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TKR Ellejay's recovery threads, first and second

@yiayia3, good luck with the dental treatment, I haven't had root canal treatment, hopefully it sounds worse than it is.
Isn't it exciting, getting the motor home ready, we were packing things back into our caravan yesterday now we have it back from the dealer. We will use it for Easter and the May Day weekend, both times we are meeting different friends who also have caravans. It's a good way of keeping up with friends without having to entertain them :cheers:. We are hoping to leave for France mid May and probably not return until mid July. My daughter has agreed to stay in our house for us, it's a holiday for her, and more importantly her house rabbits get to enjoy some time in the garden. When do you hope to leave for Greece? We're like a flock of migrating birds, suddenly the knees improve, the weather gets warmer and we're off! :happydance:.
We are off again on Friday, to Anglesey for a week, it's a long drive, so lots of stops to stretch my leg. Have a wonderful time in Sussex, I like the idea of a house on the beach.
@robynhood, Port Isaac is beautiful, we didn't get there this trip, but have done on previous visits. It was quite sobering to see so many properties still boarded up, to see beaches completely stripped of their sand, and in Porthleven there are still no boats at all even in the inner harbour,those recent storms did so much damage down there.
@NetballKnees, I didn't realise you had posted on here - I sent you a long reply over on your thread xxx
 
Hi Ellejay please let me know how you get on in Anglesey as regards going out for days and places to go. I haven't been to the caravan yet we have on site. My husband bless him has been up most weekends laying flags around the caravan and making it safer for me. The nearest beach is Red Wharf Bay to us and its suposed to be lovely there in the warmer weather. As regards to phone communication it's really bad where we are. Not very often we get a signal from Vodafone . Hope you have a glorious time and hope the weather is kind to you. My first visit will be Easter and I'm really looking forward to it.
 
Hi @Ellejay - gosh, talk about busy, busy .... First Cornwall, then Anglesey and then off to France! So nice to hear that you are getting back to 'gentle normality'. Just take care and don't overdo. I'm so glad that the house rabbits will get a holiday too!
All plans for us are on hold at the moment - I have lost all confidence, not in the knee joint itself, but for forward planning. Things are slowly returning (still some way to go though) but I made plans before and we all know what happened .... so I am just going to be spontaneous now. I am quietly (ssshhhh) planning to go down to our other house for Easter - but that's not a definite.
It's not only me that is tiptoeing around this '2nd recovery' - I think the PTs are erring on the side of caution, whereas the first time round they were a bit more gung-ho and up for mutual progression. I think they know that for my sanity we have got to take no chances this time, so we are going slow and steady.
@yiayia3 hope the root canal went OK - after TKR it must have been a breeze! (Only joking - not nice at all, and hope you are not in any pain). I was due to have the second part of my implants done last week - but I am ashamed to say I wimped out. I figured I had enough to cope with, without having my gums cut open to reveal the bits ready for the new 'teeth' to be fitted. Luckily there is no time constraint so I can wait until I am ready - but I have been told I do not need any antibiotics this time, although I did for the insertion of the implants.
Well guys - take care and talk to you again soon

X
 
@dogwheels, I can understand that you don't want to plan anything, knowing what has happened to your recovery, but I do hope you manage to get to the coast for Easter, it is so lovely to escape the same surroundings.
@robynhood, I will certainly let you know what we did in Anglesey, apparently the house has wifi, so I might even manage updates whilst I'm there. It is outside Beaumaris, completely on it's own somewhere,so I hope we manage to find it.
@yiayia3 , how did the trip to the dentist go, hope all is well.
Hi @Karringtyn, how are you today, continuing to stand tall and straight I hope.

