Bilateral TKR Beckaroo's recovery thread

[MSgirl]

Wow, you are doing great! And driving a stick shift! I tried one years ago and never could get the clutch right and bounced down the road. You have definitely come out the other side. Way to go, girl!

 

[Rjack09]

Becks,
!!!!
So proud of you!!! And high five to your hubby.
My wife continues to be a huge part of my recovery. !
Keep on healing!!!!!

 

[jaschembra]

I'm late to the party, but my OS instructions were to drink a Gatorade prior to surgery as well. I welcomed it - to have something.

 

[shelli22]

Wow @Beckaroo what a great recovery you’re having. I’m just at the beginning of mine. Tomorrow will be day 13. Funny though I went to the shops the day after I got out and have been every other day since. Yesterday no nap. Pain issues though. So good to hear of great recoveries. Very inspirational and give many of us hope that we too may have similar recoveries. Keep it up you’re doing amazingly well!


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[Beckaroo]

I can’t wait to respond to all the sweet things you’ve all said, but company is on the way and I’m swamped with last minute preparations. I’ll get back to you all just as soon as I can.
But.... just wanted to share I walked the Walmart super store yesterday! No electric cart, just me and a push cart. Bought tons of groceries, got home, hubs unloaded and I put everything away. Was a tad bit sore and tired. Ended up taking a thirty minute cat nap included elevating legs and completed my housework. Recovery was amazingly fast and off I went!! So yes, now I know I can do my own shopping!! My husband is sooooo happy!

 

[SusieShoes]

Yay for doing the Walmart walk! That's a big store, so if you can do that one, you are on your way to limitless walking.

 

[sistersinhim]

What good news! The Walmart shopping is a huge step!

 

[jboles]

Wow, you’re doing fantastic. Shopping at Walmart, driving a stick shift! You’re an inspiration to those of us who are in the early stages, gives us hope!

 

[MSgirl]

Awesome! You walked their concrete floors and didn't limp all the way! I remember when I used to do that and look forward to doing it again. A friend told me Walmart and Lowe's are where she goes in the winter to get her walking in.

Have a great time with your company!

 

[Beckaroo]

You all are such a blessing to me! What a bunch of sweet men and woman we’ve got on here. What would we do without all the words of encouragement? Hugs to you all!!!

 

[Beckaroo]

Company was wonderful! Wished they could have stayed much longer.

Let’s see... Another week and it’ll be the beginning of month five, post op. Wow!! What a journey. Wished I’d done it sooner, and sooooo happy it’s over. I’m ecstatic I had both knees done at the same time!!! No way would I want to start again! No this girl!!

I cooked three meals a day for four of us, for a week! Cleaned, waited on company and not once did I “think” about my knees. I forget them. I seriously forgot all about them.

My right knee still is not 100% zero when I extend it. I’m not sure if it’ll ever go perfectly straight. I know it’s because it was the most damaged. I played women’s league softball for years. I was the catcher or center field. Ha! No other explanation necessary.... Hopefully it’ll get straighter in time, it’s probably a one. I can’t easily slide my fingers underneath, but I can tell it’s much tighter than my left knee. Which by the way can bend backwards! When I rest my heel on the coffee table, I swear it sags. Is that even possible!!??

So, just checking in. All is good. Scars are a lovely shade of pink. No heat when I touch them. No swelling. I do sit down when I can. I don’t force them to go, go, go.

One thing.... IF I sit too long. I’m a tad stiff when I stand up. Just a bit. But once I get going I’m fine. No pain. No swelling. Just feel kinda stiff if I sit too long.

Thanks everyone for all the kind words. It’s late so tomorrow I’ll catch up on some I’m following...
Nighty night!

 

[Jockette]

Awesome!!!

 

[sistersinhim]

Wonderful report! All that work and never thinking about your knees! Now, that is what all of us want!

 

[SusieShoes]

Yes! You’ve reached the other side of the other side! It’s a wonderful life.

