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@Jockette, about two years ago, I decided I needed to lose some weight. I had gotten up to almost 220 (I’m 6’2”). I had dropped down to about 205 by just walking and getting back into my company’s onsite gym, but couldn’t break that barrier. Then I signed up for a program sponsored by my employer called “NaturallySlim”. It’s NOT a diet, which I detest as I hate being told what to and not to eat. What I learned from this program were the eating habits of naturally slim people (like my wife who weighs within 5 lbs of what she did in high school). My goal was to lose up to 15lbs in 10 weeks. I blew past that and ended up losing between 25 and 30 lbs over the course of 3 months. I’ve kept it off for 2 years and don’t restrict myself on what I eat. I learned it’s all a matter of when and how I eat and learning the signals that say I’m full and to stop. Check them out. It works!
 
Side note, I’m at a weight and waist size I haven’t seen since college! That’s 40 years ago! Feels great too! Plus side, easier on my knees.
 
@NavyGunns Congrats on your weight loss and maintenance. That is an incredible feeling. That program sounds like they have the right mindset. I have about 50 pounds to lose to be where I want to be. Like you, I am 6’2 and my body likes to sit around 185. Years of poor dietary choices and failing knees have me up around 240 right now but I am looking forward to being able to walk with minimal to no pain again.like you said too, a lot easier on the knees.

Mobility is getting better for me today. Walks have been longer, maybe 20 minutes total all day, and the aggressive pain was not there today. I’m only doing a few ROM stretches on top of walking. I’ve really been tryimg to keep a good stride with my walker, trying not to limp or rely on my left too much. Now that my leg is straight, I can feel areas in my hip and back that aren’t used to getting pressure. I beleive a trip to the chiro before I head back to work will be good to get be back in alignment. Sleep has been very good, I haven’t had broken sleep at all, other than to change ice and take meds. Been having some weird dreams lately, very vivid. I guess it may be from the meds. Had a good friend stop by to visit tonight for a few hours. It was nice to have some “outside” company in...good morale booster.

I hate to say it but I have reached my quota of video games, movies and wheel of fortune app for a few years. These are things I RARELY ever do but when all you do is sit or lay, you gotta do something to pass the time.
 
@bowhunter8, you are doing great and your recovery path is very similar to mine (except I didn’t use a walker). I can confirm that a visit to the chiro while do you good. Just make sure he/she is aware of your knee. Eventually, you will get to a point where you won’t even think about it as you get adjusted, but in those first few sessions, just be careful of the position you get your knee into.
 
The day’s not too far off when you will gravitate toward more active pursuits. Mildly active pursuits. More short walks, for example. Shopping for your own necessities and interests. At two months after her TKR my sister went duck hunting. She brought along ice packs and put her leg up on a cooler. I’m not sure if she shot a duck or not, but she had fun. Give yourself a couple months and when you look back you’ll be surprised at how far you’ve progressed.

You’re having an excellent recovery. Your patience is paying off!
 
@SusieShoes i just had the conversation with my wife 2days ago that I may sit this hunting season out. I have some convenient blind spots close to home I was considering but definitely ruled out my northern November hunt. It’s nothing but thick mountain terrain and I am worried that walking in The dark is going to be a very bad decision three months postop. Was a hard decision, but as of now, I don’t want to hinder any forward progress. I’ve had the conversation with my brother-in-law about making better walking trails and four wheeler trails. He is the type, and i used to be the same, that would hike straight up a mountain through the thickest brush to get the best spot. I feel I need to die to that and find a more realistic way to make it easier on my body.
 
Walking on terrain is much more difficult than sitting in a duck blind within an easy, flat walk from a parking spot. She didn’t do any deer hunting that autumn, or fishing (boats rock). Ice fishing was okay, though. :heehee: Lots of sitting in their ice shack complete with cot.

You have a good plan in place. Much better to return to your way of hunting, which sounds quite physical, with your knee fully healed and ready to go, rather than test it too soon. Especially since the mountains can be quite remote.
 
@SusieShoes close to home where I hunt it would be easy to be dropped off by truck/atv. I wouldn’t know what to do if I successfully harvested an animal. I have friends who say to call them and they would take care of the rest but I would hate to hassle someone like that...that’s a lot of work. My priority is get well, get strong and have many years ahead of enjoying my obsession...I mean hobby.

I see you are from philly area, I am in York County and had my operations done in Lancaster county. Not too far from you.
 
General question...I am one week out from surgery and have been feeling pretty good on my feet. Is it okay to be using steps? Or should I just wait until I have to leave for my follow up next week? Haven’t been on them since last Friday when I came home.
 
@bowhunter8, use steps whenever you feel comfortable navigating them. My bedroom is on the 2nd floor, so I was using steps/stairs since the first day home. Of course it was one at a time and VERY slow and careful, but didn’t have any issues. By the end of the second week, I had enough flex that I could go UP stairs foot over foot (ie the normal way), but it took another week or so before I could go DOWN the normal way. It’s always important to make sure you have a good grip on the railing and do NOT let kids keep stuff on steps and keep the pets off the steps while you are on them, especially when going down. I almost learned that the hard way with one of our cats. Needless to say, both me and my wife almost had heart attacks that time and the cat almost lost one of her nine lives:loll:.
 
