TKR LTKR April 1 - bending knee hurts

[BBCG]

I’m so sorry both you and SisterPat are having adjustment difficulties! My being in bed this time comfortably I think is due to a bed with a motor to raise the bottom, and a comforting leg pillow.

But I get the not knowing what’s too much, too! It is a real adjustment to learn to really listen to your knee! I can vouch for that! I’m just wanting to tidy up the kitchen counters (visitors aren’t as tidy and my spouse can’t see the mess!) and my knee let me know it was unhappy.

I consider this new knee to be a new baby knee. And having raised one baby person and helped raise another, I’ve heard how babies can complain! So, I try to intuit what my knee is saying when it complains, as if it were a real baby of some type, crying, or snuffling, or baaaing like a sheep, or!? It makes little twinges which are its comments, and sometimes, as long as I pay attention, I can hear its tales of woe!

I’ve been someone who did not listen to my body until it has had to yell! So, since the results of not paying attention can feel painful, I figure if I can find a way to listen, then heed the body, maybe I won’t need it to yell at me?!

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

I am 6 weeks post op today, and I woke up today and realized my knee feels a lot better. The last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride, but it feels like I'm really healing now (of course I still expect more setbacks and know it won't all be going forward).

A couple weeks ago I started having really bad nights as sharp pain would wake me up at night. My surgeon told me to really baby my knee - to stop taking walks and try to limit my walking at home and the amount of time I was on my feet.

Doing less has been hard emotionally, but it is working! Swelling in my knee is down, I no longer have sharp pains at night or when I move the wrong way, and my knee just feels solid, although it is still stiff. I'm able to ride a bike trainer at PT and a Peloton at home, although I'm still using no resistance and only going 10 minutes at a time. I usually have to put the bike seat quite high so I can go around the circle, but yesterday at PT I set it close to normal cycling height and was able to do 90+ rpms for the entire 10 minutes. It felt almost normal. Progress!!!

The PT has told me to continue to elevate and ice and not go for walks until next week, as he sees huge progress following this program and wants me to stick with it a while longer. Now that I see it is working it is easier to stick to the plan.

I hope to ride a bike outside in a week or so, and hopefully I can start walking again soon too.

 

[Sisterpat]

SkiBike, I was 6 weeks yesterday and I, too, felt things are improving. I still have problems at night sleeping, but my knee seems stronger and the bend seems better. I am doing stairs pretty well. I am still resting it as much as possible and will continue to do so. I pedal for 2-3 minutes several times a day. I see the doc next Thursday, so we’ll see what he says.
Glad all is coming along!

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

You sound like you are doing great Sisterpat! So glad to hear it! I hope your sleeping improves.

I am finally sleeping through the night! I still am going up and down stairs up with the good and down with the bad. I can do it the normal way, but I'm trying to baby my knee a bit longer so won't switch over until next week if all goes well. I did just ride the bike for 12'30", and then at the end of the ride tried Roy Gardiner's advice and kept lowering the seat, stretching, lowering again, and finally got to my normal biking height and was able to pedal just fine. I'll keep working on that with hopes of doing my rides at that height soon.

 

[kneeper]

 

[BBCG]

Good! I’m looking forward to the 6 week mark then! I allow myself extra bed time, since I’m usually awake fir a few hours during the night, but your experiences add hope!

 

[Sisterpat]

Barbara! Thanks to your posts, I have decided to purchase an adjustable bed frame! I have a friend who generously provided the funds! It is supposed to arrive early this coming week. I am so hopeful it will let me get back into my bed. I AM TIRED OF THE RECLINER . Wish me luck. Any tips?

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

So glad to hear you are getting that bed SisterPat! I hope it helps you get all the rest you need!! I almost said I hope it helps you sleep like a baby, but waking up crying every few hours is what we are trying to get past, not what we are striving for!

