bilateral TKR recovery

[beachcomber]

I am at 3 months also--- and still in combined PT for my knee and back surgery. Tim and Doug are right about the bicycle as a great option---- and I also do PT in the pool. "Bicycling", "Jogging" and "marching" in the water are good to exercise your knee without the gravity issues and pounding of land exercise. I wrap one of those styrofoam "noodle" things around me under my armpits and exercise in about 5' of water.

I also run into some "new" aches as i am getting stronger and using muscles I don't think I have used for a while and becoming more active. I keep trying to tell myself that it is a *GOOD* thing!

Sheri -
I'm at 3 months and yes I thought the same thing. I'll be leaping buildings in a single bound by 3 months. Well like you it ain't happening. I share your pain. The swelling and stiffness is still there. The Dr. says expect it and it will probably be around for 12 months. Question for everyone regarding PT. I was only given 5 weeks of PT, but I continue to do the exercise twice a day. But I find that new muscles are beginning to hurt also they do not take up much of my time. I mean within 10 minutes I'm done. Am I not doing enough? My PT never mentioned a bike or anything and I'm worried I might have been short changed.

 

[Doug]

Try a pedometer, after Skeet mentioned it, I got one now and it will probably be the death of me. She got 10,000 steps in one day. I can tell that is not going to be such an easy task. I got a $9.00 one that only counts steps.

 

[beachcomber]

I got one several years ago. Still sitting in the package in my sock drawer. Hasn't done a thing for me yet.....

 

[Doug]

My mother had several. One of them was so complicated we just threw it out.
Now, take yours out of the package and play with it..

 

[1jt@atime]

Beachcomber,
When does your spring break start? I am VERY jealous! Karen

 

[beachcomber]

Karen---- in two more days! Yahoo! I've only been back at work for 4 weeks, but it has been a looooong 4 weeks and I am really looking forward to some days in a row of sleeping in (hate that home PT at 5:00 AM!). I'm planning a walk on the beach on Saturday and the meteorologist says good weather!
We'll see what my knee predicts on Friday. I am more accurate.

OKOKOK Doug---- I'll take the pedometer out. Later. It is an Eddie Bauer brand. Sounded like a good idea at the time. But I am not sure I WANT to know how many steps I take a day!

For now--- a little soak in the hot tub for me!

 

[Nursepair]

Have a well earned Spring Break Carolyn. Enjoy that walk on the beach. I wonder if Kev wants to drive me to a man made beach an hour or so from here? Hmmmm....problem is the water will still be frozen, oh well, maybe Toronto, Lake Ontario, further south. Anyway, enjoy!!

 

[Skeet]

I'm 13 weeks last Monday and I take a pain med every couple of days. Your ROM is great at 110 and 115 at 5 weeks! I'm impressed. Keep up the good work. And expect to take meds for some time. My doc thought 3 months on average.

 

[Skeet]

Hey, I did over 10k again today, Doug. Been doing 10,000 plus every day for the last week or so. One day I did like 12,000. It adds up fast when I'm at work. And that's taking the elevator up and down, so I could add 40+ for every flight of stairs soon. Just be careful not to let it drop into the toilet... lost a nice pedometer that way, so now I just get cheaper ones and they never fall in!

 

[Skeet]

Welcome, Sheri. Set a spell, kick your shoes off and join the family!

 

[Nursepair]

Welcome to the forum Sheri. Sorry to hear you are still suffering so much. I totally understand, I am at 10 weeks TKR and I had a complete pity meltdown last night.

I think you feel more down about it the further on you are as it seems other people are doing much better than you are. I am also having big problems sleeping at the moment and that definately does not help!! I am still on Percocet and am staying on them for as long as I need them. Sometimes I can go 8 hours between now, I have also started on Ibuprofen as they are the strongest anti inflammatory by stomache can handle. I am worried about the addiction thing as I found out last year after a bad wrist break. Nobody had warned me they were addictive and I tried coming off them cold turkey. Big mistake, anyway I got off them by reducing them a little at a time. I know I'm addicted again as after 8 hours I start to get the "jitters", but I am cofident I will get off them as I did last time, my OS thinks I will too. He said sleepers are more difficult to cut out so I take herbal ones as he suggested. I was on 4 hourly Percs at the beginning so I am already cutting them back when I can.

