TKR Careful what you wish for

[Reebok]

Ten minute walk today. Just a stroll, and quite enjoyable. No cane, and no need for it. Back on the exercise bike for some more rockin back and forward and gentle stretching. Not getting full rotations yet, prepared to wait!
Shopping yesterday with the wife, and my oldest boys 33rd birthday last night.
Three hours with the grandkids, and a 45 minute car ride each way made Pete a very tired boy. Didnt sleep well at all, kept waking up, and couldnt get comfortable at all to get back to sleep.
Havent had any pain meds for 2-3 days, so will have some mild ones tonight. Today I relaxed and iced, elevated and read a book or two. Tonight should be easier to sleep.

 

[marmora]

@Reebok
It just goes to show a variation on the saying, ' the spirit is willing, but the knee knows best' !
Shopping, 45 minute car drive and grand children seem to have taken their toll on your knee,
But, at times we have to do what we want to do & know that later we will need to rest, ice , elevate to make up for it!
Take care.

 

[Reebok]

Did a short walk yesterday, and today did 'the block'. took longer than ten minutes, but was more of a leisurely stroll than a powerwalk. Did it once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
Had a nice glass of single malt last night, and a good nights sleep.
The exercise bike and the continuing exercises are making bed more tolerable.
Things are on the up again.

 

[marmora]

@Reebok
Your theme song will be 'These Boots are Made for Walking'.
Your nick name Reebok is very appropriate !
I'm one day after you and still using one cane for indoors & 2 canes for outdoor walking.

Must be the clean air in the Southern Hemisphere !
G'day and keep up the good work,

Cathie

 

[Reebok]

Got nothing at all to do with being a type A personality does it!
I have had three careers in my life and won national and global awards for achievement in all of them.

But I do think my ( for some) easier recovery is due to working hard at the post op exercises whilst pre op.

One thing overachieving does is teach you to plan and focus.
Whilst I dont always get it right, and may end up with a focus on the wrong things, prior preparation has always been a focus for me, and so far, with my knee it has delivered. In fact it has delivered in most things. At one time I was responsible for 2500 people in 33 offices, over seven countries. Preparation is very important if you have that many people sitting down doing nothing because management didnt plan!

But, I am not thru this yet, so maybe it is too early for me to be giving advice to others, I may still be the apprentice. Humility has always served me well. Trying hard not to become the armchair expert. My hurdles may be around the corner yet.

As far as the nickname reebok, my surname is Rebbechi, and so I was awarded this nickname in the 80's when Reebok became prominent as a must have fashion item.
Before then I was 'bluey' as I have (had!) red hair, and aussies take the mickey out of everybody, ie a fat guy becomes slim, a short person becomes stretch etc etc.

 

[Reebok]

Three 'blockies' a day today, and I am missing only about 45 degrees to complete a rotation on the exercise bike.
Some sad news though, heard of a friend of 25 yrs, who decided life was too hard for him and ended his.
His family did not tell anyone, and had a private service. It happened two months ago, and no one could locate him. Now we know why. But it would have been nice to attend a service and remember him with respect, cant help but think we all could have done more. I knew of his troubles and the causes, but he seemed to be handling them. Hard for everyone who knew him, and we cant approach the family for fear of disrespecting them.

Please be on the lookout for anyone you know with 'issues'. Not all of them are dealing with them.

 

[marmora]

@Reebok

Very sorry to hear about your friend and it is indeed hard not to have been able to say a final goodbye and yet still respect the families' wishes. Your friend made his decision and hopefully he found his peace.


Agree that the pre-op exercise programme are very important (when someone is able to do them) before TKR surgery. I was lucky that I had about 3 weeks to prepare to some degree and feel that it has made a small difference in my recovery.

Although, discharged from the rehab centre on Wednesday 6 Aug and still only getting to 90-95% Flexion. Although the PT feels that it will come, as my leg had been in a semi bent position for over 18 months since my last arthroscopy.

Thanks for explaining the Reebok / Rebbechi name. Here too in Ireland, it is very hard to be a 'ginger' and I don't know why, I love red hair and several of my nieces & nephews are red.

Off now to do my second set of physio exercises and hopefully increase the Flexion.

Take care,
Cathie

 

[gr82cu2]

@Reebok somehow I lost your recovery thread but I'm all caught up now. You are doing so great! My recovery is going well too but you give me even more hope. I'm so sorry about your friend. Sometimes we just aren't aware or don't know what people are going through in their minds. It's really sad that someone can be that desperate. I'm so sorry!

 

[Reebok]

4 weeks tomorrow.
Been building up the walks, and as of today, am up to 3 x 30 minute walks a day. Interesting how different your own street looks when you slow down and take it in. In a pleasant way.
No improvement on the exercise bike, but I guess it needs more time.
Sleeping is still a problem, go to sleep, wake up 2-3 hrs later, back to sleep, wake up 3-4 hrs later. Maybe doze a bit longer. Just cant get comfortable.
Rom is still around 90 degrees, sometimes a bit over, sometimes a bit under.
Knee is still noticably swollen, but I have read it could be that way for some months to come.
Appointment with the surgeon on thursday, will see what he says then.
I have no regrets either way, knee is better than before. Much better.

 

[gr82cu2]

I have no regrets either way, knee is better than before. Much better.

