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TKR My Recent TKR

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Time for an update. Had my second PT and that continues to go well. Started strengthening as well as streching exercises. Started by moving between machines/exercises walking un aided, but did not take long before my leg was a wet noodle! Good work out. Plus smoothie king on the way home.

Getting better sleep. I'm pretty much off pain medicine during the day but find one Oxy at night masks the pain enough to sleep. Combine that with headphones and music and I'm doing well.

Have began to do more and more things for myself. My wife has been absolutely fantastic but soon she will need to get back to her committments so I need to be self sufficient shortly. So far so good.

I know many on here are not fans of PT or have had bad experiences, but I am not one. I've used PT after two of my previous knee surgeries and found it very helpful in returning to full functioning as soon as possible. So far my PT on this surgery is going well. For those of you that want to include PT as part of your recovery, just make sure you communicate well with your OS and therapist and set goals and develop a plan you are comfortable with.

Good luck all on your continued recovery.

Slugger
 
@Slugger . Congratulations on your tkr and recovery so far. Sounds like you are progressing very well. I too have had good luck with my pt and have been thankful for their guidance and understanding.
Back in the late 1990's when I was getting ready for my hip surgery, I was encouraged to go in for pt prior to surgery so that my muscles were stronger after the surgery and helped in my recovery. It helped me a lot, so I know that the pt process 'can' work. It's not for everyone .
When I visited with my OS and asked about how long I should be doing PT he said he wasn't a big 'fan' of PT, but that going about your everyday life was just as important. In talking with the PT about that idea, she said it is fine for those folks who are ' motivated' to get back to life, however there are some people who will sit way too long and then they don't progress and are upset with their tkr because they can barely walk. We all heal differently and are at different stages in life concerning our activities - for me, I'm ready to get out when the grass greens up and walk behind the lawn mower! This year will be pain free!
Continued good healing to you.
 
We don't say to not do pt. We say to not do aggressive pt. Aggressive pt slows down healing. Gentle pt allows healing and is less painful. Of course, we have never said to do nothing. ADL are really good rehab for knees. As is gentle stretching and bending.
 
@Slugger, I'm a PT believer, also. For knee #1 last year, I started PT at a facility that did hurt me. At the time, I thought it was supposed to hurt so did it but did not make a lot of progress - probably due to the swelling and pain. I finally got smart and moved to another facility that I am using again this year for knee #2. I like their approach. They got me stretching and helped me strengthen my very weak quad. My numbers ended up good and after they dismissed me, I began a walking program in earnest that added about 20 more degrees of flexion to 145. I'm sorry that some folks have had bad luck with their PT but all are not bad. Last Wednesday, my regular person was away and a fellow stepped in. On one exercise, he said, "Ann, you know, no pain, no gain." He didn't know what hit him when I told him he was wrong and didn't know what he was talking about! I doubt he'll work with me again and that's fine with me. Keep doing what feels right to you. You got this!
 
@Slugger, I should have told you that it took 8 months to get to that 145 flexion. It happened without me realizing it.
 
Thanks for the feedback @MSgirl . I've revised my expectations for ROM based on your feedback as well as others here. Plus I looked back at discussions I had with the person who recommended my OS. She is a very good friend of my wife's who had recently had TKR for both her knees. My ROM progress is on par with hers. So I may have been setting my goals quite a bit aggressive. Anyway, I've made good progress over the past few days.

I'm noticing that I'm getting muscle sore in certain areas. My left quad is sore from strengthening exercises but I am gaining strength and am able to do somethings now I previously couldn't. My right glute is getting more isolated exercise than it's seen in a while.

Couple things I would like feedback on.
1. Often when going to sleep I'll have knee jerks in my TKR leg which will give me a little pain. These seem to happen just as I fall asleep. I wonder if this is a side affect of the Oxy pain meds. Does anyone else experience this?
2. I often have involuntary muscle spasms in my foot of my TKR leg. Not painful, but often and annoying.

I'm thinking these could be similar to muscle cramps and will increase my potassium intake to see if that helps. Appreciate any feedback.

Continued best wishes for all recoveries.

Slugger
 
that's interesting what you say about the knee jerks in your TKR leg. i had something like that 11 years ago while being on chemo treatment. for 3 days after a treatment, i was given anti-nausea drugs and steroids; turned out the steroid i was given was causing me insomnia and nervous twitches. once changed, i was okay. after my TKR, i was on percocet for 3 weeks and didn't have any twitching; however, had nausea and constipation.

hope you can figure it out. glad you're doing well for just 12 days post-op.
 
Try Googling restless leg syndrome. Couple of the things I saw was you could be low in iron. Magnesium is supposed to help, also. I hope you find something to help you. I had that also, but probably not as severe as what you're having.
 
