TKR Hubby's new knee

[EalingGran]

Great report. Sounds like you are both doing really well. Don't overdo it yourself with the household stuff-you need to make sure you take it easy as well.

 

[Layla]

Hubs is doing phenomenally well at only one week post op! Great for both of you.
It's amazing the activity he's keeping up with, he's quite the trooper!
Happy One Week Anniversary, Steve!
@Susie-Q

 

[Susie-Q]

It really is amazing! I keep comparing my recovery to his and I know we're not supposed to do that! I do think that the way the surgery is done these days has improved, even in just 5 years. Better alignment via the robot?

I have an older friend who has an 85 year old male friend. He got his knee replaced also by Dr. Lee and she says he is doing VERY well. He had a really bad knee prior. I considered myself to be someone who had a high tolerance for pain but maybe hubby just rolls with it better. He knows it's going to hurt and just deals with it. Who knows. He played football all through his youth and when he was in high school he would routinely get his shoulder knocked out of the socket. He'd come off the field, get it popped back in and then go back out to play. At the end of the season he had to have surgery to keep it from popping out. That had to be painful! Plus the ACL repair and recovery at age 30. I'm just glad he's doing so well. We've got a very long flight and cruise to go on in 5-1/2 months so he'd better recover fast!

Forgot to mention, we also got the Lounge Dr pillow yesterday and he seems to like it. He uses it on the couch, we have electric reclining on both sides. We have a CA king adjustable bed so he can adjust his side however he wants for elevating.

 

[benne68]

Better alignment via the robot?

That's what my surgeon says. He was resistant to robotic assisted surgery for a long time, but now believes it provides better sizing/fit because of the pre-surgery scan. I didn't have it for my knee, but did for my second hip and did see differences in my recoveries.

 

[Layla]

Your husband probably learned a lot from your recoveries also. He saw firsthand that the worst of times are only temporary. Given the positive direction his recovery has taken this soon...it's difficult to image him struggling on your flight and cruise five and a half months from now. He'll be golden!
Lounge Doctor is great, even when you're not in recovery, just chillin on the sofa, or in bed with a good book or tv show. Happy Thursday!
@Susie-Q

 

[Susie-Q]

Post-Op Days 9, 10, 11,12,13

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I've been very busy helping my son move out of our house into his new apartment. Steve could not help and our daughter is still in New Zealand so it came down to me to help him. We had 3 of his high school buddies help with the big stuff on Saturday and then I've been helping him unpack and go to Costco, Target and IKEA for essentials.

Poor Steve has been on his own for the past 4 days, 6-12 hrs each day but he's done just fine. His day revolves around meds, exercises, Legos, icing and elevating, getting his own drinks and snacks and watching James Bond movies. He took off the waterproof bandage last Thursday and tomorrow will be his last day of wearing the compression hose. First post-op appt with the OS is on Thursday. He already does not like doing the exercises. He even said it's frustrating to stretch his knee over and over to then have it swell up and get stiff. I tried to tell him!! We have his second PT appointment today. I went back and checked my flexion progress and he is much further along than I was. I think my knee took longer to get to it's final bend because for the last 2 months prior to surgery, I could not bend my knee past a certain point without severe bone on bone pain. I couldn't push my emergency brake on the floor of the car because I couldn't bend enough. So I'm sure my tendons and ligaments shortened up and then things took longer afterwards. Anyway, we're not focusing on me! He's getting a bit stir crazy and housebound. Today will be good to get him out of the house, maybe we'll go out for lunch too. We did go out last Thursday for lunch. He came with me on my errands. I'm hoping he can come see our son's new apartment soon. He's afraid the walk will be too far. Son lives in an apartment above our local shopping mall. It's fairly new and very updated and modern. You need a code to get in the main doors, elevator and his apartment door. It has underground parking and is very secure. I counted last night when we were leaving, it's 75 steps from his apt to the elevator and then another 75 steps to son's underground parking spot. I think hubby will be able to do it fairly soon, hopefully this weekend.

*edit* Forgot to mention, he's only taking 1 oxy every 8 hrs, which I think is amazing. He'd like to wean down even more but isn't sure when. I told him the next step is 1 every 12 hrs. His pain level is pretty low. He's still taking Celebrex and Tylenol. He really wants to be able to drive and have his nightly beer again. I think he's pretty close to weaning off completely. We'll ask the OS on Thursday and see what he thinks.

Forgot another thing! He's smack in the middle of the huge energy drain. He's sooooo tired! He slept until 4 yesterday afternoon, only getting up for meds/snacks and the bathroom. I told him it's completely normal and read a few articles on here about it.

