Bilateral TKR jbrooklyn recovery: short-term loss for long-term gain.
- Thread starter jbrooklyn
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Pescara
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@jbrooklyn How are doing today?
OP
OP
jbrooklyn
senior
Hello, mates-
Just a quick check in as I ice up and caffeinate.
I'm driving 3-4 hours today, stopping every hour to ice. Yesterday I picked up my car from my bro's place and returned to Brooklyn. It was about 90 minutes--and I felt like a scared little rabbit driving on the highway, but did just fine. Knee got stiff at 50-60 min, so planning to stop every hour today for a little walk around, quick elevate and ice. Not efficient, but gotta listen to the boss--my knees.
Looking forward to being in New England with friends and joining my cute daughter who went up a few days ago with them. I haven't been using a cane at all but bringing one on this trip for certain because it is very hilly in Vermont.
Wishing everyone a good week!
Just a quick check in as I ice up and caffeinate.
I'm driving 3-4 hours today, stopping every hour to ice. Yesterday I picked up my car from my bro's place and returned to Brooklyn. It was about 90 minutes--and I felt like a scared little rabbit driving on the highway, but did just fine. Knee got stiff at 50-60 min, so planning to stop every hour today for a little walk around, quick elevate and ice. Not efficient, but gotta listen to the boss--my knees.Looking forward to being in New England with friends and joining my cute daughter who went up a few days ago with them. I haven't been using a cane at all but bringing one on this trip for certain because it is very hilly in Vermont.
Wishing everyone a good week!
KarriB
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Have a great time!
Rob 68
member
Enjoy the trip and the visit. You sound excited and happy, and free. Car rides can do that.
Pescara
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@jbrooklyn have a great and safe trip
OP
OP
jbrooklyn
senior
Hello-
Hoping my pals here have had a good few days. Thanks for the well wishes.
Nice trip but so happy to be home. It's the little things at home that make a real difference with comfort. While away, using a bathroom with no riser on the seat was really rough, till I discovered the beauty of using a big disposable cup. I realize this is TMI for many, but maybe useful to other female TKR folks, so please excuse. (If you need more details to understand, you can PM me and I will explain. )
Driving was not bad as long as I stopped to walk for a few min every hour or so. I kept activity levels as low as I could while on the road, but have pain and swelling above my knees now, which from google searches seems to be quad tendonitis from overdoing it. Ugh. Yes, I know rationally that it will slooooowly get better, but lately the longterm limitation is getting depressing. I really didn't think I had been overdoing it. Been feeling better and thought I was up to doing a bit more. So today I'm just flat with ice on the knees.
Also had an MRI regarding numb heel, and it showed (UGH!) some lumbar spine arthritis (nooooo!) but nothing that explains numb foot--so it's time to make the rounds of the anesthesiologist and a neurologist. Not happy about any of this.
Hoping y'all are having a good day.
Hoping my pals here have had a good few days. Thanks for the well wishes.
Nice trip but so happy to be home. It's the little things at home that make a real difference with comfort. While away, using a bathroom with no riser on the seat was really rough, till I discovered the beauty of using a big disposable cup. I realize this is TMI for many, but maybe useful to other female TKR folks, so please excuse. (If you need more details to understand, you can PM me and I will explain.
)Driving was not bad as long as I stopped to walk for a few min every hour or so. I kept activity levels as low as I could while on the road, but have pain and swelling above my knees now, which from google searches seems to be quad tendonitis from overdoing it. Ugh. Yes, I know rationally that it will slooooowly get better, but lately the longterm limitation is getting depressing. I really didn't think I had been overdoing it. Been feeling better and thought I was up to doing a bit more. So today I'm just flat with ice on the knees.
Also had an MRI regarding numb heel, and it showed (UGH!) some lumbar spine arthritis (nooooo!) but nothing that explains numb foot--so it's time to make the rounds of the anesthesiologist and a neurologist. Not happy about any of this.
Hoping y'all are having a good day.
OP
OP
jbrooklyn
senior
Hi, friends-
@kneeper and anyone who knows about quadricep tendonitis . . . here's my story of the week. I drove 4 hours round trip, leaving 6 days ago, returning 2 days ago. It seems to have done me in. :-(
Though I stopped along the way, iced while driving, etc., at one point my knees felt like concrete, really awful stiff pain, while in a traffic jam. I think that was the moment this happened. Now I have self-diagnosed quad tendonitis--big pain and swelling above knees on both sides, but right is worse, because that's the driving leg, eh? I know a big reward of the ODIC is quad tendonitis--but could I get it just from driving?
I am downcast because we have another fun trip to New England planned for Labor Day weekend, but our destination is more like 6 hours away, which would become 8 hours due to lots of icing stops. If I am this bad off from a shorter trip, I think that trip may not be possible. I sure don't want a chronic problem with this! Skipping this trip, to me, really takes away some important fun times with good old friends. My daughter and doggie and I also all enjoy time in nature. I guess I will see how long this pain and swelling take to resolve, and what things are like in a couple of weeks. Sigh.
