TKR It's no piece of cake!

[Wednesday]

It's great to hear your story. It brings hope to all of us earlier on the road to recovery.

 

[RunA42K]

Thank you Al, you are very kind and I'm so very happy for the success you've had. You give me hope that one day I can be doing as well as you are!

Take care and the best of luck to you!!

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi @RunA42K how are you getting on these days? I apologise for posting on here Al x love Nana moon 27 x

 

[Biscuit]

I had my rtkr a week ago today. I have read many threads here on Bonesmart. Yesterday, this one caught my eye. I have read it through now. I am very impressed by the approach and attitude you took into this after realizing the hard and tough way wasn't the way to go. We don't live in the same area, but it sounds like we have many common interests. Dogs, in particular. You can see Biscuit in my avatar. She passed away 2 months ago. She was, in fact, the reason I delayed my surgery twice. She had an inoperable tumor that we knew was going to take her down. I wanted to be there for her when her time came. Now, I have a new focus. Libby is a 3 month old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. Before my surgery, we took a long walk around our property every evening. My wife has taken that over for now until I can take those walks again. Actually, the last two nights, I followed them on our golf cart! Anyway, everything so far has gone very well. I'm hoping that that continues. I appreciate the journal that you posted and will refer back to it again as I have started on my path to recovery. Thanks for taking the time to sit down and do that.

 

[saltyal]

Hi @Biscuit .... welcome to the forum! ....I'm sad to hear you've lost your old doggy pal but I imagine she had a wonderful life with you and now you have little Libby to entertain, distract, and inspire you!

You've noticed I'm a real supporter of the BoneSmart path to TKR recovery; it's the easy way both physically and on the wallet too with minimal PT.... which suits me as I'm a bit of a lazy cheapskate! Seriously though, I'm very happy you've found this place and it sounds like you're off to a good start. Just take it real easy for the next few weeks while your knee recovers from that horrendous surgery, ice and elevate as much as possible, don't skimp on your pain meds and for exercise just do simple stuff like ankle pumps and heel slides until your stiches/staples come out. After that you might like to do some of the recommended exercises from the library here...

And now that you're reading lots of other folks' threads, I think it's really helpful to keep a sharp eye out for comments and feedback on other folks' trials and triumphs from the admins and moderators here; you can learn a lot by following Josephine (our Mother Hen) and SkiGirl and Pumpkin and you'll come to recognize some of the others too: Referee54 really helped keep me on track when I was about to waver off and resume PT... he saved me bucks and pain too!

Cheers, Al

 

[Nana moon 27]

@Biscuit I'm so sorry to read about your dog. Non dog lovers don't realise the heartache.its nice your getting out and about With the new now, with you're wife, albeit in a golf cart which I think is brilliant x you'll soon be there with them properly. Just follow the BS mantra and like Al says you'll do just fine.

It truly is major surgery and horrendous at first. However, we've all come through it!

Take care
Nana moon 27

 

[Wednesday]

@Biscuit, I'm so sorry about the loss of your beautiful dog. I also lost my best friend, Wednesday (my avatar) last year. I love our rescue lab mix Jasmine, but Wednesday will always hold a special place in my heart. She was about seven years old when we took her in as a foster, but we soon became "foster failures." She was a wonderful dog and much missed.

The golf cart is a wonderful way to travel, for now at least, but soon you'll be walking with your new pal.

 

[MS Char]

Hi Saltyal. I just posted so please read it there I too hate to type. Ha Ha! Still having pain. Dr doing work up for infection! Hope that is not the case. So glad to hear you are still walking with Woodstock, I have gained more flexion. I can do stairs normally now. Just a little difficult when there is swelling. Still riding away in my bike! Take care. See you in a year ,I am now at 6 months.

 

[saltyal]

How time flies..... it's been a year now since my TKR, and although in some ways it seems like it was just yesterday, it's also been sort of relegated to a "that was then, this is now" chapter in life..... Not to say it's the same as an un-injured youthful knee, but it allows me a fully active day with a pain-free night, with very few restrictions. (I never was into jogging/running anyway!) For what it's worth, you should know my knee's not quite perfect, but it's as good and as functional as I'd ever hoped it would be, and I guess by definition only a small percentage can claim that "perfect" status anyways... For those of you that are into the numbers, my "functional" flexion is about 125° (about 135° if I push it) with extension at 0° which means my left knee has a bit less ROM than the right one. That doesn't affect my gait or endurance though; I only notice it when I have to flex a little more than usual, like when I'm bush-whacking in rough terrain with my dog Woodstock. Like a lot of other people, I find my knee still clunks a lot, depending on how I'm walking, and the lateral side of my incision still feels numb, so feels kind of weird to kneel on.... But these are really minor inconveniences compared to my pre-op days, so I've got to say I'm 100% satisfied with the results of the operation. And now I'm looking forward to getting back on skiis again this winter.... I'll start out on some intermediate runs for sure, but I anticipate knocking off a few black diamond runs, and eventually some double-blacks too!

