TKR Irish471's Recovery Thread

[Jockette]

I think most of us have inadvertently done one of those manipulations without anesthesia.

 

[Irish471]

Darn it, I did the same thing again on the stairs today I forget that my right knee is the surgical knee right now. I've always led with my right leg my whole life; my left knee was always the 'bad' knee. I hopped around cursing and crying for a few minutes. I put ice on it right away and it calmed down. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to have swollen, but it definitely did not feel good for a while there. I am just having one of those days I didn't even do any of my exercises at all today.

I am too sleep deprived to do much of anything. I called the pharmacy and got permission to take a Benadryl at night. I am hoping it helps me to sleep. And my poor husband, too! I toss around all night, swapping pillows, fumbling for things on the night table and dropping things. If the Benadryl doesn't do the trick, I am going to try sleeping in my recliner. I used to love climbing into bed to sleep each night and now I dread it.

It's so odd. My surgical leg just doesn't feel like it belongs to me. I sometimes "walk" a few steps around the kitchen without the cane and I feel like Captain Hook. Does/did anyone else feel like that?

 

[Jolease]

I feel the same way.. I’m still in pain and my quads are so weak. My soft tissues are super traumatized as it feels sore to the lightest touch. I hope one day I will say I’m glad I had this surgery.. I hope you get some sleep. I wake every night between 1-2 I take meds, ice then sometimes I can get back others times I just lie there... I hope the benedryl helps, it knocked me out when I took it when I got hives after surgery. Here’s to a restful night xx

 

[Bobbyk]

Aaaaarrrgh Irish me hearty shiver me timbers a career change.....
I feel like Captain Hook with a cane.
Has your partner noticed a change in personality? Maps around the house? How is the green parrot getting on with the cat?

 

[Lindylee]

@Irish471 It's still very early days for you. I wouldn't say my whole leg felt like that, but my knee did until this week when it's started to feel more as if it belongs there rather than an alien sitting in my leg. I hope you had a better night's sleep. It was 4 weeks before mine improved and even longer before my husband moved back from the spare room.

 

[Irish471]

@Lindylee , I can't wait to be at the 3-month mark. That seems to be when most can finally say they are glad they had this surgery, wouldn't you agree?

@Jolease , thank you! Sounds like we are feeling very much the same. Tomorrow will be better!

@Celle, @kneeper, @Jockette , @NavyGunns , thank you for all the great words of wisdom you always provide.

 

[catkin69]

@Irish471 I sorry sleep is still a big problem. Everything else is difficult to cope with when you are tired. I am a bit ahead of you but sleep definitely better this week. Hubby returned from the spare room at the weekend and he says I don’t disturb him. Hopefully things will turn a corner for you too soon.
My leg definitely feels ‘odd’ I am trying so hard not to limp by concentrating on my quads!!

 

[Lindylee]

I'd say it was 8 weeks before I stopped wondering if I should have left well alone and this week, week 11, that I can see that it's going to be worth it. My knee isn't giving me much of a problem now, but at PT yesterday we were all moaning about our backs! Just as I'm stopping painkillers for the knee I'm taking them for the back.....

 

[Jodingers]

So glad to see I'm not the only one with these ups + downs guys. Reading ur threads + advice keeps me going.

 

[NavyGunns]

@Irish471, I don’t think I slept in my own bed until about week 5 or 6, maybe later. Been so long now, hard to remember. Hey, wait.... that’s a good thing! See! In time, your life will return to normal and all these experiences will just be memories, distant memories! What you are experiencing is normal, hate to say. Sleeplessness, weird knee pains and sensations at night, having to sleep in the recliner or spare bedroom, all seem to be part of the recovery program, however no one ever tells us these things before hand. It will all pass, you will think back “I remember those days / weeks” and you will still be glad you went through all this as you will no longer have the pain and limitations that you experienced pre-TKR.

