TKR Following My Instincts

[benne68]

Sorry that you are feeling so fatigued and frustrated right now, @Samsrf -- but know that some of those feeling are normal. The first couple of months of recovery are a rollercoaster, physically and emotionally!

That said, I think you may be trying to do too much for so early in this year-long recovery. Cutting your meeting short so you could ice was a wise choice -- you listened to your knee. But running up and down stairs to do laundry plus making dinner plus driving carpool is a LOT for 7 weeks post-op.

I know it's hard to get others to understand how difficult this recovery is, but only you can advocate for yourself. Why can't someone else in your household run a couple loads of laundry or make dinners? You must insist to friends and family that your knee is simply not ready for all of this.

That applies to your PT as well. As you've likely read in other members' posts, there are a lot of therapists out there who still insist upon the "no pain, no gain" approach -- which is just plain wrong.

Pushing yourself hard is not going to speed your recovery, in fact, it will probably slow it down. So please listen to your knee as you did with that meeting! You'll see improvement, not just in your pain and fatigue, but in your emotional well-being too.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Jockette]

I agree with everything @benne68 said.

I do think you are doing a lot for 7 weeks. I wish we could make the others around us understand just what we went through in this surgery. Your description of violent is pretty good.

I am tired of asking for help and quite frankly it appears some are tired of me asking as well.

Well, they need to accept that you are going to need to ask for help for a while yet. Seriously, someone else in your house can help with the laundry, at the very least. If you feel you must cook dinner, then enlist the others to clean up. How old are your children?

PT was a little rough yesterday and feeling defeated. She told me “I can guess what you did over the weekend- Nothing”

Don’t listen to her, she has no clue about this recovery, only her own rehab protocol.

I did walk an uneven construction job site without falling or incident and made a long travel car ride and didn’t destroy myself. All of which I was proud of.

These are good accomplishments. Not all of recovery is a ROM number.

I am staring at the ceiling- again with my knee above my heart and ice feeling like I’m not doing ANYTHING (PT, ADL, ROM) very well.

What you are doing here IS something, and you’re doing it very well. It’s called giving your knee the best opportunity in which to heal.

I am weepy and frustrated.

We have all felt this way.

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Post op blues is feeling depressed, weepy, nervy, shaky, fearful of the future, anxious, overwhelmed by what is happening to you, convinced it's never going to get any better and finally, uttering that most intense of all cries "I wish I never had this done!" It arises out of a variety of...

bonesmart.org

 

[Samsrf]

Sorry that you are feeling so fatigued and frustrated right now, @Samsrf -- but know that some of those feeling are normal. The first couple of months of recovery are a rollercoaster, physically and emotionally!

That said, I think you may be trying to do too much for so early in this year-long recovery. Cutting your meeting short so you could ice was a wise choice -- you listened to your knee. But running up and down stairs to do laundry plus making dinner plus driving carpool is a LOT for 7 weeks post-op.

I know it's hard to get others to understand how difficult this recovery is, but only you can advocate for yourself. Why can't someone else in your household run a couple loads of laundry or make dinners? You must insist to friends and family that your knee is simply not ready for all of this.

That applies to your PT as well. As you've likely read in other members' posts, there are a lot of therapists out there who still insist upon the "no pain, no gain" approach -- which is just plain wrong.

Pushing yourself hard is not going to speed your recovery, in fact, it will probably slow it down. So please listen to your knee as you did with that meeting! You'll see improvement, not just in your pain and fatigue, but in your emotional well-being too.
Good luck and keep us posted.

@benne68 You are so right! Just chalking it up to a bad day and needing to slow down. I am not literally running up the stairs… I make my daughter do it It’s just that we call it that and in the moment the irony was rich- I could hardly walk - the idea of running is way too far off. Thank you for the encouragement. This is such a roller coaster - good days and bad days and life with a young family is beating down the door, but I will resist the temptation to dive in headfirst a little while longer. I honestly though “I’m young, a month to recover will be good” but as My GP suggested , I am going to give myself some Grace and space and try to keep the slow healing rhythm as long as I can. If the kids need to dig through piles of clean clothes to find their underwear- so be it. At least they are clean!

 

[benne68]

as My GP suggested , I am going to give myself some Grace and space and try to keep the slow healing rhythm as long as I can

Great to hear that you have such a "smart" GP

If the kids need to dig through piles of clean clothes to find their underwear- so be it.

 

[hawk2go]

If the kids need to dig through piles of clean clothes to find their underwear- so be it. At least they are clean!

My son used to say "there are 2 sides for a reason".

 

[sistersinhim]

Tell those uncaring friends and family to watch a live total knee replacement on YouTube and they will understand why you're not jumping up and down and running around like crazy. Only those of us who have had this surgery understand how badly it makes you feel, both physically and emotionally.

I had my surgery on June 2 and on the July 4 holiday, a friend came by and asked what we were going to do for fun. Well, I burst out crying. But, in the end, I ended up going off with her and paid for it with pain and swelling for about a week afterward. Once she looked at my knee she apologized for asking me to go off with her.

 

[Samsrf]

Another week down- and still feeling a little better each day. It was a super stressful week, but not physically, just emotionally but I Just decided to do what I can and not worry about the rest! My PT is on vacation and I am happy! I can make a full rotation (with seat high) on bike. So I work on this for 12 min in the morning (it loosens and the minute it starts to feel less loose I stop and ice and elevate) Stretching a few times a day.l and I made it to the pool 3 x last week. Just easy swim & water stretching for my flexion & hips and quads. Crazy- I have so much hip/ hip flexor/ glute pain on surgical leg. I suspect it’s my new alignment (I keep getting told “you don’t limp anymore”) I walked around for 8 years bone on bone until I couldn’t walk or bend or straighten my leg. I figure it is going to take some time to retrain all the muscles to operate with this new alignment & the trauma of surgery. They are slowly engaging again. Working hard to balance activity (keep it in small portions frequently) with rest and this last week did a pretty good job. Only the necessary things and when I know I will be on my feet or driving a bunch in one day, try to leave the following day super light to recover. PT has been on vacation a week and it has been so nice! I saw a new one Wed who focused on functional flexion (in and out of a chair, walking over cones etc. and I made so much more progress I asked to be switched to her. She still told me it only gets harder & I may need MUA - nobody’s perfect and she had no idea how far I’d come. I measured 105@7 weeks which I thought was AMAZING .(35 degrees in 4 weeks).

I love hanging out in this forum while I ice& rest. It gives me encouragement and helps to ground my belief that I am on the right track… slow and steady.

Anyway, It is currently 8am and I am on my first ice rest of the day after getting up at 5am to watch up my 6 yr old niece . Decided to pay my 12 year old (who is earning money for an iPad) to “babysit” today so I have time to stretch, ice and rest throughout the day. It works out for all of us and is a - small price to pay to feel good tomorrow. Thanks Bonesmarties!

 

[benne68]

I have so much hip/ hip flexor/ glute pain on surgical leg. I suspect it’s my new alignment

Yes, it probably is. My muscles and tendons screamed at me for weeks as they tried to adapt to my new alignment post surgery. It takes time, but it does get better!

 

[Jockette]

She still told me it only gets harder & I may need MUA -

I measured 105@7 weeks which I thought was AMAZING

I would hope that no decent doctor will do an MUA with a ROM of 105 at 7 weeks. If it is suggested, politely, or unpolitely, decline the offer. I don’t know why PTs say this. You are doing fine!

 

[Samsrf]

Thanks @Jockette My thoughts exactly. I am actually thinking about dropping formal PT It has causes so much stress. I have to cancel Wednesday and was afraid Friday she will say “you’ve been doing nothing” but I have been doing a ton to take care of myself & participate in life. I love your ROM is there all along just waiting!

 

[Jockette]

Stress is not good for your recovery. You’ve had enough PT by now to know what exercises you think benefit you, and you can do those on your own. If I ever do this recovery again I will not go to formal PT.

 

[substrate]

Feeling super down today. PT was a little rough yesterday and feeling defeated. She told me “I can guess what you did over the weekend- Nothing” because my first ROM measurement was 85…. Well I Am competitive and although I didn’t do what she told me, I did walk an uneven construction job site without falling or incident and made a long travel car ride and didn’t destroy myself. All of which I was proud of. So I got to 97… I slept 7 hours straight for the first time (no meds) and thought I should be feeling great today - but I am not. I had to cut a meeting short because The uncomfortable tightness signaled it was time to ice & elevate. I am weepy and frustrated. I feel like everyone around me has forgotten I had this violent surgery (I literally just got asked if I want to walk 2 miles by a dear friend because “you have to be feeling better by now”) and my family is patient but their are 5 loads of clean laundry piled up to be folded and “ran” up the stairs and it is all I can do to get dinner on the table and drive sports carpool at 8pm at night. I am tired of asking for help and quite frankly it appears some are tired of me asking as well. I know this is a long game , I am only just shy of week 7 - but today, it just sucks and I am staring at the ceiling- again with my knee above my heart and ice feeling like I’m not doing ANYTHING (PT, ADL, ROM) very well.

