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TKR Braunzie's Journey on "The Other Side"?

@Brauzie, sounds like you need a big hug. You are overdoing it. Company is great but we end up paying for it. You usually are the positive one and have helped me a lot. We all get the blues. I still can break a sweat just walking to the bathroom lol. We had a friend stop by last night and I slept terrible. I couldn't get comfortable no matter what I did. I finally ended up on the couch with ice cream. Sending big hugs to you :roseshwr:
 
@Braunzie, I hope you're feeling better this morning. I certainly hope you're not chasing dust bunnies. Believe me, if I were close by, I'd swing by get rid of those dust bunnies, brew some coffee and we could chat about photography while you're icing and elevating.

Since I cannot do that - I'm sending you a virtual hug - :friends:.
 
Felt all those virtual hugs and they made me smile.. thanks, everyone! :flwrysmile: I'm going to take it easy today, maybe do a little walking around the house, some of my stretching exercises and "maybe" a bit on the bike.. I actually ventured a bit in the house without my crutch yesterday! I felt so DARING!! Didn't fall down, either.. lol!!!! :rotfl:

Knee was tender last night - pain above the knee cap, that is kind of new, but I'm going to attribute that to the Physical Terrorist I saw yesterday. She's a fill-in while my regular one is off gallivanting in Europe for a friend's wedding. I let her push on my knee too much trying for more extension and I'm definitely NOT going to let her do that next week.. (yes, I have to see her two more times.. :sad:) ... I should have known better..

Really, thanks to you all for the moral support and encouragement. I know it will get better.. :)

Raffs said:
I honestly think that doing normal things just reminds me how far I've still got to go. I know it shouldn't, it should cheer me up but this doesn't happen. Perhaps you're affected in the same way?
Click to expand...
... @Raffs - YUP! :yes:

Hope you all have a great Friday! :cheers2:
 
@Brauzie. I ended in the hospital for 4 days due to medication problems. I couldn't even think about going home @ 1 day. I would drive my husband crazy and have to eat his cooking lol. How are you feeling? Maybe wait until your regular PT comes back or can you ask for a different one?
 
@Pescara - glad that 1st week is over, regardless of WHERE I was!!!
Doing ok today.. Just taking it easy. Trying to find the right balance of exercise and rest, elevation and icing to optimize my progress - just like I think everyone else is trying to do!! :heehee:
 
So, I have a question. When I try to stretch for extension, it is quite uncomfortable and gets pretty painful after a couple minutes or so. A little concerned as I regressed from a 5 to a 7 last Thursday at PT and that is, I think, why the therapist was working it so hard.. Trying to avoid that next Monday, so working on stretching over the weekend, but it is a bit deflating. I know not to push it if it hurts, but don't I have to work on the extension?? Any suggestions?
 
What worked for me was putting my foot up on an opposite chair and letting gravity do its thing. For 30 seconds. You might work up to longer, but even that short of a time hurt and I am not into pain. But I did that once in a while. Plus when I lie down in bed I gently push the knee down, not with my hands, but just flex my foot and try to push the knee down. When I am standing at the kitchen counter I hold on to the counter, step back with my "new knee foot" and gently push my heel down to stretch the hamstring. Mix it up. Stop if it hurts. You will get there.
 
How long are you stretching for? My PT said "Two minutes is elastic; more than that is plastic." By that she meant two minutes was the magic stretch time. After that, it was counter-productive. Use the timer on your phone or an egg timer, set it for two minutes, then rest or move gently for two minutes before stretching again.
 
I did something similar to @Slainte . Command central was a club chair with ottoman. Sometimes I didn't use pillows, but just let my leg bridge between the chair and ottoman for as long as I wanted. Actually didn't know I was working on extension, it felt good to not elevate at times. No one ever gave me an exercise for extension, just wasn't necessary.
 
@Slainte and @KarriB - I will try to "change it up a bit".. Good suggestions..

@PolarBear60 I was told to try to get up to 5 minutes.. Have only made it to 4 a few times. 2 sounds more doable for sure.. (and I have been using my timer on my phone)

Thanks, Ladies!! :yes:
 
Those side leg lifts are hard at first. Sounds like you're not ready for them yet. No biggie...they'll come eventually.
 
I was so lucky my OS gave me a realistic timeline of recovery. And I read here quite a bit before surgery too.
 