And that's why we do this! In the end, the recovery period will all seem worth it. My OS told me his knee replacement patients are his happiest patients. You're doing well @Reebok . Keep up the good work

 

[Jozilla]

I agree - you are doing well! Good for you - I wish you continued improvement. I also am so pleased with my surgery as I am able to function without pain in that knee.

Expectations are personal and different for each of us. I am not planning on running marathons or skiing. I am however wanting to hike, walk and play with my grandchildren. All of which I can do. So my improvement exceeds my expectations! Rom improves for a long long time. As they say don't worry about the numbers. Patient99 has just seen an incredible improvement at 18 months out.

Take care!

 

[marmora]

@Reebok @Jozilla @g82cu2
@Reebok I am at 4 weeks on Thursday this week and our recovery has some similar aspects.
3x 20 minute walks per day & told to increase to 30 minute walks by week 6.lovely walking slowly through my neighbourhood and admiring the gardens and some times drive me to the boardwalk along Sandymount Strand or Herbert Park for a chance of scene for the walks. Extremely lucky, that the usual Irish summer rain does hold off at times during the days to get out for the walks.

Using my floor mounted pedal bike for 5-10 minutes at a time and can get full rotation - but need to slowly increase the resistance.

ROM is about +/- 90%, so that is where I'm at.
Going to my first out patient PT session tomorrow morning, so expecting to get a few new exercises .

Appointment with OS now rescheduled for 26 August and will be interested in speaking with him.

Take care Reebok
Cathie

 

[NetballKnees]

@Reebok ... Thought I would visit. You are doing so well. It would be lovely to do those walks at 4 weeks. At 10 months out, it is still a struggle, albeit because of the non-replaced knee. It will be done on 21 August, so just over a week now. I am also sorry to hear of your friend. I have suffered from depression and know what a dark world it is in that space, but I never thought that the only solution would be to end my life and my heart aches when I hear of someone who has because that space must be exceptionally black to feel like that. About the only goals I had when having knee replacement was to be in less pain (done on the TKR knee) and to be able to continue riding the bikes at the gym. Unfortunately I still do not have enough bend to do that (80-85 at best), but I live in hope.
I just wanted to commend you for your attitude and common sense with your recovery and while I know it certainly hasn't been a walk in the park (excuse the pun), you seem to have dealt with it very, very well.
I wish you continued improvement and hopefully only a short period before you have enough "bend" to ride a bike again.
Take Care ... Ellen

 

[Reebok]

Mowed the lawns today. Not a big block, the std quarter acre, hardest part was putting on work boots!
Planned on splitting it into 3-4 blocks of activity, but it was nice and sunny, albeit under 10 degrees (c) so I just plodded on until I finished.
Didnt go on any walks though!
Wife is not pleased and made her feelings felt. Oops.
One of our friends dropped in for a chat. She is the 'bed nazi' at a local hospital, and that hospital has some distinctly different views to the hospital I attended. She couldnt believe I went home on day 4 (really day 3). And that I had no bruising at all, and was walking around reasonably well. Mind you she says most of their TKR patients are over 70, so I would expect their recovery to be a bit more traumatic

Had another look at the bike, and used a wedge of foam on the seat to raise the seat up a bit, and managed a few full rotations with the higher seat height. Will give this another few tries over the next few days and see if I can utilise this to stretch more practically.

Improvements are slow and hard won, but. I have noticed I am able to sit more easily at a proper chair when eating.
My wife and I are old school, and must be one of the few families that sit at a proper table for all meals!
But it is really handy to be able to place your feet under the chair you are sitting on.
Gives you more opportunity to stretch the bend when eating a meal.!

 

[bottomshollow]

@Reebok, I sincerely hope you don't regret your lawn mowing venture. I really think it's a bit early in recovery for this kind of activity even if you're feeling pretty good. However, if your knee decides it didn't like the activity, you can always elevate and ice .

Take care and keep us posted. We care.

 

[Reebok]

Thanks for the concern people.
I finished the lawn before midday, and rested and iced before and after.
Evening was 'the new normal' and so was sleeping.
Woke up this morning just the same as every other day.
I agree that it is easy to overdo it. Trying hard to stay on the right side of the line.
That pesky type A personality gets in the way again.

So far so good.

 

[marmora]

@Reebok
There is something very satisfying about mowing a lawn & smell of the newly mowed grass!
Good to know that the pre and post icing before mowing seemed to really help.

We too are 'old school' and always have our evening meal at the kitchen table.

We were lucky that because we lived in Dublin all 3 of our sons attended college here and lived at home - so the family meal time continued while they were all living at home .

We do not have a telly in the kitchen, so it's our time to catch up & chat.

In fact, we only have one telly in the entire house and friends are always surprised by that.

Take care and keep up your very optimistic spirit !
Cathie

 

[Reebok]

Just came back from four week appt with surgeon.
He is happy with my progress, flexion, straightening, scar, swelling etc etc.

He has signed off on being able to drive, and I can go back to work whenever I decide.
Will continue the recovery for another two weeks, then probably back to work three days a week and then full time again.
Will go for a local five minute drive tomorrow, when traffic is absent, and see how it goes. Still think there is more shanks pony in my future rather than driving.
Sitting down with leg elevated, icepack on, cold beer in hand.
Yeah life is good.

 

[bottomshollow]

Sitting down with leg elevated, icepack on, cold beer in hand.

Perfect!

 

[Jozilla]

Great update @Reebok enjoy your drink!! Sounds good as I sit here at work.