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Thank you Deb.

I've always been the strong one. But that's, I guess, a type of exoskeleton to a vulnerable inside.

Someone suggested I keep a journal, and I think your idea kinda seconds that. Thanks!
 
Hey Mary,
That's a great idea, I think if I had kept a journal I would realize I was MUCH crankier a couple of weeks ago ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! And my husband would probably agree.
 
Exactly what are you scared of, my friend? Who has said what to you that's left you with this dread?
I bet I know but I would like you to tell me!


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Dear Mary
I too became fixated on ROM, even bought the thing to measure it home from my second trip to hospital as it was left in my room for 4 days ( have now returned it!)
It took me until 10 weeks to actually listen to the physio who was telling me that ROM is not the important thing, FUNCTION is so much more important. Then I could see what I could do instead of what I couldnt!

I, like you, can walk heel to toe now! AMAZING! Today I came down our stairs with out pain or hip cheating!!!I am a lot further on than you but really found the half empty to half full a great help.

I am still on lots of pain meds but think over the next 3 months I can wean off. Tried to reduce the tramadol yesterday but too much driving (yes I can do that now too! I have braked with my left foot for years) meant I am back on 4x a day today. So many ups and downs. Easier to roll with it as stress does not help.

My physio has also taught me how to massage the knee and the scar now it is well healed. Really helps with swelling and feels very comforting as well as the rest elevate and ice.
Hope you are feeling better soon
cheers
Margaret
from down under
 
Mary...you are doing fine.

Take a deep breath!!! Now...you are one month post surgery! You will be stiff and have swelling for some time. That is totally NORMAL.

We medical folks (I am microbiologist) are the worst about diagnosing ourselves! (I mock the HIPAA training...."you cannot order or look at or interpret your own tests."..."you are not the ordering physician or authorized provider..blah blah!!!) We've done it for years!!

I am hopeful that the new PT will be awesome for you! But more than that, I hope that you will internalize the concept that your body is going to heal at its own rate!!! :cry: Nothing can make it heal faster...we can make it heal slower if we continue to cause micro-injuries by overdoing.

I really like keeping a journal because it really helps us remember our successes!!! Hope your weekend goes well. :thmb:
 
Mary the stiffness you have is normal, you are only 4 weeks out. My knee was stiff and tight for at least 4 months. I still get stiff when I do to much now and I had my TKR 6 months ago. Four weeks is so early in the recovery process. Keep elevating and icing. It will get better, you just need to be patient. Don't get fixated on the numbers, as someone said in a previous post it's function that counts. My ROM is only 105-110 but I can do everything that I need to do with no problem. Oh, don't forget to take your pain meds on a regular basis. They will help with the stiffness. Be patient and your leg will heal and the ROM will come with time.
 
My dread is multifactorial. The friends who hover, helpfully asking about PT -- one in particular who like a big sister has been pushing me (although I didn't return her call today). Certainly the lack of good pain management for the first three weeks was traumatic. I still get ragged for lobbying to be on percocet instead of vicodin. Maybe some anticipatory guidance before all of this would've helped (pain for weeks or months, stiff knee for months, etc.). Maybe I have a deep distrust of the medical field from 28 years of seeking help for cluster headaches without a diagnosis or proper treatment.

This is one of the times in life that grows us into better, more mature human beings. But certainly my December 28 6 week post op follow up where I need to "perform" with better numbers is weighing me. I haven't produce a single degree of ROM improvement in 3 weeks, so I doubt I'll have much to brag about in 10 days.

Tomorrow I'm focusing on coping with a three hour drive, my husband's family xmas party, sleeping in a motel, and then turning around and making the three hour drive home. Oh yeah, and starting a journal.

My husband has been a stellar caregiver throughout this ordeal but he is very quiet and mostly baffled at female emotions, so this forum has been an extremely wonderful interaction for me and I've appreciated all comments very much.

I AM functioning better. Don't need the cane in the house. Once I warm up my stiff leg and can do heel to toe walking. Have been getting in and out of the tub just fine tho Brian stands by for safety. Was able to cut pain med in half so hopefully can focus better. Found today if I sit on the counter with leg dangled and simply massage my quadriceps just above the knee my foot slowly drops lower and lower.

I also still believe the medical system is not adjust well to those outside the middle of the bell curve. Nuff said. G'night all.
 
Well here's my recommendations:
1. ignore the hovering, well meaning friends
2. insist on pain meds that work for you and ignore the nay sayers
3. forget about having something to brag about at the 6 week follow-up, it's too soon to be making judgements about anything and
4. don't cut your pain meds in half. At 4 weeks I was taking more pain meds, not less - 150mg of Tramadol instead of 100 or 50. (Doctors orders, not mine!)
 
Oh, Mary.....please don't be scared!!! You are doing just fine for this early in recovery. You must accept the drastic things that have been done to your body in this procedure. Your body doesn't just pop back in a few weeks.

I suggest you print off Jo's healing chart - link is here - and refer to it often! If you check, you'll see that at your tender 4-week stage, the only thing that is possibly "healed" is your skin....you still have bones and all the soft tissue right in the middle of the healing process. That healing will produce the heat you might see in a low-grade fever or warmth near your knee.

I know it can be difficult at this point to see yourself as healed and back to a normal life, but it is coming. Honest!!! It took a long, long time for your knee to get to the poor shape it was in before surgery. You owe it to yourself to give your body permission to take some time to get it all back together again after surgery.