I have just driven round the M25 (the motorway that goes around London) for an hour each way to visit my daughter in law and grandson, it's the longest I've driven so at the last minute my husband decided he had to come in case my knee couldn't cope. It was really sweet of him to come,as he had things planned, and in the end it was unnecessary as I managed the drive both ways myself. Never mind, our grandson enjoyed having grandad as well.
Take care everyone, speak soon xxx
 
Hi @Ellejay - well done you for 2 lots of driving and on the M25! My current nightmare is that I decide to drive and get caught in a bad traffic jam. Physio says no driving for a week or so, as I am still uncomfortable and fidgety in the car. Have to get that sorted soon though, as at the beginning of May I have to drive back from our house in Dorset as husband is helping to sail our friends boat from there, either to France or Spain. He will then fly back, so I will need to drive the car back here. I cant decide whether to drive my car which is a 4 x 4, which means climbing in and sitting normally or my husbands sporty job which involves sitting low down and driving with your legs out much straighter. Whatever I decide I think it will be a late night or early morning drive to avoid getting stuck in a jam - I am turning into a real wimp!
Hope you have a lovely time in Wales. I should have a nice peaceful weekend as sailing season has started and so husband is going down on Saturday and racing Sunday. I was thinking of going with him the following weekend but I am 'rat-sitting' Gilbert, as my daughter is away too, so I think it may be Easter after all before I get back down there. Fingers X'd.
Oh well, hydro yet again tomorrow and then physio on Monday. I have started using my 'bike wheels' but need to sit a long way back as I am so stiff. Other than that I am just doing lots of bending exercises, little and often, at every opportunity!
Take care, hope you get your packing done and have a good trip up to Anglesey. Enjoy the break and talk soon.
X
 
Can anybody help solve a question I have, maybe @Josephine would be the most knowledgable - we all talk on here of the agony of bone on bone in our knees, but if there are no nerves in the bones what causes the pain? Whilst waiting for a TKR at this stage, what would be the best combination of meds?
 
Oh trust me, bone has sensory nerves! As does cartilage. They may not be very prominent but they are very effective!
 
Thanks for that answer, I've been wondering for a while about that.
Have been doing a bit of walking during the day and finding that my operated knee is behaving so much better than the other one, no trouble at all, but last night it reminded me that it still wants attention - it kept me awake for hours, with pain all the way down my shin. I'm in a holiday house with friends so I didn't like to get up so I just lay in bed in pain. If it does that again I might have to think of going back to the Tramadol at bedtime. It's fine this morning but I won't do so many exercises just in case.
 
You are doing incredibly well Ellejay. Motivation and positive post op rehabilitation is key to recovery. I've met so many other patients during my three year struggle who can't be bothered in either attending outpatient physio sessions and/or completing their home exercise programme. You have set yourself goals and this is positive. I remember my OS telling me that during any knee replacement process, he will do 30% of the work during surgery but I will have to put in the additional 70% of the work thereafter to ensure any success.

Pain management is also crucial. Keep on top of pain otherwise you'll suffer! Don't be a martyr and think if you are having a good day that you don't need it. PM is important as you progress towards a full physio programme. All the other advice from the members here are key, Jamie in particular has said it all. I wish I found this site sooner.

I'm glad you are taking up the offer of the physio programme at the private hospital. The NHS physios are overworked and can't spend as much time with you as the would like. A 10-20 minute one day a week session is not enough. Do report anything you are not sure about, don't be afraid to say anything, they are going to be your best friend for as long as you need them to be! If you are offered hydrotherapy take it (once your wound has fully healed). I find this particularly beneficial. I believe that you work a lot harder in the water than in the gym, I'm not saying that you should avoid the gym, this too is crucial in your recovery.

I agree with what you said, I too had my NHS treatment at a private hospital. I felt like lady muck!

Keep up the good work, you are early days and each day brings it's new challenges as you continue on your long road to recovery.
 
Hi Ellejay - just wanted to drop you a note and tell you that of all the recoveries I've read so far...I want yours! Not painless, no - but steady progress without too many pitfalls.

I agree you are likely doing a bit much but I'd be lying if I didn't foresee me in the same circumstance. I've already been working out what kind of yoga I can adapt to suit me the soonest! Legs up the wall is a yoga pose I'm a fan of already and can see would be ideal. Were you doing Pilates right up to the TKR?

My left knee is also on the jenky side, just gets ignored, currently, as the last I knew it still had some cartilage in there but I am concerned how it will respond during the rehab process...I'm really hoping it behaves!

