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TKR My recovery story

I haven’t posted an update for a while. Although, I have been reading other’s posts. Today is 3 months / 11 days since my RTKR. I can say that I have progressed a lot. I still don’t know about flexion or extension numbers since I have no way of measuring them. All I can say is that I can walk pretty normal and without a limp, I ride my stationary bike every day with a bit more tension than when I started, I can drive now (yay freedom!), and other than Gabapentin at night, I’m not taking any pain medication.

Last week I took my first long trip since my surgery. We drove from NC to northern Virginia (about 4 hours) with our 2 grand daughters. I took care of my 23 month old granddaughter, went shopping with my grandson (3 stores until he found the sneakers he wanted), and attended my granddaughter’s play. I can honestly say I wasn’t anymore tired than my husband was. The knee behaved spectacularly. I only iced once Saturday night as a precaution and reward to my knee for good behavior.

I’m also working from my home office a lot longer and just using my recliner and lounge doctor in the evenings. I also started attending church services. Thank God for small victories.

I still have the tight band feeling but I am not worried because I know that too shall pass. I am grateful for my progress and look forward to the day when my knee is not the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think at night. Speaking of nights, sleep has dramatically improved. My GP prescribed Elavil for insomnia and that has helped a lot.

I’m already thinking about surgery for lefty, which every once in a while reminds me she is waiting her turn. It will probably be sometime this winter but I will make the final decision after the six month mark.
 
What an excellent report! Those ROM numbers no longer matter when 1) you know your knee is bending well and is apparently straight because you can stand for longer, and 2) you realize they’re just numbers. Function is the real goal and it sounds like your knees are functioning well! You will continue to gain ROM for months (and months) yet. Among other things, that tight band feeling will go away and so will the stiffness upon rising from sitting for long periods.

It’s such a beautiful relief when sleep gets better. You can start to believe you will get back to normal sleep, and you will. It’s just such a dose of normalcy!
 
@Babushelen, what a great life you are having! And getting to spend time with your grands - fantastic! We share the same surgery date. Isn't it amazing how far we have come since those awful first two weeks? As for your second knee, I had about a year between mine. I was ready six months after #1 but the dr. wanted to wait till it was as bad as #1 had been. What I found out for #2 was that it has been so much easier. Probably knowing what to expect and knowing that the crushing pain in the first few days wasn't permanent helped. I did a better job preparing too. This time I cooked and froze a months' worth of meals, ordered a lounge dr. pillow, organized my "nest" and tried to remember to tighten the quad on #2 when I sat down. I also told the dr. that I needed better pain control for the first two weeks. You will probably be amazed after you have it done. Meanwhile enjoy your summer and celebrate. You have earned it!
 
Great advice @MSgirl!! I’ll be sure to heed it. My lefty is in pretty bad shape but I do have to consult my OS to see what he recommends.

Thank you @SusieShoes and @MSgirl for the encouragement. I feel so blessed to be part of this forum!!
 
Babushelen, I'm about a month behind you and I'm so happy to hear your good news. I had a CT scan this past Monday so my knee can be ordered from ConforMIS for my RTKR. It usually takes six weeks to get the knee, but my OS said that, since not as many people choose to have knee replacements in the spring and summer, it could possibly come in sooner. It looks like I'll be getting a second new knee in late May or early June. I hope my 3-month LTKR status is as good as what you just reported.
 
@HoneyB I’m considering a ConforMIS knee. I have to talk to my OS to see if he does those types of knee replacements. I located another surgeon in the area and it looks like he has great reviews. I’m on the fence about it ‘though, because I really like my surgeon.

I hope you get your RTKR sooner than later. I know I will be glad to be rid of the arthritic knee pain. But I have summer plans so I’m thinking it will be late December for me.
 
If you are happy with your surgeon and you feel he's done a good job with your first knee, why not stick with him? The most important factor for success with a knee replacement is the surgeon's skill, not the type of hardware used.

In changing to a different surgeon because you want a different type of knee replacement, you will be changing from a surgeon you know is good to a surgeon whose skill is an unknown quality.
 
