Guest viewing is limited

TKR Mom2fencers Journey - Both Knees Done Now

I spent today lounging with our cats in bed, icing and elevating and doing some short walks around house and down driveway and back. Cats know how to do the “rest/nap/lounge” thing! Glad I am not teaching next fall. I don’t have to think and plan/prep. Hubby laughed at my “schedule” today-he was at a long meeting, then grocery shopped. He played 18 holes yesterday. I’m doing some heel slides and massaging the leg along with reviewing the Bonesmart articles-never hurts to review. :catbutterfly:
 
Today at the gym with my coach I got turnover with the recumbent bike—hurrah! No pain. It’s 4 weeks post op. Tomorrow I get into our pool and do some floating.
 
Yay about the bike! :happydance:

Be careful in the pool. PT put me in the pool at 4 weeks, for a 50 minute session. I lost track of how many exercises I did to bend my knee, they had me walking frontwards, sidewards, and backwards!! :yikes: It took me 3 days to recover and I did not go back to the pool. Don’t do what I did!
 
I didn’t know any better. That is when I started googling “stopping therapy” and found Bonesmart. :roseshwr:
 
Jockette,
50 minutes!! Yikes. My plan is to get into my pool at home and just float on my floater and gently kick my feet!:swim:20 minutes and done.
 
Yes, ridiculous, right? My surgeon ordered the pool therapy. PT uses the pool at YMCA, and it was huge and full of other therapy patients, so there was a lot of movement to the water. My balance was still off on land, I was so tense and scared. :blackcloud:
 
Balance is crucial. We take it for granted I think until we don’t have it. I know as my balance comes back so does my confidence. My pool is in my driveway—we live in the country up on a hill. We have neighbors but the three near me all have inground pools. They find me quite a hoot as I climb my sturdy ladder into my driveway pool. Your post is a good reminder that overwork can occur even with pool work.:swim:
 
:biking::biking:Climbed the ladder into our above ground pool and down into the water. No problem. A nice walk around the pool and time floating. Temp here is 92...the last time I was in in the pool was May 15 the day before my surgery. I have waited for this day along with getting the pedals turned on the recumbent bike ...a hurrah week!
:biking: :swim:
 
Awesome! Im not sure I could go up and down a ladder!
 
:walking::walking:It is a special order pool ladder my hubby got us last year. So sturdy and wide steps. Big hand rails. But still need to climb carefully
 
:good-bad:I was making a list of topics that I thought surgeons should inform patients about. Then I realized the best place to get informed is right here, from folks who have walked the journey. I was telling a friend the other day that no one really informs you about:

Nausea and how to manage it
Pain in the night
Frustration crying
Restlessness-“can’t you sit still”?
Leg ache when sitting at a restaurant
“Get that ROM asap”
“I can’t turn over a single pedal on the bike”
“They want me back at work in six weeks!”
“She dropped my leg!”
Can I really say “no?”
Brain fog
Getting in and out of bed
Constipation and how to manage it
Ice packs and ice machines
Getting more meds
Lack of balance
“At some point you will moan and groan and feel hopeless”

I am sure others can add to the list.
 
Last edited:
That is a great list!

I would add:

PT can be useful but it is not essential.

Don’t compare yourself to others.
(Impossible but should be said!)

You WILL regain your ROM, just give it time.

Ignore other people’s unrealistic expectations for your recovery.
 
When am I going to sleep again-for sure! How could I leave that out?

And its partner: when will I leave sleeping in the recliner to actually sleep and stay in my own bed...
Hubby likes that one:elevate:
 
:biking::swim::upright::walking:My journey continues. Last night I slept four hours then up and back down for three. In my bed and not the recliner. I can sleep on my right side and for a little bit on the left.

This week the recumbent bike is easier and I’m starting to pedal backward and forward well. I went to the gym without my cane—totally forgot it!

Nausea seems to be gone. Still not hungry at some meals but am eating healthy. I came home 5 weeks ago today from the hospital. It’s been a LONG 5 weeks but thankfully my gym trainer makes me laugh and helps me measure progress in ways other than ROM measurements.
 
Five weeks and doing great! Do I see a corner turning in your future? :)

Measuring recovery in ways other than ROM is sane, practical, and ever so much more relaxing and less painful. Totally the way to go with a TKR recovery.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

Members online

Total: 1,032 (members: 3, guests: 1,029)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom