How Come I Don't Embrace "Moderation"?

[Jamie]

I've now joined the ranks of the Overdoers.

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day here in Kansas City, hubbie and I decided to work outdoors in our garden beds. So we cleaned, weeded, dug, trenched, moved plants around, raked, bagged and enjoyed ourselves silly for about 5 hours. I knew I was tired when I quit, but nothing hurt. I was happy. Until I went to bed, that is. About midnight the restless legs started....and continued all night long. Heating pad didn't work. Aleve didn't work. Toss, turn...move, switch. Get up, walk around, go back to bed and start again. Then by morning BOTH the TKR knee and the other "good" knee hurt at the bend. I recognize THAT pain as the one I get from too much bending over to work at ground level and getting up and down from sitting on the ground.

Today it is not really too bad. Not any swelling to speak of, just some lingering aches. I'm thinking this may even be more of a case of using muscles I haven't used in a while since both knees and legs are involved. But my problem remains that I NEVER have learned to be moderate and work up to a certain activity level!!! I guess I'll NEVER learn! At least I'm in good company here on the forum, as several others are in the Club of the Overdoers!

 

[JenniferG]

I'm just impressed that you were sitting on the ground. How did you get up. Maybe with one good knee it is still an option. Yikes !!!

 

[Jamie]

It's not pretty yet, but I can kneel on my "good" knee if needed and sit on the ground with my TKR knee bent. Then to get up, I roll over a little so I can put my weight firmly on the TKR leg to stand. Most of the time I try to hold onto something just to help get started standing up. But sometimes that isn't possible and I just tough through it by putting my right hand on the top of my RTKR leg and push up. I hope never, ever to see a video of myself doing this maneuver. And I pray that I'll get stronger and better at it with time. This stuff HAS to be good for the old muscles, right???

 

[Skeet]

I can relate, Jen. I can barely walk when I first get up thanks to the 10+ miles I did on uneven terrain this weekend. Once I get going it isn't too bad. Mostly my thigh muscles are in pain and my biceps, but the knee itself feels fine. So, that is a huge praise in my book.

Take it easy, ice, rest, ice, and repeat, until you feel better. Then try to stop when you feel good still next time!

 

[Doug]

Yep, moderation has a different meaning for us TKR folks.
I think we were hemmed in a cage for so long with bad knees, when we finally get out of the cage we are like lions looking to get into something....and then we pay for it and find out we are really kitty's!!

 

[Jamie]

I agree, Doug. But I think you had the right idea in another thread. If you don't keep pushing a little now and then, you don't make progress. So maybe the moderation is really that once you realize you overdo it, that you then take a little rest for a day or so and then go on to push again another day! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!! How are you feeling today? Any difference in that pain/tight spot?

 

[JenniferG]

Now that I think about it, MODERATION was my new word given to me by mt PT in the hospital. ha ha ha He was a good guy though. I owe him alot. he made me do real people stairs because the world has real people stairs not little wooden ramped ones.

 

[Doug]

Jamie, I've even laid off trying to stretch it. It really has me worried because it is tight and does a little pop every now and then..The most I will do the rest of the week is walk or swim. The rest of the knee is feeling the best it has felt. And this this mess pop up. Oh well, the road to recovery isn't all straight and flat..

 

[Jamie]

Nope, you're right, Doug. If ya didn't have a few bumps in the road, you wouldn't enjoy the smooth parts when you get them! Swimming sounds like an excellent plan. Sorry to hear that you are still having problems, though. Could be a result of that little "test" the doctor did. Sometimes I think they don't realize how much pain they can put a person through just trying to find that magic hurt spot to make a diagnosis.

 

[gatiger]

You have to 'do too much' in order to figure out what is 'enough'. Kinda like when we were teenagers and learning to drink..................just sayin.

 

[Josephine]

Eeh, Jamie - thought you were talking about me there for a minute!!
But no - all cool! And I might well be joining all of you in your quest for health and fitness.

I STARTED AT THE GYM TODAY!

Because I have been referred there by my doctor, I get 1-on-1 supervision and instruction for the first three visits. Well, today was my 'induction' and I was taken round all the equipment with a very nice young man bearing the title of "Wellness Lifestyle Instructor". We had a good laugh while he was showing me how do use it all. What most impressed me is the computer feature. Forgive me if you have this - I've not seen it before - but you get issued a logon key which you plug into each piece of equipment and it records all your activities. As your visits mount up, so you get a picture of your progress and fitness.

