TKR Irish471's Recovery Thread

[Jodingers]

@Irish471 we will get there , it's a long slog.

 

[Softtail]

Irish, more so than not the myriad of aches and pains seem to come out of nowhere, and strike anywhere they like, so if it comes and goes it’s almost certainly par for the course. Plus your not that far alonginto your recovery, which would indicate its part of your healing process. I am 7 months out ,and on and off I get knee pains,so I pretty much go with the flow. If it was a constant pain that lingered for days, it would raise a flag, and maybe be a good idea to call your doctor. Otherwise it should clear itself out and probably give way to anache or pain in another region of your knee.

 

[FCBayern]

Guess I'll be ordering up a side order of patience with dinner tonight

I think we need that side dish at every meal! I've been able to sleep without icing or with very little for a couple of weeks now, but last night at 3:00 I woke up with a badly aching knee, had to drag the ice machine back to the bedroom and lay awake for quite a while before sleep would come. Didn't do anything out of the ordinary yesterday either, definitely frustrating when you take a step backwards out of the blue.

 

[Irish471]

@FCBayern , must be something in the atmosphere...lol!

@Softtail , I’ve started a list of questions to ask at my 6 week follow up. I do have an area that is always tender. It is on the medial side kind of down by the tibia. I told them about it at my 2week appointment and she explained how something was done in that area during surgery. It is one of the things preventing me from sleeping on my side

 

[Irish471]

I had my first haircut appointment today since the surgery. What a nice feeling it is to have your hair washed by someone! I didn’t even think of this beforehand, but my knee wouldn’t quite bend enough for me to rest my foot on the foot rest of the chair. I improvised by supporting my surgical leg with my other foot. It worked okay but I sure was glad when she finished and I could get out of the chair. A new goal to work towards! Hopefully by my next haircut appointment, I can use the footrest

I slept horribly last night (big surprise, ha!) so I took a nice nap once we got home. I am going to try something new tonight. Since I typically take Tylenol at bed time, I am going to try the Tylenol PM to see if it helps me to catch some

 

[Lindylee]

Hope it worked for you

 

[mature mama]

I can empathize with the sleep. Not my knee always but sometimes everything else in life. Hoping the tylenol PM worked.

Can you let me know what you are using on your scar and scab again, before the scab came off? I can't find the thread.

 

[Softtail]

Irish ,my first time around I could not sleep in bed till week 3 and then it was difficult cause Icouldn’tturn on my side and get comfortable with anything touching knee. I had a sensitive spot on the inside of leftknee that kept me from wearing any long pants because rubbing on it drove me crazy. Can’t quite remember just how long it lasted ,but eventually it became less sensitive. I am guessing you have parts of your knee that also feel numb, and that still persists on my left knee 7 months later although not as much. Right knee isn’t as sensitive so am able to sleep on my side with ice wrap on it. Different knee ,different aches and pains ,all par for the course.
That sensitivity will undoubtedly go away as it heals, and that good ole knee will probably throw some new symptom at ya that will drive you crazy . 7 months out the left knee has pretty much run out of surprises , and other than an occasional ache , it’s really good. Yours will be too.

 

[Irish471]

Thanks, @Softtail ! I hope the sensitivity thing resolves soon.
@Lindylee , it sort of worked. I still woke up a couple of times, but I was able to go back to sleep much, so that's a plus. Hubby said I was snoring, too
@mature mama , I am using the Active Scar Shield now. It's available on Amazon. I hope everything is getting better for you!!!

Week 6!!! Woohooo! I had my physical therapy appointment today and he prepared a progress report for my 6-week check-up appointment with the OS on Wednesday. I asked him if he was going to tell the OS that I have been his star patient. I know we shouldn't be hung up on numbers, but I am going to share anyway, just for a little perspective of how far I've come. At my first therapy appointment, my flexion was 74. Four weeks later, I am at 96. Yay!!! Extension has consistently been at +5. With assistance, I got to 102 on flexion and as a reward, I got to ride the bike tonight. I was able to do a full rotation...backwards. Too funny! We also practiced doing stairs. I was amazed that I could do step over step going up. I am too scared to try descending. I don't trust my quad yet. I definitely feel a difference over this past month. It's so much easier to move around and my walking has really improved.