 

[Irish471]

Well, here I am again reading about my Bone Smart buddies at 3:00 a.m. @Jolease , the Benadryl didn’t get me very far in terms of sleeping (4 hours) and I just turned the ice machine on and took a pain pill. I get a lot of achiness in my calf and ankle at night. Thankfully the pain pill deals with it nicely

@Lindylee , thank you for always giving me hope! I hope your back feels better!

Whenever I get discouraged now, I think back to week 1 and am really, truly amazed at how far I’ve come along since then. If things improve just as much in the next 3 weeks, I can more enthusiastically say I am glad I did the surgeryy. There’s so much room for further improvement. It’s kind of like Dory in the Disney movie ‘Finding Nemo.’ Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...lalalalalaaaa. @NavyGunns , so true! I think the same thoughts when I think back to the surgery on my other knee. It definitely helps to have that experience to compare things to.

@catkin69 , thank you! I am really looking forward to the day I can get back to my preferred side sleeping sleeping position. I think that will help tremendously!

 

[mature mama]

I try to remain patient but healing is boring. However, I already know my new knee is better than my old. Hang in there and 3 months will be here before you know.

 

[Jolease]

I’m sorry sleep still invades you. I took 2 benedryl ,but I was also on a lot of heavy pain pills at the time maybe why it conked me out so well . I was up a couple times last night also, I have gel ice packs that wrap around knee that I use to sleep.
Yes to think back to week one or two things are so much better and can only go up from here!! I agree we just have to keep swimming!!

 

[Irish471]

Tomorrow will mark 4 weeks! On one hand, it feels like a long time ago but on the other hand, it still feels like yesterday.

I am having a bummer of a weekend. I went to physical therapy yesterday and saw someone new. She had me do the heel slide thing right off the bat and I only measured a 66. I am trying to put that into perspective. First, no warm up was done at all, and second, this wasn’t my regular PT person, so they each could differ in the way they measure. It’s just frustrating because those stinkin’ heel slide measurement numbers are what gets reported to the OS. I just can’t seem to get good numbers that way for the life of me. I measure so much better with my legs hanging off the table or by sitting in the chair and easing into a stretch. I am able to get to 90 degrees that way. But I keep hearing them explain that the other methods are passive numbers and what really counts are the active numbers which is the heel slide method.

Back to putting things into perspective. The first few times I rode in the car were terribly uncomfortable. This week, I was able to lift my leg into the car without any assistance. It made me feel good and even my husband said, wow! I still take the stairs one at a time, but I am doing that easier, too. I can lift my leg into bed without the leg lifter, too. So there are lots of little victories, I think.

Speaking of my husband, I think taking care of the household is wearing on him. I have taken care of so much for so long, sometimes because it’s just easier to do things myself than it is to ask dor help. He often enjoys lots of time in his man chair watching tv. Let’s just say it’s been an eye opener for him. The kids (both teenagers) will help if I ask, but I got a little bit of attitude about when I asked them to help out this weekend. It really got me upset and made me cry because I, too, am tired of not being able to do all the things I used to do. Perspective again, they are teenagers and attitude is part of the package at that age.

Sleep is still an issue, unfortunately, but I am making it to 4:00 a.m. now before I am wide awake. I’ll always take a nap at some point to catch some extra , but then I feel like the day is so disrupted, eapecially if I wake up and it’s already lunch time or early afternoon. I am thankful that I can have the luxury of napping, but this sleep thing will really be an issue for when I go back to work. I am really hoping that will happen in two more weeks. I am going to have to see how mich I can tolerate. My guess is that I will work shorter days or alternate working at home with doing a few days in the office.

Thinking at the positives, that arthritis pain is gone, and that was the whole goal of this surgery. I know there’s a lot of recovery ahead of me still, but every week I am so glad when I can do something I couldn’t do last week. You just have to celebrate the small victories. When I sat down to write this post, I was feeling really down, but expressing my thoughts has helped to lift my spirits a little knowing the people reading this all understand exactly what I am going through. Sending good wishes out to everyone in BoneSmart-land

 

[Jockette]

Even at 2 years post op I don’t get a great bend laying down doing a heel
slide. (not that I do that regularly, in fact rarely) But I can get a really good bend sitting on a chair, and no one is helping that bend, I’m doing it myself.