He LOVES his Lounge Doctor!! I'm wishing I had it for my recovery! I don't know why I didn't get one for myself. Well, that's all for now. I hope everyone is having a good day!

 

[benne68]

Sounds like he's having a great recovery so far, @Susie-Q. He's well along for so early.

Love your note about how he feels about the exercises and also dealing with the fatigue. I just wonder how on earth you keep from telling him "I told you so...."

 

[Layla]

Wow, Susie, you've been busy with your sons move. It's encouraging to read that your husband did well, mostly on his own for the past four days. Hopefully your son is settling in and you and hubs are adjusting to the empty nest.

I'll bet he's ready to ditch the compression hose. He's doing so well and it's great news he loves the Lounge Doctor. Wishing him a wonderful visit with his OS tomorrow. I'm sure his surgeon will be very pleased with his progress. Hope you two have a great day!
@Susie-Q

 

[missyjane]

Susie-Q,
I thought for a long time before purchasing my Lounge Doctor but it's awesome! Five months post surgery my routine is to use it for 30-60 minutes every night in bed while reading. It really helps with that little end-of-day swelling.

 

[Susie-Q]

Post-Op Day 14

Last day of compression hose!

Well, his PT isn't as happy with the Lounge Dr. She doesn't like the fact that it has that bend and keeps his knee in a slightly bent position. She'd rather it force his knee to stretch while flat. He's still using it but is scooting the cushion forward so the bend in the foam is under his calf. I'm not sure I like that either as it puts pressure on that calf that they say isn't good. I think I have a solution. He has another long narrow cushion that acts like a rolled towel and he can put that under his ankles to achieve a straighter leg. We'll have to see if that works or look for another solution..... FYI, his knee is bending to 100 degrees now. No one is forcing him, he's doing it all himself. So much further along than I was! I'm happy for him.

Yes, lots of "told you sos" going through my head but I try to say other things like, "yes, that happened to me too" or "yep, that's perfectly normal".

He's back to his usual "retired schedule" of staying up late and sleeping in late. He sleeps most of the morning away while I get up at 7:45am. I've got animals to feed, dog to walk, etc. I'm going out to lunch with a friend today so he'll have several hours to himself again. I mowed the front lawn yesterday (it takes only 20 min) but I think I will have my son do the trimming this weekend when he visits. He's much better at it than I am. Catching up on dishes and laundry.....

 

[Layla]

Yay... no more hose! Time for a bonfire to get rid of the miserable things.
Admirable how you refrain from saying "I told you so", Susie-Q. I imagine it's difficult at time.
Sounds like you're both very fortunate that he's adapted so well and is having such a smooth recovery, especially at only two weeks post op. Go Steve!
@Susie-Q

 

[Susie-Q]

Post-Op 3 weeks

Hubby continues to do great. We went to his post-op with the PA last Thursday. She was very impressed that he's bending as much as he is. We did learn at that appointment that in addition to needing antibiotics whenever he gets his teeth cleaned he'll also need them when he's having a routine colonoscopy. I believe he's got one coming up soon. She also recommended he take aspirin a daily few days prior to our long haul flight to Australia next January. I'm wondering if he should take it for the entire trip as well to cover for the flight home too? He should wear compression hose on the flight as well. Heck! I'm going to be wearing them too!

He had another therapy session on Monday. He's measuring at 110. (or was it 105?) Improvement at any rate. She gave him even more exercises, which he is grumbling about. Why does he have to do so many and so many times a day? (in his opinion) I think there's like 10-15, which is crazy. I told him to do half of them in the morning and the other half later in the day. He sits in a chair and bends his knee, stretching that bend while he's doing Legos and also does some for extension and flexion in a chair. He's improving at a great pace, there's no need to go crazy with it. He's agreeing with me on that, which is good.

He's going to slowly stretch his oxy to 1 every 12 hrs now. He's tired of the crazy dreams, constipation and not being able to drive. He rarely drinks the tea because he doesn't like the taste but has been relying on Dulcolax and the occasional prune juice. He's realizing it's better to take something natural rather than rely on a pill so he's reluctantly going back to the tea. I'm going to buy more prune juice today too. We moved our recumbent exercises bike into the family room and he's tried it once. He was able to go all the way around but it hurt later so I told him to just go back and forth for now. The elevated toilet seat has been put away and he barely uses the cane outside the house. The only thing he's still using is his cart to move things from one place to another easier. Our daughter's cat hates all the "medical equipment" (walker, cane, cart) and will run and hide so it's good to get rid of most of it.