Going back to the flexion thing. There is one thing that's been bothersome. I feel like I can bend it further, but there's just a hard stop that I feel at the back of the knee. He suspects it is my hamstring. He said that the hamstring works really hard when bending a stiff knee. So the hammy needs a little break.

Oh and the ankle pain I was having earlier this week has resolved already. It was the barefoot walking causing it. Overall, I am feeling good.

 

[Lindylee]

That's a great post. It's so uplifting when we feel things are moving in the right direction.Glad you had a better night too, that always helps. My hamstrings were tight, have they given you any hamstring stretches to do?

 

[NavyGunns]

@Irish471, great update. All during my recovery I, too, felt like there was a hard “door stop” behind my knee preventing it from bending further. As time goes, it seems like that door stop gets moved back more and more. At one year, I still have some sense of it. My flexion has not been measured in ages, but my heel is only about 3” away from my behind when I gently pull my leg in. No assist it’s about 5”. Main difference I think is simply muscle strength, not pain or stiffness.

What I’m trying to share is that your situation will / should resolve over time.

 

[Irish471]

@Lindylee , better sleep makes all the difference I asked my therapist about hamstring stretches. He said for now to hold off until things calm down a little. I am going to stop most of my extension exercises for a few days and see if it helps.

@NavyGunns , thank you! That's very reassuring. It's the weirdest feeling. I don't really feel the pulling all through the front which is great

 

[Celle]

I am going to stop most of my extension exercises for a few days and see if it helps.

Your ROM, both flexion and extension, is very good for this early in recovery. Give it time and you will end up with a knee that works well.

But please try not to rush this. You're still so very early in recovery and you have all the time in the world. An extension of +5 is so close to zero that I'm sure the rest will come without any problem.

There's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

Also, it's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.

 

[mature mama]

Glad to hear your update .. hoping you get a bit more sleep. Will try the scar formula.

 

[Irish471]

@Celle , thank you as always for the reminder to take it slow. I think I have for the most part. It was nice to be surprised at PT on Monday that I can do some things I didn’t think I could yet. Those little pushes are great! Very encouraging

 

[FCBayern]

Hang in there Irish, you are barley 6 weeks, things start getting better soon from where you are.

 

[sistersinhim]

I am using the Active Scar Shield now. It's available on Amazon.

You can actually buy this right through Bonesmart. That way we'll get a little 'kickback' from the seller. Just watch the floating banner up top of the page and click on the Scar Shield when it comes around.

 

[Irish471]

It’s been quite a day! I am a glutton for punishment. Had my PT appointment this morning followed immediately by my 6-week follow up appointment with the surgeon. This tine, we took xrays. Boy was that weird seeing those big chunks of metal in there!

He said everything looks great and I am doing very well. He asked if I could straighten my leg and he took my ankle while I straightened it. Then he said let’s see how it bends and I thought, UH OH!!!

Sure enough, he bent my leg as far as it would go and told me to push against his hold. He said good, now relax, and really quickly, he pushed the bend farther. I jumped a bit while he held it there for a minute. He definitely showed my knee who’s the boss! I think he pushed through some scar tissue also. Ouch! I had some pain and swelling and came home and rested the remainder of the day with my good friend, oxycodone

I told him how work has been chomping at the bit for me to come back. He likes to see his patients stay out for 3 months, but as long as i can tolerate it, he thinks I should be able to do a few hours a couple days per week as long as it doesn’t set me back. I am thinking maybe Monday, I can try making an appearance.

Well, it’s time to catch some Good night, my Bone Smart buddies!

 

[jboles]

Sounds like you are doing well. But ouch! I’m sorry he pushed your knee and caught you off guard like that. Hopefully you won’t have any bad effects from that. My OS says to start a phased back return at 6 weeks, but I’ve been working a couple of days since 4 weeks, didn’t tell him that though! Don’t push it on Monday, but maybe an appearance would be ok. It does feel nice to be in the land of the living!

 

[Irish471]

@jboles , yes, I knew what was coming when he grabbed my ankle At least it was with him, though, and not a physical therapist, right ?!?! He knows what he’s doing! It will be good to rejoin the land of the living. Even my daughter asked me yesterday, when are you going back to work, Mom? I have been working from home, which has been nice, but a lot of stuff is happening in the office that I need to be there for. It’s time