TKR Jake’s Got a New Knee

[jakemedic]

Nice update Jake, your recovery, while not perfect, seems to be moving along. Hope you’re able to secure funding for your worthwhile project soon. Good luck with the new addition, I’m sure he’ll bring some joy into your house. Hang in there my friend and stay strong!

Thanks @Jtmav if I’m not mistaken, you should be about ready for the second adventure? Please post an update when you can. I hope your recovery is going along well my friend. Keep Your eye on the prize sir, you can do this!

 

[jakemedic]

Nice to hear things keep betting better! Just thought I’d chime in to say that a theracane has been a game changer for me in dealing with tight knots over the years. The hook and curve could dig deeper than my golf ball, lacrosse ball, rollers, etc. useful for all body parts, hard to reach areas. I get bad trigger points everywhere and I find that what works well one day isn’t great the next…so I have a quiver of various tools. It’s not for everyone though, but has been an essential tool for me.

Thanks for the advice! I think I may give one a try. I am using muscles that have been dormant for a long time. As you are aware, when You use them, they get sore and mad! I’ve had friends tell me to use CBD cream but I’m not sure if I would benefit from it or not. Ice does the trick and in fact, I’m sitting with my polar cube as I type this appreciative message. Thank you again for sharing your success with the Thera Cane!

 

[Jtmav]

Nice update Jake, your recovery, while not perfect, seems to be moving along. Hope you’re able to secure funding for your worthwhile project soon. Good luck with the new addition, I’m sure he’ll bring some joy into your house. Hang in there my friend and stay strong!

Thanks @Jtmav if I’m not mistaken, you should be about ready for the second adventure? Please post an update when you can. I hope your recovery is going along well my friend. Keep Your eye on the prize sir, you can do this!

Yes two weeks from second TKR. My recovery from the first is pretty much on schedule. My extension is actually better than pre surgery but my rom is still a bit lagging. My PT is not number centric and more interested in function, my pre surgery ROM was only 115 and I’m close to 110, now so she seems to be confident that I’ll be ready. Mentally, it is a bit of a challenge but I am motivated to get all of this in the rear view mirror. After 3 months of inactivity I am in the worst physical shape since I don’t know when. Have always been pretty active, running, cycling so by the time I have mostly recovered it will be challenging to get back into shape but I look forward to it. My PT has already prepped me on what to expect with the second recovery, explaining that both knees, not just the most recent one, will need to be rehabbed and that takes some creative strategies. Jake, when I think about how tough it became to just walk a mile or two I am looking forward to a big improvement in my everyday life. Thanks for the encouragement, appreciate your thinking of me. Stay strong!

 

[Layla]

@jakemedic
Thank you for your kind words. Following your journey in support of your recovery has been my pleasure.
Hopefully you're sticking around for awhile, I know many would miss you if you left.
Happy Friday...I hope you have a great weekend!

 

[selketine]

Love your new poodle and I hope the lady chicks are doing well! Of course the best is that YOU are doing very well - wow no cane! I've finally gotten to the point where I can go "no cane" in the house so I understand the excitement! It's great when the new knee is better than the old knee and even better than the other knee. I hope you find some funding for your project - the boxes sound very nice.

 

[jakemedic]

@jakemedic
Thank you for your kind words. Following your journey in support of your recovery has been my pleasure.
Hopefully you're sticking around for awhile, I know many would miss you if you left.
Happy Friday...I hope you have a great weekend!

Thank you for your kind words! I am not going anywhere! I KNOW I need the left knee replaced. I’m going in for a steroid injection next week. My goal is the end of January 2025 if I can wait it out. We would be beyond our cold and snowy weather (I hope anyhow). I can be mentally and physically ready for the surgery. This week, I’m going to attempt sitting on my recumbent trike and see how spinning the pedals backwards would go for me. I may have mentioned, I bought it used in February of 2023 and rode it about a mile. My back and knees were killing me. I believe it is something I can handle now….. guess I gotta try it to know for sure! I go to the doc next week for my 3 month evaluation. I’m ready to be done with that for a while. Still am icing in the evenings. Been walking more and can even pull up my body with my new knee getting in my truck. I have been unable to do that for at least a year, maybe even longer. Now that is cool! I will post some pictures of Leo and of course the ladies in the appropriate forum. Oh hey I almost forgot, I wore shorts yesterday and today! Showing that scar off as a badge of courage! God Bless!

