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TKR Cherie's Post-Op TKR Questions and Observations

Earlier I had posted to try micropore tape. Once getting to Hawaii I started to use the Mepitac silicone cover to prevent sun exposure to the incision line. It is great!

@cslasor my OS recommended Mepitack 2cm x 3m as sun protection. I think it would be great for protecting a healed incision from fabrics. You can rinse and air dry and reuse!
 
LTKR 5 Month (22 weeks) Post-Op Status Report

Time for the next update. Progress continues, but at a slow pace. I rarely notice changes week-to-week but do notice small changes month-to-month. First the bad - the knee still swells and hurts when I walk to the mailbox (about 600 feet each way). Maybe I don't get enough exercise? I work, but it's a desk job at home so I don't even get to walk between the car and an office, or down the hall to the bathroom, or anything like that. My house, and pretty much everywhere else I go, is 1 story so I very rarely get to go up or down stairs. I haven't done a very good job of making myself go to the gym and I'm thinking I need to start doing better with that. Or at least walk to the mailbox more often than once a week (but the knee swells and hurts for several days afterwards so it's hard to force myself to go more often).

It's still painful when I first stand up after sitting for a bit, and I doubt that will go away anytime soon. My first few steps make me look like a 160 year old instead of a 60 year old, but after a bit it loosens up and I can walk almost normally. Still having pain in the non-operated knee and the hip on that side, but I'm trying to keep this update confined to the operated knee. I'll complain more about those joints when I get them replaced. :yikes:

The good news, though, is the leg spasms have pretty much stopped. With the exception of one particularly bad spell a couple of nights ago, I haven't had spasms for a few weeks now. In the last month I've only had to sleep in the recliner 1 night and several nights I've gotten several hours of uninterrupted sleep! It's probably about 50-50 on good sleeping nights vs bad sleeping nights, but that's a definite improvement. I rarely take anything to help me sleep so sometimes even though I'm a bit sore when laying in bed I do still seem to get better quality sleep than when I take a pill. The exception was the spasm night, when I finally took a Percocet to calm things down. Still, I'd have to say the 5-month mark will be about the time I started sleeping almost normally again. It still depends a lot on my cat, but that has nothing to do with knee surgery......

So now I'm about a month away from a week-long cruise with the family that has been planned for 2 years. It'll be a LOT of walking - especially since our cabins are at the very back end of the ship - and I'm trying to decide whether to rent a wheelchair just so I'll have it in case it gets hard to get to the dining room. Heaven forbid I miss a meal!!!! :heehee:

That's about it for now. I'll post a 6 month update (or as close to 6 months as I can get, considering I'll be CRUISING :happydance: ) and then I'll be probably getting my RTKR so I'll have a whole new set of complaints!
 
BTW, @Red's Mom , thanks for the suggestion of Mepitack. If the weather is cool enough in April when I do my RTKR I may need to wear long pants and protecting the incision from my clothes will be important.
 
I hope you enjoy your cruise! I went on one last month and it was great. Let me make a suggestion to you based upon my experience. My tkr leg and knee still swells after a bit of walking so I tried to elevate as often as possible. We chose excursions that were easier for me to do. ( well except for the cataraman sailing and snorkeling). My main problem was my old knee. I found that it hurt much more during my vacation. I needed to have my 'sea legs'. I used all the muscles in both legs just to stand on the ship when cruising. My old knee got very painful. I wish I had a cane with me. Besides a cane the other thing you should pack is an ice pack or two. You can throw them in the refrigerator in your cabin so they are available at the end of the day. If you rent a wheelchair check with the cruise line for the correct dimensions for it.

Last thing I have to add. HAVE A GREAT TIME!!
 
Thanks, @newlybionic! I was planning to take the cane - if nothing else it helps explain why I'm waiting for an elevator instead of taking the stairs. What problems did you have with snorkeling? We are planning on a snorkel excursion and I was worried about climbing back into the boat after the snorkeling, but wasn't worried about snorkeling itself. Of course, who knows how hard the walk to/from the boat will be, or getting into/out of the boat at the dock. But now that I think about it, that excursion is supposed to pick us up straight from the ship (we're tendered at that port) so maybe there will be very little walking at all.

