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TKR DLR recovery #2

@DLR your TKR was a few weeks before mine. I've read your entire journey so far. It helps me see what to look forward to but also how normal my aches and pains are due to TKR. This is the most painful experience I've endured and I'm only 3 days out .. lol. People outside of this forum love to give me tons of advice. I just listen, nod and then do what I feel is right for me. I like your insight. I won't be walking outside of my home because I have the nosiest neighbors who all have an opinion. I told my husband he can drive me to the local park and we can walk there where I won't know anyone.

You sound like you are doing well! Good Job!
 
Waking in a store can be good, also. It’s climate controlled and the shopping cart makes a wonderful incognito walker! :yes!:
 
Sleep is elusive tonight...it’s 4 am and hasn’t happened yet... not pain just cannotget my leg comfortable it always feels like my foot is falling asleep..silly foot the rest of me wants to sleep instead you sleep and keep the rest of me awake:bored:
 
lol. How unfair that your foot can sleep but the rest of you cant!!:sleep:
Hope the rest of you gets to catch up soon
 
Joy77 said:
People outside of this forum love to give me tons of advice. I just listen, nod and then do what I feel is right for me.
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You have the right response! I think most people want to be helpful, but don't have personal experience with a knee replacement, so they are saying only what they have heard! If you want to walk outside your home and your neighbors want to stop and talk, just tell them your PT ordered that you needed to walk more, then just walk away. They can't say anything about that!
 
Hi DLR. I am with Jockette on the mall idea.Have done it myself and it is the best.
Level ground and climate control and the food court with the bathroom right there.

The best is to go a little before the stores open.First I practice walking with the cane and then switch to the shopping cart after to browse.Oh and the best of all no well meaning neighbours with the amazing recovery stories.:gaah::blackcloud:
 
One of the reasons I quit p.t. last week is I couldn't take listening to the people in the waiting area....and since we're sort of on the same schedule, it's the same group each week. There are either the people who want to tell me what I'm doing wrong and what they're doing right - or the people who have horribly sad, depressing stories which go on.....and on......and on. For instance, one fairly young women is in some type of odd "wheelchair" but has to maneuver backwards in it because she can only put one foot on the ground. She was on the table next to me two weeks ago and told me her husband was dying which was ok because he wasn't "any good" and she was living with her father who "still" occasionally beats her but he takes her to therapy. Now her "big problem" is she can't decide between alcohol and religion. ???????? Of course, the father is in the waiting area and always wants to talk to me and I can hardly look at him....he makes his daughter wheel herself backwards to the parking deck and that's a long, long way away. Anyway, last week he told me I should push myself if I didn't want to be a loser. :headbang:

The best thing to do in this recovery is to listen to your knee, trust your common sense and don't listen to anyone who hasn't been through it - or who tells you some stupid story about how they recovered in two weeks. As my OS said "if someone tells you that; they're lying". :eyebrows:
 
Hi, @DLR!
Believe it or not, I also was awake last night - and read your note from 4am also. Sleep is very difficult for me every night. Just can’t get that leg comfortable. For what it’s worth, I have those same pins and needles - leg falling asleep sensations - as you do.
Worst time seems for me to be between around 2 until 4. Usually, I manage to fall asleep after midnight, but wake up around 2:30. From that point on, it’s like I have to see the first glimmers of dawn in the sky before I settle enough to sleep until around 7:30. So, most of my nights I might get a total of maybe 4.5 hours sleep.
So far, since I am a history buff, I have listened to six episodes of Yale University’ s “Middle Ages “ history podcasts. (I think my husband thinks I’m nuts [emoji23]. It wouldn’t be his first choice as an entertaining podcast, [emoji38]). I figure the series will do one of two things: bore me to sleep or entertain me enough to take my mind off the pain!
Actually, it’s been quite good; but doesn’t quite take my mind off the pain.
This difficulty getting a good position and falling asleep is the one aspect of this recovery for which I find I just was not prepared. Heaven knows I should have been with the texts of various people recovering from TKR and having this issue.
Please let me know if you find a good way to get those pins and needles to subside.
Besides night time, I would say I am getting a bit more mobile during the day. Will be happy when my burning pain in my shins and quads gets a lot less. Going to PT tomorrow. Hoping we both get a good night’s sleep tonight, take care Diane.
All the best! Kathy


