TKR Lindylee's RTKR 20 January 2020

Good to hear you had a decent night they are certainly hard to come by. :sleep:
 
@Josephine when I got my first TKR couple of years ago was there not a humorous wee diagram onsite of the recovery progression (not the block diagram) it showed a line drawn on an axis of expected recovery which was straight between x and y and then another diagram with the reality of a knee recovery where the line wandered all over the place, looped back on itself etc etc. At the time it helped me because it absolutely demonstrated exactly what happens with the recovery. Apologies if it’s on the site and I haven’t picked up on it.

@Lindylee sorry that you’ve had a few bad days, honestly this is the hardestof recoveries as it goes up and down and round in circles and scrambles your emotions into the bargain!! I had a slight setback yesterday getting my clips out and that was enough to send my spirits plummeting. I’ve found that it really is a case of taking it one day at a time:umm:u
 
@Lilli215 Thanks Lilli (my granddaughter is a Lili with one l so apologies in advance if I misspell yours at any time). I guessed it wouldn't be smooth sailing, just cross with myself for trying to run before I can walk and now I need patience until I get back to where I was. This morning I've got the sharp pain in the kneecap back - what's that about? I haven't had that for a couple of weeks at least. I hope your spirits are on the rise again today. :console2:
 
@Lindylee Lilli is actually my dog’s name and she doesn’t care how it’s spelled lol. My name is actually Linda. Although I made a great recovery first time around it wasn’t smooth sailing all the way, your knee is very quick to let you know it doesn’t like what you’re about!!! On average each setback I incurred cost about 3 days to get back to where I had been before. Dreading this physio this afternoon, she’s new to the hospital and seemingly doesn’t suffer fools, I’m no fool but will she believe me when I say I can’t bend knee properly due to swelling, guess I’ll soon find out!!!
 
@Lilli215 Glad your Lilli won't be upset :rotfl: I'm a Lynda too, but I might still spell yours wrong :loll:I must have really upset my knee because it's been longer than 3 days :groan:although I did upset it even more on Sunday so maybe it will take 6 :oyvey:I hope your physio wasn't as bad as anticipated :console2:
 
@Lindylee, the physio appointment went well. She was happy with how I was doing all my lifts and stretches, I explained about the swollen thigh having a knock on effect on heel slides, she agreed it was very swollen and showed me how to do massage on it. I tried some gentle heel slides then decided to go for it , she didn’t force me or touch me at all judt held the measure up and I got 105. Was pleased coz I had only got to 85 in hospital and I genuinely thought I had gone back the way. To go back nxt Tues to get swelling checked and just to carry on with the exercises I’ve been doing already, so all in all a result.:yahoo:
 
@Lindylee : I have found that any interruption to my routine, like having house guests, even helpful ones, slows things down and adds more pain. I believe that any stress does not help. I went to the theatre last night, and was uncomfortable most of the time. Of course, that led to a disturbed sleep.

I want to get my life back, but sometimes, if I do that too soon or too much, I will pay for it.

Take it easy. Try not to be stressed out. Congratulations of the improvement with the heel slides.
 
@Lilli215 That's great news, so pleased it went well. What a good result. :egypdance:
@SnowHare There's a couple of things I want to see at the theatre, but the thought of sitting for over 2 hours in a confined space puts me off. I think we all want to get our social life back, but not to the detriment of our knees. I keep telling myself Patience! Patience! Patience! Not sure how much is sinking in though :nah:
 
@Lindylee : We have a subscription to a weekly improv soap opera. Next time I go, I'm going to sit in the front row that has lots of leg room, not in our reserved seats. The show usually starts late, so there's only about 45 minutes before the intermission, then another 45 minutes.

The thought of having to sit more than half an hour at a time, does not thrill me at all.
 
Today's been quite a good day. I had a reasonable night, courtesy of clingfilm and an antihistamine, plus the knee has been much happier today (hope I haven't jinxed it now). We had a visitor this morning and I popped round to a friend this afternoon; energy levels seem improved. I've still got a couple of small scabs on my scar. They're being very stubborn and quite annoying as I really fancy a nice soak :bath:
 
You can't buy a good night's sleep. It's a blessing!
 
The clingfilm and antihistamine worked a treat last night too, slept through until 4.00 and then straight back to sleep until 6.00 :sleep:
 
Yahoo, what I good night's sleep. I know you feel better.
 
6 weeks today! This last week has seen an improvement over the previous week where it seemed to be going backwards. A few days resting until the knee calmed down after it's objection to my treatment of it and now incorporating some gentle exercises gradually over a few days and doing a little more indoors the past 2 days, but stopping as soon as knee hurts or feels tight and icing and elevating straight away.

Sleep has improved and I'm getting between 6 & 7 hours with one loo break on the whole. I took piriton for 3 nights and wrapped clingfilm round the joint, but left out the piriton the last couple of nights and still slept. I might try leaving off the cling film to see if that does make any difference.

Pain varies on a daily basis as to where it is, severity, stiffness and according to what I'm doing. Sometimes it's an ache on the inside or back of the knee, sometimes pain on the outside, sometimes the hip. I have a new game on waking, trying to decide where the pain might hit today! :loll:It keeps me amused. Standing is still not brilliant. By the time I've made my breakfast, washed and dressed the knee lets me know I need to get off it.

Today I ventured out on the local bus to the shops with my trusted personal shopper aka my husband :heehee: to carry the goods. Standing waiting for the bus was the worse part for the knee. The rest went smoothly and walking through the streets stretched the leg out.

I'm still taking paracetemol 6 hourly, although feel I might be able to extend it to 8 hourly or reduce the dose, but will leave it until I find out how the visit to PT goes on Wednesday.

Sometimes it is an effort to remain patient with the speed of recovery. I'm trying to focus on one day at a time, but that proves difficult when invitations come in and I can't help but wonder if I'll be up to them by then. Time will tell!
 
Funny how we as patients have no patience.
You are having all sorts of micro victories tho! Great work!!
 
:happydance:Happy 6 week anniversary from the outside looking in at your progress you are doing great and have a wonderful attitude.:wow:
 
Good report!
 
It was with some trepidation I went off to my first PT class, but it was fine. There were 6 of us, a mix of hip and knee, and we started with some stretches to warm up and then did a circuit of 15 different exercises each lasting just 2 minutes with a break for a drink halfway and a stretch session at the end. One exercise was the dreaded shoulder bridge that put me back last time I tried it, but when she saw the first one hurt she told me to take the pressure off the operated leg and just concentrate on using glutes and abdominals. I managed the stairs going up and down properly, although a little gingerly coming down and did 4 minutes on the static bike with the seat as high as it could go. Both the bike and cross trainer felt quite awkward for the first couple of revolutions, but soon eased in. The knee has felt a little awkward since, but not really painful or swollen and I had a good night's sleep, so all in all quite pleased with how it went.
 
That’s great! Nice to hear how many things you are able to do. All little victories and they will only get easier!
 

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