United States
Hi, my name is Susan. I can't believe I just found this forum and didn't even think to look for one until today. I went online to look up popping in a new knee joint and read a post that linked to this forum. I probably should back up a bit....
I started having trouble with my right knee 2-3 years ago at the age of 40. On and off pain, I treated with anti-inflammatories and ice. I finally went to see a Rhuematologist recommended by a friend and long story short, after x-rays and an MRI, it was discovered that I had moderate to severe arthritis (osteo) in both knees. I was told that I basically had the knees of a 65 year old. :pzld: I had a torn meniscus in my right knee with part of the cartilage actually floating around in there. I had arthroscopic surgery on that knee in Jan09 to clean it up. Then last summer I had to sell my folk's house (both parents live in adult family homes due to health issues, they are elderly). I did 90% of the work (I do have 1 sister, who did basically nothing) and after the sale this last fall, I noticed I was having pain again. X-rays were taken and it was discovered that I had no cartilage left on the inside part of my right knee joint plus my petallar had a lot of spurring under it. I had totally worn that knee out. Total knee replacement was in my immediate future. I figured I'd get it done now before I was totally debilitated so I could continue to be active while I'm younger.
I had to wait until school got out. I have 2 kids, 12 and almost 16 and they have a lot of activities so I knew I wouldn't be driving. Also, it gave my school-teaching sister the opportunity to take over driving duties with my dad, something I have to do all year for his dr. appts, I do all his finances, bill paying, everything. I don't work outside the home, although with my folks and active kids, I feel like I'm working full time!
So here I am, 3.2 weeks post-op. My surgeon is one of the best in WA, Pierce Scranton. He's done thousands of these operations, has kept up with the latest techniques, etc. I'm not sure if I had the computer assisted surgery or not, I was told that a computer would be lining up where the drilling would be so the margin for error would be just about nil. I do have about a 6 inch scar down the front of my knee so I don't think it's the minimally invasive type but I'm not sure. I have the De Puy rotating platform kind of implant. My recovery has been pretty quick so far. I think it's partly due to my age and that I was active and mobile prior to surgery. I know I have a long way to go yet. I had 3 weeks of in-home PT and 2 weeks of Home Health where they measured my blood levels for cumodin. I had my 2 week appt last week and the doc took me off the cumodin and I also got to quit wearing the TED hose, which was wonderful. Those things were a pain in the butt to get on and keep from rolling down. I used a walker for about 9 days and then went right to walking unaided, partly because we didn't have a cane that was the right height. But also because my balance was pretty good. I was pretty active right up until surgery, even going to Curves right up to the week before. My knee pain was able to be managed with anti-inflammatories. (on a side note, I had to switch to Celebrex back in may because all the years of taking NSAIDs gave me heartburn something fierce. Switching to Celebrex and also taking Nexium and right away, no more heartburn)
My range of motion is between 95-100 and I was down to a 0 before I even left the hospital. I used a CPM (continuous passive motion) machine in the hospital and at home up until yesterday. 2-3 times a day for 2 hours each, upping my bending angle a little bit each day. Tomorrow is my first outpatient PT visit. I'm curious how it will go, will they give me the same exercises I'm currently doing or will I have more painful ones? I'm still taking Vicodin but it seems like I don't need to take it as often. Today it was every 6 hours instead of every 4 like it's been since surgery.
I have a few questions about driving. Since my surgery was in my right knee, how long will it be before I'm able to drive? If I get to a point where I can only take the pain meds at night, will I be able to drive during the day? I know I'm not able to do it yet, I'm thinking it's going to be at least 4-6 weeks post-op but I'm wondering what others experiences have been? I know I have to wait until I'm off the narcotics. What is the expected improvement after a person starts outpatient PT? I know I'm not close to being ready because I can't take being cramped up when riding in the car. I'm tall with long legs and even in the front passenger seat of my van, I can't completely stretch my leg out. A trip to the store and back is about all I can take. That last 5 minutes before we pull into the driveway is painful until I can get my leg out and stretched.
Also, crazy that I am, we are going camping August 8th-11th. We scheduled this way in advance because the spots fill up quickly. That will be 6 weeks post-op for me. It's paved and everything is flat, bathrooms are flush toilets with showers. It's close to a town with full grocery stores, etc. I'm thinking a separate small cooler just for some ice for my knee might be a good idea. We usually go into town at least once a day (one evening we even treat ourselves to dinner out) so getting ice shouldn't be a problem. Any other ideas for those adventurous types who also went camping this soon? We tent camp but got a new air bed last year that is fairly high off the ground. Not sure how well I'll be able to get out of this yet, time will tell.
Going back to my first paragraph, I have had some popping in my new knee when I lift my foot up to take a step but from what I've found online, it's normal and since it's not all the time and there's no pain, I'm not too worried about it.
thanks for listening and I'm sure I'll post more!