I am sorry to hear that you feel pressured to attend an out-of-town holiday event. Do you HAVE to go this year??? If so, be sure to plan on heavy icing and elevating of your knee. You will want to take pain meds on schedule (don't cut back!!!) and nap whenever you need to. If people don't understand....tough! Be sure you stop frequently during that 3 hour drive and get out to walk around a little. Retire back to your motel room whenever you need to for icing and a rest. And....if you must go.....be prepared mentally that this type of trip taken so early in recovery can set you back a little. It's one of those little trade-offs that are made if you really must go. I don't want you to be hard on yourself if you are pooped and hurting when you return home again. (((HUGS))) to you, hon. I know you are wanting this to all be over soon. And it will be.....just a little more time is needed.

Oh, and if you get grief from any "well-meaning" friends or relatives about your "slow" recovery, just sit them down to watch broken link removed: https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3347931048322867705# (definitely NOT for the squeamish)! It gets 'em every time!!! No one has a CLUE about what you have been through or what recovery is really like unless they have been there.
 
Back from our trip in good shape. Rested as needed, kept leg up virtually all the time, iced and elevated on schedule. Only spent an hour at my husband's family's xmas party. Dinner party with one of the most wonderful gathering of friends. I received so much encouragement and empathy! I ride in the car in the back seat but my legs up on pillows which are placed on the flattened front passenger seat. Glad to be home.

Have soaked up most of Jo's great information on this website, but somehow missed the healing chart. Time to adopt a more positive attitude -- less like Eeyore and more like Tigger.

Pain med: If I feel my pain is on a relative downswing, I take a half pill, and in an hour if I still need more, I take another half. I'm not worried about the addiction aspect at all. My only motivation is minimizing the cluster headaches which are being triggered by the pain medication.

Jo and Jamie, know that your advice is well taken. Thanks Jo the KISS approach (I don't know about that side of the Atlantic but over here it means Keep It Simple Stupid).
 
:th_heehee: Yes, we know the KISS approach! It's been the basis of my teaching for years!

I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time. You needed that lift to help you on - and up!
 
Good for you!!! Your trip sounds wonderful and you handled it just right. You should be in great shape now going forward.
 
My husband and I are planning our annual Caribbean vacation in Puerto Rico in March. A great thing to look forward.

Last year in February I fulfilled a 20-year dream to go on medical mission. I went to Ecuador. I did pre-op and post-op. I am scheduled to go this year Feb. 12-26 although I have not yet completed the arrangements. In fact, my surgery was timed so I could enjoy the summer and have the TKR early enough to allow time to heal before medical mission. My ortho had told me "ten weeks" after surgery was the minimum I'd need. I've given myself 13 weeks. It's a two week gig.

Is this crazy, or is this good motivation? I would of course not think twice about bowing out, even at the last minute, if I didn't feel physically up to it. Probably my biggest challenge will be procuring ice and being able to ice as necessary.

First session with new PT today. Am all set to say, I'm prepared to work hard, and I'm not afraid of pain, but the motivations to come back need to outnumber the reasons to fear coming back.

Interested in your feedback regarding the Ecuador trip. Last year three of us opted for a guided bike ride from Mt. Chimborazo (16,000 elevation) down to where we were stayig at 9,000 feet (mostly just a long but often bumpy downhill ride). This year I'm more likely to rent a room at the local spa for a couple of days of warm baths and pampering.
 
Oh gosh! 13 weeks? Not sure I could have done that at 13 weeks.
I wasn't even fit to go away for the weekend at 12 weeks!

Still, you Americans are gutsy ladies and I never cease to be amazed at the things you all do!

.
 
Today I started with my new PT, about a 45 minute drive from here. I emphasized how sensitive I've become about the ROM issue. Fortunately I didn't go in with any expectations and so I was not devastated when he measured me at 70 flexion (I measured 88 before I had any PT at all 3 weeks ago). He felt confident it would improve just fine especially knowing my surgeon as opposed to some others whose work might be suspect. It really boiled down to forced stretching. I would say how much was enough and he'd hold the stretches and we'd make lots and lots of small talk. There is no question I have "stiff knee" and that also means painful knee. Extension was harder.

Also got my pedal exerciser set up. I can swing back and forth comfortably, and with a little better ROM, would be able to make a revolution. Icing now.

My younger son joined us on this little adventure, and with his help, I was able to do some down and dirty xmas shopping.

This PT has experience working with clients who have needed MUAs, so undoubtedly he'd be a good resource should I have to go that route.

At least now I have some sort of a road map, and will have even more of one tomorrow after meeting with my primary MD.
 
Mary 70 flex sounds good to me for 4 weeks. I was just about that too at 4 weeks and now I am at about 105-110 I think. i haven't been measured since I finished up with PT about a month ago. Don't get hung up on the ROM number, it is just a number. It's really how well you function and what you can do that matters. Just keep stretching that knee.
 
Mary, would it be easier to use gel packs that you put in a freezer rather than having to use ice all the time? It's just a thought....I used 4 of the large gel packs (2 on my knee and 2 in the freezer at all times) and it worked well.

I think it's great to have a goal like this and a Plan B in case things don't quite work out. Go for it!!!
 
Thank you Jersey Chick. I AM making progress on my attitude. Somewhat along the lines of "the turtle wins the race."
 
Mary I am a turtle for sure. I have just finally gotten to 104 rom at 12 weeks. I am so glad you are feeling a little better about everything.
 
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