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Bilateral TKR Hitched A Ride to The Other Side

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Pooshay-

You and I are having similar recoveries. My sleep is better and I don't suffer from any burning etc but agree that thighs and calves have atrophyed making my knees feel like lead weights.

I've been going to out patient therapy for the past month. As of Friday, she handed us a print out of all the stretching exercises we have been doing and told me to try to do them twice a day at home because this week we move to larger muscle exercises to get my legs and knees moving better. This should be fun, right????? :snork:

I have tight bands on knees but I figure that will disappear over time as the swelling decreases. Keep posting it's nice to read and compare.

Best of luck!
 
I began my 6th week, and so far it hasn't gone well. Usually, my legs start burning early, but the pain meds took care of it. Yesterday, that didnt happen. Pain (5-6) continued throughout the morning. I emailed OS's nurse and she changed my meds.

Before: Norco 10/325 every 4 hrs (my alarm was set for the times).

Now: 2 Aleve am and pm with food. Alternate Norco and Tramadol.

And ice, ice baby!

This morning, burning pain woke me up at 6a (4 hrs later rhan usual), so I iced, Aleve'd, ate, and Tramadol'ed! No more burn. Good, cause I go to Outpatient PT in 1 hour.
 
O.M.G.! Today was as good for me as yesterday was lousy!

I had my first outpatient PT workout and I enjoyed every minute of it! It was like old times, except for the size of the weight (2 pounds!). I was afraid of the bike, but i was able to do full revolutions from the start (yay right knee which is the tighest one). I worked out for 1 1/2 hours strengthening quads, hamstrings, glutes and legs, and stretching quads, hamstrings, glutes and legs. The most challenging sets were the assisted heel slides and the prone hang (with 2 pound weights, not 15!). Nothing hurt too much.

Then, I did something I had been unable to do for almost 2 years: wall squats using the fitness ball! Woot!!!!!

The bands were around my knees, but they were very quiet!

Hubby took me home and finally took some time for himself: he went out to lunch with a friend.

Massage therapist came for a one hour session. Pure bliss! This was his first appointment since he left the hospital last week. His infection is under control and being watched because of his THR. We measured ROM before massage and after massage and there was definite improvements in both legs. Also used a little e-stim on some hurry parts, with good results.

I spent the rest of the afternoon icing and doing some work on my computer. Medicated as needed, spent some time on BoneSmart, and coddled with my little Tuxedo cat Scootie (she's always curious about the ice!). Oh, massaged the scars between icings.

No nap today. Somehow, I couldn't shut down my mind, but I'm ready to do so now! But before I close up, I will have some special Thoughts for my BoneSmart friends who didn't have a good day today.

Hugs!
 
Wow, it's amazing what a difference a day can make!! I have found that you can get a twinge come on so quickly and then the next morning it has completely gone (thankfully). Your report was great to read PooShay - you are making great progress with your PT work. Keep up the good work!
 
Took a 6-minute walk today, and I covered twice the distance as the last 6-minute walk.:yes 4:

I'm beginning to forget to take my pain needs; unfortunately, but the time I realize it, the pain is strong. Going to space to 4 1/2 hours, and if that goes well, to 5 hours. The burn and tightness are still there, though.

We had lunch with my brother and SIL yesterday. First time I spent 45 min in the car. Following advice from this board, I sat in the back and was comfy. Après lunch, we went to DSW to look for some shoes for me. There were none in my size (of the models I liked).

I do need to update my orthotics since my feet are still flat. What do you guys use for orthotics?

Life is beautiful!
 
Hi PooShay
Congratulations on your walking - it is great to see progress like that. I use orthotics called Orthaheel made by Scholl but they might be a UK brand - I'm not sure. I can't decide if they are helping me at the moment as I have developed a niggle in my left foot - I think it's trial and error with our new knees and footwear.
 
Gee ladies, I feel totally behind the curve. I don't walk anywhere except in the house. I do have to climb 24 steps to get into my house and to my living area which I normally do once a day to let the bulldogs out. I performed my stretches today and laid with my legs hanging off the bed for 6 minutes and it almost brought me to tears. I'm trying to cut out pain meds but I'm sitting here, having just made dinner and now feeling miserable on the verge of tears with ice on my knee. I go to outpatient PT 3 days a week and feel like it's doing the job but maybe I should be doing more??
 
Bev, why do you want to cut out your pain meds when you still need them? We're about on the same timeline as far as the operation, and I take mine by the clock. Alarm set for every 4 hours, AND I keep a journal to show whether I actually took them. For the past 5 days, I've forgotten to take one, so I'm stretching the time to 4 1/2 hours. If that doesn't work, I'm going back to 4. Pain slows down healing!

Guess what! I can't go up two steps! You do 24. :wow2: I walked 6 minutes; some people are walking a mile. It's their thing, not mine.

There's no curve. We're all healing at our own pace. You do something I can't do. I do something you aren't doing yet. Doesn't mean a thing! Every day, SOMETHING gets better.

I do PT 3x a week. 1 1/2 hour, which I love (gym rat that I am). I think you and I have good PTs in that they make us work, but not at the painful level. We can expect results with such a regimen. I do the prone hang too for 1 minute at a time. If I did more than 2, I'd probably be in tears too. Instead of trying to cut out the pain meds, cut out the pain. Experiment with the length of your prone hang.

Bev, you can't let this get to you now, cause it will be a different story next week, and the week after, and after......

Hugs!
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Jo. I will check Dr. Scholl. I used to have my sports orthotics made specifically for me, which I needed when I taught high impact aerobics. I don't plan on going back to high impact, so I'm looking for something less expensive.

And in keeping with the British vs American meaning of words, what is a niggle? I'm not going to Google it!:snork:
 
Oh Bev ..tomorrow has to be better !!! :sigh:

Sending good thoughts your way ! And - do you have any chocolate ? Seems to be really helpful on those kinds of days ...:friends::friends:
 
Oh Bev, don't cut out your pain meds, it's way to early. I hope you are feeling better now. It's normal to have a good cry, hugs to you.
 
Bev,

I'm glad that you're going back to taking your pain meds "on schedule". I haven't had my surgery yet, but I'm finding everyone's suggestions for "the other side" VERY helpful. As they said, there are discouraging days, but we will get better as we travel further in our recuperation. You're ahead of me. So I'm glad that you and the others are here to encourage the next group of us with our recuperation -- particularly on the discouraging days.

I like the chocolate advice too. I'm going to put that on our on-going grocery list for recuperation days, weeks, and months.

Hope that you have a good night's sleep and a MUCH better Monday.:friends:

Ditzzeechick said:
I am having the worst day ever, i cannot stop crying! But it didnt begin this way...***!? Thank you for the advice, i can use all i can get :hysterical. :ThankYou
Click to expand...
 
PooShay said:
... And in keeping with the British vs American meaning of words, what is a niggle? I'm not going to Google it!:snork:
Click to expand...

PooShay,
I was wondering about that too and Googled it. I found an interesting story about it by J. R. R. Tolkien. Maybe I'll buy a copy one of these days. He's one of my favorite authors. I like his short stories too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_by_Niggle
 
Now THAT'S a very sad state of affairs, PooShay!!!!!

[Bonesmart.org] Hitched A Ride to The Other Side
 
We've had 12 tornadoes touch down in my area this afternoon. The emergency sirens went on for a while … and I slept thru the start of it all. Boy, this healing takes a lot out of me.

(BTW, no human lives lost; haven't heard about missing pets.)
 
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