TKR Kate's Knee Knews

Thanks all for the understanding and encouragement. I think since I was feeling so good for a week or so, must have gotten it in my head that I'd keep moving forward. I think I was spending too much time this past week sitting at my desk this without getting up, and haven't been elevating/icing as much as I should. And back to the airport whirlwind on Monday.

Went to a wedding tonight but didn't stay for the dancing. Not because of my knee but because we've just never been much into it. Don't think a couple of slow dances would bother it much but it was nice to be home early.

Tomorrow, usual Sunday routine - laundry, pack my bag for next week, cook Sunday dinner for hubby, kids and granddaughters, then prep for work in Tucson next week. Try to get some sleep, which usually eludes me the night before travel. Actually, have been having trouble sleeping the last two nights. My son says it's because of the full moon, our hunting instincts, whatever.
 
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I see we had same surgery date! Twins?? Lol!

That's cool - we're mirror images! I would think the right would be more difficult from a driving standpoint. I initially tried to come up with a name, though not very hard, for my new knee. I love the BTKR gal with Lucy and Ethel, but she seems to have dropped off. If I want to be able to scold it when I'm not happy with it, guess I better keep trying. She's pretty nice looking from the outside, nice clean 4 inch scar.
 
Got another week of work under my belt last week, several clinics and hospitals in the Tucson area, and the hospital in Nogales. Next week I head to central coast of California for another round of different clinics every day. Each week the travel and working is getting a little bit easier. I work five full days plus travel next week, don't get home until Saturday afternoon. Then I get to work from home for a week – Woohoo!

I discovered something a little bit life-changing on Friday. I called my doctor for a refill of tramadol, but they were not able to refill it on Friday because my doctor was out of town. They don't seem to understand that waiting until Monday isn't much of an option, unless they call it into a pharmacy in California. Anyway, the amazing part was that instead of taking two extra strength Tylenol, I started taking Aleve every 12 hours. I am totally amazed at how much better my knee feels. It seems to help manage the swelling and pain more than the Tylenol ever could. I guess it didn't occur to me to try an anti-inflammatory, even though I knew the pain was mostly tissue related and not joint related. Ibuprofen does terrible things to my stomach, so I guess I'm going to stick with the low-dose Aleve for a while. It's a little sore and more swollen tonight, but we took the granddaughters to the pool at the fitness center and did a lot of jumping around and kicking, etc. Need to get me some goggles, since I re-joined the fitness center and all I want to do is swim. :swim:
 
Swimming is great for your knee and cardio. I just hate swimming indoors, the chlorinated air really bothers me. So I just stick with my bike for winter, though I'd love to have a treadmill for walking. Uh, oh, my family room any start to look like a gym.
But seriously, your work schedule looks exhausting!
 
I tried to kneel on the carpeted stairs up from my basement. There is a lot of padding under the carpet so I thought that was as good a place as any to try it out. Big mistake. My good knee was worse than my TKR knee. I hope I am able to do it in the future. It would be nice to clean under the sofa!
 
Good for you. I think about kneeling but don't even try. I hear it hurts a lot, so I guess I am a wimp. Actually I did try to kneel once in church many weeks ago, but my ROM was so bad I could not even get my knee bent enough to kneel on that kneeling pad (not sure what those things are called) and I had 12 years of Catholic school before college. Geesh! Anyway, good for you. Congrats.
 
@SDkate You make me feel like a real slug! Back to work AND traveling! Whew! I'm still going to PT!
Ok, when you're retired, even PT is entertaining! :loll: Good for you! I'm just soooo jealous!! :roseshwr:
 
I've been afraid to try kneeling and wouldn't do it on a kneeler or a floor, but a nice soft bed wasn't too bad.
 
I can kneel on the carpet now, but I had to work up to it, starting first by kneeling on the bed, then on a cushion and, finally, on the carpeted floor. It feels strange, but at least I can do it.
 
@Wanttobebiking Just make sure you have plenty of padding under the knee - I needed to kneel earlier tonight to rinse my hair in the bathtub. Used a pillow under my knees with a folded towel on top, and it was manageable - my unreplaced knee hurt more than my new knee. Kneeling on the bed was easier (and more fun), but at least now I know I can do it if I need to and it's not excruciating.

Had my last appt. with my OS this morning. He's very pleased with my progress, was impressed with my extension when he was looking at my scar, and said that I will continue to improve my flexion for up to a year. It didn't seem like he was waiting for me to say that I'm happy I had the replacement surgery. With the varying amounts of pain I'm still having, which I know is normal, I'm not quite ready yet to say that. When I am, I'll send him an email with plenty of thanks and praise.
 
I'm with you on not being ready to praise the surgeon yet! By now I was hoping for more normal days and less swelling and icing. My 3 month appt is next week but I've already decided to end PT after this week. I'm sooooo ready to have a week not driven by this knee! We had a neighbor over for a casual supper last night and by the time we finished eating I was exhausted! This time next fall we plan to be in Scotland. I keep that thought in mind and just KNOW it has to be better by then!!!
 
Before I had my revision I was able to use these with little or no discomfort. The main thing I found was the need for ROM.
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Nice. @wberry Where did you get them?

@SDkate and @Thesoutherncook I am right with you both. Saw my internist for a check up yesterday and he asked me if I was glad I did the surgery. I said, "I get glimpses of that, but not glad yet." I was icing last night as I typically do, and I just threw the ice bag off and said, "I'm not doing this anymore. It is too cold." I wonder how long that bit of defiance will last.
 
@Wanttobebiking I agree about the icing. Have used ice packs here and there, but just feel like I don't want to have to do that anymore. And being in the upper Midwest, like you, it's starting to get cool, at least in the mornings, and I've felt cold for the last 2 days - the last thing I want to do is put ice anywhere on my body.
 
Hi @SDkate - I went to a sporting goods store and bought a pair of volleyball knee pads. I mainly use them at barre class and they're great! Kneeling feels completely normal. BUT- I know a lot of doctors prefer that their patients avoid kneeling, I guess because of the pressure that it puts on the knee. My doctor isn't a fan of kneeling and neither is my therapist. They know that sometimes it's necessary and that's okay - they just don't want me doing it excessively.

Even at 8 months, there are times when I ice my knee. I wrap an ice pack around my knee and cover up with a blanket pulled up to my chin. I stay warm and cozy and my knee gets the benefit of the ice.
 

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