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TKR gr82cu2 Hello new knee, it's great to see you!

Calking is done! We're going to take tomorrow off so I can spend the rest of today and tomorrow morning resting my leg before PT tomorrow afternoon. We'll paint and get it done hopefully on Wednesday. It will be good to be done with it. The rest of the trim can wait till next year.

@tiredwife I know it will get better. I don't doubt that. And yes, it is so very nice to be able to walk without the fear of my knee locking up on me or giving way. I can't tell you how many times a day it stopped me in my tracks and I would gasp in pain from it locking on me. Sometimes it was so locked up I had to shake my lower leg to get it to release and go back in to place. I guess I'm just anxious to get on with things and have it not hurt. I've had other surgeries (not ortho though) and had a couple of fairly long recoveries but nothing like this has been. You have been Steve's greatest recovery tool. Kent is awesome but it's not like having a wife, tired or not, LOL!! I shudder to think that Steve was at about my stage of recovery when he did his 2nd one. I'm not sure I could do that right now. But, in 5 weeks I will no matter where I'm at with the 1st one. I'm firmly committed to getting through this and finding the light at the end of this long pain tunnel I've been in for years now. Hopefully like a lot of others the next one will be easier.
 
Janet, I can relate to much of what you are saying. I have my next one three weeks from tomorrow and I only have four pt sessions left. My right, non surgical knee is bothering me more than the surgical one, si I'm full speed ahead to get it done. I will have had four joint replacements within 7 months and four days! Whew! If we can do this, we can do anything. :console2:
 
Janet @gr82cu2
There are not words enough to explain how much I understand what you are going through! I am a tough old broad and hold up through everything, thick and thin. However, this surgery has put me in to more than one full blown cry-fest! Funny how I never know its coming, it just pours out. The first one hit me in the nursing home, I'm not sure exactly when. It was terrible! None of the nurses seemed at all surprised. They just nodded, reassured me it was normal, and did their best to console me.

Now that I am much further along, the crying isn't so much but the frustration is daily. If you could see the mess that I came back from Indy to, you would surely gasp. However, I am propped up in bed with ice, right where I need to be.

It's almost certain we are far from the first to have this surgery and meet with such frustration, sadness, anxiety, etc. and, it's equally certain that we will come to the other side of all this. It's just very difficult to find the patience to get there! I know we are going to make it! And, that includes you!
 
@gr82cu2 Hubby at 10 weeks was starting to feel semi normal, energy was still gone. He says now at almost 18 weeks that knee feels like a normal knee, it just still has a little pain in it. In 5 more weeks you will probably see a big improvement! I don't think his old new knee would have any pain now except it had to do double duty for awhile when #2 was first healing. Try not to focus on what you can't do now, but focus on all the wonderful things you will be able to do 6 months from know, and even better a year from now.
You got to give credit to Steve for being a fast healer (always has been), but my part was to try to keep him from overdoing it. He has a bad habit of rushing his recoveries and I refused to let him do that with his knees. Tell Kent he just needs to nag you more!
[Bonesmart.org] gr82cu2 Hello new knee, it's great to see you!
 
@ConnieJOS You've got that right! I can't believe what you've been through this year. But think how wonderful it will be for you once everything is healed and the way it should be. In a lot of ways we are very fortunate to be living in the times we do. Our parents, or for certain our grand parents would not have had these options. They just had to live with whatever pain and disability they had. I try to remind myself of that often and feel thankful for what I do have. Whoo! Only 3 more weeks and you'll be on your final journey to a pain free life. You know I'll be following your recovery closely.

@wolf woman Wolfy, yes the cry fests have been more frequent for me this past week or two for whatever reason. I got through the first 6 weeks without tears for the most part. I think it's just the frustration is mounting. At times I feel like I've traded one kind of pain and discomfort for another. The only thing that keeps me from totally losing it is knowing this pain will eventually get better. You are 6-7 weeks ahead of me so I can't imagine how you must be feeling. Sorry you came home to a mess. I hope you made your displeasure known. I guess the cleanup can wait until whenever it gets done. And that's that! You have to take care of you first.

@tiredwife I'm so looking forward to the day I can say I feel "almost normal" again. Most of my frustration now is that I'll be feeling ok and want to be my old self and get up and go and I do and then it sends me right back down. Yesterday's little outing is still being rebelled at by my knee and then I threw in being outside caulking today. But gosh darnit, I'm over it! I know I'm not doing anything that will actually hurt my implant at this point but I just want it to not hurt and swell and be stiff every time I do something other than sit here with my leg elevated and iced. It's getting ridiculous! I'm sure in good company though :) I'm going to have a good talk with Michelle tomorrow at PT. I want to see if she has any suggestions. She's been gone on vacation and I haven't seen her for 2 weeks. I know I can open up to her. I just hope I don't turn into a blubbering, crying fool! LOL!!
 
Janet @gr82cu2
Mary @wolf woman
Connie @ConnieJOS
Jackie @tiredwife

Janet,

Your post describes so accurately describes the frustration of life post TKR.
And that every activity causes pain and swelling.
But, not being active is not good either.
And finding the balance between the two almost seems impossible.

And it does for me seem like a trade between the old pain & discomfort which I could handle and this very new and unknown territory without an end in sight.

