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TKR Grandma Chris gets a new knee!

A very big day today! We (well, he) has been chomping at the bit to visit a town about 90 minutes away from here. So far I have been saying no because I couldn't imagine being in the car that long. Today I said yes. We took a couple of pillows and an ice pack just in case. It's a beautiful day and a beautiful drive. We visited a craft brewery (the big draw!) and had lunch. We got a seat with a booth and I was able to elevate while we ate. On our way home we stopped and did a little food shopping for my sick daughter and dropped it off at her house. In all the outing was about 5 hours and my knee behaved beautifully. It did not get sore at all. I am so so so happy I had this done when I did. We are flying to Gran Canaria in March and I need to be able to travel. This was an excellent first outing. I am now icing and elevating. I love my sweet knee..
 
Since the surgery on Nov 20th the bottom of my operated foot has been mostly numb, except for the arch. Yesterday it all started feeling a little itchy - a lot like when the freezing is coming out from the dental experience. This evening I noticed that the numb is almost all gone. Not bad
 
OMG! I am reading @sistersinhim thread and am at her six week mark. How many times do you think Josephine has told us that stiffness is pain? Now I read Paula's statement that her biggest issue is stiffness and Josephine's response that 'Your biggest complaint is stiffness? Do you not remember how many times I have said this - stiffness is a form of pain! Treat the pain and the stiffness will be treated also. ' I have been quite proud that I have not been using my T3s, just the Tylenols every six or eight hours. My ROM is still very low and I'm getting concerned because I see the surgeon on the 8th of Jan and I really don't want him suggesting an MUA or anything like that. I'm very happy with my knee and I can feel that the motion is there, it's just waiting for the swelling to go down. For the last couple of weeks I've been taking only one T3 per day, in the late evening. Maybe I will try taking one in the early afternoon too.
 
It occurs to me that I read quite a lot of people have trouble with the ice in the ice machines being too cold. When I first came home from surgery, I iced almost constantly. I filled the compartment with four frozen 8 oz bottles and the requisite amount of water. Before bed, my husband would charge the machine with four fresh 8 oz bottles, and three trays worth of ice cubes, along with the water. I would sleep the whole night with that circulating over my knee and it felt heavenly. Cut to a few weeks later and I could not possibly deal with that much cold on my knee. Now at night before bed, I charge the machine with three frozen bottles. Sometimes I then ice for 40 minutes before bed but usually I just leave them in the reservoir overnight. When I get up in the morning, I will make a cup of coffee and ice with the bottles left over from last night. It is the perfect amount of cold. So this really long post is just saying your need for ice may change as time goes on. Don't stop just because it's too cold. Modify the amount of ice you use.
 
grandma chris said:
your need for ice may change as time goes on. Don't stop just because it's too cold. Modify the amount of ice you use.
Click to expand...
Grandma chris is so right. When my knee was really new and very warm, I had the water as cold as possible. My knee would feel so much better with that almost freezing water cooling down my hot knee. As my knee's trauma and inflammation calmed down some, then my knee wasn't as hot as before and didn't require as cold of water as it did earlier in my recovery. This recovery is so much trial and error! Experience is the best teacher!
 
Can someone tell me what medial release means? I've tried to look it up but all I found was far too technical for this brain fogged girl!
 
grandma chris said:
Can someone tell me what medial release means? I've tried to look it up but all I found was far too technical for this brain fogged girl!
Click to expand...
I’ll tag @Josephine for you.

I had a lateral release done but I don’t totally understand it, either, and I definitely can’t explain it to someone else!
 
Had a good day today, mostly took it easy after yesterday's long ride. I had no ill effects I don't think. Today I also decided to take one extra T3 in the afternoon. My knee feels better tonight though it still needs elevation and icing. Practiced bending my knee with gentle squats at three kitchen counter. I think it's loosening up oh I sure hope so!!
 
Sure! Here is a picture of the knee under the skin. You can see that the patella is surrounded by a number of ligaments whose job it is to keep the patella in place. The one concerned here is that sneaky little tendon peaking out called the Lateral retinaculum. In the second image, it shows how, when the lateral retinaculum becomes tight or the medial one gets slack, it can cause the patella to be out of alignment to where it should be.

