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TKR I Feel Like the Tin Man these Days

We have a landline but only because it's also the door entry system for our flats. It's an ancient system and is outwith our control. So, although nobody we know phones us on it, if it rings have to answer in case it's someone wanting to get in! Oh well it's good exercise for me getting up to answer it. We do have nuisance calls but not nearly as many as you appear to get in America. They are now illegal here and companies are being fined megabucks.
 
Like most people in our neighborhood, we do have a landline (for a very scary reason) and we do turn it off during certain hours of the day. However, since the tkr, we've left it on because we're getting calls from the in-home nurses and physical therapists and my grand-daughters like to call & we hate to miss those.
In the past couple of years, people in our area have called 911 and the calls get bounced out to the county west of us. (It has something to do with the placement of the cell towers and atmospheric conditions). Obviously, that isn't good during a medical emergency because the county police, fire, etc. can't respond to our calls. They have to call the city services which delays response; one neighbor almost died because of it.

The good news is that I'm done with home health this week so we can leave it off for a longer period of time. Hopefully the robocalls about health plans will die down soon and then will start getting them about the elections!

The other good news is that I dozed for about an hour on my left side last night. It's still not as comfortable as normal but it was wonderful to get off my back (which usually starts aching about 4 a.m.)
Going to the surgeon's office this afternoon for my first post-op visit. I'm not quite as nervous about it as I was yesterday because my extension seems a little better. I look so ridiculous though - carpal tunnel has painfully set into my left hand because of so much can use (again, something which didn't bother my right hand last time) so that hand is braced and I'm wearing a brace on my right foot because my ankle and Achilles tendon have decided to start acting up.

So depressing to become one of those women who do nothing but discuss their aches and pains!
Hope everyone has a good weekend and can get some rest and enjoyment from it.



 
Gosh one step forward two steps back. What a shame about your wrist and ankle. Well at least you had a wee sleep on your side. Hope it's the first of many. Good luck at the surgeons office.
 
Just had to say I love my surgeon. Saw him a little while ago and he said a couple of interesting things. He'd like for me to go to a few p.t. sessions, let "life take care of your knee" and "don't let the physical therapist talk you into doing anything you don't want to do". He also said "don't listen to your neighbor when he tells you his ROM was at 140 five weeks after surgery because he's lying". :) :-) (: He was so laid back and very different from his physician's assistant I saw after the first tkr. What a relief! Also have to say it's going to be nice not to have all these home health people trooping in and out all week....
 
That's great @Laurenkate! Just what you needed to hear. Actually, just what we all need to hear!
 
Good morning everyone. Another new week of recovery fun!
Here's another dumb question. I've been using the cane so much that it's triggered painful carpal tunnel in my left hand. A brace helps but makes holding the cane a bit awkward and a foam cover on the cane handle isn't enough cushion. If I add more foam, it's going to make the handle too big. Has anyone tried a fleece cover?
I'm getting to the point where I'm tired of buying things relating to this recovery and don't want to buy anymore stuff that doesn't work or that I'll eventually give away. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Hope your week is filled with more ups than downs.
 
Maybe try to relax your grip on the cane? I found early in my recovery that I had an intense grip on my walker that had the potential to hurt my shoulders and had to think about lightening my grip, because in my case it really wasn’t necessary to hold it that tight.
 
I think I love your surgeon too! :) I don't know anything about cane handle covers though. You could try Jockette's suggestion. It's a natural tendency to grip things harder than necessary. You could also ask your PT (if you are still in contact) for advice. They might have dealt with that very problem!
 
You're right about the grip; I've had to relax it because it's almost non-existent. @SusieShoes; that's a good idea. The p.t. may have a suggestion; have my first evaluation with out-patient p.t. tomorrow. (blech).
 
Take a firm line with PT. My one is very nice and showed me some stretches last week. I had a go while there but took 3 days to recover from swelling and stiffness. My knee was doing much better before I actually saw him! I have one more appointment with him in 3 weeks after appt with OS. I might just turn up to thank him but refuse any more of his ideas for stretching.
 
