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Julie's Back Home !!

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Juliep said:
I tire some days, some days I don't. What is weird, I have mood spells. Some days great days and other days I'm down in the dumps. Is this post normal??
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This is totally normal and further confirms you are still in recovery and should not be thinking about work yet. Give yourself the time you need Julie. You will be a better employee when you can focus on your work and not have to balance recovery with your work load.
 
I went back to work this week which was the seventh week post op.

My GP agreed to a phased return and my employer agreed with this and I have been doing reduced hours.

Its been ok for me but I dont really think I would have been ready sooner than this.

My employer and work colleages have been very good but I still find myself thinking I shouldn't be leaving at 4.00PM! Is this a guilt thing?

I suggest you speak to your GP about a phased return to work.

I did feel pretty tired after my reduced days.

Dave
 
DaveGM said:
My employer and work colleages have been very good but I still find myself thinking I shouldn't be leaving at 4.00PM! Is this a guilt thing?
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Yes it is Dave! Why do you feel guilty about allowing yourself time to heal? You are a better employee for taking the time you need to get back to 100%.

The fact that you still feel tired after reduced hours confirms - you still need time!
 
I hope you aren't returning to work too soon. I know it's hard but try to pace yourself. You have been through a major surgery and that's hard on your body. It's so interesting the different recovery regimens. Mine has been walking only. I had my 6 week follow-up last Wednesday. He asked me to do a straight leg lift then a couple more and commented that I had very good mucscle tone. I asked him if I should start doing exercises and he said no and explained that I was still early in my recovery and to keep walking. I am walking without any aids but on the really long walks I still use one crutch. I must say it is really nice not having to push my self through the intense rehab's that the knee requires.
 
Barbs,

We are 1 week apart from our surgery date and yes isn't it strange how they all differ with what they think someone should be doing now. My PT is getting more intense now and I think that is why I'm getting sore again as well. Yesterday we did a bunch of errands which meant a bunch of walking and last night my left hip/buttocks area were now sore. I will take it slow and see how things are at work. I go tomorrow and work 7-4:30. I'll take it day to day right now and see how it goes.
 
7-4.30 is an awfully long day to start off with. 8-1 would have been better. Don't forget you have all the getting up, getting dressed, getting to work and stuff to do before you start work and pretty much the same to do afterwards as well. That will probable make your day be 5.30am - 6pm won't it?
 
I agree Julie, they differ so much. Maybe, you are being pushed more because of the Anterior Approach allows it. My OS is pretty conservative when it comes to the hips. With the knee it was push...push...push. I even asked him if I could do my own PT and he said absolutely not and that intense PT was required with TKR.

With the hip I am very happy with my progress. I have read others are doing straight leg lifts so when I tried them I found I could do lots of them. Same with the side lifts. I was not in particular good shape before surgery, so I am fairly sure the walking has enabled me to keep my muscle tone.

Anyhow, don't let them push you so far as to you being sore and uncomfortable. You have to go to work and the last thing you need is that. Just listen to your body, you know way more then they do.

Barb
 
Agreed!

he said ....... that intense PT was required with TKR.
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I know you've heard me say this before but that is so much rubbish! :tantrum2:
 
Barbs I saw that too?

Long day today for first day, Jo you were right about getting up time till getting home time. I made it till 3:00 and was exhausted. Up before 6 to get ready and worked through lunch. Sitting all day just doesn't work, get very stiff then. I got up when I could, but a long day. Thankfully my PT called today and said they need to change my appt. tomorrow from 3:30 to 2:00, yeah !!!! I told them NO PROBLEM. I will leave work by 1:45 and go to PT and then home.

My main concern still is my knee. The x-ray was negative as my OS told me (from my slip and fall on the tile) but he said that doesn't show anything but the knee cap basically. So????? do I ask for MRI? Hey, I'm at 100% covered out of pocket now. I feel like it's hindering my hip recovery. It's been 2 weeks since my fall and the knee still hurts. @Jo - would a bruised patella after 2 weeks still be causing me pain?? Can't put pressure on the knee and just to touch it hurts.

Well off now to get rest. Last night I was in bed at 7:30 exhausted. Just took one 500mg Tylenol today and that was it for the day so now on to some rx pain meds. :sleep:
 
Goodness Julie, if you're covered fully for the MRI, why not get it sooner rather than later? It will either give you peace of mind, or at least you'll know what you're dealing with. I hope to hear good knee news soon. :)

Sharon
 
Shoot...I just lost my reply.

Julie,

Knees are very unforgiving and can take along time to heal. X-rays for the most part are useless. I am sure your OS has ideas as to what is wrong with it. What did he say? When you fell did you hear a pop? Did it swell immediately? Is it locking? Without knowing much except what you have posted it sounds like you really bruised your kneecap or ruffed up the backside. And to answer Jo's question.....yes. it could still be hurting way past two weeks.

Hope you feel better soon.

Barb
 
Well dang! She got there before me! 100% Except I wonder why you need to rush into having an MRI? Give it time to heal a bit. Maybe another couple of weeks and if it's not settled, then get an MRI.

