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TKR Kiwicurls TKR 27 Feb 2024

Well, it’s been several days walking unaided and I’m doing ok. Sore and limping a bit but ok. Of course I still use the walker when out, or a shopping trolley.
My biggest challenge now is to get rid of the loo seat raiser. I have been trying our other loo in the laundry room and it’s very painful getting on and off a lower seat. As we go away on 11th May I need to be able to use a normal loo; definitely not taking the seat raiser with me!
I’m still doing quad sets, step ups and cycling ( only in short bursts) but is there anything else I can be doing to make the transition to a normal loo any easier? I did have this issue with my first tkr but I wasn’t in any hurry as we weren’t going away.
 
Re the loo: I think tincture of time will likely work between now and early May. In public loos, look for the disabled ones as they tend to have good grab bars to take some weight.

You might try seated heal slides.

Also, I don't usually recommend squats because people tend to either use poor form doing them or do too many reps.... or both! However if you have seating in your home that's intermediate between the loo riser and the loo, especially if its a chair with arms, you might practice just say a half dozen up and down times twice daily. Be sure to get your feet well positioned and really bend with your hips so your butt sticks out.
 
I pushed up on the toilet seat with my two hands to help myself get back up. Also, rocking forward before standing can help.
 
@sistersinhim I have done this but it really hurts my shoulders pushing up on the seat. It’s difficult recovering from tkr with two busted shoulders! Alas, it’s really the only way to get up off a normal loo just now.
My husband tells me I am limping very badly when walking around the house. I thought I was doing ok. I even got out my hiking poles today to see if they would help but first attempt I almost fell flat on my face! Never mind, I will persist and win in the end! Onwards and upwards!
I have been watching the ANZAC march on tv today and when I think about what those men and women went through, I have nothing to complain about. Lest we forget.
 
If you're limping badly and nearly fell with the poles....
please try to use the walker (if you can manage it without making your shoulders worse) in order to promote better structure and gait.
 
@mendogal , I already decided to go back on the walker for another week. No point in doing otherwise but at least I know I can walk without it if necessary. I don’t feel wobbly any more so that’s progress.
 
@kiwicurls I really feel for you with the pain getting off the toilet seat because at over 5 months out, that probably still causes the most pain of anything I do! My PT advised exactly what @mendogal said: really bend in what feels like a ridiculously exaggerated way, sticking your butt out, to go down to a seat and especially to come up. I was trying to be so straight up and down but when she said really helped. Still hurts, but is a little more doable. Hope that next month of healing will be helpful to you too!
 
Oh, your poor shoulders. I imagine it's quite difficult trying to rehab your knee with those painful things. Do pain meds help? Can you take anti-inflammatories? I can't remember if you can or not. I pray for your comfort and healing.
 
Happy Two Month Anniversary, kiwicurls!
I hope you're having a nice weekend so far. I know it's Autumn there currently...my fave time of year here.
Enjoy your Sunday! :)
@kiwicurls
 
@AnnYo thanks for the hint. I will try it!
@sistersinhim thanks for your kind words. My general doctor hates me taking diclofenac as it shouldn’t be taken for more than a few days at a time but when things get really bad I take one as it does help both my knee and shoulders. I need a steroid shot in the shoulder but for some reason they are extremely painful on me. The last radiologist who did one said it was like injecting into cement! I was actually crying it hurt so much and I want to be put under anaesthetic for the next one. I am no weakling when it comes to pain but for something which isn’t supposed to hurt more than a normal injection, the agony the shoulder injections cause is unbelievable! Yet nobody else who has one, thinks it’s painful!

@Layla thanks for asking. Yes the autumn days are magnificent here! I hope you’re enjoying spring over in the US?
As for my 8 week progress: back on the walker. I feel as if I need some more time concentrating on heel/toe walking to get rid of my horrible limp before abandoning the walker for good. I do hate still using it but I am fine with everyday activities now. About the only thing I haven’t tried is vaccuming. I think that will have to wait!
I can sit with my leg down in a restaurant for an hour or so without pain and have near perfect ROM. The pain in my knee isn’t too bad and standing doesn’t hurt.
It’s just that awful limp when I don’t use the walker! Why why why, when everything else is petfect, can’t I walk properly??? Not too many on here are still using a walker at 8 weeks. I know I’m doing great in every other way but it’s frustrating as I need to be able to walk without a severe limp.
 
Hi @kiwicurls. I don't know one thing about shoulders, but I have had a lot of experience with steroid injections, both because I've had them in my knees and because I've had them to reduce the size of thick, ropy keloids that I have formed in the past when I've had incisions. I agree that she injections in my knee are not a big deal at all--no worse than any other injection, BUT the ones into a hard bit of scar tissue were EXTREMELY painful into already sensitive tissue. Worse pain I've ever felt! Your crying is completely warranted. So I can offer no solution, but I think it's the nature of whatever they are shooting INTO that makes the difference. No one else thinks it's painful because they haven't had an injection into YOUR shoulder!
 