@Spex10 - I'm going to the same physical therapist group as before. They show you how to do certain things, make sure you're doing them correctly and then leave you alone. If you don't feel like doing something, they're ok with it - and honestly, when they're busy, they probably don't even notice. The best thing about it is at the end, I get a very relaxing leg massage. The p.t. has a way of pushing the swelling up toward my body which doesn't hurt at all (something neither my husband or I can figure out how he does). If something has changed or I don't like it, I won't go back. My current insurance expires at the end of September so that will be the end of it one way or the other.
 
Hi @Laurenkate ! Hope your recovery is going smoothly. It must be a great relief to have both knees done. :flwrysmile:
 
Thank you @Gingercat; it's going as well as can be expected. There are always bumps in the road. And yes, yes, yes; told my husband last night I'm so glad this is all (hopefully) behind us. Shoot, at this point, i'm just glad the past 4 weeks are behind us!
Hope you're getting ready for your tkr. The recovery does take a long time but it'll be wonderful to not have the bone on bone or any other actual knee pain.
 
Jockette said:
I found early in my recovery that I had an intense grip on my walker that had the potential to hurt my shoulders and had to think about lightening my grip, because in my case it really wasn’t necessary to hold it that tight.
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When I first went on the walker, when both my knees were shot after the second one blew up, before my surgery, I developed blisters on the palms of my hands. I not only had to grip the walker handles hard, I had to lift myself up off the floor to move forward, because the knees were in so much pain from any weight bearing. The blisters went away and hardened into calluses. But then, a few months later I had the btkr, and could put weight on my knees again. Such a miracle!
 
*sigh* Well, here's the latest conundrum.

Had my first outpatient p.t. session at the same clinic as before - and, for some reason, I assumed I'd have the same therapist. Wrong. The whole place has changed and my therapist has been a p.t. for about a year. She's very earnest so when she started doing some things, I stopped her and told her we needed to have a chat. She wasn't particularly happy about what I said - and vice versa - so we're going to compromise this week. I agreed to let her try a few things and she agreed she wouldn't do it again unless I thought it did some good.
After a long and uncomfortable hour, (it must have been 85 degrees in there), it was finally over. Here's the problem. About 20 minutes of this session is miserable....but my leg feels better an hour later. It's not nearly as tight and my husband noticed I was walking more normally. It's probably going to swell up like a water balloon later but right now, have to admit it feels looser. She gave it a really good massage too but it'll be interesting to see what it looks like tomorrow morning.

Really, really wish I'd appreciated how good my extension was after the last tkr. Oh well; live and learn.
 
This is not your first time around so you know what to do, with your knee and with your therapist.
 
Laurenkate said:
One of those security cameras would be nice but it's just another avenue for someone to hack into a home's internet, etc. Since I think computers are "big brother", don't need anything else to add to the paranoia.
Click to expand...
I have 6 cameras set up and have wired the receiver to a monitor. Nothing at all is online. I have the monitor set up where I can see it from my recliner and the den and dining room. I never have to answer the door if I see it's someone I don't want to talk to!

@Laurenkate, my hands got really bad, too. I used my bicycle gloves and they helped tremenously. I don't know if they'd help your wrist, but I thought I'd let you know about them.
 
Oh @sistersinhim, that's a great idea! My husband has some old sailing gloves and those would be perfect. Thanks for the suggestion; my brain cells are dying more rapidly than usual....would have never thought of that.
 
Color me surprised. Got up this morning expecting my knee and leg to be the size of a watermelon - and it wasn't. It didn't take nearly as long for my heel to extend to the floor and i'm not any more uncomfortable than normal in the morning. Will see how the day goes....maybe that young whippersnapper p.t. knew what she was doing. :) :-) (: Will also be glad when mid-September gets here and am done with in home health, p.t. & doctor's visits for a few weeks.
Hope your day is full of blue skies....and less humidity!
 
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