TKR Hawkie's Sunbeam Journey

[kneeper]

I've heard of it but am not sure if it's just one of those things that sounds good but has no evidence or if it really can be helpful. My guess would be you're far enough out from the surgery that it might not be harmful.
But remember not to let them hurt you.

 

[tigwy11]

@hawk2go sorry to not be around. Just been busy. Knee does pretty good most days. Still stiff in morning and getting up and down. Walking is good. Working out 4 days a week. Trying to keep up the stretches!

That release thing sounds interesting. Can't wait to hear what they do!

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi I've just read through your thread. Wow you've had a bit of a journey. A word of advice though if you don't mind...most stuff on wiki is put in by just about anybody. It can be very unreliable. I've had first hand experience of this, a couple of years back, when a student had handed in her work and so many things were wrong in it. I knew the stuff she'd been quoting wasn't from anything I'd lectured in class or recommended reading list. When I went to her bibliography at the back of her work it was all from wiki. I went online, checked her quotes and lo and behold there were the inaccuracies. Worse still I'd already told the class no wiki. I had a private tutorial session with each student and when she came in I explained why I had said no Wiki. She accepted this and redid her assignment. Much better second attempt.

When it comes to getting medical advice it's best to go on a hospital or Boots md website. The information is far more accurate. I'm not telling you what to do but please be careful. I'd hate that PT to do anything to you that is going to hurt.

Maybe @Pumpkln can shed some light on myofascial release. Anyway, good luck and please let us know how it goes xxx

Love Nana moon 27 xxx

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi I just looked on an MFR.co.uk site over here and it's classed as an alternative therapy. It sounded ok but I'm no medic!! Xx

 

[Pumpkin]

@hawk2go ,
You were in the Phoenix area when you heard about MFR, the Center of MFR is in Sedona, AZ. It was developed by John Barnes PT, and is a manual therapy technique.

It should not be painful, if you feel anything beyond the good kind of discomfort tell them to stop.
Do you "need MFR", probably not, will it be helpful, maybe.

 

[hawk2go]

sorry to not be around. Just been busy.

That is stupendous, no need to apologize.

It should not be painful, if you feel anything beyond the good kind of discomfort tell them to stop. Do you "need MFR", probably not, will it be helpful, maybe.

Thanks. I had to cancel the session because I have a virus, upper respiratory infection. I may reschedule and will let you guys know the outcome.

 

[hawk2go]

Hi - I have been posting on other threads but not on my own ...

Most days are fine. Even the bad days are not that bad. I have been taking 1 AS Tylenol in the morning and 1 at night and mostly sleep through the night, definitely not waking from pain. There have been many days recently when I don't take anything at all for pain. When I do forego the Tylenol I get a small bit of pain on the lateral side of my knee (I guess the numbness is wearing off) and pain in my recently repaired ankle. Sometimes I get a weird feeling like something is stuffed on the lateral side, my instinct is to want to "push" something in that area back in. I've added an Aleve or 2 once in while when the Tylenol needs a bit of help. I haven't done any really athletic things, but I walk quite a bit and The Knee is mostly comfortable. I work 4 days a week in the office and have started working from home on Fridays instead of Wednesdays. That's big because previously I needed that commute break in the middle of the week. I started packing my Mom's place and that has been huge because I have to drive for a few hours, then clean and pack then drive home. My home has definitely suffered during this period

I am able to do most things I need to do during any day. I am doing way more than I was able to do pre-surgery. Am I glad I got The Knee, you betcha!

 

[Wanttobebiking]

Hey Hawk, you sound great! Doing more than you were pre-op and glad you have a new knee. Wow! Wish I was there. I am still working on stairs and sometimes grateful for my new knee but not all of the time. Hopefully you will do be done with your mom's house! Again you sound great! Congrats!

 

[hawk2go]

I am still working on stairs and sometimes grateful for my new knee but not all of the time.

Stairs are still tricky for me. I have eliminated the weird hip twist but sometimes just feel like having both feet on the step, especially going down. I find that I often have to focus to go down a whole flight like an adult but going up 1 foot per step has returned to be pretty natural.

