TKR Carole’s recovery thread

I too use my fitnesspal.app it's great for calorie counting- prior to my surgery last year it was recommended that I lose 10kg as I have tried every faddy diet going to no avail I decided to go with calorie counting I set a goal at 1200 cals a day and literally wrote everything down I put in my mouth.. so not to get too boring I allowed myself 1 cheat day at the weekend - took mec about six months but I soon lost the 10kg.
We have now slightly changed our eating habits - good breakfast-main meal at lunch and only a light soup /roll for dinner before 7pm We both find we sleep better too, we try to only drink wine at weekends unless a birthday party again this knocks of quite a few calories haha.
But as we get older it gets harder and now it's even harder as Im not moving as much - was very disappointed that I didn't lose more weight with the operation as hospital food was dreadful - I like to kid myself it is new joints but Tykey kindax ruined that by exposing the actual weight of them. :)
Wishing you success I'm sure you can do it.
I'm part of a Facebook group called bodycurves we encourage each other and we weigh ourselves every Fridays and only disclose what we have either lost or gained.
 
Probably water weight since it was the first day, but I'll take it.
I just love that first flush of water weight. It's so nice to see a quick drop. If only the rest of it were that easy, right? :heehee:

so far all the toilets I've used are easy to get up and downll! I'm fairly tall, 5'8", and that was a concern for me....but it is all coming along!
I envy you this. I'm pretty sure I'll still be using the handicapped stalls at Disney. I still have the seat risers on here at home and I know I still need them. I'm also 5'8".
 
.Little victory of the day:

I just walked approximately 188 yards (not feet, but YARDS!!!) on the levee without my walker, or even a cane! :dancy::spin::yes!::egypdance::yes!: My sweetie followed behind with my rollator in case I needed it. We counted our steps and used that number to calculate the distance.

This was after going out to lunch together, also without using any assistive device (such as walker or cane). I took my rollator walker, but left it in the car on purpose as usual these days.

Then I came home and changed out the ice in my ice machine, once again using no assistive device. And you guessed it - - now, I'm resting and icing for a while. :) He has promised that we can go to the gym for the first time tomorrow, and I don't want to be too sore or swelled at that time.

I have to admit that part of my secret motivation for the walk on the levee, was to demonstrate to him that I can manage without my walker for quite a distance. I want to leave my walker at home when we go to the restaurant (which only involves about 20 feet of walking from the car to the table going in, and another 20 going out). But I want him to feel ok with new things like that before I try them.

OK, I said this was a little thing but for me this is huge. :loveshwr:
 
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You are coming right along with improvements every week! Listening to your knee has really proven to be a positive in your recovery. You are so blessed to have such a caring sweetie following behind you to make sure you're safe! Soon you'll be out there on your own!
 
Thank you, Jockette and Sistersinhim!

Today we are going to return to the gym for the first time. My plan is to try the seated elliptical, which @luvcats has found pretty helpful. But since this is the first time after surgery, I'll just ride it for a couple of minutes at zero resistance and see how that goes. Then I may walk around their (small! 1/14th of a mile) indoor track once, maybe use the arm bicycle for a few minutes, and then call it a day.

I used to love going to the gym "back in the day" so this is pretty exciting for me. But after my less than ideal PT experiences I am going to be very careful not to overdo and do the same thing to myself. I have a portable video game that I can sit and play in the waiting area, while waiting for my sweetie to finish whatever workout he has planned.
 
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And now, today's little victory of the day:

We went to the gym, which has stairs. I haven't been near any stairs since my TKR. I knew I would not be dealing with stairs at home, so my PT never addressed stair climbing skills either.

I walked over to the stairs, grabbed the right hand rail with my right hand as I always have done in the past, and easily walked up, leg over leg as always.

When I started walking down, the first instinct was to step down with both feet on the same step, but I was easily able to correct that and go down leg over leg as well. Just think! My legs and knees knew exactly what to do just like they have known for the past 70 years or so. :old: Imagine that! :heehee:

So now, I can climb up and down stairs perfectly well, with no practice and with zero PT to take credit for that fact. All it took was time to heal. I am now at one day short of 11 weeks.

