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kneeworn made it to the other side

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Well I did my morning Pt homework only omitting the lumber bridges. Icing now. Did ok I think and movement seemed about the same as yesterday. Yeah.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
 
Excellent! You're getting the hang of managing all this stuff. Well done!
 
Thanks for being there for me Josephine. I so want to do well. Just when I think I can't go anymore I realize there is only one way to get there. It is the going through. Sure gets hard and discouraging at times. Seeing others conquer this and with the support we get from you and others here gives me the nudges I need to keep on going through.

Surely this knee will begin to perk up soon and it will get easier. Until then I'm just going to keep on adjusting and working on this. Maybe I can go for a hike by spring in our beautiful mountains.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
Left knee scope 1982 and 2003
 
Stay with your program of rest, ice, elevate and take some anti-inflammants as well. It will get better. Jo is right....less pushing too.
 
Donna, don't forget that you are less than a month out from this surgery. No matter how "good" we are, we cannot rush this rehab. I know because I tried everything to get through faster!

It sounds like you are doing well. Things will start to get easier soon. For me, I had percosets 5/325 and could take one or two every six hours. I sometimes found it easier to take one every three hours instead of two every six. It helped to keep me at a better level. Kelly
 
Took it easy yesterday with lots of rest and ice. Only did gentle quad stretch in evening and Ray assisted me with a gentle push on the seated ones. Slept more last night than I have been. I woke up to the alarm for my pain meds every 4 hours. If the cats hadn't tried to claw their way in to the bedroom a couple of times I would have slept more. Poor guys don't understand why I had to lock them out. OS says to keep them out of bedroom for 6-7 weeks.

I got smart and bought a piece of plexiglass to fit the bottom of the door and applied it with those temporary Command strips. Works great. They did pull it down one night so we added a couple more strips and stuck it back up.

Ray assisted with all my quad stretching excersizes this morning. We think we got more bend. He isn't as rough as the physical "terrorists" as my OS calls them.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
Left knee scope 1982 and 2003
 
Excellent report, Donna!!!
 
Just finished my evening exercises with Ray helping to assist on the quad stretching. One of the cats helped me pace back and forth the hallway. His sister helped me this morning.

Back to outpatient PT tomorrow. I wonder where my flexion will measure.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
Left knee scope 1982 and 2003
 
Oh Donna...I understand about the cat. My cat did not leave my side for days when I got home from the hospital. I kept a lightweight pillow on my legs just in case she decided to jump up on them! They are so sensitive :kittykiss:

Sounds like you are doing pretty well. Keep on, keeping on!!!
 
I'm jealous! My cats showed not the slightest interest! But then, they are males! :th_heehee:
 
My male and female cats have been extra loving. They are litter mates and are mirror images of each other. Solid white with one blue and one green eye. The other male is one we raised on a bottle and found him abandoned from his Mom or lost at 3 weeks old. He is bonded to Ray since he took him to work everyday and gave him bottles. Even he is paying me a little more attention.

I have discovered the pillow on the lap trick for Meko. He is my lap kitty. He likes his new down pillow. Poor little thing has an arthritic leg too and it probably feels good.

I just realized tomorrow starts my 5 th week. Wow! Hope my progress begins to get better. I seem to be moving a little better this evening with the rest and Rays gentle help on the flexion. He is going to help me with that from now on when he is home and I'm doing my homework. Wonder what the physical terrorists have in store for me tomorrow. I hope I can get a full revolution on the bike.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
Left knee scope 1982 and 2003
 
My flexion at therapy is 103. Still not able to do full revolution on the bike or recumbent step machine. She prewarmed my Quads with warm compress today. My temperature was 98.8 this morning. Therapists says at 5 weeks this is not unusual but I plan to keep eye on it. Will check later. Really sweaty today.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
Left knee scope 1982 and 2003
 
My operative leg is still pinker from just above the knee all the way to my toes. I do not feel it is any warmer than it has been being but it is warmer than the other leg. It got really purple pink with a sort of gray looking color after therapy last Friday. They did force some flexion, did some massage of the whole knee front and back and tried to mobilize the kneecap. It has a good Blanche reflex. My temp is normal except for a 98.8 this morning. It is 97.0 now. It is no more painful than it has been being all along. Walking on it is not painful. It mostly throbs sometimes in different places around the knee at night. I take hydrocodone10mg/apap 325mg every 4-5 hours. Mostly every 4.