I had the shots in my shoulder, and it did hurt! I don't think my muscles were hard, though, and can see how much more it'd hurt you. Can they numb you beforehand? My doctor sprays a numbing agent on me before the needle insertion and that helps a little.

I had numerous ulcers because of taking diclofenac for years. I'm on Celebrex now, which doesn't work as well, but is certainly better than nothing. I've tried going off of it, but my quality of life goes way down. Have you tried it? It might work for you and at least giving you more relief.
 
I don’t know if it is the case in NZ, but here where I am it is allowed for an opposite sex helper to accompany a disabled person into the bathroom. Very easy if it is a single room as well rather than multiple stalls. Perhaps your husband could help you get up and down when you are traveling? I just stopped using the riser and oof, it is an effort, but luckily not too painful.
 
I don't know whether it will help you with getting up from a lowish toilet seat- but this is something that made it easier for me.
I found gently pushing my knees outwards with my hands, so that my knees stayed directly over my feet and didn't drift inwards, and really clenching my muscles as I pushed up- helped. It seemed to keep everything aligned and made sure I was using my muscles rather than straining my still recovering joint.
 
Kudos to @EalingGran for the tip to keep knees from drifting inward! I have been focusing on that while practicing tai chi - those of us with "flat feet" are very prone to roll the knees inward on anything resembling even a quarter squat.

I also agree with @sistersinhim - in my experience shoulder injections, even with the skin numbed, were more painful than knee injections. I've no idea why.
 
@AnnYo: Thanks for your reply. I'm sorry you have experienced the excruciating pain of a steroid injection into scar tissue. Ropy keloids must be horrible!
Yes, it's by far the worst pain ever and they took ten minutes to inject me last time. He was pushing hard on the needle to get through the 'cement like scar." Then he went to a bigger, thicker needle and actually leant on my shoulder. By that stage I was nearly passing out. This was the senior radiologist in charge and he has an excellent reputation for pain free steroid injections!

@sistersinhim : Numbing the skin isn't the issue. I wouldn't be complaining about a needle prick. It's the agony when the needle gets deep into the rock hard scar tissue. Even with local anaesthetic it's excruciating.
Celebrex unfortunately does nothing for me at all but glad it helps you somewhat. They need a new anti inflammatory drug, don't they. Not much to choose from which doesn't give you nasty side effects!

@NimbleKnee: I will be fine by myself in a disability loo, thanks, as they have grab rails.

@EalingGran: I already do this with my knees. As you say, it does help to keep everything aligned.

@mendogal: re. shoulder injections/surgery: I'd rather have ten tkrs than one shoulder surgery, I'm afraid. My rotator cuff surgery and biceps tenotomy was horrendously painful 18 years ago. I still have ptsd from the surgery although it was the physioterrorist who really caused the damage post op.
 
kiwicurls said:
My general doctor hates me taking diclofenac as it shouldn’t be taken for more than a few days at a time but when things get really bad I take one as it does help both my knee and shoulders.
Click to expand...
I found Naproxen the most effective non- steroidal for my joint issues. (back/hip/knee). I did try diclofenac and it didn't help me much.
I took it pre-op and for a few months post op ( mainly for my lumbar arthritis).
It does need to be taken with omeprazole to prevent ulcers and ideally not taken forever, but my GP was OK with using it for a few months. The other thing I found with Naproxen is that it was the best anti inflammatory but not necessarily the best immediate pain reliever. That is- it work really well after a few days of regular use.
It might be worth discussing it with your GP and seeing if there is something he is prepared to prescribe that helps. Your shoulders are probably undergoing much more strain at the moment - so hopefully once the knee is better you wouldn't need the prescription long term.
 
@EalingGran , We can get naproxen over the counter here, no prescription needed. I have tried it but don’t find it as effective as diclofenac. Funny how what works for one, doesn’t work for others.
I have tried celebrex and mobic but neither work for me and my doctor says there’s not much left to try due to other medical conditions I have.
I’m icing my worst shoulder whenever I ice my knee. I must look hilarious with ice packs all over my body but it helps!
Hope your back doesn’t trouble you too much and it’s good that naproxen helps.
 
@kiwicurls

I was taking Diclofenac before my surgery. I had to stop taking it a week prior surgery, and I just got out of the habit of taking it. My GP suggested I add it in to my meds pile, as I am decreasing the percoset I am taking right now. It's really helped with the evening pain.

Diclofenac ate my stomach a few years back, so my rhumatologiste prescribed me Dicofenac suppositories, which work like a charm, with no stomach problems.
 
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