This btkr experience sure has its highs and lows. Today is a loooooooow. Bah. Thanks for reading, and sending good wishes your way.
@kneeper and anyone who knows about quadricep tendonitis . . . here's my story of the week. I drove 4 hours round trip, leaving 6 days ago, returning 2 days ago. It seems to have done me in. :-(
Though I stopped along the way, iced while driving, etc., at one point my knees felt like concrete, really awful stiff pain, while in a traffic jam. I think that was the moment this happened. Now I have self-diagnosed quad tendonitis--big pain and swelling above knees on both sides, but right is worse, because that's the driving leg, eh? I know a big reward of the ODIC is quad tendonitis--but could I get it just from driving?
I am downcast because we have another fun trip to New England planned for Labor Day weekend, but our destination is more like 6 hours away, which would become 8 hours due to lots of icing stops. If I am this bad off from a shorter trip, I think that trip may not be possible. I sure don't want a chronic problem with this! Skipping this trip, to me, really takes away some important fun times with good old friends. My daughter and doggie and I also all enjoy time in nature. I guess I will see how long this pain and swelling take to resolve, and what things are like in a couple of weeks. Sigh.
This btkr experience sure has its highs and lows. Today is a loooooooow. Bah. Thanks for reading, and sending good wishes your way.
LHop
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I feel you @jbrooklyn, this process feels like it's taking sooooo long. I feel like there are many things in my recovery process that have either slowed waaay down, stopped or gone backwards. I'm still battling with pain management, or non pain management as the case may be. The lack of resources is hindering my progress and my sleep!
Quadricep tendonitis sounds painful! I sure hope your swelling and pain go away and I'm so sorry this may impact your next trip!
I guess all we can do is hang in there. Some day we'll be those "senior" posters that are on the other side of their BTKR experience and are pain free. Until then, glad to have a buddy to go through this with. Sending you positive thoughts and prayers!
bdink21
senior
Sorry to hear all that @jbrooklyn. Will you be the driver when you go on your trip on Labor Day Weekend? If not maybe you can lounge in the back seat and keep your legs iced and elevated to make the travel easier. Hopefully you'll heal up quickly and then of course see how you feel closer to Labor Day.
KarriB
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I agree with Bridget, if you aren't driving Labor Day the trip may be doable. Sit in the back, keep your legs up and iced, do stop every few hours to get up and walk around. I drive to Virginia this weekend, I still am terribly stiff after sitting for 4-5 hours, but can walk it off in a few minutes. I think you'll be so disappointed and depressed if you can't make the trip.
OP
OP
jbrooklyn
senior
Raffs
graduate
Sorry to hear about your quad pain, 'fraid I don't have any advice for you but sending lots of good vibes and hearing you on the limitations frustration. Like the photo of your new knees!
I'm obviously not a medical expert, I can only go on my own experience. I can't diagnose you. But it does sound like the driving was a big case of ODIC. Keeping your legs down and in one position (even with breaks) for that many hours probably made th eknees angry. And driving is stressful on the knees as early out as you are. Hopefully doing the rest, ice, elevation routine for several days will calm it down.
OP
OP
jbrooklyn
senior
Hi, friends--
A funny story to relate. I finally had first outside PT appointment today. Took forever to get that set up! My knees are still deadly from the tendinitis, so I was eager to work around that. The session started with the PT asking me to sit in a cushy chair that was wwaaayyyy too low--I know getting up would be really tough. So I sat instead on the therapy table, and explained politely why.
The PT said, "You should be able to sit in that chair."
I said, "I'd love to and let's make that a goal, but till you've had bilateral knee replacement you don't develop an eye for good chairs to sit in afterward." The rest of the session was awesome.
A funny story to relate. I finally had first outside PT appointment today. Took forever to get that set up! My knees are still deadly from the tendinitis, so I was eager to work around that. The session started with the PT asking me to sit in a cushy chair that was wwaaayyyy too low--I know getting up would be really tough. So I sat instead on the therapy table, and explained politely why.
The PT said, "You should be able to sit in that chair."
I said, "I'd love to and let's make that a goal, but till you've had bilateral knee replacement you don't develop an eye for good chairs to sit in afterward." The rest of the session was awesome.
KarriB
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The problem wasn't sitting in the chair, the problem would've been getting out of the chair.
OP
OP
jbrooklyn
senior
Slainte
post-grad
Hey, @jbrooklyn , saw you trying to take my crown as the laziest recoverer. I am afraid I really have you beat this week!
Good call on the PT's comfy chair. Excellent way to establish the relationship between the boss and the therapist. Hope they help you solve your tendonitis issue.