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Those jerks and spasms could very well be related to your meds. Do you take Lipitor, by chance? My foot muscle spasms were related to that drug. My GP suggested I stop taking Lipitor at night and start taking it earlier in the day, which got rid of the spasms. I'm back to taking it at night now, by the way. Apparently my taking so many other pills at the time --iron, anti-constipation pills, pain killers, supplements of all kinds-- made it act weird. Or my body act weird. Or something. Anyway, worth mentioning in case that's what's happening with you.
 
Good call Susie. I am on a maintenance dose of simvastatin which is a statin like lipitor. I may cut it out for a few days to see if it helps. I'm on so many meds right now it is ridiculous. I have my 2 eeek follow-up with OS this Friday so maybe we can drop a few.
 
Don't rush the med withdrawal. I am 5 weeks post-op today, and wanted to ditch the opioids ASAP. But I cut the doses way too fast, and the pain caused me to not want to move around as much. So, despite the fact that they are horrible, make me itch and cause my stomach to feel like a grinder is working on it, I would have kept on the hydrocodone for more than the 3 weeks I did. Still learning this lesson while trying to wind down tramadol and Advil.
 
Well it's two weeks today from LTKR and had another PT session. Officially at 90º ROM. I was hoping for more but not bad. My strength in that leg continues to increase. I've been pleased with that progress. I bought a cane and will be transitioning from the walker. I think the cane will make it a little easier to maneuver out in public.

Have my follow-up with OS Friday.

Hope all is well with everyone else.
 
Slugger said:
Officially at 90º ROM. I was hoping for more but not bad.
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You should be thrilled with 90 at 2 weeks. Most OSs don't expect 90 degrees until 6 weeks! Enjoy being way ahead of the game!
 
You're doing great. Don't worry about transitioning to the cane too quickly--let your knee be your guide. The key is to have support and feel stable on your feet.
As far as the muscle jerks when going to bed. I would have some leg cramping when I went to bed. My PT showed me a couple of gentle stretches to do on the bed just before going to sleep and they helped. I wonder if you just have some muscle tension/tightness.
 
The good and the bad.

Thursday my wife left to baby sit our granddaughter so was left on my own for the first time. Made out like a champ. Was pretty sore from Wednesday PT so took it easy other than my CPM and by days end was feeling well.

Friday I had my first follow-up with OS. Removed bandage and incision looks to be healing well. Released to get it wet (shower).

OS was not impressed with my ROM. Directed to keep pushing hard to get to 120º. Wants me to up pain medicine to push through pain during PT. We argued about this for a while. I will push hard through the PT. I always have. The tempoary pain during PT doesnt bother me. The effects of the Oxy does bother me greatly. We compromised and she switched me to hydrocodone which should have lesser side affects.

The OS was happy with my extension ROM so I got that going for me.

Best part of the day was after my OS appointment I joined my wife in baby sitting granddaughter. Got along great throughout the day with minimal pain. Finally went out for a nice steak dinner and a glass of wine. All in all a good day. Goal for this weekend will be seeing if I can get behind the wheel of my truck. Would be good if I can drive by mid-late next week.

Continued best wishes for all.
 
@kneeper , That is an interesting thought. I'll bring that up with my PT.
 
I had oxycodone for the first couple of weeks and it basically led to an instant nap.:zzz: Which frankly I was fine with me at first. :heehee:
Next I had hydrocodone and I found that helped pretty well with the pain with less negative effects. You are only a couple of weeks out of surgery so your OS sounds pretty unreasonable as far as ROM. I got by with very little exercise but the pain meds did help. Most of my pain was what I call "achy stiffness." I was much less stiff with pain meds on board (not taking them *in order to* do exercise) and then I could do the little bit of heel slides etc. pretty nicely, but without overdoing it.
It took me a good 6 weeks to get to 90, but ultimately my bend turned out fine. Don't let the OS intimidate you.
 
@kneeper , Im not intimidated by my OS. We've been in agreement on the overall recovery plan until this latest discussion on pain meds. I want to be agressive with PT. My discussions with past patients of my OS are all positive and almost all had early return of ROM. I'm on the young side at 56. Yesterday I got a pep talk from another patient. He was in his 70's. had his TKR the day after mine. He was moving better and had more ROM. He was telling me what he was doing in addition to PT. Thats motivation right there. Overall Im pretty happy. Im sitting here on the cpm machine set at 110º as I write this. I dont think 120º is that far off in the future.
 
Another thing that came up yesterday with my OS was wearing TED hose. I came home from the hospital with TED hose up to the knee on each leg. I discarded them within a day or two. I dont recall a direction of how long to wear them. Yesterday the OS gave me another pair and directed me to wear them another 4 weeks. I know they are to help prevent blood clots which can be disastrous. What are others experience with TED hose?
 
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