TKR luvcats recovery box

[Poctdb]

@luvcats
I have two VERY politically active siblings....the political ban lives in my life too.

I am just not interested in politics.

I have a friend in Foreign Service also. When in the US, her dinner parties were judged as a success or failure by how many political conversations there were and the volume of those conversations in decibels. She would seat guests together by their “quotient for disagreeing “.

 

[Celle]

Just as a heads-up, the ban on political talk also applies on BoneSmart, you'll be pleased to hear.

 

[luvcats]

my husband and I would do our 5 mile walks twice a week, so I could manage with the knee pain I had then. While working I would then do 20-40 minute walks..

Wow. I can't even remember the last time I was able to walk 5 miles. Maybe I'll make that a future goal. At the moment, my goal is to be able to do my grocery shopping without the scooter by January, and without draping myself over the cart.

I saw a huge upswing in my restless leg syndrome

I'm really glad you've mentioned this. I've been having more trouble this last week and my usual meds aren't quite doing the job. It makes me wonder if it's truly the restless leg, which is actually a dopamine/brain problem, not truly in the leg, or if it's some other kind of actual leg muscle issue that feels similar.

Some fitness centers now ban news channels on overhead tvs, which has been welcomed by the majority of patrons, I read.

I only wish this were true at mine. At least it's set to closed-captioning so it doesn't add to the noise. Once I can spend more than 15 minutes on a machine I'm going to go back to bringing my kindle so I can read!

When in the US, her dinner parties were judged as a success or failure by how many political conversations there were and the volume of those conversations in decibels.

Oh my. How very...lively. I believe I shall send my regrets.

 

[luvcats]

Ok, this Step Over the Cat function on my upgraded knees is very cool! You just never know what new features are going to be the ones you really use. I never realized how much time I spent shuffling my way around a cat carefully. lol

Yesterday I learned something important. I'm actually afraid of going for a walk. It''s been so very long since I could walk easily and comfortably, I'm afraid to go out and then I'll hurt or I'll get tired and then I'll still have to drag myself back, miserable. I didn't realize how deep that fear went until I tried to just go out and walk the culdesac for a while. I did some laps with the walker and that went fine. But I guess the walker gave me some extra security by being a place to lean when I needed to stop for a minute.

It's a little distressing to realize, but I can work from this, now that I know it's there. Instead of making myself walk, I did a lot of extra little house chores. Taking something out to the garage and bringing in something I wanted. Tidying up some books that have gotten moved around. Clearing out the space under the kitchen table that collects things that came via Amazon that haven't been put away. I stood up the whole time I was making my lunch. I have a terrible problem with slouching as I stand, learned from being in pain and standing wrong.

So, backing up. My first healing task is to focus on standing up straight when I stand and not hunching over.

I also have gotten into the habit of minimizing the number of walking trips I need to do anywhere. Even just back and forth from my office and bathroom down the hall to the bedroom. So as a first step yesterday I just made 3 trips when I needed to instead of overloading my arms so I'd only have to walk it once. And I'm encouraging random trips up and down the stairs.

So I did a lot of those little things yesterday to burn off the fidgets.

I'm not making a clear plan yet, but I'm feeling really good about my ability to drive a bit next week. If I can, one of my first stops will be my chiropractor to have my hips reset. I know they are terribly off, and it's affecting my ability to learn to walk properly. I'm also craving a massage of some of the deep leg muscles up around the hip. I see someone really great and I know she'll be gentle and careful close to the knee.

But today I'm still housebound. sigh.

 

[Macknit]

Lovely plan!

I'm hoping to start driving later this weekend too... just in our little neighborhood, to see how the knee does.

I developed quite a slouch issue in my 50's from my work in education. As a principal I would spend so much sitting and counseling parents/students/teachers on top of computer work that it just developed into a habit.

At the chiropractic/PT clinic the first thing they remind you of is your posture, even with an acronym to remember: FIT TED (I'm doing this from memory....a rough listing)

• Find neutral pelvis
• In with the tummy button
• Tuck in tummy
• Tighten Transverse Abdominus
• Elevate Tongue (it straightens your neck and head)
• Depress shoulders (this activates the trapezius muscle, which is a big help with slouching)

I've finally at the point where I immediately know when I begin to slouch! And I start with the last two because they are the easiest, then I work on the first 4. This has helped with my back issues too!

 

[NewToMe]

@luvcats step over cat feature....adorable! I can't wait until I have the "jump over the zoomies" or maybe step over feature. At least I think I asked for that upgrade.

I truly appreciate your willingness to openly discuss fighting your previous knees bad habits and how you are over coming them.

