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TKR Joni's TKR 9/15/14

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It was such a joy to cook the big Christmas dinner. Of course all that standing had me paying for it later. Also sleep was difficult. It all goes hand in hand.

I've been hiking more. Yesterday I did about 5-5.5 miles with a 650 ft elevation grade. A gentle, constant assent. It too about 2.5 hours. I iced my knee after although it didn't hurt at all. A couple little twinges while hiking. But my hips where sure sore. Working on my stamina still. Once I can hike 9+ miles with big hills (hopefully within a month), I'll start loading up my backpack. I need to eventually train for 10 miles carrying 15-20 pound pack. Of course it will be heavier with water added. I'm going to need to find a bigger backpack soon and decide which shoes I'm going to wear in Spain.

My husband got me 8 sessions with the personal trainer at my gym. I need to get my strength up , too. He will be able to teach me the newer ways of strength training. I hope to start mid Jan.

So I guess my knee is doing quite well. I have done no exercises in a week. Gotta get on that. I don't want to lose my ROM. Not one degree. When I'm laying in bed reading , I bed my knee as much as possible. I think it's practically hitting my butt, NOT. Still quite a ways away. Oh well. In short , my knee now feels better than it did before surgery at only 3.5 months ! YAY ! -- Joni
 
Great report, Joni, @Djbrund . You have done so well with your recovery. It's very encouraging for us who are still in the early days. I'm 5 weeks today. It's going OK but seems to take forever. I really want to be out and about but it's cold and icy underfoot here and not the weather to really be out in. I've had a few "walks" round the shops , round the supermarket but not walks really. Still early days yet. I'm glad your training is going well and you have your exciting trip to look forward to.
We're planning a trip to Venice in May /June followed by a relaxing week in Switzerland in the mountains, lots of walks, lazy lunches and swimming in the spa pool. We're thinking of going by rail all the way - never done that before.
Best of luck with your training.
 
Sunday I went with 5 other women for a 7 mile hike (my app said it was 6.5 miles). Hills and all. It was my 3.5 month gift to myself. The first part of the hike was the easiest part, but everyone was walking so fast that it was actually the hardest part for me (that damn stamina), then we hit some hills so everyone slowed down. The downhills were a little treacherous because of the recent rains. The single trails were rutted out and sometimes we had to straddle the deep water lines. Going through and old rusty barbed wire fence, of course I was the only one who got cut. (Got my tetanus **** today.) I felt like I could have gone a couple more miles. Wasn't the least bit sore except for my hips. Went shopping at REI after, came home showered, elevated and iced (to be safe), then went to the movies. The pain set in about 3am. Knee, hips and butt. Took some Advil and went back to sleep. Woke up sore, so I went to the gym and rode the bike for 29 min and did 20 min of core work. Still sore. Damn! Home to elevate and ice and an hour nap. Still sore. Mostly hips and butt. Knee is ok. Took a pain pill since the Advil didn't work. And BINGO! Went away and never returned. I am out of shape! Went for a 4 mile tough-ish hike today. Much better now. I'm better when I'm moving. I've already dropped 5 if the 15 pounds that I gained since the TKR. My hos probably won't be as sore when I drop the rest. Fatty begone! Of course, then I'd still like to drop another 10 lbs. before Spain. Hope you all are good!
 
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What an achievement at 3 months! You certainly are a determined lady, but well done! You are really getting your confidence back over some harder terrain too and that's so important. Also the weight loss is great. Your fitness will return really quickly if you keep up the walking. I am in awe - still I am now walking 25 mins in one go and picking up the distance and putting in some inclines too. It's lovely not to have the catching and painful knee! Great report. Well done, Joni.
 
You are an inspiration @Djbrund . Not the getting cut up part :wink: but the activity and weight loss part.
 
You sure are an inspiration, Joni! Well done! :yes!::happydance::yay:

You are also probably one of the few who can do as much exercise as you do, so relatively soon after surgery, without any untoward consequences. Most of us (me included) have to take things a bit more slowly.
(I'm saying this, not to knock you down, but to give hope to others who may be recovering more slowly. We'll all get there in the end!)
 
