Revision TKR Lovetocookandsew’s long road to recovery

[Jockette]

More hugs to you!

I totally understand the low toilet dilemma! I had a major set back at 4 months while visiting a friend’s beach house for a weekend because of their low toilet. I painfully struggled all weekend. It was awful. By the time I got home I could hardly bend my knee.

It took about a month to begin to recover and then my son got married and it was a long 3 days of activities 90 minutes away, which undid any progress I was just beginning to make.

It took another month to begin to improve again.

And to be honest, something has just not been right with my knee since that beach house weekend. I was coming along decently until then.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

After being on my feet and/or sitting too much this weekend, I'm taking it easy today and mostly sitting with my knee elevated. But, I did go out to the garden to check on the asparagus and cut some that needed to be cut. I was surprised to find it not too difficult to do so; granted there were only a handful needing picking since their season is just starting, but I did do the job. I also walked past the wonderful two new elevated beds my hubby just made for me, and am anxious to get them planted. They are counter height so I can enjoy gardening again. This year we only have two, but next year hubby plans to convert all our current raised 4 ft by 4 ft beds to elevated beds as my kneeling days are well behind me and I haven't been able to do much gardening for years as a result. The tomato beds will have to remain just raised as I don't fancy climbing a ladder to harvest them since our tomato plants are generally around 8 ft in height.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@Jockette Thanks for the hugs, I need some right now as, in between my normal activities of my day, I am sad and teary-eyed as I remember the postponement.
I'm so sorry something as simple as a toilet has caused you so many problems. Whoever invented them and decided they were a good idea has no common sense, IMO. Sure, they're good for children and height challenged adults, but normal adults don't enjoy sitting almost to the floor when nature calls.

 

[Jockette]

I forgot to add that I bought a portable raises toilet seat to avoid that problem again in the future. Naturally I don’t take it everywhere, I would look silly in a store, but I take it when I visit my son or anywhere else that I know ahead of time that I will need it.

We traveled in December to Ohio for my daughter’s wedding. When we reserved our hotel room we booked a handicap room so I could have the higher toilet and walk in shower. While it did have the walk in shower, the minute I saw the toilet in our room I could see it wasn’t the higher one. We were assured when booking that it was. It did have a bar next to it, but that hardly helps. Thankfully I had my portable seat with me, but my seat is round and the toilet was elongated, so it was not a good fit. It’s a good thing for them I didn’t fall off it.

I considered looking for another hotel but didn’t know what we’d find at the last minute and I was tired from the 9 hour drive and we had busy days, so I made do. But I was mad. We did complain and got free breakfast, but it was not an impressive one.

I won’t be staying in that hotel in the future. I

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@SusieShoes Sorry to tag you incessantly, but I'm reading through your thread in between other activities today, and am now on page 19...lol. For some reason, I've always hated pbj's-just can't stand them but not for the same reason as you. Somewhere I read about fluffernutters and, even though I don't like peanut butter, they sounded good (I think I was recovering from a surgery at the time where nothing sounded good, so anything that sounded good at the time I was going to try). Anyway, they're nothing like a pbj to me, and they are really delicious. I can't even have the fluff stuff in the house now because I'll eat those darn sandwiches for lunch and dinner, which is not a good idea...
I get your concern (by page 19 anyway) about weight; I've gained around 40 pounds since my TKR what with not being able to move around as much as I usually do.

Page 21 and only 60 more pages to read.......but I am really enjoying reading them.

 

[SusieShoes]

You are a brave brave woman. I think I will have to avoid fluffernutters... they sound too delicious!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@KarriB Hey there. I've been reading through @SusieShoes recovery thread and one of the posts is about your recumbent bike. I've wondered for a while if one of those would work for me. I can't bend my knee enough to pedal on a regular bike and I really miss being able to ride. I've seen people on the bike paths here using those bikes and have wondered if my knee would not only be able to pedal that way but if I'd be able to do it without a lot of pain and with the lowered strength I have currently due to all the problems in my knee. What's your experience/opinion? Thanks.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@SusieShoes I was trying to give you back the ability to enjoy a similar sandwich without the memories of the old version....... I completely understand; I had food poisoning from pizza as a child and to this day I cannot eat pizza with red sauce. It's amazing how strong our sense of smell, and the memories it holds on to, can be.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@SusieShoes Well, I've made it to page 37...........lol. You mentioned that, "sometimes I fall into a kind of shuffle--just like before surgery. It happens when I look at the ground and automatically I start to walk with shorter steps. Looking at the ground is protective of me. My new knees are still fresh in my mind; I want to protect them, do nothing that will "damage" them or cause me to fall. With my arthritic knees, it was that I didn't want to make any step that would hurt. Changes in elevation, for example, were painful. So looking at the ground became a habit accompanied by short, cautious steps."
I do the same thing, as I have for years, but would have hoped to not need to do it anymore. I can't wait until I don't need to worry about every step; if I'm going to step on an uneven spot, or a small pebble, etc, that will throw me off and cause a fall (although now my wait has been lengthened).

