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TKR ironclm's recovery

Nine weeks post-op. Flexion was 105° this week. A major milestone is that I can now get in and out of my truck without having to move the seat back! It's the small things.

We have also started working on trying to go down stairs normally. But that is going to take a while.

The best thing I heard yesterday from the head PT: "I'm really impressed with the progress you've made." Nice to hear from a third-party.


TKR 08/26/15

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
ironclm said:
Oh man, I did the same thing when I went to a hockey game and sat down in the seat like normal not knowing that it was going to make my knee bend more than my knee could bend. I jumped up real fast!


TKR 08/26/15

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
Click to expand...

that's the kind or real-world use that improves flexion, IMO! :)
 
Oh yeah, a question.

How long does this weird sleeping last?

I will go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 2 AM, or go to bed at 10:30 PM and wake up at midnight. Or go to bed at 9:30 PM fall into a sound sleep and then wake up thinking it's time to get up and it's only 10:30 PM. Then morning time comes and there's no way I can get out of bed. And once I wake up in the middle of the night I'm usually awake for at least an hour.

I have one more week until I have to go back to work and then I will really have to get up and out of bed.


TKR 08/26/15

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
ironclm said:
How long does this weird sleeping last?
Click to expand...

Do you have any knee pain while sleeping? That will make sleep weird. And pain meds can really mess up your sleep cycle. My OS prescribed Ambien when I complained about my sleep. took a whole for a few days, then weaned to 1/2 for a couple of weeks to reestablish a normal sleep cycle.
 
No, no pain while sleeping. Actually pretty much no pain at all unless I bend it way too much or walk around too much. I hate taking any kind of any medication so I will be glad to finally get off the pain meds. I only take two day, one prior to going to PT and one at night.


TKR 08/26/15

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
And I'm hoping that part of the problem is that right now I know I don't have to get up so why bother. Instead I will lay in bed with my phone surfing the Internet. A habit I really need to break. Maybe once I set the alarm and know that I need to get up and go to work, then I will be back into a routine. One thing I have realized being off is that I like and need structure.


TKR 08/26/15

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
melatonin a couple of hours before bedtime might help reset your sleep cycle. Cheap and can't hurt.
 
I will try the melatonin. I have moved the phone to the other side of the room so I don't look at it in the middle of the night just in the mornings.


TKR 08/26/15

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
I don't think quad sparing or minimally invasive surgery is just hype it is a different type of surgery. I was and continue to walk 8 days out.with very little.pain please be cautious when you.call procedures hype.you might.cost.somebody a lot lot.of.unessesary pain as you can see the cut is even different 3 weeks and back to living hmmm
 

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I am really opposed to sleeping pills, but when I first went back to work with knee #1 I took Tylenol PM and it really did the trick. Kinda taught my body to sleep again. Then after two weeks I did not need them anymore.
 
Well, it's not going to sleep. I pretty much go straight to sleep. It's waking up in the middle of the night.


TKR 08/26/15

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
I actually took lorazepam for two weeks 6-8 to break the sleepless cycle and read a lot about circadian rythms. By week 8 or 9 off all meds I was sleeping like a baby. I hate pain meds and sleeping aids but I had to do something.
 
So the last couple of nights I've slept all the way through, but lay around once I wake up, surfing the internet on my phone. This is my last week of part time working from home before I go back full time in the office on November 2, so I will use this week to get back into a routine.

One thing I noted is that even though I may be getting enough sleep, it is sleep with a lot of "restlessness". I got a new Fitbit and aside from measuring total sleep, it also notes how many times you have this restlessness. Just looking at the past week it is at least 15 - 20 times/night. Unfortunately, I didn't have this pre-surgery.
 
I have a Vivofit that records the same info. I find it really helpful in keeping me active but not too active. I try to remain in a range of activity and increase it as my strength improves...well at least I was before the IT band flared up. Not sure what I am doing now. Sleep continues to improve for me. Went on a long ride yesterday and fell asleep at 8 pm. Slept most of the night. Can't believe it is already time for you to go back to work. In retrospect this revovery goes fast.
 
Big day!! I went to the pool and got in the small/warm pool. I ended up doing 1,000 meters, the most yet. Mostly swimming, but 6 times I "marched" down the lane to bend me knee more. I also did 1 length of kicking on my back. I've noticed that when I swim, I'm afraid to kick. But the biggest win is that I tried the ladder to get out of the pool and not the steps. I will have to do that when I get back in the regular competition pool, which I plan to try Friday. Very happy about this!
 
ironclm said:
I've noticed that when I swim, I'm afraid to kick.
Click to expand...

I think you make your best progress when you forget you are protecting the knee. Hard to get there, sometimes, but I see my biggest improvements afterwards.
 
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