Sorry I am rambling, waiting for pills to cut in now so I can get another couple of hours sleep before physio. We have to remember, people are all different with their recovery, a friend of mine was still at 90 degreees ROM at 9 months (as I am at now), now, a few years on she is at 130 and loving her new knee. That was her first one, she also had another done and did much better. Anyway I'll stop the rambling and wish you a speedier recovery. Glad you found us too!! Sue

 

[Nursepair]

I am five weeks from surgery and still need pain pills. I am going to PT three times a week and in addition do a pool work out twice a week. I really thought that I would not need the pain pills but really can't do without them. My ROM is 115 and 110. Any thoughts. thanks

Sorry Woody, I missed your post before, welcome.

5 weeks and already 115, that's great. I am 10 weeks and only 90 at a push. I am still on pain killers, couldn't get through all this without, especially to keep doing all the physio both out and at home. Pool work is a great idea, as soon as I get driving again, hopefully this weekend, I want to find out about a low impact aerobics class they do at my local pool.

So carry on with what you are doing, it sounds as if it is working, you will get off the painkillers when you don't need them anymore. Good luck in your continued recovery, keep posting!! Sue

 

[sheri.4913]

Hi to Lee and Beachcomber! Thanks so much for your answers. This is all new territory to me and I appreciate all the information. I think I'm going back to the ibup because of the swelling. I am close to being cut off from insurance for PT, so am going over to look at the workout room at the development we live in. I'm determined to get my legs in shape to do the things we want to do and am trying to develop my patience. I do the hot tub each night and that seems to relax the muscles in my legs and back. The trip to Wisconsin will be by myself. It's not terribly far, about 17 hours, and I always stop for the night and for stretch breaks. I'm hoping for late April, if not before. i agree with the comments that the doctors don't seem to tell the whole truth about the rehab, but then again, I may have balked if I'd known. Now it's just moving ahead one day at a time.

 

[sheri.4913]

Thanks, Sue. I had a real bad time coming off the percocet. shakes, dry heaves, hot/cold flashes, etc. This lasted for one day at fairly high intensity, then another at lower, one last at lowest, before I shook free of them. They are incredibly addictive.... I've heard them call Hillbilly Heroin and have compared the discomfort of ditching them with those who have come off heroin.... so close it's scary. I may ache more and grumble with it, but I don't want to go back to those. My doc switched me to Darvocet which are not physically addicting.. much better. good luck, Sheri

 

[dw6928]

It sounds like you went cold turkey off the Percocet. What you describe are total withdrawal symptoms, not someone who tapered off the Percocet. Am I correct?

 

[NuNeez519]

I had the same experience with the Oxycontins. Thats what they had given me in the hospital, along with the Perc's and sentme home with the same dosage saying I would need it for the first few days. After my 2nd day home, I felt to "high" and cloudy so I called my OS and he asked what I was taking and he had told me to cut back and get off the OxyContins. I wanted off them soo bad I just stopped taking the OxyContins 10's(which I took up to 2x day) and the Percs which for the first 2 days home I took every 4 hours. I had the same withdrawal but wanted to be off the meds at that quantity. I continued taking a Perc after 12 hours because the throbbing started real bad but I still went through a withdrawal by just cutting back. So there must be a proper way to cut back.
Now I take them before PT, after a long day and when I really need to. I feel fine on the Perc's, pain is definately relieved to just a discomfort feeling.

 

[sheri.4913]

Cold Turkey. Yup, I did. Only because I did NOT realize what I was taking. I've rarely been sick and have never gone through major surgery before, so I was like....... oh, take 2? ok. wheeeee........ then reality hit....... I'm susceptible to addiction and should not be going wheeeee . So I quit. Not the brightest decision and after several calls to the doctor, did a more tapered off version of cold turkey. It went somewhat better but I don't want to get messed up with perc again. I was started, right after surgery, on oxycontin which sent me out to lala land. Called my sister and told her the hospital was being invaded by tarantulas and one was on my leg, so I was going to grab a book and kill it. Thank God she talked me into called the nurse first........... I seem to be handling the Darvocet much better........ no urge to go wheeeee....... and can function normally. I like that much better. Yes, there is a proper way to get off the heavy drugs, your doctor is the one to lay out the procedure. Good luck.

 

[dw6928]

It must be me but I have no reaction to Oxycontin at all. I was given 40 mgm tablets after 2 major surgeries to take home after having taken it 2x a day in the hospital and rehab.
It had so little effect on me that I forgot I took it. Percocet (10mgm) has a much stronger effect on me which is backwards from everyone else that has taken both. Oxycontin is the drug the FDA fears and is the one kids abuse the most.
Go figure.