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TKR Jane B.'s New Knee

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@Jane B. Hi there! Just checking in. How are you feeling these days? I still have aches and pains. Sometimes the location varies, but each day there's 'something'. Do you have clicking with your new knee? I don't think I experienced any withdrawal symptoms but sometimes at night I get really restless, toss & turn, if I am overtired. I have started using two Tylenols a day with one 600mg Ibuprofen and those seem to take the edge off as well as reduce the swelling.

Take care!

Robyn
 
Hey Mo! I was just reading your thread yesterday, catching up on you.

I have had life take over the knee for a bit. My husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer. So many men his age have it. It's not a shock, but still it's been upsetting. We have had long wait periods between appointments with doctors and I haven't liked that at all. We go before a committee of doctors next week to see what kind of therapy they recommend, surgery or radiation. We are also so very lucky that our internist is a nationally known expert and researcher on this disease.

The kids and our grandson have had the flu. All this means I'm up north and not in the Florida sunshine.

My knee is fine. It hurts every day and it doesn't hurt every day. I take 600 Advil in the morning, two Tylenol at lunch time, and 600 Advil at dinner time. I rarely take narcotics any longer, but last Monday I really ached (unknown cause, and doesn't that drive you crazy?) and took 1/2 pills three times that day. I found that once I withdrew from the narcotics and took a whole one, I found it much too strong. I remembered that I cut the same dose in half for migraines and they work fine.

I don't get to PT often, because of all the family issues and insurance issues. But when I went she said I was only one degree off of normal in extension, and normal for flexion.

I asked the kids for a FitBit for Christmas that measures how much I walk. I'd like to increase it, but it's been cold!

All my best.
 
@Jane B. I am so sorry to hear about your husband's prostrate cancer. My husband was also diagnosed with it in 2013. He met with doctors in Florida as well as up at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. In the end, he chose surgery. It's been a long road for him, but I think he now wishes he chose radiation. Personally, for me, I'm glad he had it all removed surgically. I would not want to keep wondering "did the radiation get it all"? I will keep you both in my prayers. How old is your husband?

I know what you mean about our knees aching everyday. You are much better at your pain management protocol than I have been. I suppose I should get up and take some Tylenol.

How do you find stairs, low sears, and low toilets? I'm still having a hard time with them - I think both my quadriceps are so stinking weak! Today my knee aches on the upper outside. The other day it ached behind the knee cap. I honestly don't know anymore. I've made the appointment to schedule my 2nd knee. I hope having that done improves my pain on the 1st knee.

Are we supposed to be doing PT at this stage? I was released as soon as my knee got bent enough and straight enough. I think I need weight training to straighten my legs.

I'm in Michigan right now. I've been here for two weeks - returning to FL on Saturday. I love my FitBit! I average about 5,000 steps a day just walking around the house and maybe a trip to the store. Some days I do more, other days I barely break 3,000.

I know what you mean about life getting in the way of our BoneSmart life. Happened to me, too.

Great hearing from you again!
 
My husband is SO much older than I am, he's 72. I agree about the surgery VS radiation. And our internist recommended it. He said that men with higher PSAs are shown to have a benefit with surgery. Of course men want no issues post treatment and that just never happens. So life will change what ever treatment is chosen.

I agree about low seats. My son had lowered a work chair and it hurt getting out of it. Sometimes my knee hurts going down the stairs if I haven't done any stairs for awhile. We live in a first floor apartment, and in Florida have a ranch.

I can go shopping and walk for quite a long time, but standing still will get achy after awhile. It's so random.

But my friends comment all the time at how I sit normally, legs crossed, etc. And I do not miss my limp. They say you would never know I had surgery. (I want to say, I remember!) My other knee hurts occasionally, but does not need to be replaced, at this point.
 
It's five months yesterday since I got my New Knee. It feels more a part of me and not as foreign.

As I told Mo, in an above post: People ask how I'm doing, and I say, "Every day my knee is great, and every day it hurts like heck!"

What is with "The Over Do it Club"? Why are we all victims of this not so much fun club? Is it the nature of a knee replacement healing? Is it simply that we just do too much? I think a lot about it, is it human nature? Physiological? I don't know.

In addition, as I approach 65, I realize I have a lot of body parts that ache. In the morning I want two things, Coffee (with a giant capital C) and Advil.

I'm back in Florida for the first time in weeks and tried some gentle gardening. The Knee said, "No way! I told you before I didn't like gardening!"

I've not spent too much time on this forum, as I have had to research prostate cancer. I do try to get on and catch up a bit. My husband has decided to have radiation and hormone therapy. By the time we met with the MassGeneral treatment committee, I didn't care what route he chose, as long as he chose a treatment. Many doctors will not get treatment for their own cancers. Scared me to pieces, because for a majority of men this is a treatable cancer.

I'm trying to walk more and it was impossible in Boston with the blizzards and snow piled on snow. Photo of my daughter-in-law and grandson in front of our house. In Florida I walked the dogs in a park and watched an osprey fish in a pond. It was lovely.

Here's to healthy knees, Smarties.
 

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Jane B. said:
It's five months yesterday since I got my New Knee. It feels more a part of me and not as foreign.
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That is great---that is the way it is supposed to be!