Barbs, I'm afraid I don't quite understand "what have I missed with the PT for TKR?". Can you expand on the question, please?
 
That intense PT is required with TKR - it's rubbish! Careful, methodical and regular, yes. Intense, no.
 
Julie, this makes no sense to me. On the one hand your surgeon is saying you are okay to go back to work which will be an extremely exhausting proposition for you. And then on the other hand he wants to to ALSO have 3 more weeks of therapy....also VERY exhausting. You have now proven that just trying to endure a work day is going to be more than you can do.

Is it possible for you to simply take another 2-3 weeks off so you can heal properly? I don't care what that surgeon says, you're not ready. It's okay for you to tell him that and request that he authroize you more time off. I'd do that!!
 
Jamie: I'm back now to write about myself. I've been reading everyone else's and writing to them because I'm blah about me and not happy. Work has been VERY difficult, I come home each day to just lay down for a nap before dinner. Well, I'm always exhausted, now energy, PT hurting my left hip and my knee which I fell on 4 weeks ago.

So.....I contact my GP and explain this all to and he got me right in this afternoon for full blood work up to check all levels and a knee MRI since no better. He called me earlier (he's our work MD for a fire department) said blood work up won't be back till Monday but as far as MRI goes....he we go. Preliminary STAT report just says this: Suspected osteochondritis dissecans (spontaneous osteonecrosis 2nd less likely possibility) lat. fem. (something I can't read). I don't have full written report yet but my GP wanted STAT results so he called me with this. I go on Thursday to my OS for my little over 8 week follow up on my hip so will bring my CD with the knee MRI images on it. Of course my GP asked how am I with all of this? How can I be?? Don't know yet for sure if it's AVN now in the knee and I was told it doesn't travel to other sights. Stays in hips/both or knees/both but doesn't go from hips to knees to feet.

I did google the Osteochondritis and it does refer to necrosis and talks about basically nothing but surgical treatment and total immobilization and PT. Well I only have 11 sessions of PT left for the year for any kind of PT and I have my left hip hurting and wanting/needing replaced this year as well.

Anyone with any words of wisdom or knowledge of AVN traveling to other sites? :cry4:
 
Julie, I'm not that knowledgeable on AVN either (even though I had it in my knee). I think in cases where a person has used oral steroid treatments for extended periods of time, it can appear in multiple joints. But if that is not in your history....well, I just don't know.

I'm going to tag Josephine so she can respond to your post. She will be back on the forum in a couple of days. @Josephine:
 
Hello Julie

Sorry to hear about your knee problem. Its bad enough having another hip replacement on the horizon!

My AVN of both hips was only diagnosed in February this year following an MRI scan and the previous 15 months of increasing pain in the right hip. I had never even heard of AVN before this.

I visited mnny web sites to try and find out as much information as possible.

In my view there seems to be quite a lot of contradictory information out there in relation to the causes and and probabilities of AVN and even what is the best treatment.

However in my reading the hips seem to be by far the most common site and it appears a strong likelyhood of getting AVN in both hips (like both of us!)

The knees are also another site where AVN is a possibility.

Nowhere did I read that if you have it in your hips it will spread to your knees however neither did any of it say that this couldn't happen.

It sounds to me therefore that it is an unlikley possibility. However, I have no medical background or knowledge so this is only my conclusions.

The AVN pain I had in my right hip and am increasingly now getting in my left hip radiates down my leg from my hip area to my knee. Is it possible that you are feeling a pain from your hip in your knee?

Please let us know how you get on

I hope all is well.

Regards

Dave
 
Hi Dave,

I have been on so many sites since my diagnosis in March. Today I looked at a bunch and I did find one saying that yes it can travel to other locations. Great !!

I had severe right knee pain prior to my RTHR and I worried about that and I was told the pain was because of my hip. It cleared up completely after the surgery and didn't bother me again. Then I had a slip and fall at my 4 week mark and it's been swollen since and sore. When I saw my OS on 6/2 I told him about it and he did xray which was negative for any fracture but like he said,it doesn't show anything underneath.

So needless to say, 2 days ago I went ahead and called my GP and explained and he said lets get MRI so when I go for my follow up again this Thursday we'll have results. So now these were the results as I had posted. It sounds like it's a good chance that it is AVN but like the radiologist said briefly, it could be secondary to the other disease. When I googled the other, well not a good thing at all either. Bascially surgery only option and then complete stabilization of the knee and PT. I just can't win !!!

Other than that, my new right hip feels pretty good, but now I'm slowing down because of the knee pain. UGH.

I will make sure to let everyone know when I do see my OS on Thursday what his diagnosis is about the knee.

Like you said, I never even knew or had ever heard about this AVN until my back didn't get better and they finally figured out it was my hip by doing an MRI and then it was a shock factor. My poor GP is the one who has had the MRI's done for me and has been the one to call me each time with the news. He knows I'm at the end of my rope with it all.

We are both a like with where we are at it sounds. My pain too was from groin awful pain all the way down to the knee. Really settled into the top of my knee with my right hip. Guess we'll both be looking at our left hips being done before long.

Best of luck to you as well.
 
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