Bilateral TKR It's finally time!!

[ljrfrm]

@sjnyc323 and @gr82cu2 Thanks so much. I'm so sore now but it's nice to have a good day! Helps to keep you going through the "bad" days.

My son is heading back to college tomorrow and it's been hard to not be available to help him pack, etc. It will be even harder to not be able to take him tomorrow - but I know I'd regret trying to do the drive. Plus with all the time for unpacking the car, shopping, etc. it would be way too long of a day away from my ice machine and recliner. Hopefully I'll be able to visit him soon so I can see his new apartment, etc.

 

[gr82cu2]

I agree! Don't try that drive and such a long day. I'm a week or so ahead of you and even 10 minutes in the car is uncomfortable for me. Once you get back up on your feet and feel better you can visit him.

 

[ljrfrm]

@gr82cu2 I did debate (for a few minutes) possibly going but decided I didn't need to join the ODIC just yet. I'm sure I will at some point. It's about a 2 1/2 hour trip each direction, plus time there. Like you say, I can visit this fall when I'm ready for an outing!

 

[kneeper]

It sounds like you're progressing well--but you're right not to go nuts and do a road trip.

 

[ljrfrm]

So, I've been counting down the days until i can take off these dreaded thigh-high TED hose. Since I had a bilateral, my dr was very careful with blood clot prevention - including placing me on a 3 week regimen of Coumadin (I finish up on Monday) and requesting that I wear the TEDs for 3 weeks as well. At my follow up OS appointment this past Tuesday, all was well. Last night, I lowered the TEDs of my right leg, and imagine my surprise when I saw a nasty looking rash. I wasn't quite sure what to do, but thought it might have to do with the TEDs, so I took them off. My left leg isn't as bad, but has some of the same welt-type looking sores. They don't itch (although my right leg was a bit itchy the other day) and don't hurt unless I touch them. By this morning, it was a bit less red but just as nasty looking. It's also very bruised now everywhere - fresh bruises, not the fading ones from the surgery. So, I debated about calling my OS today but decided to go into Urgent Care instead. I had a very slight fever there, but nothing they were overly concerned about. I was worried that it might be a skin infection that needed meds. Both doctors there were intrigued and told me they had never seen anything like that before. The dr I saw told me that it looks like the TED hose broke down the skin - and the bruising is lack of circulation. I was told to not wear them anymore (yippee) and was prescribed a topical steroid. I've only applied it once but it already looks better. The bruising is worse though. They checked my Coumadin levels while I was there - since there was so much bruising they wanted to make sure my levels weren't too high. They actually came out low - which is fine as I'm stopping the meds in two days anyways. They will forward the report from the visit to my OS. I was a bit concerned that this possibly has to do with my ice machine but given that I iced through the TEDs and usually my yoga pants too,they feel pretty sure it's from the compression hose. Spending two hours at Urgent Care was not on my list of things to do today, but I'm glad I went and started the meds.

 

[gr82cu2]

Goodness gracious! That's horrible. Sorry it happened. Hopefully the ointment will fix it up quick and there will be no lasting effects. I hated those hose after the first few days. At first I didn't think they were too bad but as my legs swelled up more and more and they got tighter and tighter I wanted to scream. Then they started rolling themselves down constantly and wouldn't stay up and it pinched. I ditched mine a few days before I was supposed to. Be careful not to get the topical steroid near your incisions. It thins your skin so that wouldn't be good for your incision. Take care!

 

[ljrfrm]

@gr82cu2 I almost ditched them the other day, then decided to be a good girl and follow drs advice. Funny thing is for two weeks I had no problems with them - I guess it was slowly building up. I will say I won't miss the dreadful bulges it made under my clothes in awkward places.

 

[gr82cu2]

I guess the good thing is you had both knees done at the same time so you won't have to wear them again!

 

[Bluetechseeker]

Good morning! I've been stalking the forum lately, having had BTKR on January 6 followed by BMUA on February 24. I finally returned to work on June 3 (under phased return) and am only recently undertaking full daily activities. BOTH of you are having far stellar recoveries compared to mine!

The best advice given throughout this forum is do not try doing too much! Your bone healing doesn't even occur for something like six weeks, the soft tissues take far longer - for me, THAT is my challenge! When I had my BMUA's, both knees were stuck at 53 ROM, and stayed sooooo sore. Since the BMUA's, my left knee has had issues with the IT band and it's just taking time to resolve. I keep swelling behind the knees and soreness on the outside of each, but I know different things I do will irritate it more, so I either modify my activities or plan a nice long evening with Mr. Kodiak ice machine

I'm in technical sales, drive all day in the car, then perform building inspections to determine what the customer needs. TOO much time in the car!! TOO much activity out of the car! At the end of some days, I still literally can hardly walk. It's truly a balancing act, you'll come to understand how much of what you can or should do daily. As far as pain meds - TAKE THEM. Do not hesitate! Swelling is a form of pain and pain needs to be treated. Even now I take my Demerol occasionally - I still take Tylenol daily as well. BTKR is a very challenging recovery, for me I think because there's simply no relief since both knees were done. But, everything will come with time. You've just got to settle back and let healing happen.

