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TKR Finally! My knee is ruined.

Oh dear. That's a sobering thought.

Your knee will need a few months to recover adequately, but you should end up quite functional... is there really a hard deadline they are setting?
 
mendogal said:
Oh dear. That's a sobering thought.

Your knee will need a few months to recover adequately, but you should end up quite functional... is there really a hard deadline they are setting?
Click to expand...
The state requirement is to attend the Academy within one year of going full time. With that in mind it was in my best interest to resign for now until I get the all clear from the doctor. The door is wide open for me to return as soon as possible when I can pass the agility test and get back to work. That restarts the clock for me to attend the Academy.
I guess it's just thoughts of the unknown involved in what is to come regarding recovery and expectations that crept in.
 
Yep, I agree, it will be a somewhat ambiguous timeline for you.
My only advice is to not try and shortcut either the healing or the rehab. It ends up undermining your progress (as in... On a cellular level your body as an organism doesn't really care what your personal and professional priorities are).
 
I'm glad yesterday and this morning are over. That was easy.
I am now officially unemployed and it is time to focus on growth, healing, and a future without pain!
 
Cycle-Path said:
I'm glad yesterday and this morning are over. That was easy.
I am now officially unemployed and it is time to focus on growth, healing, and a future without pain!
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I had lost my job 2 weeks before my second surgery. Not at all suspicious. I was already looking because it was not a good environment. This was in a string of bad jobs after leaving one I loved for a "better" opportunity 3 years ago.
It was nice that I could take my time and focus on recovery. But it was nerve racking too. The jobs that interested me, I wouldn't have been able to do yet. The ones I could have done sounded miserable. Spent 4 months unemployed. Finally, out of all the jobs I applied to, I got the one I wanted and it is going well. I finally feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be!
I hope this gives you time to heal and that better things are waiting for you on the other side.
 
@lrj Thank you. There's a lot of good stuff in your post beyond the basic interpretation.
 
I've been reading horror stories wrt post operative pain. This will be a difficult question to answer, but what should I expect regarding pain post op?

I've had a few broken bones as well as having my left elbow surgically repaired due to a serious fracture (pins & screws required to reattach cartilage and bone). I've also dealt with a traumatic S1 nerve root/sciatic injury that required surgical intervention.

Is it bone pain like a fracture or more soft tissue and stiff joint type of pain?
 
@Cycle-Path Pain is a very personal experience. Some of us have higher thresholds than others, so how we assess pain can differ.

For me personally, I have the most severe pain 2-3 days post-op when the nerve block wore off. It took me a day of two after that to figure out the right combination of medication timing, icing and elevating to get it under control.

This article from our library may be helpful:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
 
Day before surgery.

Just completed phase two pre-op at the hospital. I'll be the first up tomorrow morning and plan to spend the night tomorrow. All of my final questions were answered and I picked up a walker. I did opt for a walker, I already have a cane, mainly due to my dogs that like to be around my feet sometimes.

I'll be having a spinal and after surgery the doc will shoot the knee up with a three day painkiller. I'll be discharged with percocet. There's no ice machines available, so I just ordered one. Unfortunately it won't arrive until next Tuesday. Guess I'll be picking up a pile of gel packs today to get me through the weekend.

I'll begin outpatient PT on Monday and the hospital will give me instructions for what to do at home over the weekend regarding PT. The doc thinks due to my physical conditioning that I'll be up and walking with no problem and that going to PT will provide a much better result than in-home PT.

He's a little more excited about the procedure than I am today. However, he's very sure that I'll be happy to have the damaged bone and broken cartilage/meniscus out of my knee as soon as he completes surgery. Interestingly, I'll have no staples or stitches that need to be removed. He uses another method to close the incision and apparently takes great pride in his technique and small scars.

One of his main points today was that ROM needs to be my immediate focus. He said to forget strength and step counts and distance; they will come easy later. He also said that if I do too much too soon it will cause swelling and reduce ROM; which may never come back. I heard him loud and clear. LET IT HEAL!
 
