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TKR Canadian Girl's Journey

Glad to hear your surgery went well. Now the work begins. The good thing you know what to expect although it's be more difficult because you had not fully recovered from the first one. But you are on the final leg of the journey. Please take care and let your family help you. I wish you the best.
 
I never thought the ultrasound would be painful but it was awful. Both from bruising and the fact that at that point my legs hurt if they were in the same position for more than a few minutes. I was so glad when it was over!
 
I will be about 9 months apart on my second knee. I am still worried about stairs which still are not easy for me. You have done so well and I know we shouldn't compare knees but that is interesting to me. Hope you have a great day!
 
@dogwheels My husband was in a car accident years ago and broke his kneecap into 3 chunks. He bruised fiercely, after surgery, but there was, like you, a persistent bruise behind his knee. It did eventually go away, but it took about 3 years. Maybe you'll be luckier, but it will go away eventually!

Good morning @71Beetle! I hope your night was restful!
 
Like @dogwheels I am in awe that you did the other one on the tails of the first. If I tag another person after I have tagged the first, it deletes the first part of the post....very frustrating. So, I will re write what I wrote above, so the formatting is going to look weird. I am so sorry that you had that intense pain. It is something else, isn't it. It sounds like it is well managed now, is it?
You are now home. Well done YOU. Home feels so good after all the hospital environment. (I think anyway.)
Leg lift? I couldn't do that for days. It will happen. (as you already know.) (:
many thoughts and prayers,
~hopefaith
 
Hi All!

Happy Hump Day!

@Pumpkln - how are things going for you today Chris? You are so right about the ups and downs of our recovery. Love that the ups eventually outweigh the downs though!

@H2OPoloMom - sorry to hear about your horrible PT experience. I would definitely run the other way if I saw that therapist again. Very true about trusting the knees. I do think that is a big part of a successful recovery isn't it? I cringe when I think of your hubby breaking his knee cap into 3 chunks. OUCH!

@dogwheels - whats new in your part of the world? The bruising continues to be the worst part of this rehab but it too shall pass. The internal bruising is brutal this time around though. Like you say, all of a sudden a new bruise will appear after a lot of pain. I am using witch hazel to bring down the colour and it seems to be working to some degree.

@sleenie - thanks for dropping by and for the well wishes. How are you doing?

@JustJeff - OMG that ultrasound was brutal! The technician that was performing it was so sweet and calming but I sure was glad to have that over with! Have you been hiking and cycling a lot since you returned from your trip? do you ever put your photos on an on-line album that you share with friends? If so, I would love to see some of your photography.

@Phil75070 - stairs and scares are rhyming words and are also synonyms in my mind. I am going to go to the bottom step and practice a bit today. Like @H2OPoloMom said, it is about trusting the knees and with me it is getting over the fear of the pain. I just had some meds so will give it a go in about 20 minutes (if I don't fall asleep first). Hope your morning of golf went well.

@Jozilla - 9 months between surgeries seems more intelligent than my 8 weeks but I must say, I am pleased to have it behind me. My biggest concern about waiting was what the limping was doing to all of the other parts of my body. How are you doing with the fixed knee. Do you find that you feel more pain in the non-TKR leg now?

@hopefaith - I agree that rehabbing at home is better than at the hospital. I do think that when it comes time to replace our mattress, I will go with one of those beds that you can raise or lower with the press of a button. I do enjoy that! How are you doing? Hope you are having a good day.

@jbucks - amazing seems a bit over the top but I may get a cape of some sort for Halloween this year. :) Thanks for the ego boost!

I have experienced something new this go around. My hair is falling out and I mean in handfuls! Has anyone else experienced this and if so are there any solutions?

Slept pretty well last night. No freaky dreams waking me up and the meds seemed to manage my pain through the night. That tight band feeling is bad for the first time on this knee. I wonder if it is because the pain of bruising has diminished a bit so I am just feeling it more :)

Hope everyone is having a good day!
 
My fixed knee is great. I have been very happy with that. My other knee does not hurt any worse but the hip on that leg does. I think I am twisting that leg when I walk.

Have you had your blood tested since surgery? I ended up with low blood platelet and anemia. I got those two resolved and ended up with low thyroid levels (I had my thyroid removed 13 years ago). One of the side effects of abnormal thyroid levels is hair falling out! In any event it just may be your body reacting to surgery!

Take care -- hoping you have many good days!
 
71Beetle said:
Hi All!

Happy Hump Day!



@sleenie - thanks for dropping by and for the well wishes. How are you doing?

Hope everyone is having a good day!
Click to expand...
I give you kudos for doing them so close together. If I hadn't had them both done at the same time, I'm not sure I would have gone back again.