 

[Layla]

Glad you're sticking around. I am sorry you need your left knee replaced, an all too common story as I'm sure you've noticed through reading here. I hope the steroid injection brings you the relief you need to make it to the end of January.

I wish you luck in getting back on the recumbent bike. I hope you're able to comfortably ease into it.
I can relate to your feeling of regaining the ability to comfortably access your vehicle. Leading up to surgery I experienced the worst pain each time I exited my vehicle as I straightened my leg, pretty much manually lowering it to the ground. That ritual was the worst pain I had to deal with as my hip deteriorated. I recall the first time I drove post op, getting out of my vehicle and realizing that horrific pain was gone! I actually cried happy tears and wanted to get in and out again to make certain it was real! I was giving thanks for second chances due to this amazing surgery.

I wish you the best for your three month post op next week. I am certain you'll receive a nod from your OS that all is well and he will relate that he's pleased with your progress.

Love the photos of you, Leo and the ladies in the Social Area!
Happy Tuesday!
@jakemedic

 

[jakemedic]

Glad you're sticking around. I am sorry you need your left knee replaced, an all too common story as I'm sure you've noticed through reading here. I hope the steroid injection brings you the relief you need to make it to the end of January.

I wish you luck in getting back on the recumbent bike. I hope you're able to comfortably ease into it.
I can relate to your feeling of regaining the ability to comfortably access your vehicle. Leading up to surgery I experienced the worst pain each time I exited my vehicle as I straightened my leg, pretty much manually lowering it to the ground. That ritual was the worst pain I had to deal with as my hip deteriorated. I recall the first time I drove post op, getting out of my vehicle and realizing that horrific pain was gone! I actually cried happy tears and wanted to get in and out again to make certain it was real! I was giving thanks for second chances due to this amazing surgery.

I wish you the best for your three month post op next week. I am certain you'll receive a nod from your OS that all is well and he will relate that he's pleased with your progress.

Love the photos of you, Leo and the ladies in the Social Area!
Happy Tuesday!
@jakemedic

Thanks @Layla! You brought back a memory not that terribly long ago. I had 2 cervical disks replaced due to right arm pain not relieved by injections or narcotics. When I woke up from surgery and was in the hospital bed, I cried tears of joy cause the pain was gone. I scared the nurse taking care of me. It was a huge positive experience for me. So when I read what you wrote, I can TOTALLY relate. Thanks for sharing! Have a great Wednesday tomorrow!

 

[jakemedic]

Hello! It’s been a while! The steroid snot in the left knee has it feeling rather good. I have been attempting to squat instead of bending at the waist. Doing okay with it, but I have to make a conscious effort to use my new (and old) knees as they are designed. Still have some swelling in the medial aspect of my new knee. It does still work amazingly well! Ortho doc and his PA said “use it” and I have been. Did some paid woodworking, went well although my stamina wasn’t the best. I liked how it turned out, but really isn’t my passion. It was shelving in the inside of a new enclosed trailer and tie downs on the other wall.

So my hope is someone here figured this out. I have the polar care cube from Breg. I will be needing this in the future for my other knee. When I called their customer service this morning, they stated there is no good way to drain the water from the pad, and essentially I will need to buy a new pad next year when I have my left knee done. I did push as much water out as I could. Anyone been successful in saving their pad for later use?

Thats all folks! The ladies are doing well, (chickens). 233 eggs for the month. Brings a smile every time I hear them squawking!

Take care and God Bless!

 

[Jtmav]

Nice work, Jake. Interestingly they sent me home with another ice machine along with my newest knee! I told them I had one already from the first time but they didn’t care and insisted I take the new one home. (Wonder why insurance companies behave as the do sometimes). I can’t help you with the pad problem. Glad to hear the steroid shot is helping as well as the ladies are squakingly happy! Stay strong.

 

[jakemedic]

Nice work, Jake. Interestingly they sent me home with another ice machine along with my newest knee! I told them I had one already from the first time but they didn’t care and insisted I take the new one home. (Wonder why insurance companies behave as the do sometimes). I can’t help you with the pad problem. Glad to hear the steroid shot is helping as well as the ladies are squakingly happy! Stay strong.

I wondered how you were getting along. My insurance company wouldn’t pay for the polar cube. I was on my own for that one.

 

[Layla]

Hi!
Thanks for stopping by. Great woodworking there! Good job!
I am happy the steroid shot has helped.