Cycle-Path said:
He also said that if I do too much too soon it will cause swelling and reduce ROM; which may never come back. I heard him loud and clear. LET IT HEAL!
Click to expand...
Exactly! A mistake that many people make is to try to rush their recovery. Pushing to gain ROM will only cause more swelling! Do as much icing as possible over the weekend with whatever ice packs you have. Icing and elevating help reduce swelling and pain.

Best wishes for tomorrow. When you feel up to after surgery, please start a new thread in the Knee Recovery Forum. Just click on the orange Post Thread button at the top right of the page to get started.
Your pre-op thread will stay where it is even after you start your recovery thread because information discussed in the thread may be useful to other members.

Looking forward to hearing from you on the healing side!
 
Under a bulky gauze dressing that I removed myself as directed I had a thick waterproof translucent rectangle that stayed on for three weeks instead of staples or sutures. It rocked!!!!

Also was sent home with a three day supply of local anesthetic in a little sealed container with a thin catheter into my thigh. It drained automatically at the right rate and, yes, it rocked!

Even those of us with excellent balance and decent post op ROM are safest with a walker at first because our quads on that side are simply not activating reliably for a while plus pain meds plus overall weakness and fatigue from major surgery.
 
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Cycle-Path said:
I'll have no staples or stitches that need to be removed. He uses another method to close the incision and apparently takes great pride in his technique and small scars.
Click to expand...
Sounds like soluble internal stitches and glue for the outside.
I had this and I have a beautiful scar which healed really well.
 
Surgery took just under two hours and I've been in recovery for three now. Everything went well and I just ate some chicken wings. Lol.
 
Six months after I had the right knee replaced I slipped and damaged the cartilage in my left knee. That was New Year's Eve and since then I have pretty much worn through what cartilage was left in there. Big surprise since my left knee has never hurt at all before then.
The only thing keeping me moving over the last few months is meloxicam. Without it I am straight legged and hobbling. I finally got tired of that and consulted my ortho last Thursday. Just as they advised me when I initially injured it, they said the only thing they can do is replace it. I asked them to get things moving forward to get it done.
The procedure was approved by insurance on Monday and the ortho clinic was calling to schedule the replacement on Tuesday.
After a few days of thought I have decided to have my left knee tkr done on Dec 1st.
 
Hi Cycle-Path,
Sorry it's come to this, but if it's the only way back to where you want to be, thankfully you're able to have the surgery soon. Would love to follow your journey in support. Please consider joining us as an Insider. See link below and have a nice week!

Become an Insider​

@Cycle-Path
 
Welcome back @Cycle-Path. I am sorry to read about your injury.

In January, we implemented a new membership program. You are currently a Basic Member, which enables you to search the forums, and read about other recoveries.

If you want a more personal experience, I hope you will choose one of our subscription options to become a member of the Insiders Club. Here are some links for you to check out:
Membership/Insiders Club
Guidelines for Posting

You can also join the Insiders Club easily by clicking on your username and avatar and then selecting MEMBERSHIP in the drop-down menu.

We are a non-profit organization and the small subscription cost goes toward keeping BoneSmart available for everyone.

All our subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel your membership before the renewal date. If you want just a 6-month subscription, you can purchase that option, wait a few days, and then cancel it. Your membership will go until the end of your 6-month period and will not renew. But you must cancel it to make this work.

Once you cancel, an expiration date will appear in your profile under MEMBERSHIP.

Best Wishes! :flwrysmile:
 
Hi Cycle-Path,
It's the last weekend before your surgery. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and you're managing pain well enough. I wish you comfort and an uneventful surgery and easy recovery. Hope to support you on the healing side.
Happy Saturday!
@Cycle-Path
 
Thank you, Layla. I'm all ready to go and have finished all pre-op req's. It's been a long week without taking mobic due to the aching/pain.
 
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