TKR July 12th Surgery with Valgus Knee

[Titianlady]

Bless all of you wonderful, wonderful folks. Coming here and knowing you understand because you've all been through this first hand is a Godsend. I feel better now. Josephine, I think you are right on about having a good cry and letting the frustration out. I think we as women hold everything in because we have such responsibility ( family,children, grandchildren house, work) and so many others depending on us in some way that we just suck it up and plow through what needs to done and ignore our own needs. This recovery makes us aware that our emotions must come out. I'm sure ( I am a type A personality) that this will not be the last time I cry, but I won't try and hold it in or beat myself up when I do. The frustration can't be bottled up.
Thank you everyone. You are all just the best. HUGS

 

[Titianlady]

Oh,I too had a few bouts with crying, etc. I think the meds play a big part. It will go away. In the early recovery I did have one friend who was home and she would take me to Lowes or the. Grocery store to mainly ride their electric carts around the store and walk some. It heed me a lot to get out and made me tired which is always a good thing. Maybe your husband could take you fora spin after dinner. It's also a good thing to do when it's too hot to be outside. If u drive, maybe you could go by yourself after testing it with someone else. Being around other people helped me.

Hang in there

I think having been couped up inside for the last 7 weeks has a lot to do with it. My hubby called me on his lunch break,heard my frustration, and said come hell or high water, he is taking me out to dinner tonight. I think that will be just what I need. HUG

 

[kneeper]

Yay Mr. Titianlady! Enjoy your outing.

 

[Debbie_joints]

I can't say I know where you are at yet as I am only a week out, but already I am bored big time. I am lucky that we have a dairy farm so my husband comes home several times a day. Our farm is about 3 miles from our house. So he comes and checks on me and asks me what I need and has been wonderful, but I am still lonely. Not sure why, I think between the pills and not being able to go outside like I like. Whatever that sunshine vitamin is, I think I am lacking it and it is making me sad. Hope you are enjoying your dinner out tonight.

 

[bottomshollow]

Why can't you go outside, Debbie? If the weather is nice, just go out and sit in the sunshine. Fix up a chair and something to prop your leg up on. I would go out an sit on my front porch from time to time before the weather go too cold. Getting out of the house, even if it's just your yard, is good for the soul and spirit.

 

[Debbie_joints]

I guess I could go outside, and I have a little, but found the walker didn't roll very good in our gravel driveway. When I talke about going outside, I mean to mow my lawn and work in my garden all stuff I love to do, and to just sit, well, it is ok, but we are hitting a hot spell again, over 90 and I don't like sitting out there then.

 

[Titianlady]

Hi all! Well, hubby took me to a wonderful prime rib dinner! It felt so good to get out join the living, so to speak after being house bound for these weeks. It lifted my spirits so well. Hubby has been off work. For the last few days and we have gone out shopping ( I ride in the motorized carts)last night I went to bed at 10:30 and slept soundly until 7:30 this morning! Oh, how we take a full nights sleep for granted until this recovery. It felt wonderful. Went to breakfast/brunch today. I feel so much better emotionally today. Tomorrow I take the two hour drive( 4 hours round trip) to my surgeon for my checkup got an ice chest and ice to take along for my ice packs. Going to ice on the way up. Wish me luck with my checkup!

 

[bottomshollow]

Titianlady---let us know what you OS has to say.

 

[1ELISEA]

Good luck on your checkup!

 

[Titianlady]

Thank you all! Will check in when we get home tomorrow evening.

 

[Josephine]

Hope it's a positive consult.

 

[Titianlady]

Hi all!! Just got home from my checkup with OS!! He is thrilled with my outcome. I hopped right up on the exam table and had my knees bent under the table when he came into the room. He asked how I was, I said I"m doing good. He looked at where my legs were and said, "you are doing fabulous!! WOW" He sat across from me and had me straighten my leg and put my heel on his knee,and said," that's beautiful"0 degree extension. He aske me to sit back from the edge of the exam table and bring both my legs up toward my chest. He measured and I was at a comfortable 130 degrees. He had my PT report from my wonderful therapist, and said , "Your therapist was amazed at the jumps in ROM you made from visit to visit". He then told me I don't need any outpatient therapy at all, and he wants to see me in January to take a special x-ray with me kneeling on a chair to see the position of the implant parts.
It seems that my deformity,which was severe and valgus is the most difficult to correct properly with an implant, and asked if he could use my x-rays and case history when he goes to his next seminar ( he teaches surgeons how to perform his method of surgery) to show them what a proper outcome for this correction should look like! I said it would be my pleasure!
I am soooo happy. I made the trip with no swelling at all. Feel better today than I have since I had the surgery on July 10 th.
Things can only get better from here. I give a lot of the credit to a good PT that showed and told me the RIGHT way to gently work my knee, and BoneSmart. I started out doing all the wrong things, but my PT and this forum put me on the correct path. This forum should be mandatory reading at every OS office as part of the post op education!!!