Good call on the PT's comfy chair. Excellent way to establish the relationship between the boss and the therapist. Hope they help you solve your tendonitis issue.
OP
OP
jbrooklyn
senior
Good day. Please avert your eyes if you don't want to descend into the coal mines of btkr recovery.
So I'm coming up on 2 full months, July 1 to Sept 1. I know rationally that it takes a long time to heal and regain abilities, but at age 52 I feel like I'm 102 a lot of the time--and the rational mind is no match for the gut feeling that somehow I've added 50 years to my age and it will never go away--it's hard on my ego and hard physically, too. My knees hurt all the time. Sitting down and standing up, and going down stairs all hurt like heck, leaving them in one position for more than 5 min, finding a comfy sleeping position . . . ouch, whether or not I've taken Tramadol.
Will I always have to plan my movements, find the only place in the room where I can stand back up if I sit down, only be out for 2-3 hours at a time on carefully chosen missions lest my knees rebel for a full week afterward? I know the answer is no, but it's been 3 weeks or so since I've experienced noticeable improvements, and I seem to be caught in the doldrums.
Quad tendonitis is painful, and takes a long time to heal. It's there b/c my quads are weak from years of disuse, and I am so eager to build back that strength, but I can't because of this injury. Happily, my new PT is pretty clever at finding ways to exercise thigh muscles without stressing the knees--I admire her ingenuity. So there's a nice bright spot. I didn't expect much from outpatient PT, based on prior experience--but she's good, it seems. Go, Nikita! I'm impressed.
Canceled our Labor Day weekend trip because my knees rebelled so loudly last time I tried to get away to have fun. But I'll tell you what, my knees are the only part of me that doesn't think this yearly trip is a good idea. They are the boss and I'm listening to them--but I am so so sick of lying around looking at the ceiling and making only careful/short forays into the world. Bloody sick of it all and sometimes wonder if tkr was a good choice--I dearly miss my healthy working knees of recent years. Baah.
I am wondering whether ice is still the right thing--it doesn't seem to do anything. Nothing does, really. Waaah. Okay, end of rant.
In other news I saw a pain specialist/neurologist on Friday because of my numb heel. It was fascinating to see how they work--like detectives on a case, figuring out what sensations I can and cannot feel, where, etc. Next stop is an MRI of the back of my knee and a test called (I think) an EMG, which involves little needles all over the skin and electric impulses--sounds like torture, but I hope it will help. They seem to think my tibial nerve was damaged during surgery. I'll follow up with further (mis)adventures. Sorry for the descent into the dark tunnels.
So I'm coming up on 2 full months, July 1 to Sept 1. I know rationally that it takes a long time to heal and regain abilities, but at age 52 I feel like I'm 102 a lot of the time--and the rational mind is no match for the gut feeling that somehow I've added 50 years to my age and it will never go away--it's hard on my ego and hard physically, too. My knees hurt all the time. Sitting down and standing up, and going down stairs all hurt like heck, leaving them in one position for more than 5 min, finding a comfy sleeping position . . . ouch, whether or not I've taken Tramadol.
Will I always have to plan my movements, find the only place in the room where I can stand back up if I sit down, only be out for 2-3 hours at a time on carefully chosen missions lest my knees rebel for a full week afterward? I know the answer is no, but it's been 3 weeks or so since I've experienced noticeable improvements, and I seem to be caught in the doldrums.
Quad tendonitis is painful, and takes a long time to heal. It's there b/c my quads are weak from years of disuse, and I am so eager to build back that strength, but I can't because of this injury. Happily, my new PT is pretty clever at finding ways to exercise thigh muscles without stressing the knees--I admire her ingenuity. So there's a nice bright spot. I didn't expect much from outpatient PT, based on prior experience--but she's good, it seems. Go, Nikita! I'm impressed.
Canceled our Labor Day weekend trip because my knees rebelled so loudly last time I tried to get away to have fun. But I'll tell you what, my knees are the only part of me that doesn't think this yearly trip is a good idea. They are the boss and I'm listening to them--but I am so so sick of lying around looking at the ceiling and making only careful/short forays into the world. Bloody sick of it all and sometimes wonder if tkr was a good choice--I dearly miss my healthy working knees of recent years. Baah.
I am wondering whether ice is still the right thing--it doesn't seem to do anything. Nothing does, really. Waaah. Okay, end of rant.
In other news I saw a pain specialist/neurologist on Friday because of my numb heel. It was fascinating to see how they work--like detectives on a case, figuring out what sensations I can and cannot feel, where, etc. Next stop is an MRI of the back of my knee and a test called (I think) an EMG, which involves little needles all over the skin and electric impulses--sounds like torture, but I hope it will help. They seem to think my tibial nerve was damaged during surgery. I'll follow up with further (mis)adventures. Sorry for the descent into the dark tunnels.
