OP
OP
grandma chris
graduate
CanadaThanks! I still have a long way to go but I'm quite encouraged
TKR Grandma Chris gets a new knee!
- Thread starter grandma chris
- Start date
I have to admit those “hundreds of stairs” make me worry about you. Try not to make too many trips up and down them. I had a major set back at 4 months, past when I thought it could happen, and it took a month to improve and to be really honest, I’ve never been the same. I really don’t want that to happen to you. 
(or anyone else!)
(or anyone else!)
I agree with Jockette about the steps. You won't be but 4 months out. That's 1/3 of the way of a year long recovery. Be sure and take your ice with you and your walking assisted device. Of course, that's 2.5 months away and you will be doing a lot of healing before then, but not enough to be running up and down hundreds of steps!
This is very true and you are doing so well with such a great attitude and things will continue to be improve.
And if you were just kidding about the “hundreds” then please forgive us for worrying, but we’ve been in that major set back place and it was not fun at all.
And of course we hope you enjoy the trip and we wish we could come, too!!
OP
OP
grandma chris
graduate
@Jockette and @sistersinhim not to worry, I will be careful with the stairs. I've spent a long time reading your and many other people's experiences and I've paid attention! As a matter of fact every time I have to use a low rise loo I think of you and your weekend from hell! I won't be going down the stairs often, there's an alternate hill we can use. And we take a taxi up because it's been a long time since I've been up to that many stairs! Mostly I will be sunning myself on the veranda. I have bought a couple of wrap around gel filled thingys and some squeeze ice packs for the plane. About six weeks after my THR we flew to Europe and did a really extensive tour - on our own. I used a lot of ice then too!
OP
OP
grandma chris
graduate
First self driven physio in the pool today. Sadly, the pool was terribly busy - all the January resolution people! Originally waves were on in the wave pool, which is where I planned on exercising. No way was I going into waves. So I went in the lazy river which does have a current but is also warm. I used a noodle and just floated along doing cycles and crunches. Crunches besides being good for my abs involved me bringing my knees up as much as I could. Sort of like a squat without any pressure. Pretty good, I think. I was in the water for 30 minutes doing those and eventually when the waves were turned off, high stepping across the pool, front and sideways. I felt very good after and I think next time I will add some time on the bicycle after the pool. I was so nice and limber! Now icing and happy.
Your posts keep getting better and better!
OP
OP
grandma chris
graduate
So last night I did not have a great sleep - barely 5 hours. And this morning I had a bit of a confidence issue - I still can't bend very far, what if I've lost my opportunity to get a good bend. I was re-reading my surgeon's handout of what to expect with this surgery. An 85% success rate where people are very happy, expect to be swollen for up to 6 months, and most meaningful to me today was it's important to bend your knee at the beginning- even if it hurts - in order to get a good ROM. That's where my fear came from. Anyway, I had to go out this morning and today it was not 22 steps it was 30 to get down to the underground parking. I went down the stairs foot over foot without extending my leg out - almost back to normal. And I came back up all those stairs foot over foot too. With good form! I guess although I'm getting my bend back slowly, I am getting it back. I need a better sleep tonight.
traceys
graduate
@grandma chris you are a mind reader I think. It’s exactly what I’m going thru the last few days. While I am making sloooooowwwww progress and some functional improvements I still wonder if I’m ever going to hit MY goal of 90. 
I know it’s only a number but .... I keep thinking I’ve messed up somehow and lost my window.
I’ve read the posts about it improves for up to a year but....
Isn’t it horrid how this gets in your head? So comforted to see you are mastering stairs now tho. That is huge!
I know it’s only a number but .... I keep thinking I’ve messed up somehow and lost my window.I’ve read the posts about it improves for up to a year but....
Isn’t it horrid how this gets in your head? So comforted to see you are mastering stairs now tho. That is huge!
Not getting good sleep makes you feel bad all over, including your emotions. You are doing really well, especially all those steps. Doing that many like an adult is a huge accomplishment. You should feel very good about yourself and your improvements!
Oh those nasty little (big) doubts that grab our attention!
And, if you think about it, in the beginning, most any attempts at bending do hurt, so you’re covered here, you did that.
Read this again:
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/myth-busting-window-of-opportunity-in-tkr.6895/
And yes, doing those steps foot over foot is AWESOME!!!!!
Toss those nasty doubts right out the window, they are just part of this rollercoaster ride we call Recovery. You were so happy the other day, don’t let this get you.
You’re doing great! Better than me, as I can barely go up steps foot over foot, and I need both a railing and a cane to do so, and I absolutely cannot go down foot over foot without contortions and pain.
IF this was true, all those who don’t push to pain would not recover, and yet people do.
And, if you think about it, in the beginning, most any attempts at bending do hurt, so you’re covered here, you did that.
Read this again:
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/myth-busting-window-of-opportunity-in-tkr.6895/
And yes, doing those steps foot over foot is AWESOME!!!!!
Toss those nasty doubts right out the window, they are just part of this rollercoaster ride we call Recovery. You were so happy the other day, don’t let this get you.
You’re doing great! Better than me, as I can barely go up steps foot over foot, and I need both a railing and a cane to do so, and I absolutely cannot go down foot over foot without contortions and pain.
traceys
graduate
@Jockette i didn’t know you struggled so on stairs. Now I feel guilty whining about only being able to go up them and not down. We really can’t compared recoveries.
Looks like @grandma chris has taught a valued lesson in venting her frustration.
Looks like @grandma chris has taught a valued lesson in venting her frustration.
OP
OP
grandma chris
graduate
Haha! I figure I post quite a lot of positive stuff about how well I feel that I'm doing. I better post when I'm not feeling great too! I have been very lucky so far but I want to leave an accurate record - for anyone else reading this and for myself if perchance I need another knee doing. (Perish the thought!!) @sistersinhim , @Jockette , @traceys you have all been so generous in sharing your experience - good and bad. It's the only way this can work.
Sometimes I hesitate to share my negative experiences. I’m almost 2 years out and I have not had a good outcome. I am looking for second opinions and dreading the possibility/probability of a revision. Yes, perish the thought!
So I hesitate because I don’t want members in early-ish recovery to think they are headed the direction mine went, when they don’t see progress or they have a set back.
But also keep in mind, I had a partial, not a total, so, as always, we should not compare because we didn’t all have the same surgery.
So I hesitate because I don’t want members in early-ish recovery to think they are headed the direction mine went, when they don’t see progress or they have a set back.
But also keep in mind, I had a partial, not a total, so, as always, we should not compare because we didn’t all have the same surgery.
OP
OP
grandma chris
graduate
@Jockette there are so many people posting their experience and the results are so varied! It's extremely educational and useful. Your experience has not been as positive as many and there are many lessons to be learned from your thread as well as from @sistersinhim and @SusieShoes, Josephine and so many others. Your generosity in sharing with us helps so very much! I continue to be very grateful.
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
How right you are: each recovery is completely different. I must have read scores of recovery threads leading up to my surgery, every bilateral thread I could find. They were enormously helpful and reassuring, though I knew going in that I might not get one of the "good" recoveries and could end up with problems. As it turns out, I did have a good recovery -- but it had lots of differences from the ones I'd read. At times I had to improvise (figure out my own idea of a solution to whatever minor issue arose). And of course one knee recovered differently from the other knee! TKR patients learn to roll with the punches, so to speak, because there's always something. Mostly not dire, but something.
Like you, I wanted to leave an accurate record of my experience. What you're doing by leaving your experience is adding to a treasure trove of such accounts that will help people in the future. Doctors and nurses and therapists will tell patients what to expect from bilateral TKR, but reading the experiences of people who actually underwent the surgery AND recovery is enormously helpful to readers who come here hoping to settle their fears, set expectations, and learn how best to approach and manage this life-changing surgery. Whatever their result proves to be, it helps to know others have gone through the same thing, and survived, and are here to share what they learned. You're an angel for being part of that sharing.
Like you, I wanted to leave an accurate record of my experience. What you're doing by leaving your experience is adding to a treasure trove of such accounts that will help people in the future. Doctors and nurses and therapists will tell patients what to expect from bilateral TKR, but reading the experiences of people who actually underwent the surgery AND recovery is enormously helpful to readers who come here hoping to settle their fears, set expectations, and learn how best to approach and manage this life-changing surgery. Whatever their result proves to be, it helps to know others have gone through the same thing, and survived, and are here to share what they learned. You're an angel for being part of that sharing.
OP
OP
grandma chris
graduate
![[Bonesmart.org] Grandma Chris gets a new knee!](https://data.bonesmart.org/attachments/61/61210-1beefdb31af7ecaab55c1e92814a1c54.jpg?hash=G-79sxr37K)
Yes, I have dreams about it, especially when it is hurting in my sleep, I'll dream about it hurting. I just as soon bypass that particular dream!
