Bilateral TKR Hitched A Ride to The Other Side

[PooShay]

I remember this very well! The knee immobilizers a day or so post op.

Here I am (front row) kneeling on the hardwood floor before our Jazzercise performance at a Mavericks halftime.

Working my way to a hand stand in Yoga class!

So, things are going well....

HOWEVER: my ROM hasn't improved in either knee despite that I still do stretching exercises, and the right knee still hurts at the highest ROM.

STILL numb in various areas of my legs, especially inner thighs (aggravating!). And my scars haven't gotten any prettier. And I "feel" my knees when it's cold.

I'm very thankful to BoneSmart for the information and all the great BoneSmarties who gave me encouragement and sympathy before and during recovery. Thanks to Dr Peters, his PA Angela, and my physical therapist Yolanda (stopped by the rehab place a couple of weeks ago to give her a hug!).

When people ask me about my knees, I say: "What knees?" I have other health issues (arthritic hip and back), but not the knees (knock on wood!).

I'll be back!

 

[RestAssured]

@PooShay,

Congratulations on your two year anniversary! I can't believe that in March my Left knee will be 4 years old! It has moved along like a trooper, helping me take care of the rascally right knee and now foot/ankle.

 

[RunA42K]

Happy 2 year Ah- knee- versary PooShay! It's always so nice to hear from you. Two years already...seems impossible, time sure does fly by.

 

[Ditzzeechick]

Poo!! I wish I had your flexibility! Oh Poo, those pics bring back memories...I'd rather FORGET!! Congratulations, TWO YEARS Later...here we are...better than ever, keep on keeping on!!

 

[PooShay]

Wow! Found my thread of page 33. So many new TKRs! It's almost impossible to keep up with all of them.

It's been two and a half years since my BTKR, and I have an update to something I posted 6-ish months ago:

HOWEVER: my ROM hasn't improved in either knee despite that I still do stretching exercises, and the right knee still hurts at the highest ROM.

So, I'm active (teach low impact Jazzercise classes 4x/week. Walk 5 miles 4x/week). A few months ago, I developed Achilles tendinitis in both feet. Did all the right things and after two months and still no relief in the pain, I went to a podiatrist. X-rays discovered bone spur in the left heel and a bone chip lodged in the tendon of the right foot. WTHeck? Off to PT 2x/week for 4 weeks: exercises not only included strengthening the muscles in the feet, BUT also stretching the quads, hamstrings and calves. So, I asked my PT measure the ROM in both knees. Still hovering around the low 120s. Still major pain in the right knee on bending to highest ROM. I did all my exercises religiously. On the last PT day, PT measured ROM. Full ROM in left knee. Near full ROM in right knee and no noticeable pain!!! That's more than 2 years post op!

Above is to say not to give up. Improvements can happen years later (though I have a sneaky suspicion that I will have to continue with the stretching to maintain the improvements).

YET: some things are still unresolved: Nerve pain. still there. Numbness: yup. Maybe they're permanent, but that's OK.

I get to visit my OS (more than likely his PA) on my 3-year an-knee-versary.

 

[Pumpkin]

Pooshay,
Great to see you updating, and sharing your recent progress with ROM.
Glad you are doing so well, are your achilles tendons healed?
Take care and thanks for the update.


Sent from my iPod touch using BoneSmart®
LTKR Sept 13 2011
Revision April 15 2014

 

[PooShay]

Pumpkin: Slight improvement in tendinitis. Permanent solution: surgery to remove fragment. 4 weeks in a boot and 4 additional weeks of inactivity. Dilemma!

 

[Josephine]

How fantastic and lovely to hear from you. This is definitely going in our Amazing Recoveries section!

On the last PT day, PT measured ROM. Full ROM in left knee. Near full ROM in right knee

But can you give us some numbers here? "full" is different things to different people!

 

[PooShay]

Hi, Jo! "Full" was my PT's term: 140 in left knee, 139 in right knee. And I have to keep up with the exercises (not a prob for me).

 

[Jamie]

Wow....your ROM improvements are fantastic!!! Such a great story that you were able to continue improving up to two years after surgery. Now....to get that foot fixed! It sounds very painful.

 

[PooShay]

. So, went to the doc for my three-year check up. Everything looks fine on the X-ray . Took a pic of the knees from the outside today. Guess the scars will never look pretty or even fade away. But, as long as I don't have to think "good up, bad down? When I get to a curb, I'm happy! Now,off to catch up with a few threads. I see Sonja is still keeping everyone everywhere (including hospitals!) entertained.


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum

 

[Jamie]

I think they are a LOVELY pair of knees!!! I'm so glad you have returned to let us know how you're doing. Thanks!!!

 

[PooShay]

Oh, and my sleep pattern has NOT gone back to normal. 0130 and I will force myself to go to sleep.

 

[RunA42K]

Your knees look wonderful @PooShay, if only my one could look so normal! Thanks for always coming back and lifting us up!

 

[Ditzzeechick]

It's hard to believe it's been three years! When ur in the thick of it, you feel it'll never get better and yet here we are. Happy to see you doing so well!

 

[Pumpkin]

Pooshay,
Great to hear from you and how well you are doing, thanks for the update!