Our other excursions involve sitting on the beach at a resort and riding in a bus to the Mayan ruins (where I will do as little or as much walking around as I feel like). The 4th stop we don't have any excursions planned, but there will be lots of taxis to take me where I want to go. No matter what, it'll be a week away from everything and spending time with the family - especially the grandkids.
 
With the snorkeling getting on and off the cataraman was the hardest part. On one of them I had a lot of difficulty because there were no hand rails and they were very big steps. The other one was easier to get on. The one that was difficult that staff didn't even want to help at all. I couldn't sit out in the 'netting' between the pontoons because I wouldn't have been able to get up from it. I did have a great time even with the restrictions. I always took the elevator.

One last thing is that they do a 'muster' drill where everyone must report to the area of the ship that you are assigned to in case of emergency. We were standing there for quite a long time. You were not to use the elevators. Give the cruise lines a call and see how they can accommodate you.
 
About the muster drill: I go to it early, using the elevator to get to the correct floor, before they sound the call to muster. And afterwards, I find somewhere comfortable and wait until the crowds have gone and I can use the elevators again. At the muster, I go towards the back of the crowd and lean on the wall. If standing for too long starts to hurt, I sit down slowly on the deck.
 
That's a good point about the muster drill. The last couple of cruises I was lucky enough to have our drill station in one of the lounges, but even then it can be hard to get a seat. I'll call the cruise line and ask about that. Thanks for the reminder!
 
LTKR 6 Month Post-Op Status Report

Time for my (probably) last update on this TKR. I'm now at the 6 month point and I'd say I'm about 70% back to normal.

First, the bad.
  • My knee is still swollen, probably because I don't ice it very often any more.
  • Standing up after sitting for a while is still an adventure and I have to stand there for a minute or two before I start walking. If I'm in public I usually pretend to be messing with my purse or something before starting to walk so I don't look so OLD. At home I just groan and hobble until the knee starts working properly again.
  • When I lay in bed, straightening my leg out completely takes a little effort and it's only comfortable for a short period of time and then I bend it again.
  • Stairs are still difficult, and I wouldn't want to take more than 1 flight at a time, but they are do-able if I really want to.
  • I still avoid kneeling on it so I can't say whether that would hurt or not.
  • The knee is still sore on the outside, sometimes very sore, but that doesn't seem to interfere with my life.

Now, the good.
  • The leg spasms have pretty much disappeared. Occasionally my knee will give a quick jerk but that's it, and it's rare for that to happen.
  • Any sleep problems I have seem to be unrelated to the TKR knee (more on that below).
  • I'm working in the garden again, although I'm very careful with getting up and down.
  • I can sit, walk, and pretty much do everything normally, at least as far as the TKR knee goes.
  • I can walk to the mailbox and back with minimal pain in the TKR knee.
  • I'm confident that by the 1-year mark I'll be close to 100% restored.
Having said all that, my non-operated knee and the hip on the non-operated side are still giving me fits. I've been dealing with the knee for years so I'll probably schedule an appointment to replace it when I see my doctor next week for my 6-month followup. The hip is a relatively new thing I've only been dealing with for the last year or so, and I'll probably have to go through a lot of doctor visits and shots and things before the insurance company will agree to a replacement. The first appointment for that isn't until May. But those things (especially the hip) are what makes sleep difficult since laying on my side or moving around in bed is painful.

Of course, once I get back from the cruise I might have a different story about my TKR knee. That might set me back a bit. :wink:

So, it looks like next month I'll be back to square one with another brand new knee, and at some point in the next couple of years I'll probably be replacing a hip. It'll take a couple of years but at some point I should be in pretty good shape and can hope to spend my retirement years doing some of the things I've been dreaming of. That's the goal at least.