[Bonesmart.org] Grandma Chris gets a new knee!
[Bonesmart.org] Grandma Chris gets a new knee!


The surgeon will approach this via arthroscopy which will just leave you with a couple of little 'stab' wounds.


He looks inside the knee using the camera and an instrument. Water is used to inflate the joint so he can see what he's doing! He then approaches the retinaculum from inside and makes a small cut in the centre to make it slack off.

[Bonesmart.org] Grandma Chris gets a new knee!


[Bonesmart.org] Grandma Chris gets a new knee!
[Bonesmart.org] Grandma Chris gets a new knee!


Pain after this is minimal but there will be some, mostly from the knee being inflated, some from the cut in the retiniculum and a little from the skin incisions. This should all be well controlled with paracetamol/Tylenol but you should take adequate doses, being 1,000mgs 4 times a day at 6hrly intervals.

Also, weight bearing and activity should be pretty normal though you might find a couple of crutches helpful for the first few days.

Hope this is explains it all.
 
@Josephine
I tried to quote the above post about the release and put it in my thread but it didn’t go well. I also wasn’t able to just copy it once I got to the first image. I never use an actual computer so I’m sometimes limited on my phone.

Would you please post it on my thread for me? There’s a link to my thread in my signature. Thank you!!
 
@Josephine thank you so much, I mostly understood that! Before the xrays that showed bone on bone I always thought my pain was caused by a ligament as the pain was so localized. Now that the bones are gone I find my knee to be quite sensitive in that same area. It's not agony or anything, it's just I can feel it sometimes. I see my surgeon next week, and I shall try to remember to ask him about that. It may just be a normal part of healing where there are all kinds of random little ache and pains that show up and then go. What a ride this is!
 
@Jockette, can you copy and paste it? I was able to quote and put in my thread. Maybe copy will work for you.
 
Very good day today. The surgical pain in my knee is all gone now and all I have left is some residual swelling and a little incision tenderness. I'm dealing with the tenderness by running my hands over my incision, lightly. That seems to be desensitizing it a little. The incision itself looks great and the lower half is almost invisible! The top of the scar above my knee is a little gnarly. I imagine that is due to quite a lot of fat and the swelling that occurred over the staples. I have an appointment to see my surgeon on the 8th of January and I've been quite concerned because my ROM is not even close to 90 degrees. So today, because there is no more pain in my knee - just tightness - I started doing a little more exercise. I had a nice walk, used the mini-cycle for about 10 minutes, and did some stretching several times during the day. Stretching which look a little like a squat (but is not a weight bearing squat) at the counter. I also iced and elevated for quite a while. I won't know until tomorrow but I don't think I went too far. My tendency has not been to go to the ODIC, rather the contrary! LOL - I guess innate laziness is good for something! Is anyone doing anything special for New Year's Eve? I am doing nothing special but I really am getting in the mood for a glass of wine. I haven't had any since our cruise - which ended two days before the surgery!
 
Whoa! Another big first tonight. I was walking down my hall and I felt my knee click! I couldn't hear it or anything but I felt it click with every step. That means the swelling is going down significantly, doesn't it? Yay!!
 
@grandma chris
Just caught up on your post this morning. Very glad to hear you are making good progress. Sounds like you lost a really good PT, then picked up a Turkey. I don’t like that guy. We have a daughter who has had both hips replaced, one of them having redone. She has had many bone and joint problems. She keeps telling me to get into the water as soon as I can. It was a life-saver for her. But you are wise to make sure your insision is properly healed first.

I will be discharged as an inpatient today, and referred to outpatient PT. I am really thankful that I found this site, and have a good education how to navigate the potentially complex PT jungle. I have both read and heard from others (I am amazed at how many TKR survivors I have encountered) some very good recovery stories, and some real horror stories. I’m not shy. It would not be wise for someone to offer me a pillow to bite on and scream through while they pushed my knee through the pain zone. It’s hard to believe, and sad to realize that there are “Professional” PT’s out there that do things like that.

In any case, keep moving forward grandma; sounds like you are on a good track.
 
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