint replacement; and are unlikely to have been chronic pain sufferers.

 

[Dulcimer Diva]

Oh! I just found a great way to pick-me-up! Retail therapy without leaving the couch and with ice packs on the leg! 4 new pairs of shoes are on their way and I am happy about it. Maybe the happiness with make my leg unswell!

Four new shorts and capri ensembles, in my new smaller size, are on their way. Love e-tail!

 

[Becca]

How did people recuperate before the internet? Can't imagine!

 

[Becca]

Ready

Does reciprocal stair climbing mean 1. climbing them regularly or is it 2. "good" leg up, then "bad" leg on the same step, repeat?

I have been doing #2 style stair climb regularly. We so many stairs in our house. I can't wait to be able to go up them more normally. Wonder when that will be?

Wow! You still have a lot of summer left and I am down to less than a month. Better not to think about that! Enjoy your weekend! I am going to the gym today and getting in the pool to do some water walking and stretching. It felt so good last time...

Hope you have a great day and get use of your new memory foam couch and recliner.

 

[Becca]

Warning: a vent

My OS told my husband after my surgery that my knee was between sizes on spacers so he went with a larger one (making my knee tighter and more difficult to get flexion, I assume) rather than a smaller one (because he didn't want it to be loose). Does this make sense? I am trying to understand so I can ask some questions when I go for my 6 week check up with him on Monday.

I have done what I am supposed to do (Bonesmart way) as I have been recuperating but my I am still getting 105 at PT. I know ROM can take time and that it will come, hopefully. Happily, I have quit obsessing over the numbers and focusing more on what I can do. I am tired of hearing at PT that "swelling is a part of recovery." When my leg is swollen, it hurts and of course I can't move it like I could if it weren't swollen. I have read the Bonesmart articles and know this. Why do members of the medical community not understand this? How can I go home after PT, swell up, become very sore, and then do exercises? Of course, what I have been doing is icing, elevating and taking my meds, as much as I can.

I am beginning to feel like PT is counterproductive if I am so sore I can barely move until the next appointment although I don't feel that the PT is being too aggressive while I am there. I have told the PT that I will not allow myself to be pushed to the point of pain, only discomfort. However, despite my best efforts...inevitably AFTER I leave (a few hours) I am so sore and sometimes so swollen I don't want to move.

I know the OS wants me to be at 115 on Monday but my knee is not there. He'll have to get over it. I have already had the MUA threatened. I can tell you with certainty, that will NOT be happening.

Thank you for listening! Have a nice weekend, y'all!

 

[Ready]

Good Morning Becca,
1. I was told reciprocal means climbing regularly, foot over foot. Up is good, down needs some work.
2. I have no clue about sizes. My OS and I never discussed it, and quite frankly, I don't want to know. It would only be something to worry about.
3. ROM numbers: For knee #1, at about 6 weeks, I was at 105 if I sat on the table with my legs out and he bent it up and pushed. When I let it dangle off the table and bent it back with my other leg, I got to 110. My OS had no problem with those #s. At PT, I never got higher than 117, but after my 2nd knee, I had my new PT measure and I was about 125. If I never get any more than that, my quality of life will not suffer. So far, it hasn't hindered me. What I am saying is RELAX, it is early. I doubt the MUA is even on the radar at this point.
4. PT: The jury is still out on that in my book. I sometimes wonder why I (insurance) pays the incredibly high cost for nothing more than what I could do at home. It is not magic, and where I go, there is no wonderful facility with pool, equipment, etc...low overhead. I do like Lori, my PT. In her words, the difference between discomfort and pain is that when the movement or position stops, so should any feeling of pain. There should be no lasting feelings. Also, I should never have to take pain meds to have PT, and I should not feel worse when I leave than when I came. I like that philosophy. I am pretty disciplined about exercise, so I do work at home, but I like her knowledge, so I go. I have encouraged my daughter to look into PT. Her school loans would certainly be paid for quickly with what they make! What types of exercises are you doing there that make you swell? How often do you go?