But enough about me... I'm hoping that by reading my story here, those of you just starting out or still struggling with tough conditions in the early months will be able to lower your short term expectations so you can ride it out a little easier, and be assured that around 12 months the vast majority of us TKR patients feel like "Been there, Done that, Got the tee shirt to prove it!" .... As the excellent BoneSmart admins and advisors have told so many folks here, it's not a sprint, its a marathon .... And to get through that marathon, you need to treat your knee well... ice, elevate, rest, take your meds on schedule, do easy exercises, and if it hurts, don't do it!
Cheers,
Al

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi Al

Lovely to hear from you. What a lovely positive and honest post. It was lovely to read. Thank you for sharing.

Love Ann xx

 

[saltyal]

Thanks Ann!... I'll see you back on your thread!

I've a question for @skigirl or anyone else that's gone back to skiing after KR.... Aside from the common sense approach to start out easy, do you have any tips that worked for you? ... I'm definitely going to avoid the icy stuff and the moguls in the early days for instance, but maybe I should just fuggedaboudem for life?

 

[saltyal]

Well another year has flown by with my happy knee! I hardly ever think about my TKR any more; it's just part of me now, so although I don't run anywhere I can walk or hike in the bush and along the shoreline for hours at a time with no effects whatsoever.... and skiing again last winter was a blast! My ROM remains the same as last year, as does the lateral side numbness and the minor "clunking" when I walk a certain way, so I suppose things have settled into their permanent position now. The only minor change is I now feel my left leg is just as strong as the right, because I've been using them equally! So for those of you that feel they're a bit behind the curve in their recovery, try not to compare yours with anyone else's but look forward to small improvements over the long run... I figure it's been a 2 year process for me and absolutely worth it!

I know I'm repeating myself here, but for everyone still struggling, remember it's not a sprint, its a marathon .... And to get through that marathon, you really need to treat your knee well... ice, elevate, rest, take your meds on schedule (not just "as needed"), do easy & fun exercises, and if something hurts, don't do it!
Cheers,
Al

 

[referee54]

It is great to hear from you---and that is one fine report!!

I hardly ever think about my TKR any more; it's just part of me now,

And that, folks, is what it is all about---a return to normal---and normal is what we crave---and ironically, "normal" become "no big deal"!

So for those of you that feel they're a bit behind the curve in their recovery, try not to compare yours with anyone else's but look forward to small improvements over the long run

Great advice---That is awesome!

I know I'm repeating myself here, but for everyone still struggling, remember it's not a sprint, its a marathon .... And to get through that marathon, you really need to treat your knee well... ice, elevate, rest, take your meds on schedule (not just "as needed"), do easy & fun exercises, and if something hurts, don't do it!

Thank you so much for coming back---your report is marvelous, and I am sure that you have helped many who are i the early days of recovery---you have given them hope!

I appreciate you coming back and reporting---and so do the others who have benefited from your report!

 

[skigirl]

Indeed a good report---I ski the same===or actually better than I skied before i replaced my knees. I avoid a day of bumy skiing, but I still ski bumps especially if there is powder!! Last year I skied about 80 days and had a great old time of it.

 

[Celle]

Thank you for coming back, @saltyal .
It's great to hear how well you're doing and, as Tim says, it is so encouraging for people still on the lengthy road to recovery.

 

[saltyal]

Last year I skied about 80 days and had a great old time of it.

Love it! .... Got fingers & toes crossed for enough snow on our Mt. Washington: because it's not very high it can be dodgy in El Nino years. As you've found, I ski better now than I have for years because I'm practicing better balance thanks to a painless stance!
Cheers,
Al

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi Al

Lovely to hear from you. Yes I agree about the two year recovery. Funnily enough my surgeons registrar said that to me.

At long last my troublesome 1st TKR is normal. It will be 2 years in January. No bone pain just the odd twinge and now at long last I'm back to some kind of normal.

I've never skied but always wanted to. Al, enjoy this, you're in a very fortunate position and you've done so very well.

It's nice you came back and let people know your positive outcome, well done for that. It's nice to hear success it gives hope to those who are less fortunate with their recoveries. I hope you're still enjoying the lake and the walks too.

Take care
Nana moon 27 x

 

[Josephine]

Al, you're a pal! You know how we love these great reports. This shall go in the "Amazing Recoveries" section.
Thank you so much.