You might yet get full extension (and maybe a bit more, seeing as your right knee is past 0) for your left knee. Mine finally reached 0, but still feels tighter than the right. I think it just takes our more damaged knees more time, but they have a lot of that. Time. One day you’ll probably just notice that it caught up.

How wonderful that you can now enjoy company and do so much!

 

[Beckaroo]

Thank you to all! I’ve been so busy... had my car towed to the Volvo dealership yesterday to figure out why it won’t run. Rat damage is my guess, husband says no...we’ll see who’s right. First vehicle he’s not been able to fix, ever. Bought a new car in the meantime. So now... life can settle back down and I can catch up with you all. Yay!!

I have to say, im doing so well I can’t even tell you how far I’m post-op!! I’ll have to figure it out.

I have begun to experience something new though... upon waking in the morning, or sometimes IT wakes me, I have a constant sharp pain behind my right knee. The right is still not able to fully extend, about a one or two left to go. I think I extend it in my sleep until it aches! Maybe that’s a good thing, not sure. But zowie, the pain is intense! Within one minute of pulling it up, bending it slightly the pain stops. It gives me no problems during the day. Any one experience this?

 

[sistersinhim]

I bet you are extending your knee at night. It's good that the pain goes away as soon as you bend it. You aren't working it too hard during the day trying to straighten it, are you? That could cause your nighttime pain.

 

[Babushelen]

Great report @Beckaroo!! It’s encouraging for us who still have a ways to go to get to the other side. For me the key is to stay positive and celebrate every little accomplishment. We are so blessed to have so many cheerleaders here at BoneSmart. Celebrating our accomplishments and giving us a virtual shoulder to cry on or a virtual hug on our not so good days.

Thank you for sharing your progress with us!! {{{{Hugs}}}}

 

[SusieShoes]

The right is still not able to fully extend, about a one or two left to go. I think I extend it in my sleep until it aches! Maybe that’s a good thing, not sure. But zowie, the pain is intense! Within one minute of pulling it up, bending it slightly the pain stops. It gives me no problems during the day. Any one experience this?

Not anymore. Or I should say very, very seldom. But when I first started sleeping without elevating my legs at night, I would often wake up with one or both (but usually my left) knee(s) nagging me with a deep ache. That ache would ease when I bent my knee(s). After a while I noticed that the pain happened almost exclusively when the knee was straight, especially if I lay on my back. No trouble from said knee(s) at all during the day or any other activity. My left knee, the main offender, also happened to be the one with the not yet straight extension.

Coincidence? I think not! So yes, I think you’re right about extending it in your sleep.

My left knee is problem-free 99% of the time. The 1% is the occasional (and increasingly rare) night when somehow it gets stretched out straight and isn’t supported to its narrow specifications. For this reason, if I know I’m going to end up on my back, legs out, I put a nicely firm pillow under my knees. Problem solved!

 

[Babushelen]

For this reason, if I know I’m going to end up on my back, legs out, I put a nicely firm pillow under my knees. Problem solved!

@SusieShoes I was told not to sleep with a pillow under my knee(s), so I haven’t been doing that. I used to before my surgery because my knees did not fully extend (still don’t) and it was uncomfortable to just sleep with legs out without some support beneath my knees. If I can put a pillow under my knees that would definitely cut down on the times I wake up with excruciating pain due to sleeping with legs stretched out. I really prefer to sleep on my side but I usually end up bending my knees and then if I get up to go potty, I can’t hardly walk due to the pain.

 

[SusieShoes]

@Babushelen, the pain you feel with bending while side sleeping will diminish also. You are only two months out, which is still early days. I was still sleeping on my back at that point because the twins didn’t like side sleeping at all yet. That took a couple more months for me. As you can see, this is a long recovery with different strokes for different folks, er... knees. But I’m living proof you can sleep sometimes with a pillow under your knees and suffer no ill consequences. Both knees got to 0 extension without any problem — and in the meantime I got some sleep.