@kneeper, Thank you!

@Celle, Thank you. I did nothing at all practically for 3 weeks. No meal prep, no housework, nothing. I iced almost 24/7. I walked to the bathroom, bed, couch. PT. That's it. I only work 1 or 2 days a month, and didn't even do that for almost 8 weeks. I took it very slowly (for me). At about week 3 or 4 I found this sight and began elevating. That was the best!! I took my pain meds as prescribed around the clock for several weeks, then mainly at night I think. I introduced walking/hiking very slowly and built up to where I am now. I don't do things that hurt me. All BoneSmart advise. So thank you all!!
 
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I hiked almost every day last week, except for Thursday - I worked. I also fit in a couple light gym workouts. Did a bit of shopping today and got so very tired. I almost fell asleep while waiting for the doctor to remove some more skin around an already excised me on my back. Came home and crawled into my bed and...couldn't sleep. I hate that. My week caught up with me. It's almost 4 months now since the TKR and I know it's not enough time to be fully recovered, but I'm not know for my patience. Haha. All in all, I quite pleased with my knee and my recovery. I just need to take a rest day, I guess. And this overly tiredness makes me hungry!
 
Good report, Joni. I'm glad things are progressing well. Not surprised you were tired after such an activity filled week! Most people who hadn't had major surgery 4 months ago would have been tired.
Keep up the great reports and good luck with your increased activity. You're probably hungry because you need the energy !
 
Thursday I did kindergaten then went for a lovely 4 mile hike. Friday I went out of town for a bit of shopping (all day) and Satuday went for a 6+ mile hike. Sunday another 4 mile hike. This morning I had my first session with a new trainer. So far not impressed. Met some friends for lunch than an 8 mile hike. Did not mean to go that long but got a little lost. Came home and took an Epson Salts bath and have been on ice and elevated ever since. Even took a pain pill. Didn't even want to stand to cook dinner. I'm a little upset with myself for overdoing it. Now I'm going to be forced to take a rest day tomorrow. So stupid. Even after narcotic and ice my knee is still throbbing. To make it worse, I was wearing an 8 lb pack. There is no way I would have done that if I'd known I'd be walking for almost 4 hours. Anyway, I'll stop beating myself up now and lick my wounds.
 
@Djbrund hi Joni, sorry to hear you've overdone it but it happens, don't beat yourself up. I'm sure things will get back to normal and you'll feel fine after some rest. This obviously continues to be a steep learning curve for all of us requiring constant review , reassessment and patience. You'll get there and it's very useful for those of us behind you to realise we can't consider ourselves recovered quite yet! I was beginning to get over confident the other day and overdid things a bit too but I'm fine now. Just realising I'm not there yet :no-fin:
All the very best
Mary
 
Sorry you joined the ODIC, Joni! Probably no harm done, apart from a few days of discomfort.
Rest up and feel better soon. :friends:
 
I'm almost 5.5 months out now. I'm doing pretty good...can do pretty much whatever I want. My knee still gets stiff easily. It aches some if I leave it hanging down too long, but that is it, really.

I'm currently in Stillman Valley, IL (near Rockford) because my dad had his knee replaced last Monday. He decided to go from the hospital to a rehab place. He plans to stay there until his doctors appointment next Tuesday. He is having relatively no pain, although he is taking a pill every 4 hours. He has slightly over 90 degrees ROM. He is most comfortable sitting in a chair instead of laying down. He cannot do a leg lift yet. I think maybe that is why he won't come home. Also, he wants PT twice daily. I have to go home on Saturday, before he gets home. I'd feel more comfortable if he came home before I left. Oh well.
 
@Djbrund ..Hey Joni may want to tell your Dad to be careful on the PT too early.. I still ice when I get the chance for stiffness..usually occurs when I get up in the morning..did your Dad decide on surgery when he saw how great you are doing?

Vinny
 
Hi Joni, glad to hear you are doing fine , hope your dad does well too. At
Least you can give him good advice as Vinny suggests. How are your plans going for your walking trip?
 
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