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Bilateral TKR done on Dec 2, 2016<

I'm 7 months out and when in a crowded situation still use a cane. It's so easy to get knocked down and that cane gives me surgery, but also is a sign to others to be careful around me. The more you use your knees, the stronger than will become. As as you become more active, the weight will come off.
 
@hopeforclay, It took me awhile before I felt like I was moving at anything other than a snails pace..I used the walker for the first three weeks but switched to a cane when I got home, the walker was too clumsy around my small apartment. I used the can until about 10 weeks out, especially when I went out. I onlyused it in the house to help me get up from sitting. Getting up from sitting is STILL a challenge if the seat is low! It is not that my legs are weak but it is painful still in my incision sortof a pulling sensation.
Hope you are getting along ok now.
Blessings,
Lene'
 
Hi group, and before i get in trouble for not tying my post together, I cant figure out how to find the old one, so maybe someone boneSMARTER than me can figure it out. haha

I am worried something is wrong in my legs, i feel things popping and snapping and I cannot walk right, I get up, its like a full minute before I can even move, I just cant help but think im never gonna recover right, I do great with exercises, my rom is way good at 130* each leg, and altho painful, theresa nothing I cant do....until, I put my full body weight on them and try to walk, I wobble side to side, like I use to do, and at 300lbs, 5'8", I am not surprised...Im seriously concerned here because my PT says im doing well but I need to try and lose the walker, he commented on my weak gait and try to walk straight vertical, try not to wobble, well, I CANT HELP IT, its either that or fall or stop walking!

My pain is way to high, am I suppose to live on percosets still?

I do my exercises but if i over do walking, I swell up so bad that I cant do anything for the next day, including resting, sleeping!...I am worried, I read that if I dont return after 12 weeks, I could be fired from a job Ive worked long and hard to get a good position, Im a trucker, I climb in and out of my semi 100s of times a day, at this rate I cant even do 6" steps without rything in agony....

my Btkr was on 12/2...I must be restored by 1st of march, able to renew my d.o.t. physical, or im thru, I need answers ..thank you all, Clay
 
seriously, im worried, I cant take this pain much longer, I dont feel like Im doing as well as i need to, i just posted a new whiny post, thanks to all of you with broad shoulders
 
Wow.. 1 March is not even 13 weeks post op.. Can you get an extension? You are in the hardest days of recovery where there is no light at the end of the tunnel and its hard to believe things will get better.

I am 13 weeks out and steps are still a thinking process and there are twinges. Its quite normal for the knee to balloon in response to overdoing it.

This is a tough cookie.. You probably dont want to be 300 lbs and want to work some of it off but working it off is actually backfiring re your knee. Its too early to push for training!

Your pain is telling you that its too much stress. Percocets are not your long term friend.

When I overdo I feel things popping and snapping too.

Perhaps hiking staffs would afford you the lateral stability you seek. I hated my walker!

I think this was your thread..
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/done-on-dec-2-2016.39058/page-3#post-980166
Perhaps you might consider a mod retitling it... As in Truck Driver wants to get back to the Rig!
I'm pulling for you.
 
Hang in there Clay. This is a frustrating journey. I'm still struggling with waddle vs walk but it is getting a bit better. I like the trekking pole idea that worked for me with Machu. I have popping and cracking in Picchu. It recently stopped in Machu. My OS said when the quad recovers and the hamstring and quad rebalance the clicking and popping will stop. I too am still on Tramadol 100mg every 6 hours. Do you have a rollator or an old school walker? My gait was better with the rollator. This will get better, hang in there.


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Just wondering if you aren't overdoing your exercises. You mentioned your pain is way too high. That tells me you may not be resting and icing enough? Perhaps in your worry about your job, you are trying to push recovery along. Too bad your body doesn't really care about your plans!! I totally understand about the trucking job. My ex husband has been a trucker for 10 years, over the road, and it's a hard life. And it's very hard to find local trucking jobs. I am puzzled by the weakness in your legs. Is this just since surgery? Josephine or one of the other mods should be along soon to give you advice. Hang on. Things will get better.


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Great suggestion on the walking sticks. At my gym, there is a walking club consisting of several post op replacements. They use them inside and outside and they told me how much easier it is to walk with them. It's worth a try for sure.


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I'm going to respond here, since your other thread will be merged.
I had the same problem with it being hard to move when I first got up. I found that doing a few glute/thigh squeezes before I stood up, and then a few more before I tried to walk, helped "wake up" my legs before walking. It does get better. I only need to do that now when I get out of bed first thing in the morning. Even now, my first few steps are stiff, but I loosen up after a few steps.