Try not to let the PTs overrate “the heel slide.” They have their own agenda that has nothing to do with you. This is one of the many reasons why I will not go to PT next time I do this. I do not need the pressure. I was so stressed in my recovery because of my PTs and my OS. I couldn’t wait to be discharged so I could recover in peace.

You listed some great positives. You are progressing just fine.

 

[FCBayern]

@Irish471 if you can delay going back to work please do so. I went back at 6 weeks thinking I would be working 5 days a week. The first day I realized that was unrealistic and thankfully I have an understanding boss that allowed me to work Tuesday and Thursday from home. But even that was a big lift, if I had it to do over I would have taken more time to recover before I went back. Sometimes we don't have a choice, but in my case I did but pushed it. Luckily for me I'm a one off and don't have to do this again, but if I did I would handle it differently.

 

[Irish471]

@FCBayern , thanks for the input on going back to work. Right before I went out for surgery, everyone kept asking how long I would be out. My response was, I have no idea! Everyone at work has been very understanding, too, and I probably could take more time, but I definitely need to be back in mid-May for our quarterly business review. That’s an all day meeting that is going to wear me out. It’s sitting all day and since I am the one running the show, taking breaks to stretch will be limited. I might have to have a back up player waiting on the sidelines to bail me out if needed.

I’m not even driving yet, so there’s that issue, too. I wanted to get out to practice in a parking lot, but that didn’t happen. I am off the pain meds for the most part. I have taken them maybe twice this week. I have been able to get by with Tylenol all this week, but I know I am not being as active as I will be once I go back. Definitely something to think about!

 

[Irish471]

@Jockette , yes, there is a lot of pressure from the PTs and the OS. And that threat of MUA. I understand it, in some regards. The OS wants his patients to be happy with the surgery. His goal was to improve my quality of life and he gets just as upset when his patients don’t do well. He is that kind of surgeon and I think those that care are hard to find. And the PTs report to the OS, so they feel the pressure of that. They don’t want to be seen as not doing their job to get you to where the OS wants you to be.

I am trying hard not to stress out. As always, thank you for your wisdom and perspective

 

[Lindylee]

There's a lot more positives than negatives in your post, I remember the good feeling when I could finally lift my leg unaided. As for the heel slides, I wouldn't worry too much. I found every time I did them on the bed it was as if I'd gone backwards, but after a couple it gradually became easier until by the time I had a few under my belt I was improving on the day before. I'm sure if you explain to your OS that you hadn't had a chance to warm up he'll understand.

Like yours, my husband is a lot more understanding of household chores now. He's been worn out by the end of the day and going to bed really early Even though I'm doing quite a bit now he's being more helpful than he ever has in the past, so that's great. I hope it lasts!

Sleep when you can and don't feel guilty if it's during the day. Your body is telling you it needs it. Maybe you could do a phased return to work? If you have to do that full day maybe have the next day at home. I assume you'll have a lunch break so use that to rest your leg and try and move between sitting and standing. I'm a great believer in the therapeutic power of writing things down, find it quite cathartic and puts things into perspective. Sorry, if I've gone on a bit too long, but sounds to me you're doing well.

 

[Atlas_aus]

Thanks everyone! I had a rough night and kept waking up my poor husband. Leg gets very stiff and uncomfortable when I elevate. I managed to take a shower unassisted this morning. Feels good to be clean Physical therapist is on his way here. Hoping he can help solve the elevation issue. I don't think I am doing it right. Really would love to take a nap. I am very sleep deprived.

Hey Irish,

All things considered sounds like all is going well.

Just a query about the shower... I have kept reading no shower / bath until staples are out ?

If there is one thing I like it is a strong, hot shower. I know I would feel much better post op if I could have such