I had hubby video me walking last night, still walking like I have a bad knee, so that will be todays discussion with PT.

Hang in there and remember how far you have come! It's real and due to some hard work!

 

[Poctdb]

@luvcats

Hmmm.... step over the cats? Is that like a gym step up box exercise? I just am not familiar with that exercise. The robot vacuum is the only thing I have to step over.

I understand the minimizing walking trips or fearing “I wouldn’t make it”
For me it was avoiding stairs. My co workers have a favorite outdoor restaurant that is 4 sections of patio all connected via stairs. This place is “well endowed “ in stairs, none level, and different heights. Today was October Birthday lunch. I walked in from the back, up and down all stairs (holding on to railings down) but it was not an issue. Before TKR, I would have made an excuse.

Like you say, once something is identified, it can be managed or even made to disappear.

P.S.: For those of you that were presented “a menu for TKR”.... I did not get one in any of my classes.

 

[luvcats]

Elevate Tongue (it straightens your neck and head)

Isn't that a nifty trick. My chiropractor is always on me to do better with keeping my head back and my chin up. That works quite well!

I truly appreciate your willingness to openly discuss fighting your previous knees bad habits and how you are over coming them.

Thank you. I always learn so much from the experiences of others, I feel I should share my own journey in case it will also help someone. And I'm a writer, so if I weren't writing it down here, I'd be blogging somewhere else. lol Its a compulsion.

step over the cats? Is that like a gym step up box exercise? I just am not familiar with that exercise.

It's more like the PT exercise where they lay cones on the floor and you have to step over them. Only with an added moving piece of rope you also have to not step on. Tails, don't you know.

For those of you that were presented “a menu for TKR”.... I did not get one in any of my classes.

I didn't get a menu either. I think it's one of those hidden features that you always wanted but didn't know was included.

That patio restaurant sounds lovely, and I would have avoided it like the plague.
I used to belong to a lovely group of ladies who get together once a month to speak French together. Each meeting is held at someone's home, and I was constantly panicked that I'd arrive and they'd have steps up to their door with no railing. I quit going. That's why experimenting with curbs is such a huge deal for me right now. Being able to just 'step up' is a huge life changer for me. So many simple things I just couldn't manage.

 

[luvcats]

Well, last night I had just about the worst night sleep imaginable. My restless leg was utterly out of control and nothing I did seemed to help. It was unbelievable @Macknit. Normally as long as I don't eat a ton of sugar the meds I'm on have everything under control. Last night it's like they weren't working at all. I came up with 2 ideas. Yesterday I didn't do my magnesium oil on my legs in the morning, and I didn't drink enough during the day. It seemed like a particularly extreme reaction for that, but it's all I could come up with. Maybe I'll catch a nap and something will occur to me when I'm smarter.

 

[Thatbpguy]

Similar for me. Wife got me some Hershey Kisses, I ate too many and was bouncing all night.
I think I will try jumping a few cats today....

 

[luvcats]

I think I will try jumping a few cats today.

One does not 'jump' cats. One Steps Over. lol You are almost certainly not approved for jumping yet.

 

[marieltha]

@luvcats Too funny. Very uplifting. Especially the tails tales for the non-Nurse Cat anointeds.

Hydration, definitely, helps keep my legs from spiraling out into the stratosphere.

 

[Macknit]

I'm sorry to hear of your continuing RLS. For the most part, I've had great luck with each day getting progressively better....only to have a flare up just like you mention. I've been racking my brain in an attempt to figure out the missteps I may have taken!? it is just so odd I eat all the dopamine increasing foods (almonds, bananas, etc.) however during this recovery, in my attempts to keep weight gain at bay, I have days where my protein from meat may not be as high. I do always have yogurt, and other plant-based proteins though..... I need to return to logging food and see if that is what is behind the RLS increase?

 

[Thatbpguy]

I think I will try jumping a few cats today.

One does not 'jump' cats. One Steps Over. lol You are almost certainly not approved for jumping yet.

Lol!!!!

True.

 

[luvcats]

Yesterday I pushed the magnesium containing foods, took my iron supplement, and aggressively hydrated. I also had PT so got plenty of exercise. It helped, but I was still extra twitchy. I did a little googling and there isn't much, but there may be some evidence that opiates mess with the dopamine system and withdrawal can aggravate RLS. That's what I'm going with until I can talk to my pain specialist next week. She will know more about that I would expect.

I did feel extra twitchy at bed time again, but not so much that I couldn't sleep. When I woke up after only 2 hours, I also felt achy and I took one of my low dose Tramadol. That seemed to help quite a bit. Another part of the conversation to have with my pain specialist.