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
@Kathy0427 thanks for the encouragement. As much as I had read about the sleep issues I too was not prepared for this. My PT was here this morning, I have been pleasantly impressed with her approach. When I mentioned the foot she checked several things but feels it is centred with a back/glut issue. My back because I have some low back degeneration plus having to sleep in the recliner. My Glutes on the one side are weak due to my THR, so she has given me some gentle stretches for my back and a couple simple glute strength stretches. She also suggested heat on my back/glutes. I fell asleep this afternoon on the timed heating pad on my bed and will try again tonight. I will let you know how it goes. Sweet dreams tonight
 
I have a friend who has never had a TKR, but she thinks she knows everything there is to know about it!! I can't tell you how many arguments we had over just about every aspect of my surgery, and of course, she knew everything, (can you sense the sarcasm, lol)!! She feels that because her brother in law had his knees done, she knows everything about a TKR!! It's very difficult to have a conversation with someone like that!! I used to just tune her out when she started arguing me to death, lol!! Bottom line is, listen to your body, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise!!
 
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Good morning all,
Well I am 3 weeks post TKR...incision has healed beautifully, walking is improving I went for 1 km last night. I have baked bread and cookies. Daytime is fairly comfortable spent napping, elevating, icing, with short spurts of activity. Nighttime is still a challenge, I am still in the recliner averaging 4 to 5 hours though occasionally 1 or 2. I am doing gentle home PT. I still have a fair bit of discomfort behind the knee and thigh when bending. My back is still causing problems as well. The biggest thing aside from sleep deprivation is not being able to sit with feet on the floor for any period of time, like in a car or restaurant or church. After about 15 minutes my leg feels like it is filling with fluid ready to explode. I don’t necessarily see swelling but feel it...so I guess it’s not time yet to sit... that part people don’t understand...”you can walk but not sit??” ..but it’s true I can sit with the knee elevated but not down...
I know...be PATIENT:tiredwheel:
 
I hear the same thing…."you can walk but not stand in line?" Standing still for more than 2 minutes makes me want to scream.

Just saw a neighbor who had her tkr 3 weeks ago and she can't bend her leg at all. (Honestly, i'm a little concerned for her). Anyway, mine won't fully straighten and hers won't bend so we wished we could combine the two for a perfect new knee. :) She said this had been a very good lesson for her and that she would never comment, much less criticize, anyone who had any kind of surgery because you "just don't know what it's like until you've been through it". That might be a good idea....little printed cards which we could hand out to people which says something like that when they want to be "helpful".
 
I am exactly the same with walking vs standing still and also can't sit with my foot down. I have only recently been able to sit with my LEFT leg down, for Pete's sake! People who haven't been through this should just keep their opinions to themselves.
 
DLR said:
I don’t necessarily see swelling but feel it...so I guess it’s not time yet to sit... that part people don’t understand...”you can walk but not sit??” ..but it’s true I can sit with the knee elevated but not down...
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Yes, that's normal. It happens to most of us.

Also, you'll probably find that walking is all right, but standing still hurts. Later on, you'll find that you can walk around a supermarket OK, but that standing in line to check out is painful.
 
It's almost counterintuitive what becomes easier early on versus what only gets easier later. Walking before standing. Stairs before sitting. Granted, slow stairs, but still... it feels a little out of order. Take it as it comes, because eventually it all gets there!
 
Made it to church this weekend. Every fall we have a weekend of special services, so I went last night and this morning. I took my collapsible cube and a pillow to elevate my leg. It was good to escape my 4 walls but now I am beat. My dear husband is making lunch will I lay back in my recliner. Afternoon plans..ice, elevate, nap..repeat :)
 
Isn't it wonderful to start getting out of the house? Exhausting - but still good. In another couple of weeks, you'll feel much more normal....tired, but more normal. After 7/8 weeks, I finally feel like my brain isn't quite as fuzzy. My husband said I must be feeling better because the dog isn't following me everyplace I go and i'm starting to fuss at him about the normal "fussing at husband" things. :) :-) (: He is such a good man but it is amazing how he can always make a few things disappear in the house during my tkr's.
 
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