It only last about an hour and I didn't really get to push myself but I came home about 2pm to log in here, feet up on the settee (as per) and computer before me on the cantilever table and .....

fell asleep!

Finally woke about 5pm! 3 hrs! Jeez - hope I get over that real quick! And now my knee is sore and achy - not not the knee what was a problem a few weeks ago. The OTHER one!

Still, can't wait to go again next Tues. I have to have three supervised visits before I can fly solo and this guy is only there Tues and Thursdays. Still I have my nemesis at home to keep me going.

 

[JenniferG]

The nemesis, the bike you post a pix of earlier right? Good for you Josephine! I want to join a gym after I'm done with PT. If I follow thru I'll be good. I just want to be taught how to safely transition what I'm doing now to the gym. So supervision for the first 3 is a good idea.

 

[Josephine]

Well, it's a a requirement with this system. How it works is that your personal doctor refers you to the gym for various things like morbid obesity (me! BMI 46!), post heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, general lack of fitness, etc. All of which need supervised exercise to begin with to make sure a) you do it right and b) the doctor is covered in case you overdo it and cause yourself problems. It's a big government drive in this country. Local councils have been given BIG budgets to open up gyms all over to get couch potatoes off their buts and into the gym. The other plus is that you get the sessions (about 6 weeks worth) either free or for a small payment like £1 (2US$) though to be honest, when I asked at the gym what was the regular fee, it was only about £2 a session anyway! It's all government funded, y'see, so fees are minimal unlike the private gymnasiums.

And as for the 3 supervised sessions, that's a fluid thing because if the individual seems sensible and is confident to go it alone, they might be let off the leash after 2 weeks whilst another person who isn't quite getting it will have more supervised sessions. The only drawback is, as I said, that my chap works at other centres as well so is only at my gym on Tues and Thurs which is a bit annoying. But hopefully next week he'll let me 'go'!

 

[JenniferG]

Yes, but government funded usually = tax payer funded. How long have they been doing this? Do you have to go or only if you want to particpate? It would be interesting if government enforced and susidized exercise/diet works. Here in the USA the harder we try to diet the bigger we all get. pretty interesting if you think about it.

 

[Jamie]

Cool, Josephine!!! When I could use the gym and my trainer, I really enjoyed learning how all the machines worked. I thought they made exercising a lot more fun than trying to do things by yourself....a few reps and you're finished, move on to another one. For my whole life, I was intimidated by all those hard bodies using very confusing machines. My wonderful trainer de-mystified it all for me and now I have no fear of walking right up and using the machines. I hope to be able to go back to a gym membership again in the fall if my knee cooperates.

 

[1jt@atime]

Jen, don't wait for PT to end to join a gym, do it now! I started going to the gym at about 3 weeks post-op and started my exercise in the water. I incorporated a lot of the PT exercises to the water and walked, bent my legs and things like that. That was and still is the best for me. By going to the gym on my off days from PT, I would then speak to my therapist about what machines were okay to use and what to avoid. Actually, most all was okay by her but I was afraid of making my back pains worse. It was nice being able to get advice from the therapist as I progressed at the gym to get my questions answered by her because the people working at a gym don't always know about tkrs.

 

[Nursepair]

The thing I never liked about going to our local Gym were the skinny bimbo's, I much preferred a Curves type gym. Most of the women there were my size!!!! I prefer Aquafit now. It's hard work. I always have a nap after that and PT. I also need one after shopping for an hour!! It sucks really, wastes a lot fo the day. I have to catch up with the chores later, that's why I am on here so late most nights. At least I can usually sleep in late in the mornings.

Kevin had his BP taken at a doctors office today, he has a stress test there once a year (on June 11th this year). It was 110/80, it's always low. Strange considering he is very overweight. The doc said it's strange but sometimes being overweight does not always cause high BP or heart attacks. His cholesterol is also low, 4.2 I think. But he said if you are overwight and the BP is high, it does help to lower it if you diet. Guess it depends on your genes? His sister who diets all the time has high cholesterol and has had a mini stroke , go figure??? Kevin has the stress test as his, mum, dad and brother all had heart attacks. Guess it's the same with smokers too, some die at forty and others live to be in their 90's!