Good luck and best wishes to everybody dealing with a joint replacement. It is painful (take your meds and ice!!!!) and frustrating and you will learn a lot about yourself and your ability to deal with things, but it should be worth it in the end. Thanks to everybody on BS for the advice, suggestions, encouragement, and companionship. It is so helpful to know I am not alone. I have recommended this site to several people I've encountered over the last 6 months and I hope they have gotten as much good out of it as I have.
 
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I think the opposite hip tends to act up after a knee replacement. I read that on here many times. Mine has done it, too. I'm 9 months out and am about 85% there, I think. Of course, I can still have some days that are worse than others when I overdo. But, no more arthritis pain! I have to have the other knee done sooner or later, but I'm holding it off as long as possible. Just remember, each new month will be better for you!
 
I thought I'd come back and give an update on how my 6-month-old knee handled the cruise. Overall I'd say it was worse than I hoped and better than I feared. Our cabin was at the very aft (back) of the ship while the Windjammer buffet was at the very front and even though it wasn't a real big ship (Rhapsody Of The Seas) it was still a lllooonnnggg walk from one end to the other. It seemed to be my hip that hurt more than the knee, but it was a painful week. Still, I did manage to get around and even took a flight of stairs once or twice.

The muster drill was tough. I was able to take the elevator there and back, but during the drill I had to stand out on the deck. I got there early, hoping to find someplace I could sit while I waited, but no luck. Getting there early just meant I had to stand longer. I did get to lean on a wall but after a half hour or so my knees were really hurting.

Snorkeling didn't work out too well. The strain of moving my feet with the flippers was just too much, plus I had left my own mask and snorkel on the ship and had to use one of the tour group's and it just didn't fit right. It was a guided snorkel tour that they said would take an hour and I knew I couldn't handle it that long so I just went back to the boat and waited. It worked out for the best, though, since I found a 4 year old boy on the boat whose parents had gone off snorkeling and left him alone on the boat. Well, alone with the crew and a couple of people like me who couldn't snorkel, but with absolutely nobody he knew. He looked so sad, staring at the water watching everybody snorkeling so I used my best grandmotherly charms and talked to him and got him to smile and then we had a good time. I still can't imagine a parent leaving a small child alone on a boat with a bunch of strangers but I'm not going to judge. I'm just glad I was there to help keep him entertained and safe.

Other than all that, though, the cruise was fantastic. Got to spend quality time with the family and did plenty of relaxing. I wish my knee (and hip) had cooperated more, but I just dealt with it. I'm hoping by my next cruise in October this knee will be right as rain. Of course, if I have the other one operated on then I'll have to deal with it, but that's a worry for another day.

Thanks to everybody for the advice and support.
 
Reading about your cruise is very informative and helpful! I'm having BTKR on May 10. Cruising is my family's great vacation pastime. For 15 years, until this year, we cruised at least once a year and sometimes twice. On our last cruise, I was the saddest person. I could barely walk around the ship, something I love to do, and could not handle any shore excursion beyond walking off the ship for a sightseeing bus. And I kept retreating to our cabin so I could use my cold packs (I tipped the steward well to bring me extra ice I put in plastic bags and stashed in our fridge). My poor husband tried to make me feel better by staying with me, but then I felt guilty. So hearing about how much you are able to do post-TKR is so encouraging! It's still early days for you, but you gave your knee a good workout and appear to have enjoyed your cruise. And yes, cruisers do NOT miss meals! LOL
 
I'm glad you were able to have some fun on your vacation. This recovery can take a whole year, so you were brave to go away. I missed my beach vacation the year of my TKR because I was worried about walking in the sand.
 
I did the same and went on a cruise after my first knee at about 9 months. I can say the extra few months made a huge difference for me as I was able to do a fair amount of walking and going up and down stairs. My knee would get tired, but I just rested when that happened. And I was still gaining some of my ROM at that point so things like bending down to pick up something was a bit of a challenge. But all in all, the cruise was a wonderful reminder that my new knee was going to make my life better. And it has!! In fact, both my fake knees are great!!!
 
I'm afraid I could use some cheering up. Or encouragement. Or reassurance. Or something.