Jane B. said:
In addition, as I approach 65, I realize I have a lot of body parts that ache. In the morning I want two things, Coffee (with a giant capital C) and Advil.
Click to expand...
I agree---growing old is not for the faint of heart! While I do not normally have to take Advil or Tylenol, the coffee is a big part of my morning!

We will continue to keep your husband and you in our prayers
 
I'm glad your husband has decided on treatment and that your knee is doing so well - not perfect, no, but able to do all that you need to do and much of what you want. I think the ODIC is a case of us wanting to do things we haven't done in EONS...not just the time of the surgery but things beyond what we can currently do. Who knows, with enough time to build up the muscles, perhaps we will be able to do it all, someday.
 
@janeb
You're doing well at 5 months out. Yes, getting old is not for softies - like recovering from a TKR. I, too get a lot of aches and pains in various places. It's a nuisance, but they remind me that I'm Still Here.

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's prostate cancer. It's surprisingly common, but the outcome is usually positive.
 
@Jane B. Hi there! Great post and welcome back to Florida. I also cannot kneel yet on my knee. I am sorry about your husband's prostrate cancer. Mine suffered it, too, in 2013. We traveled all the way up to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for a consultation, as well as several different doctors here in FL. In the end, he opted for surgery. Mostly to get the cancer out of his body once and for all. I was glad he chose that method. Feel free to private message me if you need an ear or advice. I have been in the process of giving up coffee. Mostly because, when I was recovering from my 1st knee replacement, I craved it so badly and sometimes it wasn't readily available. (It was downstairs and I was upstairs). Since I've scheduled my 2nd knee, I am weaning myself off it. Right now I am down to two cups, every other day.
 
Hi @Jane B.

I've been reading your thread for a while (lurking around?) I do hope all goes well for your husband. I hope your knees are still being good. You've done so well Jane. Well done!

Please take care

Love Nana moon 27 x
 
My six month report is not great. I've been in pain for a week. My knee does not like flying! I came back from Florida and it's been unhappy ever since. I have two more trips and then no flying for about six months.

Usually I can tell what I've done wrong, but not this time. For example my husband and I were sitting watching TV one evening a few weeks ago. I started getting painful spasms in my knee. The kind where you double over in pain. He said, "What did you do today?" I said, "I don't know!" He then remembered I dug two big holes and planted shrubs. Oh well.

He asked me what was going on last night because I was moaning in my sleep. I reminded him that it's been a bad knee week. I drove him to the train station and took a pain pill. Enough already! Then I stripped the wallpaper in the bathroom. (It's a very small bathroom and went quickly.) I want to go to Home Depot and then take a nap.

I know from this forum that the bad days/weeks won't last forever (hopefully). Our grandson turned 2 on Sunday and he has this trick where he looks to see if you are on alert and takes off running. He's very quick for a little guy, so there has been some running on my part. This could contribute to a bad week.

My husband and I both have FitBits now and try to see who can beat the other. He's on female hormones and needs to walk and lift weights. Men can easily gain 20 pounds, get hot flashes, moody, and welcome to our world.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, Nana Moon! I turned 65 and in the US we go on Medicare health insurance. I had been paying $877 a month for health insurance. Yay!

See ya.
 
@Jane B. I, too, still have pain and swelling with my knee. I had the spasms and someone here told me it was the nerves reconnecting. I don't dare kneel on it. I fact, the other day, I banged in on the side of the desk, and the pain was bone jarring! I dread the 2nd knee replacement in 10 days. Absolutely dread it.
 
You are so brave, MO, for having the other one done. But once both heal, you'll feel like a million bucks.

How about the move where you attempt to slide a heavy piece of furniture with your foot/leg? Ouch!

I don't think this is permanent. Just a blip in the radar.
 
I was not expecting this!

It's my seventh month anniversary today. My right knee is fine, sometimes painful, but mostly solid.

This past weekend, I flew to the mid-west where my son will go for a four year residency in emergency medicine. We brought my two year old grandson. My daughter in law came a day later due to work.

We saw 31 houses (for sale) in a day and a half. I noted that my FitBit had double my normal footsteps and I was pleased. We got home on Sunday morning and on Wednesday night I noticed some pain in my left (non-surgical) knee. By yesterday afternoon I could not weight bear and took myself to the ER. The pain was mostly in the back of the knee with some medial pain. We flew to Florida this morning and I didn't want to fly without someone looking at it.

I was checked for DVTs as I had flown three trips in two weeks. That was clear, and what they could see in my X-rays were clear, too, except for arthritis.

I'm walking slowly with a cane and had to use a wheelchair in the airports. I can't even believe it. This is how the last knee developed, very suddenly.

I've emailed my doc for a MRI and made an appt with him and with the orthopedic dude.

I seriously don't have time for this and we have planned to move to the second floor apartment. I'm going to need this:



Later,

Limpy
 
@Jane B. I'm so sorry!!! Sounds like knee 2 is ready to be replaced, too. Don't you just hate this?! I am SO flipping tired of being beholden to my knees! Argh! I'd re-think the 2nd floor apartment. Groceries, any shopping are going to be a nightmare.
 
Here I am icing but I'm able to cross my legs at my ankles. Excuse the dog hair caught on the Velcro. Lol!
 

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