PKR I'm Here.... PKR left lateral complete!

[mcirish]

@1ELISEA I resisted at first but the increase in activity level makes it impossible to not ice. Thank you for checking in on me

 

[jeano]

If I didnt learn anything else here, I did get the message on icing and elevating. @mcirish I used the same strategy with the pillows keeping the leg elevated but sleeping on my side and it worked for me until the knee settled down more. At PT-- PLEASE resist the urge to show the therapist what a gungho kinda guy you are. Everytime I delivered 30 reps when 15 or 20 were asked for I ended up paying for it later. Slow and steady really does win this race

 

[mcirish]

@jeano thanks. I am usually my own worst enemy in these situations, so thanks for the reminder . Hopefully I got my stupid human trick out of the way yesterday. Went on an innocent walk with wife, toddler and wondermutt yesterday. Not to worry, I was crutch assisted the entire time. Problem was, it was such a gorgeous day outside we/I lost track of time and distance. We probably walked a total of 1/2 mi. Even though I was not fully weight bearing and felt fine the entire time, by the evening I was entirely exhausted and my leg was sufficiently achy by the time I went to bed and this morning. By mid-afternoon today I was back to normal, but the ache and location of the pain (the femur head) actually scared me a little. Thought I had really crossed the line there, but I really didn't put too much of a load on the leg itself, so I thought it had to be general soreness from the walk and my exercises. Anyway, fine now, but will definitely take er easy at P.T.

 

[jeano]

well, at least is was the love of nature and family that helped you overdo, as opposed to testosterone-fueled, Y chromosome-dictated, chest-pounding macho grandstanding!

I remember my very worst overdoing day was when I let the DH put me in the wheelchair shopping cart at the store and RODE with my knees flexed for too long. I couldnt believe it. It is possible to just sit and have that be overdoing.

Eager to hear how PT gets done on the left coast. My bunch here were just the most laid-back, cheerful, ma'am- you-to-death Southern boys imaginable, but they could put me through my paces.

 

[mcirish]

Humbling first day of PT. Light stretching, massage and manipulation. Light quad sets and leg lifts. Electrostim and cold packs.... all this added up to a dead leg and one tired McIrish! We were able to get to full extension and 125 on the flexion I could have probably done 130, but did not want to push it. I was actually at -6 on the extension, but I had been sitting at work all day and my leg had stiffened. After some massage and very gentle stretching he put my leg on the table again and the leg just naturally rested at 0. He said my quad strength was very good, but that I have a long way to go in all areas (strength, flex and most importantly healing). The therapist was very calm, gentle and patient. He definitely had the right approach. He said that the main goals initially are to continue and aid the healing process while trying to gently gain back strength and flexibility. Very knowledgeable guy as well. I told him that Dr. Sisto hadn't really had the time to explain everything. He read the post op report and explained what was done and why. Told me a had quite an extensive procedure done to the leg and that Dr. Sisto took the time to address all the issues. Really reinforced my conviction that I had found a good OS. All in all it was a very good first appt........Can't believe how tired I was afterward, feel kind of wimpy right about now lol.

 

[1ELISEA]

Great report out @mcirish !
And it sounds like your PT is a good find; I loved the massage and gentle stretching myself. And the benefit is additional ROM with no work.

 

[jeano]

Not to worry, our new knees make wimps of us all.

 

[mcirish]

Really, really sore this morning. Getting better, but definitely getting a clearer picture of how this is gonna be. @slowgrind, @turtlerace.....slow and steady wins

 

[kneeper]

Really, really sore this morning. Getting better, but definitely getting a clearer picture of how this is gonna be. @slowgrind, @turtlerace.....slow and steady wins

You've got it.

 

[jeano]

On the days when you feel like you have the world by the tail remember this feeling and hold something in reserve, for verily the world will have YOU by the tail if you dont. Or at least your knee will have you by the tail, anatomically improbable as that might seem.

 

[RedRider]

Coming up on your 1 month mark mcirish, it looks like you're progressing well. I've been plowing through a lot of literature lately with keywords like unicompartmental, lateral, arthroplasty, etc. and I've noticed your MD's name has popped up on some published papers. Is it Dr. D.J. Sisto?

