TKR Blendab1 meets her new knee

[jfiori54]

This is good news Brenda. I hope the rest of the week follows suit. I don't have pain anymore either but what I find frustrating is when I wake up feeling very stiff in the a.m. Especially after having a good productive day. I suppose because I do sleep for a good 6-7 hrs now is part of the reason. Slowly but surely we will get there. Have a good week.

 

[Blendab1]

My first full 8 hour day went way better than my part time hours the last two weeks. I am so stoked!!! I hope this continues and everything gets better as I go. To think last week I was getting depressed and now I'm on cloud nine!


Brenda

 

[Spencieca]

Yipppeeee!!!!! Looking up at you on Cloud 9!!!!

 

[Blendab1]

@jfiori54 I do believe the stiffness is from sleeping for a while. I get 7+ hours and when I wake up I'm a bit stiff but by time I get back from my walk with Fenway, all is good.
I will take stiffness if it means a great nights sleep.
How are you doing overall?


Brenda

 

[bobolink 47]

Something about that 8 week mark that makes you feel better! I am at 9 weeks today and am doing well. See the OS tomorrow! Keep up the good work, Brenda!

 

[Blendab1]

Yipppeeee!!!!! Looking up at you on Cloud 9!!!!

There's plenty of room up here for you!!! I just hope I don't fall to earth too fast too soon! The knees have a way of doing that.


Brenda

 

[Spencieca]

yeah, but I will catch you because right now my elevator is broke and won't even take me to Cloud 1...

 

[Blendab1]

Post Op day 59.

Today I had to go see my OS as PT called their office yesterday and said they were concerned with my lack of progress. At my visit today and after being evaluated I was told that I either need to wear a brace or go to the hospital for MUA. I asked which would be better and was told the MUA as they feel it will resolve my issues. They explained that I probably had a lot of scar tissue due to the full knee bend the day after surgery and from hurting myself last week when I sat down without kicking out my leg as well as returning to work and not taking care of myself like I did prior to work. So based on what they said and what I've read here I am scheduling the MUA. I have complete faith in my OS as I know he would not do anything to harm me as he is invested in giving me my life back. I'll find out Monday when I will have to go in and if in the meantime PT helps me to improve, I'll be able to cancel.
I'll post when it will happen when I know. Thanks in advance for your support, it is appreciated.



Brenda

 

[bobolink 47]

Brenda, I wish this was not happening for you! Others have said it was a good thing having it done so we will just believe it will be a good thing for you. Did he say how long you would have to be out of work?

 

[Spencieca]

Brenda I am glad that you had this discussion with your OS. I am very happy I had my MUA, I was getting very discouraged with myself thinking I wasn't working hard enough or resting enough and thst was why my knee was not progressing to my likes..I had this surgery to improve my life and having the MUA was a great decision for me, I hope you find the same relief I did..I'm here for ya friend ♡

 

[aj0114]

Best of luck to you!

 

[PolarBear60]

Hope all goes well.


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[wberry]

Did I miss something in this thread. I thought you ROM was pretty good.
Or is it because of your resent swelling and stiffness?


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[Celle]

@Blendab1
I beg to differ with your PT and surgeon.
Your knee was making progress until you went back to work, earlier than we recommend. Then you said it was swelling because of work.
Work + continued PT is an awful lot of exercise for a knee at your stage of recovery.

However, it's your decision. I hope the MUA works for you. You'll need to take some time to "baby" the knee to get over that.

 

[Legin]

Good luck, I remember you saying hoe good your employer was giving you soace to elevate etc. So pressure om knee must have been aided some. Occasionaly we just need an extra bit of treatment to continue the process of healthy recovery. But its your decision anyway so mind set and go girl.

Legin THR Sep 14

 

[Josephine]

I agree with Celle. Did you ever read this article Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
I'll be very interested to see your outcome.

However, having read back through the last 3 pages, I noticed all these warning signs

I went to PT after work yesterday and she was concerned with my swelling

Today while doing errands I was getting new sensations of pain all around the knee, it felt like my nerves were waking up!

Honey, your problem is nothing to do with adhesions or stiffness of itself. Your problem is that you are doing far too much! For starters, if you are working a full day, you do NOT want PT as well and certainly not before or after work! I'm glad you finally worked out about continuing your pain management. That is most essential.

Thankfully it was normal this morning but after 4 hours at work, it swelled again.

Thanks to a restful weekend my swelling is down and no aches or pains at this time.

These comments are crucial to what is going on. Your knee is happy when it's rested and makes its unhappiness known after a day at work and PT. Common sense, yes?