I'm doing great. For some reason the ROM is now coming quickly. I can tell such a difference. Still some tightness but it is getting better. Being able to stand and and sit down without holding onto something is great. Small things make me happy when I finally notice it.
 
Jozilla said:
Have you had your blood tested since surgery? I ended up with low blood platelet and anemia. I got those two resolved and ended up with low thyroid levels (I had my thyroid removed 13 years ago). One of the side effects of abnormal thyroid levels is hair falling out! In any event it just may be your body reacting to surgery!
Click to expand...

They did blood work while I was in the hospital so I would assume they would have checked for that... I hope it is only temporary.
 
I seem to be losing hair faster than normal too both in the shower and my brush. It can be thyroid related, but stress can do it too.

Your last message is so full of energy that just reading it makes me feel more positive about the day and for that I thank you!
 
@71Beetle Glad you made it through your surgery and are home! You had your knees done 8 weeks apart?
Are you glad you did it that close together (I know you are back to the pain part of recovery)? The reason I ask is that my husband will be having his second knee 10 weeks after the first. It is trying to get them both in a 6 1/2 month short term disability time period with recovery for the second knee before he goes back to work. I read that some places do them as close as one week apart.
 
Hi @tiredwife - thanks for checking in. You must have a lot of fun sharing all of the goings on of the forum with your hubby. How is his rehab going? I am pleased that my OS booked my surgeries 8 weeks apart for a few reasons:
  1. It was enough time to get the feel of what the recovery is like. I consider myself lucky that I recovered relatively quickly. I kept up with the BoneSmart mantra and though I was still only at 106 flexion and was not yet walking far when I went in for this one, I was pleased with it overall. And I knew what to expect this go around.
  2. I got it all out of the way (I needed both done anyway). My OS has been working with me for 5 years starting with my meniscus tear, through the multiple cortisone shots then finally through the decision and the surgical process to getting the TKRs done. He knew my life before and what my expectations and goals were to get my life back quickly and felt that I was young and fit enough to manage it well.
  3. It worked for my work life. I am commissioned sales so the more time I take off, the less money I make. By taking a hit once I can recover financially better than if I was to go away, come back, and go away again. My employer was not very supportive either way so I made the decision to do it this way.
  4. I had more support at home over the summer. My husband drives a school bus s he is more available to me over the summer months as is my eldest son who was my personal chauffeur during the last recovery.
I cannot imagine getting them done a week apart. Why not get them done together if that was the case? There are a number of forum members that have bee very successful with having both done at the same time. It was not an option that my OS gave me. I really did not feel like I was improving until Week 5 so before then would not have been good for me.

Your hubby will likely do well with ten weeks apart but I am not sure how his rehab is going to date (I will read your thread tomorrow).

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
 
Just dropping by to see how you are doing. Glad everything went OK and that you are at home recovering.
 
Woo Hoo! Can't wait to look at your photos @JustJeff! Thanks for sharing. Have a great time on your hike. It is awesome that you are doing that much so soon after a BTKR. You have had a great attitude throughout your recovery as well. We are fortunate to have had pretty good journeys aren't we?

I am doing quite well @busylizzie. Thanks for asking. The pain woke me up crying this morning for the first time since I returned home. That is not to say there haven't been tears at other times though. As always, I am able to distract myself by logging into the forum and chatting with everyone (or sometimes just creeping other members threads). I am so grateful to have you all on my side.

I am a sucker for bad jokes and I heard one yesterday on Ellen (never been a talk show fan but I do like her). So here goes:
Q: Why was the horse so happy?
A: Because it came from a "stable" environment.
Bahahaha! Love that. I drive my boys nuts with my jokes ( I usually have a terrible delivery of them too which makes it worse) :) Jokes have to be short and sweet for me to get them as I forget the punch line and ruin the joke. I actually had to call my boss to get the punch line when I was trying to repeat a joke he had told me to my husband. Feel free to share your jokes with me - helps to keep our spirits up. Keep them clean and short so I can repeat them :)

Anyway, time to medicate and wait for the meds to kick in to do my exercises. It looks like a beautiful day so hopefully I can manage the stairs and get some required Vitamin D.

Have a great day all!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
@71Beetle Thank you for the info! MY husband is doing great. 6weeks 1 day today. Does stairs like a champ, no walking aid, walks all over Walmart, caught him weedeating the yard the otherday, been off the narcotics since about week 4 (except for one the night of the 4th because he really overdid it). He doesn't even limp, he has been extreemly lucky.
 
@JustJeff. Your pictures are stunning. You can tell you have an eye for this and are able to capture the essence of the mood and surroundings. You see art where others would see an object or a building. I especially love the way the picture of the padlocks on the fence turned out. If I took that picture it would not have turned out that way. My son has that gift as well which is why he is psyched about taking photography and media design in college this fall.

Thanks so much for sharing.
 
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