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Bilateral TKR done on Dec 2, 2016<

Perhaps the best thing for me to do is to ice this aching, swelled up knee now and hopefully I get back to where I was? Healing slow and getting the pain under control?

@Josephine, how do you like being my family member and giving me that awesome advise? haha, I hope you didn't mind me doing that. I had to think fast, besides...I felt attacked so I made previsions, lol,

and yes @sistersinhim obviously they do think PT like crazy is essential, yeah I guess, I just wanna be smart and thrifty, I want it all!
 
We all do. We just have to wait for it and follow the mantras on here.
 
My pleasure. I like to think that I'm helping others by my experience. For many, this is a first surgery and have no idea what to expect. Yes, the tkr is much more intense, but the same things apply for all knee surgeries as far as rehab goes.
 
Well done, Clay! You handled yourself very well, in spite of the bossy, nosey nurse, and you are still doing what you feel is best for your knees. :yes!: Take a bow, sir! :yay:

The energy drain that is bothering you is quite normal. It can linger for many months - bother! And, with having both knees done, you have received a double whammy of it. Almost all your body's energy is still being directed towards healing your knees, so there isn't much left for other activities.

Disturbed sleep is a given, too. That will settle down as time passes. Try not to worry about it, but find something you can do during waking hours, such as reading, watching mindless TV etc, so that you don't make it worse by worrying.
It helps if you can go to another room, so that you don't disturb anyone else. I used to put the TV on, volume low, room lights low, and watch the most boring programme I could find. I often fell asleep like that and woke a few hours later, with the TV still going.
 
thanks @Celle , I really appreciate that, and wanted to share that ...my wife and I have elected to have different rooms through all this because of all the interruptions and my random waking and all that, she still has to get up and go to work, and I have been up and awake with her every single day since surgery, many days I am awake waiting for her to get up and bring me coffee, how sweet! i do leave the tv on all nite and keep it down, it works pretty well.
 
It's quite normal to have ups and downs at this point in your recovery. So yes, take tonight to ice, elevate,rest and see how the knee feels tomorrow.

As far as PT goes, read Josephine's thread and try to stick to the activity progression chart. My dad had two TKRs 15 years apart. Both times he quit PT after two weeks because of the expense and he felt he could do everything they had him doing at home plus be in less pain. My dad had two great recoveries! My case was a little,different because I hadn't been allowed to bend my knee for a month, but I had very gentle, understanding PTs. Luckily I also had great health insurance that covered all my PT.
 
I know i need to ice more and be patient. one of my issues is that I need a less frustrating method of icing, specifically in the area of the mechanism itself.
I get frustrated because what we have kinda sucks. Ice in a ziploc that won't stay in place. or the thing I got at the pharmacy the round accordian looking thing that leaks. I have trouble keeping whatever on the spot. Does anyone have a cool idea to address these issues
 
Once you have a rough idea of what exercises help and what doesn't, you don't need to be seen to be doing them. Your ROM is really good. Rethinking your dietary input could have a massively beneficial effect. Its not surprising that you're tired, you're not sleeping much! Also there's a whole lot of healing going on.
Do you need to go to the gym?
 
I try to go to the gym so I can ride the bike next to my wife and get out of this house. Haha. Cabin fever and all that.

Ok. How long ahould I be icing?
What kind of activities should I be able to perform? and what do I do keep my spirits up? Thank you all
 
Ice for at least 40 minutes at a time, but I iced for at least an hour. I didn't know about BoneSmart, but looking back I found that my recovery followed the activity progression chart very closely. Take a look to see what types of things you should be doing. Your wife will be very happy to hear about the ironing etc! :heehee: But just equate that time with other things you may do that are similar.

https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/activity-progression-for-tkrs.14334/
 
I bought 6 gel packs from the pharmacy for icing. I used two at a time, one in the front of my knee and one at the back, and I always kept the spares frozen.
As they soften slightly, the gel packs can be bent a little, so that they conform to the knee shape. Then, they tend not to slide out of position.

I still have those gel packs in the bottom drawer of my freezer. My grandchildren use them for bumps and bruises.
 
I sewed a Couple of simple pouches with Velcro on the ends that I pop my homemade ice packs in and wrap around.
 
hello friends again,
Im checking in as usual, lol, I need more insight, errrr!

The wife and I got up Sunday am, decided we wanted to go to our church, (1st time since I got home from surgery and rehab hospital 12/12/16)...did pretty well, it was good to see everyone. Afterwards, we went to a couple of grocery stores where we shop healthy foods, etc., each store I couldn't make it through and had to force my way back out to the vehicle and wait for the Mrs.

Maybe 10 minutes on my legs, they began with all the weird clicking and popping from odd areas what seemed just all over below the knees, above and in some connecting areas in the hip, lower back?? Not painful mind you, but like a playing card in the bicycle spokes kinda thing, (as I lumber HEEL TO TOE, HEEL TO TOE), very irritating and unwelcoming, GOD how I miss my normal knees before all of this damage and enduring pain and then surgery!