I didn’t use the Breg ice machine, but I’m going to tag a few that I know did for multiple surgeries and see if they have any advice for you on the pad

So my hope is someone here figured this out. I have the polar care cube from Breg. I will be needing this in the future for my other knee. When I called their customer service this morning, they stated there is no good way to drain the water from the pad, and essentially I will need to buy a new pad next year when I have my left knee done. I did push as much water out as I could. Anyone been successful in saving their pad for later use?

@Eman85
@Freyagirl
@mendogal

Take good care, jakemedic and enjoy the rest of the week!
@jakemedic

 

[mendogal]

YES my BreggPolar Cube has instructions for emptying out the pad! For infection control reasons I did it every three months and again before storing.
When I detach the pad from the machine, there's a section of tubing that's an integral part of the pad. Within the far end of that tubing is a little valve.
I hung the pad on the towel hook above my bathroom sink and inserted a finger to push in the valve and the water flowed out. It only flows while the valve is depressed.
It takes a while and the pad needs to be repositioned and squeezed a bit due to the labyrinth of channels in it. But it was doable.

 

[CricketHip]

233 eggs for the month!?!? That’s a lot of eggs..
Good job to your hens!
Your woodwork for the trailer looks great.
I’m guessing that it required some kneeling, bending/squatting, so you must be very pleased with your recovery progress. All around good news.

 

[Eman85]

I did the same as @mendogal did with the pad on mine. Just like @Jtmav I got a new Breg with each hip.

 

[WFD]

Anyone been successful in saving their pad for later use?

I have. Before putting it away, I wash out the filter and scrub out the ice bin. I then put in a heaping tablespoon of oxiclean and fill it with warm water and stir until the oxiclean is dissolved. I then plug it in and run it for several hours. I then dump it out, and squeeze out as much water from the pad as possible, wash out the filter a second time, and put it away. I *don't* rinse it out. That way, the remnants of water in the pad, with oxiclean dissolved in it, keep the inside of the pad clean and free of mildew, etc. I've used two machines over four years and had no problems with storing them (the unit that failed suffered a motor failure that also melted the power supply).

 

[sistersinhim]

Good going, Jake, on the shelving. I could use you in a few places. A woman never has enough shelves.

Your girls are being really productive and certainly earning their keep. You feel about them the way I feel about my kitties. They helped me get through my recoveries. Just needing to take care of their needs helped me to do my natural PT!

 

[jakemedic]

Hello! So I went to see my fantastic PA yesterday as a follow up to my shot in my “original equipment“ knee. The knee appears to be holding its own, but I seem to be rotating my lower leg outward as compensation for my worn out knee. He said that this could be causing my difficulty with squatting versus bending at the waist. I had low back surgery in August 2023 and am feeling some discomfort in the low back. I try my best to squat, but it doesn’t work very well for me. He suggested I look at surgery in July instead of waiting till January of 2025. My dental clearance would be easier and I could still be ready for hunting season in October. (a guy has to have his priorities straight right?). I need to corral my Bride and discuss this with her. In some ways, it sounds good, but in other ways it doesn’t. Guess I need to mull it over in my brain a bit. I would be giving up my new found freedom of doing things, but in the end, the prize would be better. That’s all I know for now, God Bless, and thanks for listening to me!

 

[Jtmav]

Jake, tough question to answer only because it’s such a personal decision. I think over time having one new knee and one not so new and deteriorating may cause more issues. I just think from a posture perspective we are out of alignment with one good and one bad and that can cause lots of different challenges. You know my story and as I sit here two weeks post second surgery I am very happy with my decision. Not to say I haven’t second guessed it over and over but at least this recovery attempt I am not thinking I have to do this all over again. Like I said you know your body better than anyone and also your tolerance for pain. If, at the end of the day, you decide to go for the second one my view would be sooner rather than later. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Layla]

I agree that it is a personal decision and hopefully a choice you don't struggle with for too long. Our friend, Jtmav made some valid points above and we know he understands as he faced the same decision. Also, one recovery will roll into the other and you'll be done! Living in Iowa, possibly you're indoors more during the Winter months which can work for recovery, but personally (Upper Midwesterner here also) I liked the freedom to be able to get outdoors some days early on and not worry about the cold, or slipping and falling on icy pavement with my brand new prosthetic.
Best Wishes as you contemplate next steps and peace of mind with your decision.
@jakemedic