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TKR Jaye’s recovery thread

Just last week I remembered that bathroom slide and moved my foot back and marveled how far I could move my foot now, and marveled again at how much pressure was put on me early on, to gain ROM. Oh my, I was sooooo stressed out about my lack of ROM!

And guess what! It came in eventually, and continued to improve past my second year anniversary. So don’t let anyone stress you about your ROM. It will come!
 
Kaiser’s post op instructions were really quite sensible: post-op days 1-3, ice and elevate continuously, getting up to go to the bathroom, grab a drink, is plenty of exercise. Days 4 - 6 start doing PT exercises in earnest, ice and elevate as much as you want during the day, and continuously at night. 2nd week, continue with PT exercises, make a conscious effort to walk for at least one continuous 10-15 minute walk inside/day, increase number and/or duration of walks as tolerated, continue to ice at night. So much more emphasis on rest, ice and elevation than I honestly expected.
 
2nd home PT this morning. He was completely impressed with how I’m doing, especially after I told him I wasn’t doing heel slides, just taking care to sit symmetrically when I am sitting up, walking around every couple of hours and doing quad squeezes. Today’s ROM was115/3. Obviously there’s something to this icing and elevating deal, and PT is not necessary. We actually cancelled my second session for this week - he said I was doing better on my own than many people are after a month and a half of organized PT, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I know there will be more setbacks ahead, but I’m really psyched to be doing this well so early.
 
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I hope the nausea has improved. What a crummy thing to deal with.
 
Ugh. I slept through my 11:00 meds last night. Playing catch-up with pain is NO FUN.
 
Oh no. Good sleeping is a blessing, but not the pain that comes with missing a meds dose. Is ice helping?
 
Oh bummer on the missed meds. That has happened to me too. I hope you catch up quickly. Maybe soon, a missed dose because of sleep will seem like a treat? Good luck.
 
I’m choosing to see the fact that I managed to actually sleep through needing meds as a positive development. I’m quite surprised by how well ice works as a painkiller.
 
Today was tough. I spent all day feeling like I was slightly behind on my meds. It doesn’t help that it’s been rainy and grey for the past week. All of the fluid and blood that had accumulated around my knee is slowly migrating down my leg - all of the bruising has slid around to the back of my thigh and calf, while the fluid seems determined to exit via my (very swollen) feet. I also have a “waterline” of bruising around the edges of my foot. I can’t seem to get photos to load from my phone, but it’s quite colorful and unfortunately pretty uncomfortable.

Oh well. I’ll set an alarm for my 11:00 meds, get a good night’s sleep, and start back over tomorrow. A friend from my Monday yoga class is coming by with snacks and a bottle of wine in the afternoon, so that will be nice.
 
Are you icing and elevating toes above your nose? That should help with the swelling you are having.
 
Swelling was much improved over the weekend, ice and arnica cream seem to be the magic combo. Last home PT this morning. He measured me at 120/<5, and I get to *ditch the walker*. I am so psyched about that. We walked outside to the end of my block and back, and he said I should start doing that every day, increasing by a minute or two every couple of days.

Spent the first half of this afternoon figuring out where in Kaiser’s system my oxycodone refill had gotten shunted off to - I only had enough to get me to 11:00 tonight, so there was a certain urgency to this. supposedly that’s all sorted out now - Art’s on his way over to the pharmacy to pick it up.

It is an absolutely gorgeous day here - clear as a bell and chilly, but warm enough in the sun. It was so nice to get outside!
 
Feeling a little down this morning - my knee is complaining (PT warned me it might for a day or two) about abandoning the walker. Today would have been my dad’s 105th birthday. He died nearly 10 years ago, but I miss him every day.
 
I’m sorry that this is an emotional day for you. :console2:

There really isn’t any set time that you need to give up your walker. If you feel better using it, keep using it. You are the one who should decide when you are ready to give it up and move on to a cane. I think the fact that your knee is unhappy means that you still need it.
 
Getting rid of the walker was good for my mood, at least, and I’m doing fine without it now - just a bit of adjustment. I’m really glad to have a free hand while moving around. Walked down to the bridge and back this afternoon (about .3 miles), which was lovely.

Have another yoga friend visiting and bringing dinner to share tomorrow afternoon, which should be fun - his girlfriend had her knee done a year to the day before I did, and they’re both avid cyclists, so I’m looking forward to talking to her as much as I am to my friend.

One of the things this surgery has impressed me with is how incredibly nice people generally are. Art has gone to the grocery store once in the past two weeks. We stocked up some beforehand, but mostly, we’re eating various meals arranged by neighbors and friends - brought over for us to heat up later, ordered in so we can hang out and talk, there’ve been all sorts of permutations.
 
Had my two week followup with the OS this morning. It went great. He said my bend is fantastic and that the extension looks good and will get there once the swelling goes down. I can go back to taking Naproxyn, which actually works for me, and ditch the Tylenol, which does nothing. I’m using the oxycodone pretty much only at night now.

He cleared me to drive!!!!! I will probably practice in an office park near my work this weekend, but he expects I should be good to go for at least short trips next week. Wooohooo! Not being able to drive has been one of the biggest PITAs about this recovery. The prospect of four weeks of that was daunting, to say the least. I am so excited to get my independence back.

I went to the appointment with just a cane and did fine. This was my first ride in the car since I came home from the hospital. We stopped at the fish market on the way home and got some scallops for dinner. I’m resting and icing right now (because I’m not an idiot), but I feel great!
 
So great that you are going to be able to drive soon! I’ve got another week at least, according to my doctor. But I have two other drivers at home so it’s not so bad for me.

Have fun with your freedom!!!
 
I made seared scallops with spinach on rice with orange buerre blanc and crispy shallots for dinner tonight. Art did all of the prep, but I did the 20 minutes or so of actual cooking. So wonderful to be able to cook again. I’ve really missed being able to do that.

i am starting to feel like me again.
 
You are snapping back really quickly! You go, girl!
 
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