Guest viewing is limited

TKR LTKR on June 23

7 weeks and a day: I feel recovered from the hospital stay, and have had no palpitations today! I went to PT and shortly after I got home we headed to the supermarket to pick up a few items. I walked well without my cane. I am able to do stairs without my cane today. the stepovers at pt really help with the stairs. I have only taken one tylenol and one advil at this point, and will take another tylenol before bed.

All in all a great day. maybe I am turning the corner. I realize that I must take care not to overdo it, though.
 
@Jo Wo Sorry to hear about the heart palpitations. I know they can be scary -- I was diagnosed with AFIB several years ago. I had a few minor palpitations not long after my knee surgery and wonder if they were related. A few things that have helped keep them at bay though are: reducing or eliminating caffeine and sugar, drinking LOTS water (I drink double what I think I should when working out or doing yard work) eating small portions, relaxation exercises, and adequate sleep. I am also on a calcium channel blocker. But since I am able to be so much more active since my surgery, my blood pressure is very low. So meds are being adjusted. It must be a relief for you that they check ed for blood clots and found nothing. Sounds like you are doing fine now. Yes, don't overdo!
 
thanks @Flutter1
My husband had afib in 2016 and was cardioverted. doing ok since then. I have an appointment with his cardiologist and will see what he said. my bp runs on the low end of normal, and once I get active and start getting my weight down I will start having to watch for orthostatic hypotension. I am able to do 30 minutes on my recumbent, but the weather is too oppressive for much walking. now that stairs are more comfortable I may go to the basement and start using the treadmill level on a leisurely pace.

Down to one cup of regular coffee in the morning and a little weak tea I. the afternoon. I am fairly good about watching for added sugar, but I probably was enjoying too much summer fruit right before this happened. I tend to forget to keep the water intake up in the afternoon, but I drink 4 to 6 ounces if I am up to use the bathroom during the night.
 
palpitations have mostly settled down. weeded thefront garden yesterday, sat and rested a couple of times. My stamina isn't what it used to be. hamstrings a bit tight this morning will do some stretches after the bike and a hot shower to loosen.

other little victory: I can carefully get down on the floor with new knee on a pillow, and once I used that knee with my foot on the floor and the good knee kneeling to stand up with an assist from my good side's arm on a chair.

in spite of that, postop blues are a problem now at almost 8 weeks. Lots of self talk, more art therapy, and maybe a trip to the craft store should help. This is such a long haul.
 
It may not seem so, but that is amazing progress. I have weeding envy. :) It is a long slog. I hope that you find something that captures your attention.
 
8 week update: I am down to about 1000 mg tylenol and 180 mg advil per day. I will try to hold off taking it as long as I can today. also trying to go decaf today was down to one cup regular coffee and one cup regular tea this week. I want to see if that reduces the palpitations.

Stamina is returning slowly and I am getting out to do more shopping and errands in the morning, resting in the afternoon. I am only about 15% through a yearlong recovery is what I tell myself.
 
Been thinking about you. Hope you made it through the hurricane unscathed.
 
2 month update

Hurricane Henri passed us by and just brought a lot of rain.

Yesterday I had my most active day yet, and only took one naproxen in the morning. We weeded out a sloped garden bed in the morning. I cleaned and mopped after a brief rest. I did small tasks interspersed with rest throughout the day and took a walk in the evening. I am mostly off caffeine so the palpitations are not bothering me as much. I slept well with no additional medication at night. I can walk up and down the stairs with both feet and only one hand on the banister.

My flex is only about 120 but functionally I can do what I need to. the pt said that it is still internal swelling limiting me, not scar tissue. She thinks the rest will come in time. My goals now are to improve strength, walking distance, and stamina.

I hope everyone else is coming along well.
 
2 months in with flexion of 120 is good @Jo Wo. My flexion continued to improve even into my second year of recovery, I'm sure you'll see the same.
 
I didn't bother to measure my ROM. I judged my recovery about what I could do without pain and/or swelling.
 
FCBayern said:
2 months in with flexion of 120 is good @Jo Wo. My flexion continued to improve even into my second year of recovery, I'm sure you'll see the same.
Click to expand...
thanks @FCBayern and @sistersinhim. I discharged myself from pt today with a flex of 123 at nine weeks. I believe what you say is true, the rest will come in time. I can do what I need to do in terms of walking and stairs and my ADL's. with covid cases rising, and with a well equipped home gym, I would rather continue on at home. I breakup my formal exercises throughout the day, it's better than doing a select few at a 60 minute pt session.
 
Almost 9 weeks postop and good things are happening:

no meds required for sleep. I ice in the evening.
did all my pt at home, added glute bridges, and moved the ankle weights up from 3 to 5 lbs.

Swelling is down noticeably.

Didn't even take my cane with me for that first trip downstairs this morning, just used railing on my non op side.
 
thanks @Flutter1 and @FCBayern. I walked about 3/4 of a mile in the woods yesterday, sheer bliss. weeks 7 and 8 were tough because of postop blues about wanting to do more, but week 9 has been a huge turning point for me. tylenol or nsaids are only occasional now, not taken daily. Still relaxing with the ice machine in the late afternoon but I don't mind that.
 
My week 9 problem is afternoon fatigue. I feel so good in the morning that I do errands, do exercises, take a walk or ride my bike, do laundry or housework. Then by 3 or 4 pm, I am exhausted. Is this normal? I try to lie down and elevate after lunch and ice as needed. Just about weaned off all otc meds at this point and rarely use my handicapped parking tag anymore so I can get extra activity in.
 
Oh yes, pooping out in the afternoon is perfectly normal. Your body is still in a healing mode and concentrating more on that knee than the rest of your body.
 
Jo, I certainly felt afternoon fatigue for quite a while, especially when I had an active morning! Your stamina will slowly return. Hang in there!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

  • Layla
    Layla
    Staff member since November 20, 2017

Members online

Total: 1,236 (members: 2, guests: 1,234)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom