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TKR Getting my Life back on May 1

We have had so much rain this month -- the meteorologist said yesterday that it's something like the 3rd or 4th rainiest May on record. Our reservoirs are full and many are at flood stage. And the weather forecast for this week shows more rain.

My husband had been needing to go out of town this week but decided at the last minute to put off his plans for at least another week. He said he doesn't feel right leaving me yet. I have assured him I can get along fine -- I'm driving now, mobile, and can manage stairs. But he's afraid that if I fell on the stairs there would be no one here to help. I feel bad he changed plans because of me but, secretly, I wasn't looking forward to being alone all week with only my PT for company on two occasions.

My knee is still puffy and I know if it would just go down, I would have a huge increase in my flexion. I know, I know ……………ice, elevate, patience. I am doing all three of those minus maybe the patience part.

I have some bad veins in that leg too that I was scheduled to get taken care of in an outpatient procedure before the TKR came along so I put that off. They were causing some pain before and probably will continue to do so until the knee heals up enough to get those taken care of too. My OS said he thought I could do that at about the 6 week point. I had a friend tell me that more things fell apart each time you turned another decade older and here I am -- just turned 60!

Roxie
 
I feel the same way about the decade thing. I'm glad your sweetie changed his plans for you. That was very nice of him. My knee is still puffy also and I still get tired if I do to much. I know I'm a little behind you, but I don't think you can be to conscious about these things. I guess what you would call my good knee is acting up on me. Thinking this is not the time for that. Oh well, "What will be will be".
 
What a coincidence...the ice and elevation are relatively easy...that stinking patience is another story. Glad hubby's not going away!
 
@Bilbo , that whole fatigue thing was something I was probably not prepared for. I could easily take two naps a day and get frustrated with feeling so tired all the time. I know from reading on here (thank goodness for Bonesmart) that my body is putting all of its extra energy into healing me so I get it but it's still frustrating. How are you and @tigz doing?
 
Grocery shopping (driving) wiped me out this morning! Good thing I have no other plans. It's amazing how the simplest task is so draining!

sent from my Galaxy 4
 
Lots of other things are getting better but that dang fatigue just hangs on. Even sleep is improving for me at the 3 week point where I'm at. I took a percocet and tylenol at 10 last night, went to bed and slept until almost 9 this morning. That's the longest I've slept in ages.
 
I'm glad your husband postponed his trip also. This recovery is no fun, but even less when you're alone.

Alright everyone, I'm way, way out, and had a second surgery, but I went back to teaching half days exactly 3 months after my first surgery (TKR) and 2 months after the infection surgery. I still came home at noon and slept except on days I had PT, then I slept in the evening. My body was fighting an infection as well as trying to heal but stamina is the very last thing to return.
 
Thank you for that reminder, @KarriB . I know that you are right and that my body is doing what it needs to do -- work hard to heal my knee. I just wish it would save just a little energy for something else! Patience, patience, Roxie.
 
It's hard! Whe i was in rehab after the 2nd surgery I wasn't allowed to bend my knee, so PT/OT were looking for things I could do. (I think they have to provide so many hours for every patient.)I knew my stamina was nil, so I said I wanted to work on stamina. They had a bicycle for arms, so I sat at this arm bicycle pumping it with my arms, leg elevated. It probably didn't do much, but I felt I was doing something. Get some good movies ready to watch, talk to old friends, look for easy recipes on the Internet to try when your all better. I did so much pinning I probably have 2 storage clouds!
 
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If you're sleeping all night at 3 weeks, you're way ahead of the game. I think it was 3 months before I was able to do that. I just couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in and needed to move my knee after a couple of hours to keep it from getting stiff. However, for some reason I didn't have the fatigue most complain about. I had my energy back pretty quickly. I had my surgery the week before Thanksgiving, so there was so much to do around the holidays I stayed pretty busy for those 1st 6 weeks.
 
Maybe that's part of my problem @Gigi32 . I am recently retired so don't have anything I HAVE to get back on my feet for. Maybe it's good to have something to push you a bit.
 
Grass is always greener... I spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about the work I am not getting done!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
@Kansas Teacher - you're going to love retirement. I also retired after my TKR, and once you start to feel better and can get around better it's going to be marvelous! I agree it helps to have a reason to get back on your feet, but think about all the things you'll be able to do AND enjoy. I actually went to a new outlet mall they built 15 mins from my house today and walked the entire mall. 6 months ago I couldn't have done that. Of course, now my "old" knee is screaming at me, but it will be replaced in a few weeks and then look out! In fact, my husband asked the doctor at my last visit when we decided to schedule the 2nd knee if he could disable the "shopping" part with this one.:heehee: It's been so long since I was able to shop in a store without carts I forgot how much fun it was.
 
Oh @Gigi32 , you have no idea how excited I am to get to that point in time. I'm still a ways from being able to walk an entire mall but it did feel good to even make a short trip into a grocery store this afternoon. Discomfort, yes. But not the excruciating pain I had before. My issue now is stiffness and that tight band-like feeling that tightens up and impedes movement rather than outright pain. That, I think, is feeling minutely better day by day so one day, I am sure I shall be there.

I want to have fun with grandkids again too. Little things had just gotten so difficult. My husband recently retired too so we have lots of travel plans and I am so excited to be able to enjoy them rather than be in pain.

I appreciate all of you so much,
Roxie
 
We have a lot in common @Kansas Teacher . I told my doctor at my last visit that I wanted to get the 2nd knee done so I could actually enjoy our family vacation with the grandkids next summer. I finally decided last summer I had had enough pain when we were in Orlando and at Downtown Disney last summer and couldn't do anything but sit on a bench while the rest of them enjoyed the Lego and Disney store. I went back to the condo and called and made an appointment before we even got home. My husband also retired in February so once we get past all this recovery we can finally enjoy life!
 
Yes, @Gigi32 , we took a 15-day cruise from L.A. to Hawaii and back the first half of February. My husband and I went with another couple. I felt like I was always a step behind and was looking for the next place to sit down. Life is too short to live it in such pain. Better days ahead for both of us! My second knee isn't great either and I am bound determined not to let it get as bad as the first one did -- now I'm not only healing up a knee but also IT band issues, tendinitis, etc. that had all developed from limping on it. I don't want to get to that point next time!

Roxie
 
I've seen quite a bit of comment about the energy drain in the posts above. The reason why we feel so tired is because most of our energy is being directed towards healing the knee. It can (and does) take a long time before we feel energetic again. That's perfectly normal.
This article might help to explain it:
Energy drain for TKRs
 
Thanks for the posting this, @Celle . It is a good illustration and reminder for me. Since I haven't even hit the 1-month mark, it's pretty obvious why I still feel worn out more than I think I should.

Well, you will all be surprised to hear that the weather in Kansas today is -- drum roll, please -- cloudy, overcast, dark, gray, with a chance of rain. We are now up to the 3rd rainiest May on record with more expected this week so who knows where we'll end up. Western Kansas had a couple tornadoes last night that touched down so the delightful weather continues. Wish I could jump on a plane and go to Florida but, alas, PT continues to call.

Hope all is well with all of my BS friends and that none of you are backstroking from too much rain either.

Roxie
 
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