 

[mcirish]

@RedRider That's him. Would be interested in reading the papers, just have not had time. Yes, we are at the 1 month mark. Definitely a tough recovery just because the slow pace of the healing and the amount of complimentary work that my knee needed. Most of the pain and discomfort I feel is in the kneecap area. I will give a more detailed update tomorrow after my 2nd PT appt.

Have you zeroed in on what you are going to do?

 

[Jaycey]

@mcirish , stamina is one of the biggest roadblocks in all this. You have the right idea to pace yourself. But it can take awhile to be able to cope with normal day to day grind. Don't get discouraged - there is still tons of healing going on. Slow and steady with that PT as well.

 

[mcirish]

Checking in after my 3rd PT session (approx 4 weeks post op)...have increased the number of exercises I am doing to include 10 mins on the bike, 10 mins on the treadmill, one-legged balance on a spongy pad, quad sets, straight leg raises, lateral leg raises, calf raises and hip/torso raises (bridge) with a squishy ball between the knees (this was the most painful, but much better with the second session) then, blissfully, electro-stim and ice. With the increased activity, the implant site is in almost constant low level toothache type pain...lots of ice, tylenol and norco....still having great difficulty with keeping my leg straight with the straight leg raises. We are really focused on getting that strength back. The pain under and the kneecap has faded for the most part, but does get very sore sometimes after a good session or longer walk. A lot of focus on learning to walk with correct form as my gait had been messed up for so long. The pain, stiffness and muscle weakness make that a challenge at times, but coming along little by little.....ROM: full extension & 135 flex.

Overall, making very good progress. Past week I have had great success sleeping through the night, about 7-8 hours straight without the need to wake up for pain meds or ice. The main challenge I am having now is not letting the soreness keep me from walking with correct form. The mantras sure do come in handy

 

[kneeper]

Yes, practicing walking correctly is one of those things that takes concentration. You can always reduce the repetitions or time slightly and build up to the numbers you mention if all this activity is causing constant pain. Judging pain is subjective of course.

 

[mcirish]

Yes, practicing walking correctly is one of those things that takes concentration. You can always reduce the repetitions or time slightly and build up to the numbers you mention if all this activity is causing constant pain. Judging pain is subjective of course.

Thanks @kneeper ...the pain is being pretty well managed, I had to up my dosage of tylenol a bit right @jeano ??? lol. I just have to make sure I keep the total tylenol intake in mind and that I don't overdo it. Actually, right now, I really don't have any pain, but not to say it won't show up tonight....mornings are the worst. Very sore...Can a joint be stiff and tight and loose at the same time??? Sheesh. Sure does feel like it. Takes me a while to get the knee "right" where I can walk semi-normally, heel-toe in the morning.

Got to, got to, got to, keep up with the strength building right now. I am glad I gave my knee a lot of time off, but I lost nearly all my quad strength which set me back a bit. The muscles atrophy so quickly. I don't want to lose any gains I have made. The pain is definitely subjective and I am learning more about what is "good" pain and what is "bad" pain. I went for a family walk last weekend. Level ground, lots of stops where I sat down, but we ended up going about 1/2 mile rt. Felt fine the entire time, heel-toe, no sharp pains...but later that night and the next morning it was plenty sore. The PT said that is okay, but that if if felt increasing pain DURING the walk, that is when I should stop and call a cab lol. And it has proven to be true. The soreness and ache subsides and each time I walk or exercise the pain becomes less intense, I recover more quickly and my strength and endurance increases....I tell ya, that bridge exercise with the squishy ball between my knees was perhaps the worst pain I had felt since the first pt session at the hospital with the walker (hurt so bad it made my eyes water!), but somehow I knew I had to push through it as it was intense, but not unbearable and damaging. Sure enough, the second session doing the bridge was a piece of cake! Hope everyone else is doing well and working through things. Take care!