Please don't focus on ROM as yet, instead perhaps take the approach of appreciating your daily achievements, relishing those days of less swelling and pain, gloating on the nights of great sleep, and embracing the days of needing less meds

 

[ljrfrm]

@Bluetechseeker Thanks for the helpful post and great advice. It's a great reminder to take it slow, especially being this soon out from surgery. It's so hard not to get into the ROM game, especially when everyone shares their numbers (good and bad), you can't help compare - or even compare my one knee to the other. I need to practice patience - which will overall help my recovery I'm sure.

It sounds like you've had a long, hard road, and I am really hoping you will start to feel good soon. It's challenging when we have difficult or active jobs. Although you were off work for quite awhile, there comes a time we all have to go back. And it sounds like it is challenging - I wish you the best. Thanks again for posting - I find the advice and support very helpful!

 

[Bluetechseeker]

I think that's the take away that really took me the longest to accept - we're all SO different, our recoveries SO different, even our two knees are SO different - there are very general guidelines on where we should be at when, but really, those are so subjective. I did drive myself insane during the first month or so, crying because I just could NOT bend! I couldn't understand why, but it just wasn't happening. Even in hospital, the CPM was only at 65, it just wasn't happening for me. It was at my 6 wk check up we made the decision to do the BMUA's, both knees locked at 53 degrees, and BOY, what a relief they were. Immediately afterwards, I was over 90 ROM which I've kept and improved on. Only then did I begin to experience the stages of recovery I'd been reading about for so long on here! Now, both are over 120 ROM and 0 extension (the extension was really a challenge).

For me, I think the allergies I have to so many meds definately impacted my recovery because I simply couldn't not get relief from a lot of swelling and pain, and in theory, that lead to the scarring which locked my knees in place. Now, I really don't limit what I do, but more how much I do in a day. I still ice, definately still elevate, and just adjust as needed. Heck, I even went bowling, first time since before surgery, and beat my average, rolled a 145 with a 14# ball no less!

Hee hee, I remember when my surgery was initially scheduled, my HR mentioned something about me probably returning to work around three weeks post op BOY, was that estimate OFF!!

I generally feel great now, still have the pain and swelling as I described, but it's no where near as bad as even two months ago. As I told my doctor on Friday, I'm at the point I am VERY glad I had the surgery done - I have more ROM now than before which we're both thrilled with. But, there's still more healing and improvement to go. I've read that after an MUA, it literally takes you to day 1 in recovery. That means as of today, I'm six months out and from everything I've read, basically right on track. I've also read full recovery can take upwards of a year, which seems to the track I'm on.

Good luck as you continue healing and recovery, just be kind to yourself along the way and let your body do what it's going to do. If you're tired, nap. If it doesn't need to be done, don't do it. LET other's help you!! Hubby got to be quite the pro at cooking, cleaning, shopping, errands - he was so happy when I could start taking some of it back, hee hee!

 

[ljrfrm]

@Bluetechseeker So, are you saying I still have hope with my bowling game? LOL. You are so correct that each surgery is different. At my 2 week post op appointment, my OS told me to rememer I had TWO surgeries, that just happened to be the same day. Both knees will be different in their recoveries as they are two separate procedures. From day 1, they have been so different, in strength, ROM, swelling, pain, etc. It is hard to not compare, and to others. One of the first posts (responses) I had when I joined this forum had to do with patience. I am working on that I have a lot of support from my husband and friends, and just need to take my time with healing. I'm so glad you are feeling so much better - keep up the great work!

My OS also first said something about 3 weeks off from work - what a joke. Obviously, he has never had this done to his knees Although he had no problem signing the short term disability paperwork for 12 weeks.

 

[Crow22]

@ljrfrm I was so very sorry to hear of the problem you had with your rash and bruising. How are you doing, is it getting better. I have a friend who is an herbalist and she gave me some St. John's Wort oil, as it is supposed to help calm nerves and promote healing. I've used it on my knees and it has really helped, I think a lot. My incision is completely healed with just a few scabs here and there. I also have been using some arnica topically behind my knee, and that has helped as well with the swelling there.
Hope this finds you well and your rash completely healed. Blessings surgery sister!