Normal - when will that be ? I no longer want my knee to define me and am getting fed up with the limitations that it is imposing on my life.

I try to be very active with walking and exercises, inter spaced with ice, rest and elevation throughout the day. But, feel that my progress is at a standstill.

Janet, you're 2 weeks after me and have a second TKR scheduled for November.

Hopefully, michelle will have some suggestions for you.
My PT and I had a talk on Monday, she said, even if I don't appreciate it,that I have made progress, yes slow, but progress and it will take as long as it takes.

Suggested to alternate hot & cold with a Heating pad to the area behind the knee and around the knee to increase circulation and then some activity and then ice and elevate.

Tried that today and will let you know if I see improvement.

Take care,
Cathie
 
@marmora E.X.A.C.T.L.Y!!!!!! I did talk with Michelle today. Gosh, I was glad to see her. She is just such a sweetheart. I feel like she is someone I've known a very long time as opposed to a couple of months and I only see her for an hour a week, LOL.

Anyway, I told her I'm feeling like I'm not making progress. The first month I felt like I was moving ahead in leaps and bounds. Yes, there was more pain then but the increased movement of my knee was obvious week to week and that sort of made the pain worth it. I could feel like things were improving little by little. For the past month I don't see anything happening. It is as if time has stood still for the past month. No increased movement, no decreased pain and stiffness. Ever see the movie Groundhogs Day? Yeah, we're all there, right? Every morning we wake up expecting a new, different day and it's the same as the day before. Sadly, she really didn't have any ideas for anything I (we, or any of us) can do except be patient and give it time. She said what we all know I think. During the initial days the healing curve is climbing at a much steeper angle but as we move further into recovery the curve flattens out but continues to move up so slowly it is hard to see or even feel the differences like in the beginning. She asked again what my major complaint is. Um, SWELLING!!!! That's what is keeping the knee from bending. That, and it hurting more and swelling and becoming more stiff when I'm up on it for very long, or not long at all. You all know what that feels like. Again, she said it just takes time and probably by 6 months I'll be glad I did it. That doesn't sound so bad to the person saying it but to us 6 months of THIS is a very long time. She assured me I'm doing great and there is nothing wrong to be worrying about. I've never been worried anything is wrong so that hasn't been an issue. I just want this darned knee to bend and not swell and be stiff every time I try to do almost anything other than sit and ice it. But, I know you are all right there with me on that :)

So, long story short, I guess we just have to be patient. I'm beginning to really hate that word! Maybe once I get my other knee done and I'm in the beginning with it I'll realize finally how far the other one has come, LOL.

Have a good night friends!
 
@gr82cu2 I pretty much had the same conversation with my PT the other day. What she told me was really helpful. You have to look at the small accomplishments as "wins". Not just where I want to be in the end. She told me to try to find something each day, even if it's small, that I'm doing that I couldn't do before. Or that I'm doing better, or easier. And like you, I feel like I'm in Groundhogs Day. But you know what? I am able to find those "wins". The other day, I realized I was pedaling the bike a bit quicker. Or when I got into a small sports car and actually was able to get out, etc. Believe me, I'm not all positive about this either, and you may need to remind me of this post (often), but I think she's right - we ARE making progress, it's just small steps that we don't always notice.

BTW - We will have a "bending" celebration once we both stop swelling and can actually bend. I can't imagine waiting until 6 months........
 
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Janet @gr82cu2

Awake at 4:20 am from pain & stiffness. How can a knee get stiff while sleeping ?

Have just taken my 6:30 am Solpadiene, cause I couldn't wait until then, up to toilet, putting icy Cryo cuff on knee and hopefully fall back to sleep until 6:30/7:00 am.

Feel like you are my soul sister, as well as my long lost Irish cousin. Your post says everything that I feel and am going through.

While it is hard times, there is some comfort in not being alone.
I am banning the word "patience" from my list of favourite words.
And rather than use that word, realise now it is "acceptance" that is a better motto post TKR.

Seriously, I cannot imagine facing another TKR as soon as you. Don't know what else to say.

Eyes getting heavy now and ice and Solpediene kicking in, so will turn off the lights and hopefully sleep .

Take care,
Cathie
 
@ljrfm @marmora We need @tiredwife to find us a dancing emoticon :)

It's a perfectly beautiful fall day here and we need to get the painting done today. So, one more day of abusing my knee and we should be done! I went to sleep with it wrapped in ice last night. It's not feeling too bad this morning but then I've only been up on it for about 5 minutes getting coffee and going to the potty. Wish me luck!
 
Amen amen I say to that, I was told the same thing by 6 months you'll feel like a new person! If I can make it till then. Thank you for the the advice and recommendations you have made to me and also for answering me so quickly! I will pray you have a smooth recovery with your second tkr!
 
@gr82cu2 Good Morning! If you don't like those I can find more! There are greater leaps forward in the beginning. On knee number 2 hubby's changes are further apart. (18 weeks on that one now) He has had a little change in his ROM, some forward some backward. It still has some stiffness, but that is getting better slowly. The muscle above the knee still bothers him some, but not all the time. I hope you see advances soon. A lot of his came in odd ah ha moments. One moment he couldn't do something - the next he could. The last little bit has just been the slow gradual type.
 
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