@Celle you are absolutely right. That has been on my mind which is why I’m hesitant to switch even if he doesn’t do that type of implant. He is not the warmest person in the planet but he knows his craft. He also is very practical and realistic about the recovery. When I had my first consultation with him he told me the recovery is many times a year long journey. He has never pushed me nor did I feel pressured to be at a certain magic number by a certain time. On my last appointment (6 weeks post op), he told me he was happy with my recovery and told me he would see me in a year.

Thank you for advice!!
 
I like the sound of your current surgeon. He may not exude warmth, but he has told you honestly what to expect and his approach sounds reassuring.
 
You’ve had enough time both pre surgery and post surgery to form your opinion of your current surgeon and you still like him at this point. That’s important.

I liked my surgeon a lot before surgery. He has a very pleasant personality.

Post surgery his main goals of the check ups were X-rays and pushing my knee to its limit to measure ROM. At my 4 month check up he pushed my knee to a very painful place, to the point I was started breathing heavier. I told him twice it was too far but he didn’t release my leg until he had his measurement. I was pretty mad by then.

He was big on PT and often told me to do things Bonesmart says not to.

When I tried to find out how many Patellofemoral replacements he does, his office would not give me an answer.

Guess where my trust is now!
 
@Babushelen - I'm pleased so far with my ConforMIS knee, but I don't know if I'd switch from an OS I like just to get one. I have four friends who've had TKRs since Christmas. None of them got ConforMIS knees. While I think (not sure) I had less pain than they had in the early days, I don't know that my rehab has been any faster. My ROM increased quickly during the first four weeks, but then it leveled off and I think I progressed about the same as they did with "off-the-shelf" knees. I will say that it's not the pain I dread for the second TKR because my pain was never horrible. I never needed to take more than one type of pain med while some of my friends took combinations of pain meds. I took Percocet for two weeks and then switched to Tramadol 50mg every 8 hours in week 3 so I could drive to physical therapy. I eventually cut that down to Tramadol 25mg, and stopped taking pain meds by week 7. I'm at the end of week 9 and all I'm taking now is 2 Extra Strength Tylenol at bedtime.

My knee has never felt "foreign" and has never made any "clinks" or "clanks" that I've seen other people mention on here. It never felt wobbly or unstable. My OS said it was an extremely good fit. I really, really like my OS so that combined with the custom knee is a good pair for me. I'm an engineer and approached my knee research like an engineer. I had a long list of technical questions for my surgeon (material performance, life-cycle maintenance, replacement of worn "cartilage" parts, etc.). He never rushed through our visits; he acted as if I were the only patient he would be seeing that day. I'll definitely stick with my surgeon/knee combo. His off-the-shelf knee is a Stryker knee. If for some reason he had a problem with a ConforMIS knee during surgery, he'd switch to the Stryker. He said that's only happened once due to him finding a bone issue that required more bone removal than planned. ConforMIS provides a spacer for that situation, but he'd never had to use the spacer and didn't know how well it worked, so he defaulted to the Stryker knee.

I know that several of my OS's ConforMIS patients had ROMs of 0 - 120+ at their 8-week checkups. There are videos of many on his facebook page. A friend went to therapy with one who was 0 - 135 after 15 physical therapy sessions. Mine was 0 - 110 at week 8, but I had a bowed leg correction and have IT Band problems from my left leg being shorter than my right leg for my entire life. My OS said that I need to be patient with my ROM due to my knee realignment and my IT Band issue.
 
@Babushelen
I throw in my 2 cents.I had an “off the shelf prosthesis “. My range of motion progressed excellently. So far no post op issues. The most important aspect is to have an OS that does a high number of successful knee replacements.
 
Thanks @Jockette @HoneyB @Mutti for your inputs. I think I’ll stick with my OS. He has performed many TKRs and has perfected his craft to the point that most of his surgeries (barring any complications) take only half hour. That is how it was with mine. I did have an area in my knee with substantial damage, he told me. My scar is relatively small and it has healed nicely. I too had a bowed leg from the arthritis and he made some corrections to bring my leg in alignment. My left leg is also bowed. (Not a pretty sight). I’m very self-conscious about it.

I wish all of you continued healing. Happy Saturday!!
 
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