5 weeks tomorrow.. The latter part of this week has been a bit tough because of my PT on Thursday (I'm going to blame EVERYTHING on that!!:heehee: ) Knee was more sore, mobility was less, not motivated to do as many exercises BECAUSE my knee was sore, feeling like an underachiever (that doesn't sit well with me at all.. :cry:), worried if my knee is EVER going to be good again, Am I doing too much? Am I not doing enough? Tried not to whine too much in this forum, just because.. I know I would hear everything I would tell other people who were whining about what I felt like whining about.. :rotfl: - Just knowing that helped, though.. :yes:

I read a thread about the "6 week whine". Thought that was funny, because I think I've whined EVERY week!!!:snork:

Got up today - having a harder time sleeping, I think because I'm off narcotics, but also because I'm still trying to find ways to sleep on my sides. I start out with an "ahhhh" feeling.. and not more than 1/2 to an hour later, my knee is telling me it is NOT happy, so I need to change positions again.. I'm tired of being "tethered" to my ice machine, so I try to sleep without it and inevitably, I end up on my back, knee elevated and hooked up to my "hitching post".

I was telling my husband I feel like I've regressed.. and then the leaky eyes came.. (DARN IT!!) Pulled myself together, got up, made coffee, fed the birds, took a shower, got dressed, blow-dried my hair, put on a bit of makeup, folded a load of laundry (that my darling husband did), went to Costco, walked around on two crutches, went to Safeway then to pick up a few things I couldn't get a Costco, came home, went through the mail, folded another load of laundry and here I sit elevating and icing..

OK.. Big picture, after I describe all that at about 5 weeks, I'm sure people are thinking. Ok, and WHAT's the problem??? :heehee:

Me.. :rotfl:

But.. Just when I was entering Costco, on my two crutches, a nice looking gentleman - I'm guessing around early 60's - was pushing a cart beside me, looked at me and asked if I'd had a knee replacement. I concurred and he told me he had one about 13 months ago. I asked him how it worked out for him. (He was balding, wearing a white t-shirt, khaki shorts that didn't show his knee, calf-high white socks and tennis shoes.) He paused, let go of his cart and then started running down the aisle, doing some evasive moves, turned around with a big grin on his face, came back with more evasive moves and said he was even playing half court basketball. He asked if I was working with a bike, if I could do full rotations (I again concurred), he said, "Keep it up! You'll do fine. " I thanked him, told him he was doing great and continued on to do our shopping. It was all I could do to hold back the leaky eyes again.. That was so nice of him and reinforced how long of a journey this really is.. and it's all about patience.

I KNOW there will be ups and downs.. I just have to breathe deeply, get passed them and move on. ... and remember that dust bunnies are my friend.. :loll:

....... But I'm NOT looking forward to PT tomorrow, even though I'm prepared to clarify some of MY expectations. :yes!:

It was good to get out of the house. I think I need to find ways to do that more often during the week while my husband is working.. I'll have to work on that.. :)
 
See, the previous five weeks of whining have all be a warm-up for the main event -- The Six Week Whine! You are READY! :ice::yahoo:

You were comfortable doing Costco on crutches? At five weeks? My hat's off to you. I'd have been grabbing the motorized cart for that long haul! I don't think I was comfortable leaving the motorized cart behind until 8-10 weeks -- I'd have to read back in my timeline to make sure, but that sounds about right.
 
@PolarBear60 - Oh GREAT!! hahaha! If all my whining up to this point is a precursor to what is to come?? I'll be battening down the hatches!! - but I'm sure I can get through with all the great people here in this forum. (I'll have to warn my husband!! :heehee:)
 
Oh, you'll get through just fine. Definitely warn the dear man, but I haven't noticed you've been whining, so I said that all in jest based upon what you said. But, yeah, the next couple weeks are routinely kind of tough as in you don't usually see big improvements, so you get tired of it all and a little bummed that it will never get better. By 12 weeks, you should be able to expect much better, so keep on trudging through these dark days.
 
@Braunzie. I understand what you're feeling. Although I'm a week behind you, I think we are a lot alike. This recovery is messed up. In one day, you can have a "win" and a "loss" within hours of each other. You have to wait until you wake up the next day to see where your at. I think/know you get it. You answered most of your own questions in that "whining session" ! I've done a lot of whining myself around here, and you are usually one of one's who picks me up. That patience thing is hard for you and I, but we have to make peace with it.
 
What a neat guy you ran into in Costco. Love that! My IT band is burning like fire tonight. I also blame it on PT last Friday. My PT needs to take those clamshells and stuff them! But I digress.

You are doing great! I was just wistfully talking to my daughter tonight saying that I hope I will be able to do the things I used to do. Nothing special or highly athletic - just climb up a ladder to paint a wall, or have the energy to maintain a vegetable garden. I feel like that is a long way off, especially with me restarting the whole recovery thing Oct. 1st with my other knee. But you know what? I have gradually lost my abilities, and must gradually regain them. It will be so worth it. But no clamshells, please. Zero clamshells. Love you, my bonesmart friend!
 
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