I don't know if you are able to kneel and garden now, but hope you can. I can't any longer, and will undoubtedly never be able to again. Granted, miracles still happen and the new surgery just might change that. But, since I can't now, my husband made me two counter height 4 ft by 4 ft garden boxes as I am missing gardening terribly. We always have a huge garden, and we still do, but hubby has been the one having to do it all lately, except the food preparation part. We usually each do our part; he builds the beds, fills them and keeps them filled, with our special mix, turns the ones that need turning, grafts the plants that need grafting, and does the heavy lifting parts. I used to do the planting, the little weeding needed, harvesting and preparing of the produce, and so on. But since my knee gave out, he's been doing most of the work and I miss it, not to mention I know he misses me doing my part of the work. So, I understand when people can't wait to garden again.

To anyone else in that boat, they do have tall beds you can make or buy in order to once again enjoy that hobby. (And flower pots just don't work very well for veggies). Granted, they won't work for tomatoes and other tall plants, unless ladder climbing is your thing, but will work for most veggies and plants. Hubby even likes the tall beds as it's easier to stand comfortably while working than kneel on the ground. I do have a little garden tractor I can sit on and wheel around; that used to be nice, but no longer works as I can't bend my knee enough to be able to get close to the regular raised beds.
Yay-made it to page 39!

 

[KarriB]

I did find a recumbent exercise bike vital to my recovery. I began using one just 5 min at my PT sessions, but eventually I got one for my house and was riding 4 miles a day 8 months post op. I don’t ride on the road often, but I do ride my recumbent 8-10 miles every day. My bike was an inexpensive ($200) one from Walmart and very comfortable.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@KarriB How much do you need to bend your knee to use one? My knee bends enough to sit on a normal chair with it out in front of me only slightly bent, and, if it's a really good day, I can have it almost straight down on the floor at an "L" bend. I can't bend it back against a chair leg like I can with my other leg, but it will bend enough to sit. But, it won't bend enough for a regular bike; when I try to get to the top of the pedal movement, it just won't go so I can't ride a regular bike. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

 

[KarriB]

I’m not sure of the number, but my flexion was under 109 when I was able to get a full rotation about a month after the immbolizer came off. Have you tried moving the seat back a bit?
Hopefully there won’t be a problem after your revision in June.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@KarriB I have an upright bike I used to ride everywhere (just a normal bike but with, I think, a titanium frame). It's one of those ones that weigh almost nothing-I can pick it up with one finger-but you have to sit upright over the pedals; the seat is up as high as it can be so I can still reach the pedals but I just can't do the rotation. I've thought about a recumbent bike for riding outdoors, but wasn't sure my knee would bend enough for those also, or be strong enough. I haven't had my ROM checked in a while; I checked it myself and got 95 one time, re-read the example here, did it again and got 75, so whichever it really is is not very good. I'm thinking, even after the revision, I may do better with a recumbent bike, at least for a while, so that's why I was wondering how easy they are to use with a bad/recovering knee.

 

[sistersinhim]

In the beginning, I did better on the recumbent bike. The first time I tried the upright stationary bike, the old leg pushed the pedal all the way down making the new leg bend way farther than it was ready for. I've not gotten back on the upright since then. But, now I can ride my outside bike with no problem!

 

[KarriB]

A recumbent bike is better for me back which has arthritis. Leaning over handle bars is very uncomfortable. An exercise (which comes in recumbent style and usually all that’s used in therapy) is good for recovery because you aren’t pushing your own weight or really any weight at all when the resistance is set at 0. I began biking at therapy and the resistance was always at 0 because it’s about helping with ROM, not building muscle.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Now that my surgery has been re-scheduled, the kangaroos in my stomach are driving me nuts! I'll have a month before my date to get everything prepared, and get to all my pre-op appointments and tests AGAIN. I was called right before I left for the east coast for two weeks, so by the time I get home I'll have a month left. (btw, flying across the country with a bad knee is no picnic, even with upgrading to seats with tons of legroom and taking advantage of the offered help getting from terminal to terminal) I'm sure I'll first need to clean house as hubby has been home alone while I've been gone, and while he does try, bless his heart, he just doesn't get things the way I like them. Then I'll get at least a month's worth of food prepared and frozen, order the Lounge Doctor, etc, etc.

I'm hoping to keep really busy to keep my mind busy, but since I need to stay off my knee as much as possible to keep the pain and swelling down, I'm sure my mind will stray to thinking about it. Because I've been through it before and know what to expect and how hard a time I'm likely to have again, I am already getting that sinking dread feeling in my stomach along with those darn kangaroos.

 

[Jockette]

 

[ucsbgal1971]

Hi Kim, I will keep you in my prayers. Before you know it it will be over and you will be on the recovery side. Try to keep busy and focus your mind on a positive outcome. As long as I kept busy, I was able to keep my worries at bay before my revision. Take care, And Best Wishes, Pam

 

[SusieShoes]

Sounds like you’re going to be bust, Kim, and that will help the time pass. Tame those kangaroos!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the care here, as always. I will be very busy at times, but also will have to spend time off my feet to keep the pain and swelling down. Those are the times I think too much and then the kangaroos come hopping back......I just keep trying to focus on all the things I'll be able to do again. Right now I'm getting ready to fly across the country again in a couple of days. Not looking forward to the hours of sitting-it plays havoc with my knee even though I have plenty of room to keep it extended since I can't bend it enough for a regular plane seat.