Some days you just feel like pushing it - that's me today. I did Roy Gardiner's ROM exercises on my stationary bike (which are excellent), and then put the seat back up to normal height and pedaling felt good, so. . . I decided to try to ride my gravel bike outside. My PT has not cleared me to do this, but I figured it wouldn't be too much different than the 10 minutes I do on the trainer at PT. Pedaling wasn't quite comfortable, but it also didn't really hurt. Being outside on a beautiful spring day and pedaling around was glorious!!!!

I went slow and easy (2 miles in 15 minutes, so 8 mph), but I loved it and I don't think I did any harm. I'm icing now and time will tell I guess. Even if I did overdo it, it was worth it! I need glimpses of returning to a more active and outdoor life, and this was great.

 

[Sisterpat]

SkiBike, I doubt, even at 6 weeks, I could pedal 2 miles! Please be careful. I know you’re eager to be back in the saddle soon, but as they told me here many times, this is a marathon, not a sprint! Just be careful.

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

Thanks Sisterpat, I knew it was a risk but I just needed to give myself a glimpse of life outside of my lounge chair! Hopefully I don't pay too big a price for it.

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

Quick update this morning after my first bike ride outside yesterday. I am ok!!!

My knee was definitely stiff yesterday and last evening, but not horrible. What was funny was how sore the muscles in my thigh were after so little activity. They loosened up quickly.

I slept pretty well although I did wake up once with some aching in my knee. I haven't taken any pain meds in days so feel pretty good about just a minor achiness in the knee. It also feels a bit more swollen but I'm hopeful that icing this morning will calm it down. All in all my first bike ride was a success!

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

Well, I'm going through another setback although I don't know why as I haven't really increased my activity levels. I stopped walking except for ADLs weeks ago and I spend most time with my leg elevated.

I am 7 weeks post op and am not really progressing, and in fact I'm regressing as today my knee was 1 cm more swollen than last week, and my ROM has gone from 0 - 105 before stretching to 6 - 95.

My knee is also really warm, both to the touch and it also feels like it is radiating heat inside. Is that normal for my knee to still be really warm all the time? I also have some weird red dots on my upper thigh near my knee that my PT and I can't figure out what caused them. He said it doesn't present like an infected knee, but we should watch it to be sure.

I also have developed more pain right above (higher up the leg) the kneecap and right in the middle of my thigh. There is a bump or ridge there that is somewhat prominent. Anybody have any idea what this might be?

 

[liam2015]

Sorry to hear that. Do you still have follow-ups with your surgeon? In the meantime, best to stay put with self-care. I wonder if it could be from the long bike ride from last week? Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

I woke up this morning and my lower thigh is very sensitive to touch and is very sore. The red spots have gotten bigger and are also hot to the touch. Anybody else had anything like this?

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

Sorry to hear that. Do you still have follow-ups with your surgeon? In the meantime, best to stay put with self-care. Hope it's nothing serious.

Thanks. I just texted my surgeon a picture and a question as he has asked me to stay in touch. He's in surgery today though so I don't expect to hear from him anytime soon.

 

[liam2015]

Can you send that photo to your surgeon or family dr. that is very strange. Oh I see you have already done that. Let us know when you hear back.

 

[Sisterpat]

The warmth wouldn’t concern me much - I am 7 weeks out and the knee is still warm and tender. But those spots - they are concerning. Almost looks like an allergic reaction to something. Please let us know what your surgeon says.

 

[SkiBikeHikeDude]

My surgeon says it is concerning and if it gets worse I should get checked out. He suggests Benadryl tablets/cream to see if it's an allergic reaction or something. I am going to get some cream and will try it out soon.

 

[Ghostpipe]

Sorry that you are having such a major worry after doing so well. Hope it’s nothing serious.

 

[Celle]

@SkiBikeHikeDude , I don't know what those reddened areas are either, but I think an allergic rash would be more generalized, rather than in separate patches.

You didn't by any chance apply heat or cold to your thigh, did you?