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TKR kmak's TKR recovery thread

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Maybe all that pedaling tightened your calves @Pheebs52 I definitely walk better in the earth shoes but they are heavy as I mentioned before. Massage ought to be good for your aches. I'm hoping to go for a hike tomorrow. Spent most of today doing garden work and putting up some veggies. No worse for wear thankfully.
 
Yes, go hiking before the snow flies @kmak81230! Your day in the garden sounds fab and I'll bet you got a lot of canning done. I think one productive day and one fun day make for a perfect weekend.

Hmmm, I suspect you may be right about the bike and the calves! It simply didn't occur to me, but it's been so long since I've ridden a bike I can't recall what sort of aches and pains it used to trigger; hah!
 
Had a wonderful hike today. About 3.5 miles with ups and downs, lots of rocks and uneven ground.:hiking: Knee performed spectacularly - no pain at all during the hike. Non op knee showed some discomfort which really made the comparison stand out. I'm so happy! Hiking poles were a necessity and I had a couple wobbles in the last half hour. Afterwards, just the usual "after any activity" swelling and stiffness. For the first time since surgery I can imagine doing the things I love pain free. :yes!:
 

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So happy for you Kathleen! So nice to think about life just a short journey down the road isn't it? A life that isn't knee- centric. Kneerah to you!
 
Oh Kathleen, I am so happy for you!! I'm trying really hard not to be jealous...that's so terrible to say. I miss my hiking on the mountain, it's like therapy to me. You give me hope. You are about a month ahead of my right knee. I know lefty could do it with no problem. In a month I will be closer than now! Your pictures were so beautiful. What an amazing place to live, thanks for posting them!:wowspring:
 
good for you kmak ~ you did great hiking and the scenery is stunning. thanks for the pics.
 
Thanks @becticu. You'll get there -- and I expect it won't be too much longer. I'm quite sure I would not have been comfortable on this hike as recently as two weeks ago. Feels like I have turned a corner. Still a laggard with ROM but it'll come I expect. I am fortunate to live in a beautiful place. Cold, but pretty. So glad you had a good night sleep -- it makes a huge difference in how everything else feels.
 
Congratulations @kmak81230! What a wonderful reintroduction (is that a word?) to hiking! The scenery is stunning, so thanks for sharing the photos! And you know what's even better? That *light at the end of the tunnel*
 
Happy 4 month Kneeversary to my leftie - and to @Canada35's righty. Together we might actually be able to perform great physical feats :heehee:. This feels like some kind of magical milestone - 1/3 of the way through our year-long journey (hope it's not longer!) and when a lot of healing should have occurred. I must admit I feel more "recovered" than at three months and hopefully less "recovered" than I will be at six months when I have to report back to the OS. I still swell easily if I do too much or even if I don't think it's too much (but I guess if I swell it means it was too much :shrug:). Still healing with a hard lump above the knee on the lateral side. My flexion hovers around 110 on a good day but I can still lower the seat weekly on the various bikes I ride so am hoping that will improve. Extension is still 5 on a good day :bawl:. I am pretty intentional with various stretching exercises to try and nudge ROM along. I can be patient as long as I believe it will continue to improve - which I do at this point (as does my PT). As @Pheebs52 mentioned in one of her posts the list of "can-do's" is longer than the list of "can't do's" at this point. :happydance:So all of you in the first weeks and months - it does get better! I also continue to work on strengthening the glutes and quads with exercises that don't put too much pressure on the knees and have noticed some improvements in those areas. I work on the 3rd floor of a building and I try to go up and down the stairs every day (about 100 if I do them twice). I can go up and down without the railing most days. My gait seems to be better in the past month and more automatic, depending on the shoes I am wearing. :walking: Exercise has historically been an ADL for me as it helps me keep the weight off as well as good for the ticker - and I like it! I lost 5 lbs after surgery and put it back on over the past month so would like to drop that 5, plus about 15 more. Over the past two weeks I have gotten back into an exercise routine which feels really good. I think for this next month I will continue with the stretching and strengthening and perhaps start to work on stamina a little bit.:treadmill::upright:I was not a great sleeper prior to TKR and am back to my normal, not perfect, sleep routine. Lefty likes to rest on a small pillow to start out but by morning it has either found the floor or the bottom of the bed. Stiffness is still an issue -- lots in the morning and also after sitting for a long period of time. I can walk it out but it reminds me that I am still healing.

As I posted after my hike on Sunday I finally can see a future with a pain-free knee that can do all the things I love. Of course this morning it is a little sore as I did 50 minutes in spin class with a little more resistance - Happy Birthday Lefty :) :-) (: . I am also noticing that the more I do, particularly stairs, the more that righty is not happy. Good validation for why I did this in the first place (over the past months I sometimes questioned why the :censored: I did this surgery). I sure hope I can wait at least a year before #2.
 
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What a great 4 Month report @kmak81230! Now I am filled with lots of positive anticipation on what's to come; whoohoo! This is exciting!:happydance:

:holysheep:You do all 3 flights of work stairs, more than once per day, hands-free? That's impressive! Hat's off! I still hang onto railings, up and down; pffft! Not complaining, though, at least I can DO the stairs, unlike the 7 months prior to TKR. Huge kudos on 50 minutes of Spin Class with more resistance; wowza! I'm also thrilled to hear the strengthening exercises are beginning to payoff.:yay:

Why is that stating "1/3 of the way toward full recovery," sounds so much better than "4 months?" It does. It has a special ring.:egypdance:

Wishing you a very "Happy Birthday Lefty," with good behavior expected; hah! :roseshwr:
 
Thanks @Pheebs52. I generally do up the steps hands-free, not all of the down hands-free . . . still working on it as I just started hands-free on the down steps in the past week. It was one of those "what if I try it without the railing?" kind of days when I was feeling good. Some days I don't feel like going down at all so use the elevator and some days I am not feeling up to doing 100. In those cases I take a longer walk to the elevator. 4 months . . . sometimes feels like it has been 40. . . . it's such a short period of time and yet it feels like we've been in recovery forever. Just an entire summer . . . . "Pffft" as you would say :eyebrows:
 
Hahaha, yes, *just* an entire summer. That's all. No biggie, lol. :umm:

Oh, ok, now I feel kinda/sorta validated on the stairs, thanks! :heehee: Some days are better than others. Today is a backwards down day, but I had PT yesterday and that always seems to increase swelling a bit. Nothing horrendous, but enough to make the going down a bit touchy. Going up is bsically fine. In fact, I think I can honestly say, the TKR leg goes up much better than the original issue knee still stuck on Righty. She's been a bit cranky lately, most likely because I am more active.
 
I agree about the "cranky" righty . . . hopefully we will be able to baby righty for quite awhile. Glad I validated that you are not "behind" . . . . :yes:
 
I'm so happy for you! That light at the end of the tunnel should be getting brighter now. And I hear you about the sore after-exercise knees. Mine are sore today after lots of walking and steps yesterday. Just enough to let me know they're not finished healing yet and telling me to not overdo it. But so much is possible now at 4 months that was not possible two months ago. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
 
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