Anyways, that's not the worst part. 3-5 minutes into all this sauntering through a grocery store, I'm already wishing we were done and hoping I can just endure this small grocery run and half way through, I have to give up because I have to sit down, so I hobble out to the vehicle with all the energy and stamina I can muster, barely making it into my vehicle before I nearly fall down, so frustrating!!!

I quit PT all last week and I'm doing my exercises last week, IM SO awesome at them all! I'm convinced that I'm gonna be great everyday, but shortly I'm duped with frustration and mental anguish as I realize I am not getting there fast enough. Walking around my house is still brutal, and I develop random new pains in various areas of my legs, lower back, ankle areas, knees of course, and as much as I wanna go some distance, I cannot.

I'm sorry for what sounds like my continual whining and worrying but I just can't handle this stuff very well. I'm just glad I have some of you to rant to. I don't know how I would have done without you. I'm post op 8 weeks and 3 days, 295lbs, 5'9". I am so sick of hurting and walking with a side to side shift, (unless i use the walker) because I have to unless I wanna walk so slow that my 2 yr old granddaughter can easily pass me up.

Anything I do? I still can't go long or far. I hope my rants help someone, I really do.
 
Oh dear. Sounds like you packed too much into one day. Just going to church was maybe enough? I did a big shop on Saturday then a ladies tea party in town and fell sound asleep at 6pm. I was wiped out and I'm at 13 weeks out.
Pain varies. It seems important for me not to be in any one position for any length of time. I need to move a bit to 'oil' my knee. I don't do any physio exercise except a few times a day I turn from my desk and have a little pedal on my pedaller device.
Sounds like you've shed a bit of weight. Got to be for the best. I tried on my jeans today. I've been sitting around eating for months now. Guess what? They fitted. Can't believe it but not complaining!
Keep on keeping on!
 
I'm gonna combine 2 walkers and make one with wheels all the way around. I'm stable enough I don't need the dragging legs on the back, I just wanna go for a walk down my street and see if I can get some exercise that way. I think that I'm using a lot of my limited energy pushing that dumb thing every gait and maybe I can glide a little better this way.

I had tennis balls on the back of one of my walkers but have ground the fuzzy off the balls and having gotten tired of that drag and a general desire to get off the dumb thing I decided to park it and go without, either with nothing or my cane, since then, I find that I'm exhausted and probably need to take the walker with me some more.

Also, I have what I think is a form of ADD or something. I cannot seem to organize my thoughts and categorize stuff in my head so it makes all of this just that much more frustrating.

Anyways I wanted to say that to explain some of my ongoing somewhat seemingly repeats of my rants...also I am a brat that has had it too good for too long, worked like a man possessed and without limits and now I am just not adjusting well, love you all, thanks
 
When you were grocery shopping, were you the one pushing the cart? In my early days of shopping, I always pushed the cart, since it could also serve as a walker.

Also, the stamina will come with time. When I first started driving and running errands, I could shop for only 10-15 minutes at a time before I was achy and exhausted. The next week or two, I worked up to 15-20 minutes, and I slowly rebuilt my stamina. It didn't all come at once.
 
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I am not sleeping, I've tried melatonin, advil and tylenol PM, also prescribed sleep aids I discovered, are more for depression and "may cause drowsiness", lol, all of which have resulted in my maximum 4 hrs sleep. Now I wanna mention, I don't think its totally because of the legs, I get quite comfortable in my bed, I sleep in almost any position, pillow between the knees and all whatever, but its my stupid CPAP mask that keeps me awake, now, I wake up, warm air, or my own hot breath in it, I need a different mask but haven't found one that I like. Man I am going through a ton of stuff, lol
 
The confusion you were writing about is known as brain fog. We all had it. Mine was so bad it was months before I could go back to teaching Sunday School. Don't worry about that. Your body is concentrating on healing your knees. The brain fog slowly goes away.
 
So, your post above makes me think you didn't read the activity progression chart I left. Here is week 6-10.

Weeks 6 and onward - add to previous
Start taking car trips to the shops but keep them short and sweet at the start, no longer than 15-20 minutes
Take at least one 5 minute rest while you are out.

Activity: a very little ironing, washing, meal prep but get someone else to clear up after. Wash up but someone else clears the table, brings you the dirty dishes, dries and puts them away after, NOT you!!

Week 10 add to previous
Bed making and changing sheets, cleaning bedrooms etc., can wait now by which time, all things being well, you should pretty much start getting back to normal but don't rush it. If you do and you start getting pain and stiffness in your knee, that's a sign your knee doesn't appreciate what you're doing, that you're rushing ahead too fast. Slow down, right down, and start again. This stage might last until week 14 or even 16 but if it takes a even longer, don''t worry about it.

Progress can sometimes take longer for bilaterals. My doc said I may not feel 100% for a year. You are almost at 8 weeks, so walking several grocery stores AND church is toooooo much! At 12 weeks one grocery store was possible, but did me in on days I was also working part time. There is nothing, including exercise that will speed up this process. Your body is recovering from a traumatic surgery x2, it will take time for your body and mind to recuperate.

When I returned to church at 2 months post op I needed to prop my leg up because an hour of letting my leg hang down meant pain and swelling. Have you thought about moving from a walker to a cane? It's good to transition from lots of support in the walker to half the support in a cane before going to no support.
 
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