Bone on bone pain is the pits, isn't it? I've given up trying pain meds for that, I've found nothing that works...probably because its nerve pain. I know they make meds specifically for nerve pain but they work by interrupting the nerves and that can cause it's own kind of havoc so I've avoided it.

At any rate - I hope you are enjoying your travels and well deserved reward of a relatively well-behaved knee new knee!
 
Thank you @TexasTee, what a lovely post. I have been very lucky I think, not as fast as some, but not as eventful as others either. I have been lucky also in having the very best husband in the world who has supported me through the whole thing, and still is. We went for a glorious walk today, I was so proud of myself that I walked up stiff footpaths, around cliffs, but he was there for me every step, hovering, with a hand for support when needed. I suspect that my 'other' knee is almost bone on bone, I was hoping to wait until next winter to have it done, and hopefully I will be able to survive on cortisone injections until then. I was attending Pilates classes up until about three months before my TKR, but then we had a three week trip to India, then it was Christmas, so I was doing what I could on my own. I did attend the gym for the two weeks between Christmas and the op.
@Sharmichem, thank you for your message, it was lovely to hear from you........
you are early days
Click to expand...
.....
I forgot to say earlier, you'll feel liberated when the clips are out
Click to expand...
but I think you may have me confused with someone else though as I am 12 weeks post op and getting back to normal life now.
 
Der...... Forgive me, I'm a bit dim! I'm still trying to navigate my way around this great site! I was reading someones thread who was having their clips out! I must have cumberland sausage fingers and pressed on your thread by mistake.......... :blush: I need chocolate, it helps me concentrate!
 
@Sharmichem, no problem at all, it was lovely of you to pop in, please come back for more chats. By the way, is there anything that chocolate doesn't help? :heehee:
 
Thanks Ellejay - I was hoping that would be your answer regarding exercise. There is part of me that wonders if I should just wait until I really can't do anything anymore - almost immediately I realize that is stupid then I think of what I'm deliberately deciding to do and then I repeat the cycle! From what I've seen in the journals I've reviewed so far is that those that didn't wait to the point of desperation seem to recover with less drama so I'm trying to keep that paramount.

You're quite lucky to have such a great protector! But one that also lets you spread your wings. I, too, have a wonderful husband but he's barely a month on the job so it seems a bad bargain to give him a such a trial so early in. It doesn't help (should, but doesn't!) that he had a cycling accident last fall and broke his collar bone and required a plate and 6 screws. He was back at work...wearing a TIE (I did tie it, under supervision) in under a week. I'm very much afraid he is thinking of the TKR along the same lines. Kindof makes me wish I'd done this when I was still married to the Nurse...an ortho nurse at that!! :loll:
 
@Chihuahuan - good call! He loves utube videos and I can legitimately say I'm nervous to watch it so he needs to watch it first...blech, hope he tells me not to bother, I'd hate to have to actually watch it! You know - I did stitch up my own knee once so I'm not a punk but watching someone saw into my bones....no thanks!

You know- it's actually not so bad that I'm not married to the nurse, we're still friends and HE is marrying another nurse so I kinda get two, for one. Or maybe not...He came over when my friend was recovering from the ankle replacement to look at her nerve block and my now husbands dog Peter bit him in the butt. It was almost not funny...ok, yeah, it was!
 
Hi @Ellejay. I liked your question to Josephine. I'm having a similar problem. Oh you are doing so well I hope thatAnglesey has been fun for you. I hope that you are keeping well?

I was just having a read of the lovely posts on here x x x x.
 
Having had two fantastic breaks where I've done lots of walking but no gym sessions, no bike, no swimming, no elevating and icing, just heel slides, lunges and squats I feel I've really ignored my knee for the past couple of weeks. So today I am having a 'knee day' I went to the pool first thing this morning and did lots of hydro exercises, then went into the jacuzzi, those jets did feel good on both knees. When I got home I had a session on the static bike, my knee was a bit stiff and felt tight, but no pain at all, so now I am just resting, icing and elevating.
Today I took the big step of cancelling the planned arthroscopy for my left knee for May and I've booked a guided injection instead, hoping that this will last me for the summer - fingers crossed.
 
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