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TKR My Life on the Other Side

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I haven't posted much, but trying to keep up wit a lot of your threads. Went to PT this morning after the long weekend. He started to measure my ROM after my heel slides, but then said "we don't need to measure. That's not what we need to work on with you." The focus is now strengthening my muscles so I can do stairs better. That's the hardest for me. I'm doing fairly well in the mornings, but in the afternoon and evenings the pain sets in and still gets pretty uncomfortable. It seems about the same whether I've been resting most of the day or if I've been busier! It's five weeks today, so I'm sure things will continue to improve. Best wishes to all of you!
 
I wear out in the evening too. It will get better.
Hope your strength improves. Don't forget you are injured, you will not reach your full strength until you are healed.


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@ConnieJOS You are only 5 weeks, so of course you wear out easily! Your knee is still healing and zapping all your energy! Eating more protein will help with that. Going down stairs is hard on everyone, part of it is just being able to trust your knee to hold you up, part is discomfort and part is weakness. It will come. Hubby's knee is usually stiff in the morning and after sitting or laying down too long. As he found with his first knee the stiffness slowly goes away.
 
@ConnieJOS

Good to see your post. Your Flexion is fantastic at 142 degrees.
The stairs are hard and I find going up o.k., but coming down hard.

Like you, I have also been told by my PT & OS that have to work on my quads and hamstring muscles.

This recovery has a lot of elements and being tired at the end of the day is all part of it.

Rest, elevate & ice during the day, if you can also a little cat nap is great.

Take care,
Cathie :flwrysmile:
 
@marmora @tiredwife @pumpkin thanks for responding to my post! It truly is encouraging to know we are not in this alone. Went to PT this morning. I'm usually Mon, Wed, Fri but the holiday changed things around. This week it's Tues, Thurs, Fri which means I'm there two days in a row! It's ok though. Today went well. Those stairs are becoming a little more friendly, even though I haven't conquered them yet. I did get 144 ROM today! He said my heel is right up near my bottom with that, so I may not get any more. Don't think that bottom is going away anytime soon! I hope everyone is having a good day, and please stay in touch!
 
@ConnieJOS Way to go! 144 WOW! With first knee hubby's OS said he would be lucky if he gets 120. He got 127 once with it and is now 125. His new knee is also 125. He is happy with that in that it does everything he needs to do so far. I don't think his ROM has seen 144 since he was 30! You have a great day!
 
I was just thinking, I haven't heard anything from Connie lately. So, I went looking for your thread and there you were at the top of the list :) It sounds like you are still doing fantastic. I'm scared of stairs too. Especially going down. It's a good thing we only have 2 in our house from the garage to the kitchen. We do have a basement but I rarely ever have the need to go down there. You deserve the ROM of the year award! Keep up the good work and stay in touch.
 
@ConnieJOS

Hello Connie,

I agree with @tiredwife / Jackie and @gr82cu2 /Janet , your Flexion of 144 is absolutely remarkable :wowspring::wowspring::wowspring:

I have only ever gotten with a real push to 105 last Monday.
Stairs -going down still a problem for most of us.
If I go to the top of my house I have 41 steps up, which means 41 steps down.

Fortunately, only 12 steeps from ground floor to bathroom and then another 5 up to my bedroom, so getting lots of stair practice.

Take care and please "share" the secret of your Flexion Magic !
Cathie :flwrysmile:
 
You're doing great! Don't worry, your strength will improve, it just doesn't happen overnight.
 
@kneeper Thanks for encouragement about strength. It seems to be a slow process, but as you said, it will come.

@marmora @gr82cu2 @tiredwife I have no idea why or how ROM has come so easy for me. I'm extremely thankful for it though because I had a real fear of them pushing my stiff leg around before my surgery. I really liked the CPM machine while in the hospital and I had it on most of the time for the two days I was in. I wondered if that's why ROM came easy, but my PT says testing hasn't shown that CPM helps at all and for that reason many insurance policies won't cover it. I was just lucky in that area. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. That just turned out to be my strength. Muscle strength, on the other hand, is a whole 'nother story.
 
@ConnieJOS

Good Morning Connie,

As you say we each have our own strengths.
The reasons for our TKR surgery are different for each of us and each recovery is different, that's what makes us unique.

But, importantly through our differences we learn from each other and that is the strength of BoneSmart.

Take care,
Cathie :flwrysmile:
 
Has anyone heard of using Voltaren Gel post-op? I had never heard of it, but a friend recommended it and gave me some. It's for the pain of osteoarthritis, and post-op pain isn't from arthritis, it's from the tissue damage during surgery. It's topical, but it's still a prescription med and I don't want to go rubbing something on there without asking my doctor. Just wondered if anyone has knowledge or experience with this.
 
@ConnieJOS I have some Voltaren Gel on my shelf right now. It was prescribed to me last year when I tore my meniscus. I didn't think it did much to be honest. It's just a topical anti-inflammatory that you rub on rather than ingest. It smells good though :)
 
@ConnieJOS

This is weird - I have just rubbed Voltarol Gel on my knee including over the incision scar after my evening exercises.

My GP/PCP recommended it last week, as it provides an anti-inflammation relief.
And because I'm an many other medications other than my post-op meds, both he and my OS didn't prescribe ant-inflammatory drugs.

Have been using it for the last 7 days and has helped to relieve pain, but to what degree is hard to measure.

In Ireland you can buy it over the counter without a prescription.this is with Emulgel P 2% w/w Gel.
There is also a stronger concentration that does require a doctor's prescription.


That's my experience with Voltarol.

Take care,
Cathie :flwrysmile:
 
@ConnieJOS Hubby had some ointment that was like diclofenac for his OA it would have been okay if he just had one bad joint, but all his joints are bad and it would have taken way too much of it. For one joint it would be okay, you just have to watch taking aspirin with it.
 
I use it to supplement tylenol. I don't put it near the scar.
 
gr82cu2 said:
I was just thinking, I haven't heard anything from Connie lately. So, I went looking for your thread and there you were at the top of the list :) It sounds like you are still doing fantastic. I'm scared of stairs too. Especially going down. It's a good thing we only have 2 in our house from the garage to the kitchen. We do have a basement but I rarely ever have the need to go down there. You deserve the ROM of the year award! Keep up the good work and stay in touch.
Click to expand...

Oh, oh....we live in a two-story home and I was planning on sleeping and resting in the master bedroom which is on the 2nd floor. There are 14 steps. Should I be worried? I stayed upstairs after both hip replacements and went up and down them as needed. Will it be any different with a knee replacement?
 
@MotownGirl66 I don't know that you should be worried. Just know that stairs are more of a challenge. @marmora deals with lots of stairs in her home and would be a much better advisor than I would be. My understanding, from talking with @ConnieJOS who has had both hips replaced and now one knee, is that yes, knees are a whole different thing from hips. I've tagged them for you. Hopefully you will get some answers and advice from them.
 
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