Hope you had a good visit to the pool. I just learned that there is a facility with a pool about 12 miles from where we live. We live in in the country on a lake with the nearest town about 12 miles away. This facility is in a town in the opposite direction of our school, church, groceries, and friends. I will be checking it out. A cool thing about it is you have to be over 50 to use it. I typically swim in the lake, but I am too nervous for that yet.

(My goodness, I talk a lot. In real life, I am very quiet. This forum is bringing me out of my shell).

 

[Josephine]

Yes, reciprocal means you only ever have one foot on each stair at a time. NONreciprocal means you always have both feet on each stair as you climb.

My OS told my husband after my surgery that my knee was between sizes on spacers so he went with a larger one (making my knee tighter and more difficult to get flexion, I assume) rather than a smaller one (because he didn't want it to be loose). Does this make sense?

Of course it does. The gap between spacers is actually only 3mm as a rule so to be between the two means a difference of 1.5mm either way. Not a huge amount.

When my leg is swollen, it hurts

Exactly. And you know there is an intrinsic connection between swelling and pain as each causes and is caused by the other. It's always puzzled me too that doctors, nurses and PTs never seem to get this. It's simple logic to me - but then, I'm simple!

I am beginning to feel like PT is counter-productive if I am so sore I can barely move until the next appointment

Another 'perfectly obvious' phenomenon that doctors, nurses and PTs seem not to be able to take on board! If I do one thing with my life in the "making a difference" area, it would be to cause a revolution in the attitudes to this within the medical community at large. (some hopes!)

 

[Becca]

Today was a good day overall. I was able to do the grocery shopping and that was such a relief! Nice to get what we needed rather than sending my hubby off with a list and hoping for the best. I did some light stretching and a little water walking. So why are my shin and calf so tight and sore? Is it from walking? Is it from PT yesterday? Trying to stay positive here. I will continue to elevate and ice and hope for the best in the morning.

Ready Wow! Already doing stairs normally! I have tried but my legs just don't want to do it. It seems like they don't know what to do.

 

[Ready]

Glad you had a good day, Becca. Maybe you were using muscles that have been on vacation for a while and that is why you are sore.

I just got home from a long day out. My daughter and a friend went to a movie while I went to Sam's to, like you, make sure we got what we needed. Our cupboards and refrigerator were quite bare. My goodness, that is a big store. But I made it, though. Shopping is another step back into the real world. I treated myself to a luscious caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Highly recommend. Hope you get some sleep tonight.

 

[Becca]

Ready
Wow! Shopping at Sam's is impressive! It's so big! I must have made 50 laps around Publix today trying to get what I wanted. They have remodeled and I don't know where anything is now. We don't go to Sam's but to Costco. Maybe I will do that for my next trip.

Yes, the muscles have been on vacation for a few weeks now and relaxing much more than I have! I think that walk around the park last night might have done it because it is actually both legs that are bothering me at the moment. Looking forward to the ice and some good !
Also, in keeping with my new tradition of posting something positive daily, I was able to get on the elliptical trainer and go around and back for a couple of minutes. I didn't do it as a workout, of course; I just wanted to stretch in a different way and my PT had said I could. The good thing is that I felt like I could have done it for a little while with no problem. The great thing is that I was smart enough to NOT do it for more that 2 minutes. Yikes, can't imagine how sore I would be now if I had.

By the way, I am generally not a big talker either.

Have a great night! I am looking forward to a more comfortable time in church in the morning after a full night's sleep.

Becca

 

[Becca]

Today was a good day! Even though it was raining cloudy as it has been here for the past 2,347 days, I slept well and awoke happy. First church, then out to eat with my family. Minimal swelling and tightness. I did some gentle stretches and some of Roy's exercises today and like them, especially the one with the skate board.

I must say that I have really enjoyed NOT having PT yesterday or today. My poor leg has recuperated somewhat and I feel as though I am doing better. Isn't that ridiculous? I have my 6 week checkup with my OS tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say. I have made a list of questions to ask, chief among them: different pain meds. I am not sure what is next - I have been taking Lortab 5 which doesn't seem to have any effect other than...ahem...causing constipation.

I hope everyone has a peaceful Sunday evening!
Becca