Narrowing in on a week and a half and keep getting better everyday. I graduated to the cane on Sunday and have been really focusing on walking with a normal gait. I was a little sore with the switch but that has subsided. Also have made a few trips up and down the steps. Feels tender going down but perfectly fine going up. Still going 1 step at a time. Hoping to ditch the cane after this week, only if I am ready.

I have found I don’t feel the need to ice as much but have been trying to keep doing it. I probably do it 4-5x a day with elevation for 45 minutes. I also have been incorporating a TENS unit on both knees and have found relief with that. ROM has been getting better both ways with swelling going down. I have been doing stretching and light strengthening exercises.

Follow up appointment is this Friday, anxious to see what is hiding underneath these long bandages. Also seeing what PT recommendations are. Thinking I will go regardless to focus on ROM and strengthening. Also will be going to a chiro. I know my alignment has got to be way off.

It seems my house knows when to have issues too. So far my AC quit( shortly after my arthroscopic, was able to fix on my own), pressure switch on my well tank is Intermittently acting up, my wife hit a septic cleanout with the mower on the sand mound and my daughter found “gray water” shooting up like a water feature when the pump ran(septic company came out and found 3 hit with mower and one pipe broken underground...Ahhhh), and now my dish washer is leaking(still not resolved). All things in my realm of repair skills but I have no physical capabilty of doing them.

Hoping to keep going in the right direction here!!
 
You are doing great. Glad to hear the TENS is giving you some relief.

You are a better patient than I was. I had to see under the bandage and removed it on day 3!

Keep healing!
 
When it rains, it pours... right? Sorry to hear so many major maintenance issues have cropped up during your convalescence. It might be a few months, and maybe several, before you will be comfortable getting down on your knees to fix things. It's easier if you can sit on the floor than kneel at first. Just make sure you've the means to get up again! A chair nearby helps. Better yet if you can possibly work from a chair until you get your "repair legs" back.

Your recovery is certainly going better than your house!
 
Well I got to test my stamina today. I just had a nephew born yesterday so I told my wife I would go with her to the hospital. Plan was to drop me off at main entrance, wait for her to park, walk to elevator, go to 9th floor and see the new baby boy. Round trip walk less than 1/4 mile.

Well the plan went like this. Go to main entrance and find it temporarily closed due to construction, drive around block starting to worry, park on 5th floor of parking garage, walk 1/3 mile to hospital, stand 10 minutes at elevator as they were working on 1 of them, visit baby boy and do same walk back to garage.

At this point I was ready for ice and elevation but my dear wife enjoying our time without the kids wanted to grab a late lunch. Ugh...fortunately I was able to prop leg up and we made it home and I have found my place on the couch with ice and TENS.

Don’t feel I joined the ODIC today but was close. Feel good I am able to handle this at 2 weeks but won’t keep pushing it.
 
Sometimes life happens! We can’t always take 100% care of our new knee.

What you did today was Daily Living!

Rest up now, like you said. All will be well.
 
@bowhunter8, great job! You managed it by thinking about what you can manage. Did you notice much pain while you were on your feet? For me, the first time I had to spend a lot of time on my feet, I was amazed the bone on bone pain was missing. Soft tissue pain, yes. Stiffness, yes. But those go away.
 
I have noticed that the bone on bone is gone...hallelujah!! Still soft tissue and stiffness yes but not having that bone in bone is incredible. Also, have been walking without the cane with no problem tonight.
 
I think losing that bone-on-bone pain was one of the most amazing things. It was simply, “Wow! It’s not there!” Plenty of surgical pain but... unless someone has gone through both the bone-on-bone pain and the removal of it, there’s no way to describe how awesome it feels. :happydance:

Daily living, indeed. Sometimes daily living involves a lot of activity, like what you just did. Probably not a good idea for every day, but isn’t it great you could do it? And know your knees will get back to happy with just a little rest, elevation, and icing? No additional exercises needed.

Great on walking without the cane! Feels wonderful and is good practice. Take the cane with you on outings, though, at least for a while longer. Your knee may tire, or you might encounter steps or other obstacles where you will be happy to have it with you.
 
Thanks @SusieShoes i still do use the cane off and on. I have been finding that my legs will start to shake if I am on them too long and I dont want to get caught without it. It’s amazing how weak the legs feel but I do know they are getting stronger everyday with activity. I am only taking 1 oxycodone at night and have been taking 3000 to 4000 mg of Tylenol a day.

I noticed this morning that I am a little sore from all of yesterday’s activities and I find the need to ice more than I have been. All in all, every day so far has been an improvement and I do not feel like I have had any major setbacks yet. If it keeps going this way, I may find myself in my hunting blind on the 29th. :dancy:
 
Didn't you have a conversation with your wife about maybe sitting out this hunting season? :wink: The end of this month might be a little ambitious, but depending on the situation just let your knee be your guide. Seriously consider what it has to say about being ready for sitting (and moving around to and in) a blind just yet. The way to the ODIC lies in thinking we're ready to take on the world, only to find out we weren't. :dead:
 
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