 

[ljrfrm]

@Crow22 I think the skin is beginning to heal - it's not so red anymore - it's still not pretty but doesn't look as bad. Interesting info from your herbalist friend. I'll have to look into it. I have a friend who is a Reiki master, and she has been doing Reiki on me 2x a week. I can't decide if I believe it is doing anything or not but I figure I have nothing to lose. My aunt and uncle also sent me something natural that's supposed to help with swelling. I need to do some research on it (I forgot the name) but am definitely going to look into using it. Great that your incision is doing so well. Mine is looking pretty good - it's covered with the steri-strips so I can't see it to well though. It is still a little sore though to the touch.

I'm off to PT now. Hard to find the energy to get moving. Happy 3 weeks to my BTKR sistah!!

 

[ljrfrm]

3 week update:
Pain: I still get very achy if I don't take meds. On a typical day, I seem to need to take one hydrocodone every 6 hours, and have developed a routine of taking it at 10 am, 4 pm, 10 pm and 4 am. When I ache in between, I take one tramadol as needed. Usually, it's one in the late afternoon and one around 6 am. If needed, I will take a pill earlier, or on occasion take 2. I am noticing that I am needing less, but definitely can't go without or I get very achy - deep down into the bones.
Sleep: I am still sleeping what I consider well - but don't get me wrong, I wake up multiple times every night. It seems my most deep sleep comes between about 12 am - 4 am or so. I wake up very achy and will take a hydrocodone, and fall back to sleep pretty quickly. I get very sore during the night. I think now that I'm rolling, moving to my side, etc I get in these positions that probably put too much strain on my knees. I am constantly waking up and moving a pillow between my legs, trying to get comfortable, etc. I am most sore around 6 am - I'll wake up miserable and take a Tramadol (or sometimes another hydrocodone if very bad) and fall back asleep. That said, I always fall back asleep quickly and will sleep until 8 am or later. The past three days I've slept until 10 - 11 am. I'm not complaining, I'm sleeping better than I thought I would, but am just so tired of being so achy in the early morning.
Swelling: SO much better. The PT measured today and I'm down multiple centemeters all around the knee. I'm not icing as much as before, and I probably should - but things have definitely improved. I was worried the swelling would increase once the TED hose came off, but that's not the case at all. I am still taking it easy each day, legs up on pillows on recliner, icing at times, and not moving anywhere to far or too quickly. It's all helped get that swelling back down. I have a ways to go - but all is well for now.
PT: I'm still attending outpatient PT three times per week. My ROM is (left leg) 90/-3 and 87/-4. While these numbers may not seem great, I'm pretty happy considering a week ago they were 78 on the left and 68 on the right. I'm going the right way. I go off the Coumadin today - so hopefully the blood/fluid I have in there will go away and I can get even more bend soon. I still worry at times about my ROM but am working hard not to play the numbers game and focusing on my strengths and gains. I continue the same exercises and feel stronger each day. I am pretty much 100% on the cane now, and while my gait still needs some work and I'm very slow, I'm not needing the walker anymore.

 

[Crow22]

@ljrfrm Whoo hoo that you are walker free. That is a great accomplishment. I too am not concerned about my rom. It IS all about the little everyday things that are important. Like being able to stand on one leg(even for a few minutes) to put on pants! Or being able to lift one leg straight up without that pressure or pain to put on a shoe. My most favorite is being able to sit on the edge of the tub and swing my legs one at a time up and over, and then to stand, so I can shower!
I too am where you are at with sleeping. I usually get a good 4 hours, and then wake up, like you stiff and achy. I take a Norco, and then back to sleep.
All in all it sounds like you are doing fantastic, and you have much to be proud of yourself for.

 

[ljrfrm]

@Crow22 Or standing on one leg to shave my legs! Now, that was exciting

 

[ljrfrm]

I woke up today very achy, stiff and tired. I didn't have a lot of energy for PT today. But, I was so happy I went because I hit a new milestone I usually rock back and forth on the bike - and today for the first time I was able to complete a full revolution (backwards!). It kind of was a bit of an accident, I was just about all the way around so I just kept going. I did abou 3 min of slow, full revolutions - and it felt so good. She didn't measure my ROM today, but I know it must be better for me to be able to do this. It's so nice to see progress after a yucky kind of morning.

 

[gr82cu2]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

 

[Crow22]

Woohoo Girlfriend, you go with your bad self! lol. Sounds like you are really doing awesome. I can commiserate with you as yesterday it felt like I had a tight band around the top of my left knee, and I was just really tired all day. Hope you are feeling better today, sending you a big hug.