 

[icep707]

Thats great news mcirish. You seem to be doing just fine. When do you see your OS again? . To find out about the knee cap sandpaper feel. More than likley standard irritation from having bone and soft tissue cut apart. Remember to pace yourself. Easy for me to say as im STILL pre op. I may have joined bonesmart too early. Everyone joined after me are now in post op. Im jealous and want my knee NOW !! As for sleeping I fall asleep super easy every night within 5 minutes BUT I wake up often like 3-4 times a night to urinate and I rarely drink water after 6 pm. And I love water but my bladder may be overactive but dont want meds for that. my co- workers chuckle about and say im old! Kind of how they compare my soon to be tkr to a arthiscope surgery!!! Clueless !! Well congratulations. U r doing great.

 

[RedRider]

Mcirish, your recovery up to this point seems completely par with everything I've read (and probably you too) on this forum. Those who think they can "beat" the system (including myself) come to realize how systematic the recovery truly is. I'm so fortunate to have found BS and read stories like yours. Not only is it a reality check, it's a genuine account of the experience and I'm very thankful for the info you and others have provided.

 

[mcirish]

@icep707 I go back in March for my 2nd post op fup, but I can surmise that the "grinding" sensation is just the effects from the combination of the patelloplasty and the new path my kneecap is tracking on. I am just hoping that my body still has enough vigor to generate sufficient articular cartilage to create a thick enough surface to reduce the discomfort, at least enough to where I can be physically active to the level I was before. I appreciate you checking in on me. I know your procedure is coming soon. Will definitely be sending positive, healing thoughts your way. Everything will be great I am sure.....yea, I still wake up to use the boys room at night once or twice usually. But I just plop back into bed and fall asleep. The tricky part was getting up to treat the achy knee pain and swelling once the meds I took at bedtime wore off after 4-6 hours. My ability to now sleep for 7-8 hours at a clip tells me that the healing is progressing, though it is still a WIP...last night/this morning I had some bothersome aches....was finally able to settle down at 12:30 and was woken up at 6:30 by knee pain and tightness in the joint. Laid there kind of massaging and stretching for about 10-15 mins and managed to fall back into a light sleep for about an hour....kind of tired today....yes, your co-workers are of the simple-minded variety if they think this surgery is anything like an ACL recon. An ACL is a walk in the park compared to this! Keep in touch.

 

[mcirish]

@RedRider I guess my take on the "degree of difficultly" for the recovery from this surgery would be summed up by saying "easier said than done"....my perception of the recovery was pretty accurate, but unless you have actually gone through something like it, you can't really imagine what it is like actually experiencing it! It's like someone trying to tell you what it's like going through childbirth or raising kids for that matter. Can't possibly prepare you for the reality of it.

I will say that my first ACL recon back in 1982 has helped me deal with my knee replacement recovery. Believe it or not, I remember that whole ordeal being close to on par with what I am going through now, comparing the amount of discomfort and misery I am experiencing. It is quite remarkable in the sense that the level of expertise at which surgeons can perform procedures today vs. the way they were done 30+ years ago is like the difference in the way we now build computers vs. 30+ years ago....the ACL procedure I had in 1982 required that they OS make an 8" incision around my knee cap, shave/cut out the meniscus and attempt to suture the ACL together, hoping it would somehow fuse together lol. Then my left leg was put into an inflexible hard cast for 8 weeks and left to wither away! Hard to believe, but the level of pain, inconvenience and discomfort was about the same, possibly worse than what I have been going through with the knee replacement recovery.

I think my whole attitude and demeanor regarding my perception about my recovery in the forum early on was possibly misconstrued by some people. I never thought it would be easy, I didn't think I would heal faster than other people with the same patient profile. My main goal was to feel healthy enough to return to work in 2 weeks and still function somewhat competently. I think I remember someone even said it was "laughable". Well, it wasn't ideal, but I did it and it is what I needed to do given my situation.

I would agree that there is no escape from the system or protocol as far as the time needed to heal from this procedure. Would I have liked to have had a full 4-6 weeks off from work? Sure, but I will say that for those of us that are in a situation where we need to return to work early....it can be done.