I really wish I could take a Tramadol at work. I guess just taking at ibuprofen at work is not enough,

No it's not! And despite the persuasiveness of the adverts, NSAIDs (ibuprofen) are pretty mild, not to say useless as pain meds. They're anti-inflammatories, not analgesics.You'd be much better off taking Tylenol 1,000mg every six hours. Gram for gram ibuprofen has about 40% of the pain killing power that Tylenol does.

This morning when I woke up I had hardly any swelling and no pain just general stiffness.

I do believe the stiffness is from sleeping for a while. I get 7+ hours and when I wake up I'm a bit stiff

7+ hours without any pain meds? No wonder you wake up stiff and sore! You need to remember that most pain meds (except the slow release ones) only stay active in your system for about 4 or 5 hours so you then have 2-3 hours with no coverage whatsoever! So you need to make sure you take your meds evenly spaced out over the 24hrs, thereby ensuring you have adequate coverage. Doesn't that make sense to you?

I do it for my leg curl exercises.

Uh, what?

So what exactly is your ROM right now? What dreadful numbers do you have that your surgeon feels your recovery has stalled?

And what kind of PT exercises and exercises at home are you doing? How much and how often? (and detailed details would be appreciated, please! **Reps, sets and sessions** and all that)

** If you're not familiar with this, it goes like so:
1 lift of your leg = 1 rep (repetition)
5 reps and then a brief rest = 1 set
5 sets and finishing = 1 session.

 

[Celle]

They explained that I probably had a lot of scar tissue due to the full knee bend the day after surgery and from hurting myself last week when I sat down without kicking out my leg as well as returning to work and not taking care of myself like I did prior to work.

Brenda, I don't understand what you mean by "sat down without kicking out my leg". Do you mean that you usually sit down by bending the good leg and keeping the TKR leg out straight? If you sit down gently now, you should be able to bend both legs - unless the seat is too low. I seriously doubt that you would have developed a lot of scar tissue because of one incident.

I'm more inclined to think that your problem is swelling and, as you say, it's due to going back to work early and not taking as much care of your knee as you were doing. Economic necessity, I expect.

Do remember that this recovery is a long journey, more of a marathon than a sprint. With or without an MUA, it still takes as long as a year for all your tissues to heal completely.

 

[referee54]

I can tell you this much---when I returned to the classroom at eight weeks post-BTKR, I had very little swelling in the morning upon waking. I always wondered---"Is today that day when my knees do not swell?"

By 11:00 AM, the swelling and the stiffness set in, and when I returned home from school, I was cranky, irritable, and exhausted.

I would take Sundays off---after church, I would ice, rest, and elevate---even when I elevated at school, it helped a little (very little?) It felt great until I repeated the process of getting up and going to school at school on Monday.

Do remember that this recovery is a long journey, more of a marathon than a sprint. With or without an MUA, it still takes as long as a year for all your tissues to heal completely.

It took me five months to lose a pesky little limp---it was not until six months when I felt to be around 80%-85%, and it was not until eight months until I was at 90%-95%.

I'm more inclined to think that your problem is swelling and, as you say, it's due to going back to work early and not taking as much care of your knee as you were doing. Economic necessity, I expect.

I would concur. Again, we all have to return at a certain time and we do not live in the perfect world where we can take off plenty of time to allow the knee to calm down and heal. I understand how you are feeling now---my knees were very much the same, but I do think that it has to do more with your work schedule ( as was mine).

 

[TexasTee]

From personal experience the difference between my knee swollen from working/standing/walking all day and how it was before my MUA - there is simply no comparison, it's completely different. One assumes that your doctor and PT can tell the difference.

As you know I had one at 9 weeks and I have zero regrets, i have unforced ROM of 140+ and it's so much more comfortable than before the procedure.

I wish you the very best!!

 

[jfiori54]

I haven't checked in for awhile. Sorry to hear this news Brenda; I will be facing the same situation next week. Listen to the following before you decide.....last week the PT place did not have any appts available. I left there on a Thursday. I was so worried that by the time I returned the following Weds. I would be stiff as a board & less than 93 degrees which is what I was on that day. So, I used a treadmill & a recumbent step-like thing (similar to a bike) every other day for about 15 mins. each. On the step type machine I was wanting to make sure I felt a good stretch like I got from PT. Well, maybe a few days off from PT was good because when I went back yesterday I felt awesome. I finally reached 100 degrees & the therapist said I did a great job over the five days since I had been there. 7 degrees in 5 days made me happy but my OS still will not be ok with it. PT said I need to be at least at 115 according to the paperwork she has from the OS. I am going to continue what I am doing & if I keep improving I will try to put off the MUA. My OS appt is the 14th. I may push it out 2 more weeks. Doc probably wont like it but it is my decision. For me it seems like a few days off from Pt was good for me. I wish you the best & if I hit the lottery I will share so you can take some time off!