I also was very wobbly when I first tried walking without the walker. I really had to concentrate on walking heel to toe and really extending my stride. I would walk smoothly with the walker, then take short wobbly steps without. That's a normal transition too as you continue to heal and build strength. Transitioning to crutches or walking sticks might be helpful as you work on stability.

I know you are concerned about your job, but you really are still early. Don't cause yourself extra stress and pressure at this point. With my recovery, I seemed to hit major progress points at 6 weeks, 9 weeks, and now at 12 weeks. Pushing too hard right now will just slow your progress.
 
hope4clay said:
seriously, im worried, I cant take this pain much longer, I dont feel like Im doing as well as i need to, i just posted a new whiny post, thanks to all of you with broad shoulders
Click to expand...
Clay, it sounds to me as if you are undermedicated - and possibly doing a bit too much. Let's ask @Josephine for her advice.
 
hope4clay said:
Hi group, and before i get in trouble for not tying my post together, I cant figure out how to find the old one, so maybe someone boneSMARTER than me can figure it out. haha
Click to expand...
You will notice I merged your other thread into this one. Please keep all your updates here. Thanks!
 
thanks all, perhaps I am stiff and struggling from pt, but i have backed off the amount of stuff at home, realizing that it is not beneficial, i am going to look into a walking stick, i hate canes and crutches, and the walker is annoying because its so cumbersome and wide and i cant tote anything that wont fit in a pocket, thanks all, I will keep you all up to date should I receive a much wished for miracle
 
p.s. I only really want the walker when I have to climb up or down the "custom" 6" steps/stairs I built before surgery to allow me to get into my breezeway, and on into my house from the attached garage, at PT I have a new exercise doing stepups onto about a 4 " riser, they are mildly doable, anything more is really hard on my quads, Ive tried to find a happy medium on productive exercise and the opposite that leaves me so depressed, I wanna cry already visioning my job of 20 yrs go away, and/or being forced to purchase their way expensive cobra insurance, I admit I worry too much, and I thank this forum for being there for me and others who are feeling concerned, scared, ect.
I wont feel better until I can get strong enough to grab a vertical bar attached to a semi truck, put my Right foot up on a step basically 18" and another 36"off the ground and pull my 300lbs up and in and repeat this process without wanting to scream in pain. you are right whoever said it doesnt seem like itll ever come, ...also, someone asked if this pain has only been there since surgery and the answer is NO, Ive had lower quad pain and major sensitivity for the last 2 years b4 surgery, because I forced myself to produce injured and seeing no way out until I just absolutely couldnt take it anymore
 
someone asked if i could get an extension beyond 12 weeks, by law the employer doesnt have to hold a job for me, altho I think they would with the understanding is I just havent healed enough, fmla protects for 12 weeks but my short term disability pays up to 20 weeks so maybe thatll keep me in their employ. Ive been there for almost 20 yrs and have a good attendance and dont cause em any problems, we are union and i know others have taken longer so maybe its not an issue
 
@hope4clay- My employer will be using ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) to keep my job open for me. I will be out 16 weeks continuously for both k
TKRs.

Maybe ask your employer about that. The only thing I need to do is have my OS provide me with a disability form stating I need additional recovery time.


01/24/17 LTKR, then RTKR
 
Ask your employer what they need for you to have an extention, a script from your doc may suffice. I'd also ask your doc when you're good to swim, I waited until my OS gave the thumbs up.

You really shouldn't be in massive pain at this point, so either meds are the problem or you're doing far too much. If anything at PT hurts, doing do it again for a week or two. By continuing to hurt from PT you really are extending your recovery. As far as swimming, you need to hold off until your pain is under control because it is very easy to over do in a pool and pay the price days after.

Please take a look at the chart to see if you are over doing it.

https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/activity-progression-for-tkrs.14334/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
hope4clay said:
seriously, im worried, I cant take this pain much longer
Click to expand...
@hope4clay I'd like to ask you some questions if you don't mind, and it would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually - numbered as I have done - in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine)

2. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

3. how swollen is your leg compared to these?
[Bonesmart.org] done on Dec 2, 2016<


4. what is your ROM - that's flexion (bend) and extension (straightness)

5. are you icing your knee at all? If so, how often and for how long?

6. are you elevating your leg. If so how often and for how long?

7. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

8. are you doing any exercises at home? If so what and how often?
This is the most crucial question so please help me by using the format I have left as an example
(which means please make a list and not an essay!)

Exercises done at home
- how many sessions you do each day
- enter exercise by name then number of repetitions of each
etc., etc.

Anything done at PT
- how many times a week
- enter exercise by name then number of repetitions of each
etc., etc.
 
@Josephine, I will answer this as soon as I can, I just read the replies, and Im just too messed up to sit here right now and answer it all, I will say I did wayyyy too much today, without meds, and I am so sore and miserable, I will return, I promise, Clay
 
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