Our son's room is completely empty now and hubby is wanting to paint the room soon. I will help, of course, but he should be able to do a lot of it himself. Our daughter is home from New Zealand and has been a wonderful help to me. She did a deep clean on her room and has helped purge a bunch of stuff from my pantry. (who needs 500 plastic containers?) She'll be going to Walla Walla in early Sept to work at a winery for 2 months. She had a fun encounter with actor Rufus Sewell on her flight from Queenstown to Sydney. The two of them plus one other had to make a tight connecting flight to LAX so she got to ride up in Business class for the last 30 min. She met him and they chatted, her not knowing who he was until her older seatmate pointed it out. He's the guy from The Man in the High Castle??? She had seen that! Also The Holiday and more recently The Diplomat on Netflix. After the plane landed they whisked them away in a golf cart to the Qantas plane and had to go back through security. He joked to the employees about Sarah being his hair and make up gal, that's why they were together. He'd been in Queenstown filming a movie. Anyway, she had quite a story to tell when she landed in LA. The problem is neither of them got their checked bags so she had to file a claim to get it sent from Sydney to Seattle. Hopefully that will resolve soon. She's home safe and sound, that's the main thing.

Just in case you need a refresher on who this guy is, here is a pic. To be honest, I watch the Diplomat because of him. He's so handsome!!!

 

[benne68]

One of my favorite actors!

 

[Layla]

Hubby continues to amaze!

I'm not familiar with the actor you shared the story about, but I wonder if public figures sometimes like when people they chat with along the way have no clue of their identity. Conversation must feel more genuine, as opposed to talking with someone who admittedly knows who you are.

Hope y'all have a good rest of the week!
@Susie-Q

 

[EalingGran]

I enjoyed The Diplomat. Daft plots, but Rufus Sewell is a very good actor and he can carry preposterous scripts.

 

[sistersinhim]

Your hubby's recovery is wonderful. Of course, he's had a good example to follow, YOU!

I've never seen this actor, that I'm aware of.

 

[Susie-Q]

Well, here we go...... Hubby is cutting back to 1 oxy every 12 hours AND is increasing his PT exercises and activities and guess what? He's hurting! He's added a couple of sessions on the recumbent bike and amazingly later that day or the next day he's got some new pains in his knee. I told him this is perfectly normal and I think I've told him at least 10 times that this recovery is NOT linear. It's 2 steps forward, 1 step back. I'm telling him this in a gentle way, not in an "I told you so" way. (ok, maybe a little bit ). He thought it was his walk to the mailbox that caused it, I told him it was probably his time on the exercise bike. He's walked around Lowes and the grocery store quite a bit BUT I told him he was taking more oxy at the time too. The combination of weaning off AND increasing activity puts almost everyone in the OverDidItClub. He's annoyed that this doesn't resolve itself in 12-24 hrs. I said it can take 2-3 days or longer to recover from overdoing it. Ice, elevate, take it easy. He thinks that means sit on his butt and do nothing. No!! Keep walking and moving around, do your exercises, ice elevate. Add that new activity back in a few days. What was that saying about the patience muscle being the one that needs the most work right now? Please remind me of that saying so I can pass it on.

He's doing very well and I keep reminding him of this. And also, this too shall pass!!

 

[Layla]

Please remind me of that saying so I can pass it on.

Most important muscle to exercise right now is the patience muscle.


Slip a few in his coffee.

Glad he has you since you know the ropes.
Happy Saturday!

 

[Legseleven]

Your journaling @Susie-Q is excellent and to me it illustrates the usual recovery path of a TKR. Almost everyone thinks they can do better, stop pills sooner, do more PT, or simply walk more, and no matter however many times we explain the patience angle and point out that the knee remains in charge - it’s human nature to try to be the one to do better, or beat this.
Today I’m on the patience pills today after mowing the lawn yesterday and actually I’m fine, yes I can feel it a little more, but not ODIC, so I’ve adjusted my day accordingly, and icing as I type this. I’ve just reduced my walks a little for today.
Maybe this chart will help him to use his patience muscle because it’s still very early days for this new knee. The more he pushes it. The longer it’ll take.
You’re doing amazing and thank you for sharing.

 

[Susie-Q]

Please remind me of that saying so I can pass it on.

Most important muscle to exercise right now is the patience muscle.


Slip a few in his coffee.

Glad he has you since you know the ropes.
Happy Saturday!

Thanks, @Layla !!!