TKR Got it done

[Clairebear]

@joek , good luck with your recovery. Without Bonesmart I'd have been lost! I'm 6 weeks post op today and the best advice I can give you is to rest up, don't feel pressured by anyone (especially not yourself!).

 

[hegel]

the inflatable Lounge Doctor is half the price of the regular one. Mine's been working perfectly.

 

[Rockgirl4]

Sorry to butt in here, but I have a newby question for @Spex10 . I'm relatively new to Bonesmart (the last 5-6 wks or so) and have my first TKR this December. I would love to check out your recovery thread, but other than scrolling through pages, I wasn't sure of the best way to find it. Any suggestions? I've had previous scarring and an MUA after ACI surgery in 2015 (Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation) and worry about adhesions again, so I'm doing homework early.

 

[Celle]

@Rockgirl4 - Spex10's thread is here:
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/here-i-go-again.48407/

You can send a Personal Message to Spex10 for something like this request.
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/how-to-use-personal-messages-pms.14734/
Next time, please will you do that, instead of posting something off-topic in a thread?
Thank you.

 

[joek]

Day 6 since my knee replacement it’s still swelled up pretty good doing gel packs on it also doing gentle exercises for it as well pain is very good happy about that but when I try to lift my leg up I can’t lift it at all very painful if I do has anyone have or had this problem?

 

[Mom2Lucy]

Hi @joek , I was three weeks out after my tkr when I found I could lift my leg. Everyone’s different, of course, but the ability to lift will come. I found it very helpful to use a leg lifter, especially for getting on and off the bed. I still use it sometimes. And I still have lots of swelling.
It’s a great moment when you realize you can lift the leg unaided!

 

[joek]

Ok good idea my wife had one when she had her hip replacement glad I’m not the only one who had this problem I’m able to do the stairs ok and walking around my house....Thank for your help this is a great site indeed

 

[Jockette]

I had trouble lifting my leg for a while, too. You’ll get it back. Your whole leg is upset right now from the surgery. I think it took me a couple of weeks. My husband was very good about handling my leg and gently putting it where I needed it.

 

[Spex10]

I had that problem for a while. I used to turn my walking stick round, hook the handle round my foot and use the stick to swing my leg down or up as required. That worked very well and soon wasn't necessary.
You'll be fine!

 

[joek]

Very good ideas thanks I will give them a try

 

[joek]

One week update ...After a week feels like i'm making progress able to upstairs using a quad cane now most of the time also able to shower doing gentle exercises heel slides making progress on my leg lifts still is painful so not over doing them swelling is still there i feel like with it being swelled like it is my rom is limited .So i have to just remember this is a marathon and not a sprint and very thankful for this site

 

[Softtail]

Everything you are experiencing is par for the course. Using a strap ,( I actually bought one on amazon) was key lifting leg to couch or lowering it when getting up. Early on if you dropleg or bend it too quick you get a quick pain shot as a wake up call. All goes away as weeks progress. Don’t know where you are sleeping ,but I know I wedged myself into couch so I could avoid that quick bend or sudden movement first 2 to 3 weeks.

 

[joek]

Last night I tried to sleep in bed I do have a strap and even then it was hard to to get in bed so I have been sleeping I my recliner for the most part for now and yes had a few of those pain reminders that I did indeed have a knee replacement

 

[sistersinhim]

I used my other leg to lift and let down my tkr leg. It works well cause it's always with you!

 

[jean6183]

So glad it went well.

 

[Softtail]

Used to get those “pain reminders “ when I tried to sleep in bed early on cause I am a restless sleeper. That sent me back to couch. That wasn’t’t a perfect solution since once in awhile either unconsciously or with a muscle spasm ,my leg would bend too far and that wasn’t fun either. All in all the couch was much better though. You will find your sweet spot with experimentation.

 

[joek]

Thanks you folks for your tips I believe my sweet spot will be my recliner for now if I can’t sleep at least I can watch some tv for a bit.So yesterday reminded me that if you try to do to much your going to pay for it I started to use my quad cane more also pushed my excercises to much wasn’t a good idea so other then just walking with the walker and back using my pain medication just resting it I quess I hit the rewind button instead of the forward one

 

[SusieShoes]

Pain is the knee's way of telling us what's going on -- too much, usually. Pain gets our attention. It's just that when we start to feel better, we're a bit too eager to think, "Woo-hoo! I'm better!" In fact, we are not even close to being as better as we hope. And so the knee reminds us.

For most of us, patience is the most difficult of virtues. Sounds like overall you're right on track!

 

[joek]

Being only a week into this i have to remind myself this is the Boston Marathon and not a 40 yard dash

 

[joek]

Went to my first two week follow up today she was very happy with my progress my rom was at 90 and said to keep doing what I'm doing I'm just doing light exercises walking around my house and going up my stairs a few time a day Also she said it wouldn't be a bad idea to go to pt but she left that up to me as to when I decide to go all in all very happy and glad I found this site