Susan
Right TKR 6-29-10
I started having trouble with my right knee 2-3 years ago at the age of 40. On and off pain, I treated with anti-inflammatories and ice. I finally went to see a Rhuematologist recommended by a friend and long story short, after x-rays and an MRI, it was discovered that I had moderate to severe arthritis (osteo) in both knees. I was told that I basically had the knees of a 65 year old. :pzld: I had a torn meniscus in my right knee with part of the cartilage actually floating around in there. I had arthroscopic surgery on that knee in Jan09 to clean it up. Then last summer I had to sell my folk's house (both parents live in adult family homes due to health issues, they are elderly). I did 90% of the work (I do have 1 sister, who did basically nothing) and after the sale this last fall, I noticed I was having pain again. X-rays were taken and it was discovered that I had no cartilage left on the inside part of my right knee joint plus my petallar had a lot of spurring under it. I had totally worn that knee out. Total knee replacement was in my immediate future. I figured I'd get it done now before I was totally debilitated so I could continue to be active while I'm younger.
I had to wait until school got out. I have 2 kids, 12 and almost 16 and they have a lot of activities so I knew I wouldn't be driving. Also, it gave my school-teaching sister the opportunity to take over driving duties with my dad, something I have to do all year for his dr. appts, I do all his finances, bill paying, everything. I don't work outside the home, although with my folks and active kids, I feel like I'm working full time!
So here I am, 3.2 weeks post-op. My surgeon is one of the best in WA, Pierce Scranton. He's done thousands of these operations, has kept up with the latest techniques, etc. I'm not sure if I had the computer assisted surgery or not, I was told that a computer would be lining up where the drilling would be so the margin for error would be just about nil. I do have about a 6 inch scar down the front of my knee so I don't think it's the minimally invasive type but I'm not sure. I have the De Puy rotating platform kind of implant. My recovery has been pretty quick so far. I think it's partly due to my age and that I was active and mobile prior to surgery. I know I have a long way to go yet. I had 3 weeks of in-home PT and 2 weeks of Home Health where they measured my blood levels for cumodin. I had my 2 week appt last week and the doc took me off the cumodin and I also got to quit wearing the TED hose, which was wonderful. Those things were a pain in the butt to get on and keep from rolling down. I used a walker for about 9 days and then went right to walking unaided, partly because we didn't have a cane that was the right height. But also because my balance was pretty good. I was pretty active right up until surgery, even going to Curves right up to the week before. My knee pain was able to be managed with anti-inflammatories. (on a side note, I had to switch to Celebrex back in may because all the years of taking NSAIDs gave me heartburn something fierce. Switching to Celebrex and also taking Nexium and right away, no more heartburn)
My range of motion is between 95-100 and I was down to a 0 before I even left the hospital. I used a CPM (continuous passive motion) machine in the hospital and at home up until yesterday. 2-3 times a day for 2 hours each, upping my bending angle a little bit each day. Tomorrow is my first outpatient PT visit. I'm curious how it will go, will they give me the same exercises I'm currently doing or will I have more painful ones? I'm still taking Vicodin but it seems like I don't need to take it as often. Today it was every 6 hours instead of every 4 like it's been since surgery.
I have a few questions about driving. Since my surgery was in my right knee, how long will it be before I'm able to drive? If I get to a point where I can only take the pain meds at night, will I be able to drive during the day? I know I'm not able to do it yet, I'm thinking it's going to be at least 4-6 weeks post-op but I'm wondering what others experiences have been? I know I have to wait until I'm off the narcotics. What is the expected improvement after a person starts outpatient PT? I know I'm not close to being ready because I can't take being cramped up when riding in the car. I'm tall with long legs and even in the front passenger seat of my van, I can't completely stretch my leg out. A trip to the store and back is about all I can take. That last 5 minutes before we pull into the driveway is painful until I can get my leg out and stretched.
Also, crazy that I am, we are going camping August 8th-11th. We scheduled this way in advance because the spots fill up quickly. That will be 6 weeks post-op for me. It's paved and everything is flat, bathrooms are flush toilets with showers. It's close to a town with full grocery stores, etc. I'm thinking a separate small cooler just for some ice for my knee might be a good idea. We usually go into town at least once a day (one evening we even treat ourselves to dinner out) so getting ice shouldn't be a problem. Any other ideas for those adventurous types who also went camping this soon? We tent camp but got a new air bed last year that is fairly high off the ground. Not sure how well I'll be able to get out of this yet, time will tell.
Going back to my first paragraph, I have had some popping in my new knee when I lift my foot up to take a step but from what I've found online, it's normal and since it's not all the time and there's no pain, I'm not too worried about it.
thanks for listening and I'm sure I'll post more!
Susan
Right TKR 6-29-10