It was interesting to me that my abysmal knee extension angle, which was never measured as being less than 14 degrees, did not present the slightest problem in stair climbing, either up or down. One more myth busted at least in my case.

The seated elliptical on zero resistance was wonderful! So smooth and easy on my knee, and yet moving it nicely in full rotations. I tried it both forwards and backwards. I reluctantly stopped riding it after about a minute and a half. I feel no pain and swelling, so next time I'll try 3 minutes and see how that goes.
 
You are coming along so well and have an awesome, sensible approach to your rehab.

And stairs foot over foot at only 11 weeks! I’m 2.5 years and have barely regained my ability to do stairs. (but I am struggling with a very poor outcome with my partial)
 
You are coming along so well and have an awesome, sensible approach to your rehab.

And stairs foot over foot at only 11 weeks! I’m 2.5 years and have barely regained my ability to do stairs. (but I am struggling with a very poor outcome with my partial)
Yes, you have had a very tough recovery and outcome with that partial!

I want to drop some happy, encouraging, optimistic thoughts into the forum to cheer people up. Tykey and others have mentioned that they like checking my thread for that kind of optimism and encouragement. Still, I would never wish to discourage those who are having a tough time. I am sorry.
 
So now, I can climb up and down stairs perfectly well, with no practice and with zero PT to take credit for that fact. All it took was time to heal
What a good report! You are coming along really well.
 
Still, I would never wish to discourage those who are having a tough time. I am sorry.
Your upbeat posts don’t come across as discouraging to those of us with poor outcomes, and I’m sorry if I implied that. You are having the kind of recovery everyone should have and it’s a pleasure reading your thread. You’ve had your ups and downs and have come through them with flying colors. I can only hope my eventual revision will come out as well as your TKR has. :flwrysmile:
 
Jockette, I am SO glad that you are thinking about an eventual revision!!! Seriously, you deserve so much better than what you have had to suffer through. :console2:
 
So now, I can climb up and down stairs perfectly well, with no practice and with zero PT to take credit for that fact.
Woohoo!!!!
That is so wonderful!! I'm so excited for you.

The seated elliptical on zero resistance was wonderful!
I'm so glad this worked well for you. Ellipticals have always been my favorite over bikes, even back before my knees tanked. I just posted about using it carefully to get extra stretch after I do my time pedaling.

I love coming here and seeing your positivity. Even on the few occasions less than positive things were happening (like PT!) you're attitude still made everything seem positive and possible. I'm really glad you've been here to share my journey with.
 
Aw, thanks!!!! What a really, really nice compliment and it made my day.

We haven't been to the gym since, because my sweetie's back is out. But next time I do plan to ride the seated elliptical again. I was going to suggest to him that we could just stop by quickly for 3 minutes today, and he could wait while I ride it for 3 minutes. But, right now it's stormy with torrential rains and a high wind advisory, so maybe not. We'll see.
 
Today's little improvements:

1) I am now getting in and out of the car without leaning the seat back or doing any other adjustments to help; and

2) My sweetie says I am walking too fast, faster than he is walking so he has a hard time keeping up with me. The increase in walking speed was unintentional but it makes me so happy to be able to walk with no walker, cane, or other device. When I am happy my stride lengthens, so I am moving faster, and also a smile grows on my face. :)
 
Congrats on your great recovery! Impressive! I’m hoping for knee replacement in Jan or Feb & hope I do as well as you.
 
When I am happy my stride lengthens, so I am moving faster, and also a smile grows on my face. :)
I remember walking in the Walmart parking lot one day when I realized I was walking better and with a faster, more confident pace, and I thought to myself, look at me walking like a normal person!
 
It is so great to hear how happy you are and the lengthened stride coming with your joy and confidence!!! Congratulations! I'm sure your sweetie is very pleased too :SUNsmile: !!
 

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