You have it right, it's a violent surgery, and everyone heals at their own rate. I can only speak to my own experience, but sitting for any period of time really exacerbates the tightness in my leg. I can walk 3 miles (I'm 3 weeks and change post op) at just over 20 minutes/mile but if I sit and talk to someone for a half hour I tighten up.

 

[Samsrf]

[/QUOTE]
You have it right, it's a violent surgery, and everyone heals at their own rate. I can only speak to my own experience, but sitting for any period of time really exacerbates the tightness in my leg. I can walk 3 miles (I'm 3 weeks and change post op) at just over 20 minutes/mile but if I sit and talk to someone for a half hour I tighten up.
[/QUOTE]
@substrate 3 miles is amazing! I don’t have a step counter thing, but when I did my ADL were between 3 & 8 miles a day without workouts. I find lots of movement throughout the day followed up by ice and short rests is the best.

 

[hawk2go]

I suspect it’s my new alignment (I keep getting told “you don’t limp anymore”)

I had a similar experience with my out-toeing or duck walking. During one of my early sessions, my PT told me to straighten my feet when I walk. I informed that had been out-toeing since I took my first steps, if I straighten my feet my knees will know. Well, he insisted - lo and behold I can now walk with my feet aligned to my knee. But as you have found @Samsrf, my muscles needed to retrain to that "correct" alignment. I'm pain free now but do have to sometimes remind myself to straighten my feet when I'm tired.

By the way, you're doing amazing. As you have seen with your ADLs, as healing progresses (really progresses), ROM takes care of itself.

 

[Samsrf]

The ROM numbers aren't important, it's what you can do. Who cares what the numbers say as long as the knee is improving, even if it's only slowly. It's the function, not numbers!

It may have taken a few weeks to wrap my head around this being somewhat A type goal oriented person, but now I totally understand what you are saying! Every week (I gauge by Wednesday because I have longer busy day) Things get a little easier. Still icing and elevating between but today I did 20 min spin no resistance at a slow rhythmic 25 cadence- I was sweaty and it was rad. No more demoralizing PT for me. I am going to do what I love, listen to my body and go forward slowly - not PT way- which was push hard for numbers one day and then be destroyed for a day afterwards. Yeah for the bonesmart way!

 

[sistersinhim]

No more demoralizing PT for me. I am going to do what I love, listen to my body and go forward slowly - not PT way- which was push hard for numbers one day and then be destroyed for a day afterwards. Yeah for the bonesmart way!

Wonderful! I wish everyone could realize that for the majority of the people, aggressive PT causes setbacks, not gains. It just makes sense that a traumatized knee does not benefit from therapy from those that are untrained in joint replacement therapy. This is not a sports injury. It's after surgery recovery that is totally different.

 

[Samsrf]

Although I knew weeks ago I can do my own PT, I kept going because I liked the structure. With a young family and a husband that works out of town 5 days a week, (he went back 6weeks post op) lots of times I am pulled in many directions and carving out time for myself has always been difficult. I figured I would give the PT one more chance and hope when she returned from vacation we would have a better understanding. This was not the case. She was pushing me hard in heal slides and I told her it’s the end of the day (4pm appt) and I am swollen just from the general ADL and a 1 mile walk this morning (which I was proud of!). She told me I was making EXCUSES… and then said “there’s always excuses” my mouth dropped to the floor and I was like “I’m good!” And got up. She said “where are you going?” I said “I don’t need this, I’m good. Have a nice weekend” put on my shoes and walked out.

On to the next. Now I am more determined than ever to rock my 12 week appointment in 4 weeks. My doctor doesn’t measure he looks at function lift you leg and hug your knee for ROM. He did say he wanted me at 130 but then he showed me what he wants me to be able to do and said I only need 2 exercises- so I am going to go with that and do my best. I don’t want to be part of the ODIC … and so far formal PT is the only thing that has really pushed me there. We have to listen to our bodies and out gut instincts.

Anyway I just needed to vent/ share on this Friday night because Although my title is “follow your instincts” I didn't follow mine (which was to cancel appointment) because I think “they are trained they know what they are doing” insert eyeroll. Thanks guys BS way is the way to go.

 

[InkedMarie]

I am SO proud of you for walking out. As they say, you go, girl!

Marie

 

[Jockette]

You go, girl! (I was writing that when Marie beat me to it!)

 

[Jockette]

Now I am more determined than ever to rock my 12 week appointment in 4 weeks.

Just go easy, working harder doesn’t always equal progress. And remember, the knee is in charge, and there is no time by which you must be at a certain number, no matter who wants that number.