At 5 weeks yesterday I'm finally starting to feel more myself mentally as opposed to an emotionally unstable zombie. On the one hand, this is excellent.
On the other hand, I think this next phase of recovery is going to be very difficult for me.

For the first time in many years, standing doesn't hurt. Going from sitting to standing is uncomfortable, but just because I'm working muscles that haven't done anything in years, and there's still a bit of discomfort from the surgical trauma. Even with the random discomfort, I hurt less than I have at a base level for at least 4 years.

So now I want to DO things! I can tell it is going to be a huge challenge for me to figure out how to balance the slow build of activity with my mental desire to be better NOW. I imagine I'm going to be spending an unfortunate amount of time in the ODIC.

Today I'm going to try driving. Yesterday at PT I did a stepper machine an my knee is moving easily and with minimal discomfort. So today I'm going to make a very short trip to my Rec center to sort out my membership status and maybe spend a few minutes on the seated elliptical while I'm there. If it all goes well, then tomorrow I'll be able to drive myself to the grocery store. I'll still use a scooter and have an assist to my car, so it shouldn't be too much, and Beloved will bring everything in and put it away.

Wish me luck!

 

[Poctdb]

@luvcats
You of course have all the luck wishes possible.
I wish I had a”Get Out of ODIC Free” card to give you.
That was something else I did not receive in TKR classes.....

 

[NewToMe]

@luvcats I SO want to drive! Gotta get rid of the walker. Please don't over do! You have Disney coming!

 

[luvcats]

I wish I had a”Get Out of ODIC Free” card to give you.

That's a lovely thought, but I'm thinking I'll probably need something more like a punch card.

Does the ODIC have reserved seating? I'm thinking I might just set myself up a nest in there. Maybe bake some cookies?

The excellent news is, driving went well. No issues with the knee or ability to focus. That will help a lot with my cabin fever, just do have the option to get out a little more.

It's always such a shock at this phase to realize how little 'too much' can be. Yesterday I sat by the stove and cooked some eggs. I sat in my recliner. I drove 3 blocks to my rec center and stood at the counter to request the medical extension of my membership (which they happily did with no fuss). Standing easily at the counter is very amazing, by the way. Then I went in and did 6 minutes on a recumbent bike. No resistance. I didn't have any trouble with ROM. Then I came home and stood in the kitchen while I chopped up some pre-cooked food into my lunch. Then I went back to my recliner with food and ice to eat and rest.

And that, my friends, was too much. sigh.

On the upside, such as it is, I took a tramadol for the over-doing ache in my leg around bed time. And it completely fixed my fidgety inability to sleep and my RLS was fine. I did some reading on opiate withdrawal and restless legs, anxiety, and general restlessness are very common. Just to be clear, I don't think this would be a problem for most people, but since I've been on Tramadol for a long time, and I did 2 surgeries together, and I was on quite a hefty dose of oxycodone the second time, I think it is not unreasonable that it's messed with my chemistry and will require a step-down for me. I've been expecting it with tramadol, so I'm not upset about. I could probably just deal with it if I didn't already have a restless leg problem. My pain specialist appointment is Thursday and we'll develop a real plan.

Despite doing too much yesterday, I'm still planning to take myself to the store today and do the grocery shopping. I have PT, but I am carefully planning to do nothing else until Monday.

In other news, I had a stitch work itself out of my incision yesterday. It is quite an odd feeling, but I know it's nothing to really be worried about. I just need to find out how far that sets the clock back on getting in the pool.

Our trees are all turning their best fall colors. Yesterday the sky was a brilliant blue and clear and the temperature was exactly right for sitting out in the sun. I'm so very glad to be done with summer!

58 days until Disney!

 

[marieltha]

Nice update!
Where did our “Funny” option go?
Speaking of over-doing, though, maybe PT today and groceries tomorrow?

Question @luvcats :
Does your PT do TENS at the end? And/or Ultrasound(US) ? And icing last?

@sistersinhim (in @rustic thread —beautiful mountain &climbing pics in that thread, btw, if you have not viewed ) mentioned having US in PT with excellent soft tissue/bursa pain relief). I had it years ago for an ankle ligament sprain and forgot about it.

 

[Carole4815]

I agree with @marieltha ! How about PT today and groceries tomorrow, or the day after? During this recovery, repeatedly joining the ODIC hasn't given me any medals; all it gives me is sore knees and days of rest that might even set me back, when I would rather be out and about. Just a thought. But then again, if you feel like you can do it without joining the ODIC, then more power to you.

Glad you figured out that the RLS might be related to Tramadol withdrawal! You are a strong person, and can handle that and I imagine it will help to know that the RLS isn't going to hang around forever.