I have definitely traded concerns pre-op and post-op but the list of post-op capabilities greatly outpace the pre-op, I was really getting more and more limited. This is the first time that I have said unequivocally that I am glad I got The Knee (and yes it is still a proper noun). So being a few weeks behind me, I figure your equivocation is appropriate

 

[Wanttobebiking]

I do long for the day my knee feels normal and I just walk down the stairs without thinking. For some reason, I am back to icing. Seems one area of the knee heals and soon another is seeking attention. So glad to hear one of us is unequivocally happy. Yay!

 

[hawk2go]

I was icing last night after a long day at work, all day meeting plus still recovering from the weekend packing. I figure I'll ice The Knee forever and ever, amen.

 

[hawk2go]

I had my 6 month follow up today. It was a bit early but everyone is pleased with everything. The prosthetic looks great, the movement looks great, the ROM looks great and I go back in 6 months to see if all is still good. I didn't take any meds so that I could really pinpoint where it hurt. Without meds my pain level was like 2 - wooooo and hoooooo. It's hurting a bit after the exam so I'll take my daily Tylenol (I stopped taking anything at night). They xrayed the right knee to assess, it's showing bone on bone with some osteophytes. I got an injection and hope that holds me for a while. The doc said "well now that you've done the left knee, you'll have no problem doing the right!". Just slow down, I am definitely not all the way there doc ... I hope I can delay for a couple years.

So the real life stuff - I am expecting several of guests for the holidays. I spent the weekend getting ready by cleaning, decorating, cooking, etc. I did a lot of shopping, bought a ton of food and was moving it all around. A 40lb case of chicken, several pork racks, groceries, beverages, Christmas decorations - all mingled in with lots of trips up and down the stairs. I had a bit of residual pain in the knee but my shoulders were complaining more! I can't believe I am here (just not there )

 

[Wanttobebiking]

Congrats, Hawk. What a good report. I'm basically where you are, but not quite as happy. Wishing there were no pain and I could do steps. I guess it is coming.

I too want to delay surgery on my non-TKR knee for a couple of years.

Yay, Hawk!

 

[hawk2go]

Wanttobebiking, I hope the stairs come for you soon. I completed a questionnaire for this check-up called KOOS or some such acronym. It helped me understand where I am in the recovery process. It was more comprehensive that the assessment they did at PT.

 

[Wanttobebiking]

I will be much smarter the second time around! And thanks for the well wishes. At least the holiday craziness is helping me forget about it a lot of the time!

Again you sound great. Nice place to be!

 

[theresav]

I don't know the answer about your scar sensitivity, but some of these suggestions might help.

Some people have found that moist heat helps with scar sensitivity:
Night pain solutions using moist heat and clingfilm

The other thing you could try is to gradually de-sensitize the scar by massaging it gently. Start touching it gently, then apply a little cream and massage gently.

Try touching the scar with some soft material, then work up to materials that are less gentle on it.

I had great luck last time with plastic wrap..to help with scar sensitivity

left knee 9/21/15
right knee 11/30/15

 

[hawk2go]

Plastic wrap ended up being my nighttime save when the doc took me off narcotics. Up until a few weeks ago, I still sometimes wrapped the knee when I knew I overdid it during the day.

Strange, after a great report from the OS on the left knee plus new X-rays and some steroid in the right, I am having one of the worst nights I've had in quite a while. Both knees are really uncomfortable and I took 2 Tylenol about 20 minutes ago. The OS manipulated The Knee quite a bit during the exam. It could be some residual from that on the left. When I get a steroid shot, I typically rest during that day but had to be in the office due to a product deployment. Maybe I'll bite the bullet and call out tomorrow or at least work from home. The roller coaster continues, wheeeeeeeeeee-fit.

 

[hawk2go]

I'm WFH today and the knees feel much better. I ended up icing as usual for a bit in the evening but was really uncomfortable so went to bed early. The middle-of-the-night Tylenol plus glad wrapping both knees seemed to do the trick. I am relatively pain free today and have not yet needed meds.

I think The Knees really don't want me to get too happy, so all future updates will be more sedate and are to be read imagining a "Ben Stein" type monotone.

 

[theresav]

Glad you got some rest. My knee hasn't reached the night pain point yet. I still have sterile strips on it. What kind of closure did your surgeon use?

left knee 9/21/15
right knee 11/30/15

 

[hawk2go]

My surgeon used staples and a very large rectangular band-aide(R). I wore that for about 3 weeks (if I recall). The drainage hole was left open once the drain was removed, day 2ish. Once the staples were removed, they went to steri-strips.

It's been many, many weeks, since I had that night pain like last night.