My question is is the darker pink normal? I still have some bruising resolving on the bottom of the foot and the medial aspect of the thigh. My physical therapists felt it was ok. She told me not to worry and felt it was looking fine and acting fine. She says this is all part of the healing. I showed her both legs to compare. The incision looks fine and the steristrips are still in place. It's color looks ok.

Is this all part of the healing as she says or should I touch base with my OS? The color is better as I said. Could the massage caused the change? They also use an electrical stimulator on the knee after each session.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
Left knee scope 1982 and 2003
 
Donna, From what I remember about my knee replacements, I had a slightly discolored leg for at least a couple of months. It doesn't sound to me what you are going through is abnormal. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Thanks 1jt@atime. Has anyone else had this happen? Sorry to be so nervous guys. It's still has swelling and aches. Temp normal 97.8 this morning. Still warm and a little pinker to toes from above knee.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
 
It's just another type of bruising - try not to let it worry you. You could also add some ibuprofen to you meds 2-3 times a day. Sometimes an extra something simple makes a lot of difference.
 
Physical Terrorists - love it! I will be 4 wks TKR on Friday and I can do a full revolution on the bike but not until after much back and forth on the pedals until I'm warmed up. I actually got on my trainer at home this morning and had to raise the seat quite a bit (boy I hate those bike seats cuz now my butt is sore) and it took a little more work because the angle is different than at the PT office but I managed to squeak out 10 minutes. Keep up the good work.

Aileen
 
I have an upright bike at home and a peddler that you put on the floor and sit on a chair and use. I should try to use one or both more often. I know keeping this knee moving helps lubricate it and with the swelling.

What bike do you have, upright or recumbent?

Some friends are coming over this evening and bringing covered dishes. Maybe it will help lift my spirits. :kittykiss:

I guess I really am doing ok except for the swelling that restricts my flexion. I probably should ice more too. Not sure if I should try to stretch to 5 hours between pain meds or stay with 4 hours. When I do wait 5 it is at night and figure the extra sleep is worth it. If I wake up before and it is time I take it. I think I will try to take my celebrex everyday to help too.

Maybe I should head to the quilt room too and give me a little fabric therapy. It always makes me happy. :th_yay: I"m starting to think as long as I wear my TED hose and don't really swell a lot more I really need to move around more than I have although I do ramble around the house. I've been doing laps down the hallway. Last night I did 20 minutes.

Donna
 
I have a regular men's bike with an indoor trainer that the rear wheel is placed in and then you simply ride as if on the road. I would ice as much as possible. I have a cryco cooler so it's easy for me fill it with ice and water in the morning and it's pretty much good for the entire day just sit down and attach. Something to keep you busy would be good especially if you can do it while in a resting position just try to keep your leg up off the floor. I find that if I try to sit with my foot on the floor it does tend to swell and get stiff and I'm pretty sure Josephine has made that point as well. Those TED stockings caused me anxiety but they do help. If you are doing laps then it suggests to me that you are in pain or anxious or both because I've done the same thing but only when I needed a dose of meds or the meds were causing me anxiety. My instructions are not to really sit around for more than 45-60 mins because you will stiffen up so moving is good as long as you don't over do it. Hope you get it squared away - it takes time and everyday can be different.

Aileen
 
Thanks Aileen. I do the laps before my excersizes to warm up the muscles so I can stretch better. At PT they put me on a bike 10 minutes then a biostep for 10. Then we do excersizes. The biostep is sort of a recumbent climber or walker of sorts. I feel like the laps will help my gait training and stamina too. Confuses the cats. Hehe. They think I'm going to the closet with the cat food then the kitchen. It's kind of funny.

Sitting with my leg dangling does make it swell. That is why I have not gone to the sewing room. I know me I won't quit. Guess ill have to set a timer for twenty minutes then go ice.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
 
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