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Bilateral TKR Made it to the other side

Good going, kare2dare! Whaddaya think, are you going to start counting in weeks now that your I've reached the 3 week mark ? I haven't made up my mind yet
 
It's kind of a forest through the trees thing... if I look at each moment- the stiffness or the swelling, the degrees of ROM each day or how daunting my PT goals seem to be or even how my sleep goes- it is overwhelming. When I look at the week though, where I was and where I am now and where I am heading- it's a lot easier to stay positive and not give myself such a hard time!
 
Omigosh-5 hours in a row! That's great news! I am just staring Week 6 and know I would feel a ton better if sleep were easier to come by!
 
Yep, we've come a long way.
Before my surgery, as friends and colleagues learned about my pending surgery the same conversation kept repeating itself over and over: both knees at the same time? Omigosh I didn't know that they do that!? How will you get around, in a wheelchair? Isn't that too much? Sounds familiar, eh? After many of these conversations even the most strong willed person would start to doubt.
Thankfully so far in my journey I feel that it was the right decision for me !
And that is a gooooooooooooood feeling!
 
Lol. The other day I was at PT and in the waiting room a lady commented on my incisions and asked how long between the two surgeries- When I told her only one surgery, she couldn't believe that anyone would go through that. What was I supposed to say? Should I have to go into my reasons? I just smiled and said one and done. Definitely the right decision for me!
 
Some people just don't understand. I had someone say to me that since I'm young, my TKR must have been elective.
 
Kare2dare said:
When I told her only one surgery, she couldn't believe that anyone would go through that. What was I supposed to say? Should I have to go into my reasons? I just smiled and said one and done. Definitely the right decision for me!
Click to expand...
And the right answer for her!
She's probably in awe of you.
 
It's so much better to look for weekly changes, not daily. This is a long-term recovery. But, oh, so worth it! You are doing very well!
 
Interesting how people react to hearing you did both at once. My male neighbor across the street literally shuddered. A lady in PT, though, accompanying a friend, said she thought that was a brilliant way to do it, after seeing what her friend was going through. All kinds of reactions. Most people just say, "How can you walk?" :rotfl:
 
I think you bilaterals made a smart decision. I spent the entire year dreading this for the second time. And my unscientific analysis (sorry, @nensi) of BoneSmart posts reveals that you two-fers are healing just the same as those of us who had one at a time.
 
@Happydale, my OS called BTKR "intense" but said the recovery was identical--just happening in two knees instead of one. It's a bit more stress on the body's resources, and the pain is in both knees, so walking is more difficult at first. But I was able to walk from that first night. I think you're right that we two-fers heal pretty much the same as the one at a time crew.
 
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You are so smart to realize this process is slow, and its baby steps...but soon you realize the progress...it's amazing from week to week.

BTW...i had interesting responses when I was preparing for surgery...the questions ranged from 'how will you rehab 2 knees at the same time?' 'How long will you be down and unable to get up'. 'Are you crazy?' 'You're too young, aren't you?'

One of my neighbors had a single replacement and scared the heck out of me because she made it sound just terrible. Her experience forced me to put off surgery until I was literally missing out on life...my pain was too great.

And then...something happened...I decided to listen to my heart...I trusted my dr...I knew I could put my heart and soul into my recovery. I did...I had a fantastic experience...my recovery had a slow start, but, by week 3 I was on my way. I was off all pain meds by 3.5 weeks...I was off of crutches by week 6 weeks...My rehab facility definitely set the stage for my recovery...I have no regrets!

So glad to have new knees...it just keeps getting better. We are all so lucky!!!

Surgery was 2/21/17...❤️[/QUOTE]
 
You're doing well. Keep looking at your recovery in weeks and you can continue to see how you are progressing.
 
I guess that it does help to try and see the big picture. I know I have my magnifying glass out (figuratively), examining every aspect of this process...how many scabs are left on my scar, what colour is it, are the bruises disappeared, purple or turning to yellow ...who knows what else but heck I can just get so bored with so much time on my hands...
In any case, looking back at pictures from the very first day I saw my legs without a dressing is a GIANT step.
We are moving forward, @Kare2dare, we are!
 
Week#4! One whole month! I had PT this morning and had my first official ROM measurement left (93,0) and right (102, 0) . Still taking Vicodin at night and still having issues sleeping ( no side sleeping yet). Just using my cane now when I'm out and about but pretty much on my own around the house. My scabs are finally falling off so soon I will be working on the scars but right now I am even pleasantly surprised at how light and straight they are! Still have some bruising on the back of my calves. All in all, the forward motion may be small steps but I'm so happy that I did this and the future will be so much better!
 
What a good report for less than a month out!
 
Some great numbers and everything else sounds wonderful as well! Yay! :yay:
 
So happy for you. :yay:I too think you are one of the brave women having both done at once.
Bravo!
 
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