TKR Late Bloomer<

[Bikesouth]

Yes very normal.....probably a few more months like this for you.

 

[zzevi]

@Bikesouth thank you for your reply, thought it was probably normal, but not used to seeing my foot and ankle swollen, feel like an old woman with cankles , ( re: swollen ankles. lol )

 

[KarriB]

You can expect swelling for up to a year. My knee would swell if I kept it down while sitting at almost 12 weeks. My knee would swell when I went back to teaching part time at 12 weeks and I'd spend most afternoons elevating and icing.

 

[zzevi]

Woke to a normal size ankle and foot, before I got out of the house I was developing the cankle effect again. So glad to have the day done and have the leg up and icing. Would have loved a quiet evening last night and it ended up being a bit hectic, so I didn't get the elevating and ice till bed time. Wonder why this is a after effect now, why didn't it happen sooner, more days in a row on my feet???
Would wearing the ted stocking or a compression sleeve help??? Especially if your spending many hrs on your feet??

 

[Bikesouth]

I wear compression sleeve daily on my knee....it pushes all the fluid down to my calf & ankle. Probably not what you need. TED hose would be worth a shot if you have some.

 

[zzevi]

placed an order for some zippered compression socks, thought they might help keep the swelling in check. Also went on line and purchased some of Vionic shoes that some of the others spoke so highly about. Hopefully investing in these items help during this time of healing and recovery yet.

 

[Celle]

I have heard of several people who used compression stockings and found them helpful in limiting swelling while they were at work. I think @skigirl was one of them.

 

[mamazipp]

I found compression stocking on my TKR knee very soothing. It kept the swelling down and added to my overall comfort. I wore them all day, off at night.

 

[KarriB]

The swelling is due to your increase in activity. I wear Vionic shoes often, but they are to help my plantar fascitiis, not my knee. If you wear them, break in slowly, wearing them an hour or two at a time at first.

 

[BBCG]

Hi Zzevi, have been reading about your journey and finding some common experiences, in not being "heard" by OS and staff. If you read my posts, you'll see back when I found Bonesmarties, I was a mess! Poor pain control, not responding as expected to pain meds, in lots of pain, not sleeping=mess! Thank goodness for the folks here who reassured me! I am still way behind in ROM but my PT supports me, I'm getting lymphatic massage and doing Melt techniques, so knee has turned a few corners and made some progress. I am still being "threatened" with the dreaded MUA talk and see my OS next week, but I do not plan to allow it and will instead explain that I plan to continue progressing slowly, at my knee's own pace for at least another 2 months before considering.
Re: compression stockings, my PT did not like how they were pushing my swelling up to my knee so she recommended using an ace bandage wrap instead. I did so for a week or so, especially when up and about, but soon felt it hampered my efforts so discontinued its use.
Re: open wound... Mine quickly closed up, but the advice you are hearing here, from skilled nurses, etc. looking at your photo, is helpful. It probably stayed open longer due to the early harsh treatment of your knee with the PT-initiated aggressive bending, etc. I always liked the "hose full of water won't bend" image...of course it can't bend when it's filled with fluid!
Oh, and I love the "Cankles" image/word! That has happened to me too, on the few days when I've worked more than 2 hours in my store! Now you've given me a word for the lovely cankles!
You have come a long way from your start and it sounds like this wonderful group has been a huge benefit to you as it has to me!

 

[BBCG]

Oh, Zzevi, I also got new SuperFeet inserts and new shoes: I have a new straight leg and knee, not my old knock-kneed knee... I use Altra shoes which are deliberately flat, "zero-drop" designed to help folks avoid making bunions worse. The insert helps with arch support, etc. Folks here had made that suggestion and it has made a difference in my comfort, ability to walk a more normal stride on my new knee leg. I definitely had an odd gait before, swinging my leg out around each of my knock-kneed knees. Now I am working on normalizing my gait.

 

[Josephine]

Just wondering if it's normal after being up and about for many hrs a day and many days in a row to experience swelling of operative foot and ankle?

Very normal. Especially considering you are only 12 weeks yet. It's that full day of work that did it, I'll bet.

 

[zzevi]

Would it be a worth while investment at this point in recovery to invest in a ice machine. I've had just the sleeve that holds two long ice packs that velcro's around my leg, I get about 2 good hrs out of this system. Would I get better results, now that I have put in full week of work, my ankle is pretty swollen and even my knee had some swelling tonight. I've been pretty fortunate till this week of not having much for swelling issues. I am elevating and icing, but should I try and have more hrs of icing during the night, maybe the whole night thru at this pt????

 

[newlybionic]

I find it helpful to have my ice machine but lately I've been too tired to set it up. I did use it pretty consistently though my first 4 to 5 months post op. Just realize though that as soon as your up and walking or sitting with your leg down the swelling is going to return no matter what you do at night. It's only going to start getting less and less as time goes by and may last up to 18 months to some degree.

 

[Celle]

Re: compression stockings, my PT did not like how they were pushing my swelling up to my knee so she recommended using an ace bandage wrap instead. I did so for a week or so, especially when up and about, but soon felt it hampered my efforts so discontinued its use.

When I was talking about compression stockings, I meant the full-length ones that come well above your knee, not the below-knee TEDS or flight socks.

 

[BBCG]

Zzevi, I love my blue cube ice machine! I use it every night all night long and it stays cold enough that I need a couple of thickish paper towels and my somewhat thin pj legs to not have it be too cold. I used it every day 4-5 times for at minimum an hour until I needed to be back at work the past 2 weeks... Now, when I get home I'm beat! My leg, calf, ankle and foot are swollen and I can't wait to set it up and chill my knee. It was given to me when I left the hospital, and I'm sorry you didn't get one, too...

 

[Floridagal]

I wish I could give you mine. It just sits unused in the office. I wonder if Goodwill has them cheap. My doctor gave it to me at no cost to me - probably Medicare paid for it.

 

[zzevi]

Well this swelling sounds pretty normal, part of the recovery course. Plan on spending a lot of time relaxing this weekend. By the end of this last week I felt pretty wiped out, even tho I slept good most nights and rested after work. I think for a while ( work ) it will be consuming all my energy along with continuing to heal I'll continue to use my ice packs for the time being, so goofed up on dates, thought this last week was when I was due to see the O.S. assistant, but it's this Monday after work, So I can see what they think also. No pain, more of leg fatigue if anything.

 

[KarriB]

If you had an ice machine you could ice through the night. This might be helpful while you're working and have less down time. You may be able to find one on e-bay or at a medical supply store if you want it immediately.

 

[uva55]

My first three weeks at work were very difficult, I have three ice packs at the office and I pretty much iced and elevated all day, I bought an ottoman that fits under my desk and used that to elevate, I made sure to get up once an hour to walk around and the knee and foot were still swollen by the time I got home, it's been 6 weeks since I started working and I no longer get swollen feet I do get that tired feeling in the knee and I still ice occasionally in the office but I still feel tired by the time I get home, this is a slow and long journey, we are going to continue to be very patient.

I feel like I have become "the knee whisperer" and can pretty much tell how my knee is going to react after certain activities and I try to avoid problems by resting it and icing whenever I can.

I hope you can feel better soon.