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TKR Michele's RTKR recovery journey

@Cbet yeah those eye ball guesstimations for ROM are rarely good from my OS too. He said mine was 80ish last time I saw him . I wish I understood too how people have this great ROM so soon and others don’t. It sure is hard to not obsess about it.

What a blessing that you got more PT approved. I need to ask about that too because my PT told me in October that my insurance covers 90 visits and I need to make sure I get in all I can before end of year. So you had a second tkr 6 weeks ago? Wow! If so, was second time easier?
 
@Cheleigh and @Cbet , when I was in the recovery room the evening of my surgery, the pt guy came around to do the discharge thing where they measure your ROM, make sure you can walk, do stairs, etc. There was a lady in the next bed and her flexion was at 110!! Like without even trying! We had both had surgery that day. Mine was 70 with some pushing and pain. I was so jealous of that lady! But it just goes to show that if your ROM is limited or slow to come, it’s not because you’re not working hard enough or trying hard enough. I really think some people just get it easier than others.
 
@Cheleigh here in Ontario, Canada we only get 8 visits for PT and then it is out of pocket which is very expensive if you need to continue so I am very thankful he extended my PT bundle. With regards to the second TKR it was much different than the first recovery, I Really didn't have a lot of issues with my first replacement except the usual aches and pain and learning to walk properly but with this second one I suffered sciatic nerve pain for the first 2 weeks where I could not sit comfortably in any chair for more than 5 minutes it was awful, I ended up going to a trusted chiropractor the day before I hit 2 weeks who did some type of magic and when I return home I was lying on the heating pad on the couch and went to shift my position and I heard and felt this huge release that fixed my issue thank the Lord. I also had to sleep on the couch for the first 6/7 weeks because I couldn't get comfortable in my bed for more than 20 minutes ...luckily that is done now. I do find that each day my knees are stronger and I am grateful that my surgeon did an amazing job and my knee pain in nowhere near what it was. @JusticeRider it baffles my mind how the ROM is so completely different between patients and why I struggle to get it moving in the right direction. i Much prefer the bonesmart way of not pushing to hard but will continue to go to PT and work to get my bend back.
 
I agree with all of you! It’s hard to reconcile that some people just have ROM and others work so hard. I too have had to fight stiffness for every degree of flexion I get. I do not have aggressive physical therapists luckily but struggle with the slow progress I’m making in that regard. Best of luck to everyone out there who is trying their hardest to get their knee moving again! It’s a very unnatural feeling to have a leg that won’t bend all the way.
 
@Cbet I’m so glad you got more PT! And how about that chiropractor. I’ve heard they can really make amazing difference in all kinds of areas of health. What a blessing that they helped so much!

Thank you @Bridgy and @JusticeRider ! You’re always so helpful and encouraging. I never so greatly understood “misery loves company” before this surgery… Not saying we’re all miserable Hahaa just that it’s so comforting to know we’re not alone in this ROM journey.
 
Update on the new OS I saw today. I feel like I’ve got such a big weight lifted after speaking to someone who finally tells me what I know, I am normal, this recover and surgery is different for everyone, it is a 12 month recovery and there is no one size fits all. This wonderful doctor treated me like a person, respected me, watched me walk, touched my knee to feel the warmth and the swelling, checked my range of motion and did not insult me on how “awful” it is, he explained that everything that I’m going through is normal and it is early in the process to be worrying about range of motion when everything else is going so well. “When the swelling goes down, that range of motion will come” he said. Wow! What a relief and total opposite bedside manner and professionalism compared to the troll OS and his PA since 8/31.
 
Oh wow, Cheleigh! That is fantastic (:

I wish I could go talk to your new OS, haha! He sounds really great. And I am so glad that weight is lifted off your shoulders!
 
JusticeRider said:
I am eternally grateful for the solidarity here.
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This is why Bonesmart was so important to my recovery. What I could not explain to my healthcare team, friends, and family, this forum understood without much added detail. I also found comfort in linking arms with others in my surgery month as we "walked" one another through the journey.
Cheleigh said:
“When the swelling goes down, that range of motion will come” he said.
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Well I've heard that before :heehee: Seriously, I'm so glad you got some reassurance from your new OS.
 
Cheleigh said:
“When the swelling goes down, that range of motion will come” he said. Wow! What a relief and total opposite bedside manner and professionalism compared to the troll OS and his PA since 8/31.
Click to expand...
This OS sounds really up-to-date in his joint replacement surgery. What a blessing!
 
11 weeks post op and measured 92 ROM yesterday. ROM continues to slowly grow. I think measuring rom is such an inaccurate way of thinking because you’re pushing as far as you can without major pain and they measure you and that’s not what you do in regular life. Just so weird to me.

Couple questions for y’all. Do you hurt when you drive? My PT yesterday said it’s because of the 90 degree angle required to drive and ride in a vehicle. I get so stiff when I drive and have to “thaw out” a minute when I get out. Aghhh

Do y’all limp? I sometimes feel like I have a limb that’s not mine… feels so weird. I didn’t limp before surgery but am still not putting all my weight on my right leg after one time a few weeks back when I buckled real bad, I guess and my gate isn’t nearly back to normal. Just wondering about your gate and limping.
 
I don’t hurt when I drive, but my seat is back fairly far because I have long legs, so I don’t have to bend the left knee 90 degrees. I can stretch it out a little bit. My natural tendency is to limp, but that’s because I limped for about 5 years before the surgery, and the limping got progressively worse to the point where it was pretty heavy limping. My body’s natural tendency is to limp now, so I have to consciously focus on not limping and walking heel to toe to re-train my gait. It takes a lot of effort. I wouldn’t say my new knee feels any different than my old knee. I haven’t noticed it feeling like a fake, other than a few new party tricks I can do with the new one to amaze my friends. LOL.
 
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I’m 9 weeks and have struggled with walking normally. It’s starting to come but I still limp when I’m stiff.
 
I have that problem too with the limping, also because I had limped so long before surgery. Have to consciously work on it. Now also limping with right knee until I can get it replaced in February. Kind of discouraging.
 
Driving has been one of the things my knee likes the least in this recovery. I stopped going to pt a couple of weeks ago and I think one reason it’s actually been better NOT going is because it was a 40 min drive each way and I was going 2x/week. That was a lot of driving.

Some things that do help me: I had to rearrange my driver’s seat a bit…moved the seat way back and put a pillow behind me to get the right angle/position. I do ankle pumps once in a while. I adjust my seat forward and then back every so often throughout the drive so my knee isn’t stuck in the same position the whole time. I put a little pillow under my foot (this won’t apply if it’s your driving foot). It seems like the pillow supports my foot so my leg is more stable, and also absorbs some of the shock and vibration. I love that little pillow.

But yeah…driving sucks. On the other hand, I’m 3 weeks ahead of you and it is getting easier all the time, so take heart!
 
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I would rather drive then be in the passenger seat. I'm tall and can extend my left leg more. If it was my right knee, I know it would be harder. If I know I will be out and about I have been bringing my ice pack. It has dual chambers so it can be moved around my knee from front to back. I routinely take a couple of ibuprofens before I go out. When I get out the car, I still have knee stiffness that resolves some with walking. I'm really hopeful this will get better by 6-months. It seems like it's out of my reach right now.
 
I’m 9-10 weeks out from RTKR and I limp still. I still take my cane with me on strange/rough terrain or longer walks because I am still uncertain about my knee. It has suddenly hyperextended on a few occasions. I still have trouble climbing taller steps. My ROM has been great (0-120) and PT says I’m progressing great but I get frustrated with the quad weakness.
 
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