At almost 8 months post-op I'm feeling like my knee is regressing. It feels more swollen and hurts more than it did a couple of months ago. I suppose it could be because the knee and hip on the other side are hurting more (surgery on other knee is scheduled for May 18) and maybe I'm walking strangely because of that, and that could be causing pain. Or maybe I'm just taking a long time to recover from the cruise a month ago. Or maybe I'm just trying to think up a possible reason for it.

The operated knee is always sore along the outside edge. I can bend it to at least 120 but when I straighten it out it hurts a lot. I know it was better a couple of months ago. Together with the pain in the other knee and hip it is very hard to walk, especially after sitting for a while. I had stopped using the electric shopping cart at the grocery store a couple of months after surgery, but now I have to use it again. I haven't slept more than 3 or 4 hours a night in a couple of months. I was doing so well with the sleeping and now I just can't get comfortable. The only way I get any sleep is to take a Percocet at bedtime - but I only have 2 pills left so until I have my next surgery I'll just have to do without.

I saw the OS a couple of weeks ago and he said everything looks perfect as far as the replacement joint goes. It's just so depressing to be so far into the healing process but feel like my "progress" is in reverse. It's embarrassing too, moving around like a very, very old woman. I can't help but wonder if it's my own fault - I haven't exercised much so maybe the operated knee is stiffening up. So there is guilt mixed in here. Oh, and the lack of sleep definitely drags me down.

Has anybody else encountered such a setback this far into the process? At this point all I can do is hope replacing the other knee and getting steroid shots in the hip will help, but for now I'm really unhappy and could use some words of advice from fellow BoneSmarties.....
 
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If your hip is painful it can certainly cause pain in your leg. I've been walking the last few months but because I need my left knee replaced my hip sometimes bothers me while on my walk and I know it's due to my gait. If you're making accommodations for a hip or knee it's going to effect other parts of your body. Everything is connected, needing to work together.

I believe that outside edge you mention would be your soft tissue. I know I would throw an ice pack on my knee after long days on my feet even at 7-8 weeks. We could tag Jo to ask you her questions if you like. Let me know.
 
I'm sorry that your having such difficulties. Please ask/beg your doctors for more pain medication so you can get some decent rest pre-op. Going into a TKR exhausted will only be another challenge. I'm 6/5 months out. As I have gained strength and endurance gentle stretching has become even more important. If I don't stay on top of stretching my IT bands get very tight and achy. Do you still ice or elevate? Unfortunately everything is connected and that darn arthritis pain just rockets through our whole body. Hopefully the second knee and steroid injection in the hip will bring you some much needed relief. I'll be sending healing vibes your way.
 
@KarriB - thanks for the reply but let's not bother Jo just yet. I'm going with the assumption this is a temporary setback caused by my other knee/hip issues, and possibly by not enough stretching, ice, and elevating, and it will get better once I get the other knee done. If it doesn't improve then it might be time to ask Jo.

@Red's Mom - thanks to you too. I'm going to try to make it to the next surgery with 1000 mg of Tylenol 4 times a day, and if that doesn't do it then maybe I'll call and see if one of my doctors will prescribe something else. Maybe Tramadol? It's just a little over 2 weeks until the next surgery so I think I can make it. As for stretching, I probably haven't been doing enough but I've started the pre-op exercises for the upcoming knee surgery and I do all the exercises on the already-operated leg too. Some of the exercises hurt and I do swell up and ache the next day but maybe the stretching will help so I'm doing it anyway. And I'm trying to do more icing and elevating. For a while it didn't seem like the operated knee needed it more than a couple of times a week, but with the backsliding I've had to go back to doing it several times a day.

...sigh... I knew this was a roller coaster, I just expected the ride to even out a bit as I got closer to the end. Oh well.

Thanks for the help!
 
It's very easy to overdo even 8 months out as the soft tissues around the knee can be sensitive. I found just trying to be too active with walking or yard work etc; particularly if going from nothing for a few days to very active would increase aches and soreness.
 
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