 

[Titianlady]

Just thought I'd say that all though I had a wonderful checkup today, that I am aware that I still have a LONG way to go, and there will be good days (like today) and days that are rough. I hope like all of us do that the good days continue to accumulate and bad days come less anD less often. Being prepared for the "two steps forward, one step back" nature of TKR recovery is vital, and unfortunately the OS never mention that. So,I am thankful for this forum and the REAL story. I love it here, and hope that sharing can help others with TKR in their future get some comfort from my recovery experience. I didn't know what to expect or how to handle it until I came here and read the posts. Hope I can be of help to others.

 

[kneeper]

Excellent checkup and great attitude!

 

[Josephine]

What a wonderful, inspiring report, TL. You must be over the moon about that.

Though I have to tell you that every consultant or senior surgeon, physician, whatever, teaches. It's part of his job and how the next generations are brought along and skills developed. It's how HE was trained. Twas always thus in medicine though the old notion of "see one, do one, teach one" has happily passed into oblivion! But kudos to you though, that he wants to use your case for teaching. That's excellent. Any chance of before and after photos of your legs and xrays for our Library too?

 

[Titianlady]

Oh, my, I think I actually have my before x-rays. Now if I can just get a picture of them for the computer. I have a picture of my valgus leg that I may be able to find and send and a pic of it now. I will see what I can do.

 

[Titianlady]

Josehine, any idea how I can send a pic of my actual x-rays? I guess I can have hubby take a pic of them if I hold them up.

 

[Titianlady]

We are probably all aware of that area on the outside of the knee cap that is numb after the surgery. On Sunday night, I was in the shower and shaving my legs.( hadn't shaved then since before my surgery in July and boy, did they need it! LOL) and it felt sooooo strange when the razor got to that numb area, I was afraid to shave that area because I didn't feel it and was scared I would nick myself. Well, this morning while I was putting some vitamin E moisturizing lotion on my leg, when I got to that area it dawned on me that I could feel it!!! When did that happen!! LOL oh, the strange things this recovery brings! Just another small thing that people who have not had a TKR would think we are crazy to get excited about. I can hear them now... " imagine.. A grown women getting excited about feeling the lotion on her knee. Woman must have a screw loose". She probably gets excited watching paint dry too". ROTF.

 

[bottomshollow]

You have lots of friends here who would be equally excited. Anything that becomes more "normal" along the recovery road is a milestone to celebrate and get excited about.

 

[Titianlady]

Good morning all. Been doing ok the last week. I have heat and internal swelling on just one side of my knee. The outer side, just below the knee cap. That is the side the Dr had to do the lateral release. There is also small pouch of swelling behind the knee on that side. The Dr said it would eventually go away. Bakers cyst? I think my knee knew it was going to the Dr on Monday. There was no heat or swelling at all for the entire day when I made the trip to see him. As soon as I came home, the heat and swelling on that lateral side came back. There is no pain, just a bit of discomfort on that side behind the knee when I bend it too far. Probably because of the pouch of swelling getting in the way. I felt pretty good yesterday and did a few easy things around the house. Nothing that kept me on my feet for more than 15 minutes maximum. Today I am icing and elevating for most of the day as husband wants to take me to dinner tonight and I want to be in good shape to enjoy the time out and the meal. Am running out of pain meds and I don't think the Dr will give me more. I only take one here and there at night before I go to bed. Sleep pattern has gotten strange again. Still having difficulty going to sleep until 2 or3 in the morning. Since I can not take NSAIDS of any kind, I will just have to deal with the swelling with ice and elevation. I must say, I am getting weary of laying on my back with my toes over nose so much of each day, but we must do what our knee tells us or it gets very, very angry.