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TKR Joyfull61's Recovery Thread

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Stairs, stairs, and more stairs.

My husband and I have been with our daughter at her number one college choice all weekend. The school was founded in the 1700s and there aren't a lot of elevators. My knees behaved wonderfully, and I'm now icing and elevating, but I'm definitely afraid of what tomorrow will bring.

Yikes.
 
So glad your new knees performed well for you!:thumb:
 
After an eight hour drive home (legs elevated) and a night of icing, my knees feel tired and a bit swollen, but not too bad. My older knee (the PKR) actually feels worse than the newer RTKR. Go figure.
 
Joyfull61 said:
... My older knee (the PKR) actually feels worse than the newer RTKR. Go figure.
Click to expand...
Yes, that happens. Your LPKR is actually still a baby, too. During my second TKR recovery my first one (a yearling by then) started to complain. It even starting clicking again. When I was ready for some gentle strengthening both knees started feeling much better.
 
If I could have a couple of days off to elevate and ice, I'd be so happy.

Tomorrow is my three month and six month visit with my surgeon. I can't believe it's been so long!
 
@referee54, I got a fabulous report! X-rays look great and I'm a best-case-scenario patient so far. Even with my overly active weekend, my knees still look good - just some minimal puffiness from overdoing the stairs and a little lingering tightness. The PA said it's going to happen when I overdo it for another six-months or so. When it happens I need to ice and elevate, which I've been doing this week.

I've not been doing anything other than daily activities and a little walking. He said to take it easy and stop if there's pain or swelling, but I should be ready to add some strengthening work for my quads since I want to get my walking speed to improve. I'm to stick with 30 minutes per walking session and see if my speed improves over time. Once I start seeing my speed increase, I can start adding a few minutes.

Before my knees started slowing me down, it wasn't unusual for me to walk 5 or 6 miles at a pretty good speed once I stopped running. I'd be thrilled to walk three miles in under an hour by the end of summer. Right now, it takes 30 minutes to walk a mile and a half. Oy. It's definitely a marathon and not a sprint.
 
you're making progress! :walking:
 
Fantastic report! You are doing so well to even be walking that much. I am happy for you.
 
My knees hit the three-month and six-month marks today. The scar has faded in the PRK (left leg) and the scar for the TKR (right leg) is looking good. There's a small bump that looks like a stitch is working its way out - either that or I have one spot of acne on the scar!

My only issue is that both knees are STILL sore after my over-achieving escapades two weeks ago. It's getting better, but I'm not happy about the soreness at all. I'm staying off my feet as much as possible, elevating, and icing. There's no pain when I'm resting - just when I'm walking. I could feel my IT band on the right leg getting tight and sore, so I got down on the floor yesterday (first time in six months) and did some stretching which seemed to help. Getting up off the floor was not my my graceful moment, but I made it.

I hate to moan and groan because the soreness is so much better than the constant 24/7 arthritis pain, and I'm much more mobile than I was, but darn it, pain is pain. I know I have months to go before everything heals, but good grief this gets old. I would love to have ONE day go by without me thinking about my knees and the pain/soreness.
:gaah:
 
Excellent job getting on and off the floor! It is a long haul to feel "normal" but month by month you realize you're approaching normal--or better than the old normal. :)
 
I've been out living and have not been around here much, but I'm in pain and came hobbling back looking for hand pats.

I can't stop overdoing it. My knees have been so stiff the last couple of days that I've been miserable. Too much walking, too much stair climbing, too much cooking, and too much of acting like I'm healed. So I'm back to icing , elevating, and eating Tylenol.

The craziest thing is that my seven-month-old LPKR bothers me much more than my four-month-old RTKR. Go figure. Stupid soft tissues. The joints feel strong, my balance and ROM are all great. My soft tissues just need to catch up.




RTKR - November 30, 2015
LPKR - August 31, 2015
 
@Joyfull61 sorry to hear your knees are again protesting. It's so awesome to get back to living but still so easy to overdo it. You just get to the point where enough is enough and you want to just do the things you used to do. But your new knees are still so young and still rule the roost. It's great that you recognize that and have put the brakes on your activity a little. My left TKR (August 2015) is a champ, got me through to 2 days ago when the right TKR was done so I know I'm starting all over with the pain and decreased mobility. It's that patience thing that still comes into play. It will come. Just the fact that you've has some pretty awesome days tells you that you're on the right track. Hang in there :elevate:
 
@bdink21

Thanks for the response. I'm finding that ice is STILL my best friend. If I don't ice these puppies every day, I'm in trouble. Especially my older knee. Who knew???


RTKR - November 30, 2015
LPKR - August 31, 2015
 
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