Revised PKR to TKR My Revision Journey<
- Thread starter flyaway79
- Start date
United States
OP
OP
flyaway79
graduate
So today is my 3 month Kneesiversary. It's really quite anticlimactic to be honest. I have been looking forward to that magical 12 week point that is so often touted. And now that it's here, well.......
Don't get me wrong I have made lots of progress. As always, my nemisis is my swelling and that still continues. I was starting to feel less of it over the past week and must have overdone it. How appropriate it is for me to be spending my anniversary icing and elevating
I am very thankful for the progress I have made. I have full extension and had it from the very beginning l and have no problems standing for any length of time.
I never had a problem with taking meds and my pain was always very well controlled. I have been sleeping quite well since the first week after my surgery. I am very grateful for those things!
I did outpatient PT for the first 9 weeks but no formal PT for the last 3. I ride my stationary bike almost everyday and just my regular ADL's and light stretching of my knee and hamstrings. I don't know what my ROM is since I haven't been measured in awhile but it's seems to be slowly progressing. Last measurement was 113.
We go out to dinner and I can sit comfortably and I can do very short shopping trips if that is the only main activity for the day.
Physically I feel great. I have lots of energy and my appetite is great.
The problem is my swelling prevents me from capitalizing on that energy. I just can't walk for any length of time before the tightness flares up and I have to sit down. Along with that tightness in the knee comes a flare up of my hamstrings and tendons in the back of my knee. It's a vicious cycle.
I have my 3 month follow up appointment tomorrow with my PA. Will be interesting to see what she has to say
Don't get me wrong I have made lots of progress. As always, my nemisis is my swelling and that still continues. I was starting to feel less of it over the past week and must have overdone it. How appropriate it is for me to be spending my anniversary icing and elevating
I am very thankful for the progress I have made. I have full extension and had it from the very beginning l and have no problems standing for any length of time.
I never had a problem with taking meds and my pain was always very well controlled. I have been sleeping quite well since the first week after my surgery. I am very grateful for those things!
I did outpatient PT for the first 9 weeks but no formal PT for the last 3. I ride my stationary bike almost everyday and just my regular ADL's and light stretching of my knee and hamstrings. I don't know what my ROM is since I haven't been measured in awhile but it's seems to be slowly progressing. Last measurement was 113.
We go out to dinner and I can sit comfortably and I can do very short shopping trips if that is the only main activity for the day.
Physically I feel great. I have lots of energy and my appetite is great.
The problem is my swelling prevents me from capitalizing on that energy. I just can't walk for any length of time before the tightness flares up and I have to sit down. Along with that tightness in the knee comes a flare up of my hamstrings and tendons in the back of my knee. It's a vicious cycle.
I have my 3 month follow up appointment tomorrow with my PA. Will be interesting to see what she has to say
My knee still swelled up for about 6 months, if I increased activity too much. It's a useful warning sign that stopped me from overdoing things.
Pheebs52
big-cheese
@flyaway79, I can certainly understand your ambivalence with respect to progress given the swelling just keeps going on....and on. Pffft! It's so tedious and we all know it does hold us back. The real challenge is definitely patience, something of which I am in short supply today. I read an article on Healthline today that stated only 6% of TKR's have trouble with swelling and stiffness. Really? I found that hard to believe. Or perhaps I just don't want to believe it.
I think it's just going to take longer for people like you and me and there doesn't really seem to be anything we can do about it. I like the way the ice feels, but I can't say it's reducing my swelling at all. In a country that can put men on the moon, you'd think there'd be an anti-swelling med by now, wouldn't you?
I really like the way you ended this paragraph! Who knows what next week or the following week might hold? It can only get better from here, right? Yeah, but not quickly enough! It will be interesting to see what your PA has to say tomorrow. I'm hopeful you get a good report.
I think it's just going to take longer for people like you and me and there doesn't really seem to be anything we can do about it. I like the way the ice feels, but I can't say it's reducing my swelling at all. In a country that can put men on the moon, you'd think there'd be an anti-swelling med by now, wouldn't you?
I really like the way you ended this paragraph! Who knows what next week or the following week might hold? It can only get better from here, right? Yeah, but not quickly enough! It will be interesting to see what your PA has to say tomorrow. I'm hopeful you get a good report.
mechellec
senior
I always love your attitude @flyaway79. You are so positive. I want a magic day to feel "right" as well but I think it is different for everyone and we just have to remember that that day WILL come and we will just continue plugging away until then. Have a wonderful day!
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Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
But...but...but... - It's only 3 months since you both had major surgery, and complete recovery takes a whole year.
I know how easy it is to feel impatient, but truly you aren't having a slow recovery. It's normal to still have some swelling at 3 months, and it will come back time and again after that, every time you do a little bit more than your knee is ready for.
Your knee knows what it's doing and it will recover on its own time frame, not the time frame you would prefer.
Where are you in recovery?? (TKR)
So, dig deep into your store of patience and know that allowing your knee plenty of time to recover is a wise investment.
JennyLynne
post-grad
I think 3 months is a huge milestone! Maybe not with all the bells and whistles you had hoped, but you are well on your way to the end game.
Reread your thread from day 1 if you ever need a reminder of how far you've come!
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Reread your thread from day 1 if you ever need a reminder of how far you've come!
Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
Pheebs52
big-cheese
OP
OP
flyaway79
graduate
We don't mind, because we've all been there, done that. I do it because I received so much support when I had my TKRs that I wanted to stay and pay back some of that.
I'm glad the article helped you both.
OP
OP
flyaway79
graduate
I had my 3 month Doctor appointment today with my PA.
The first thing she said was let's get up on the table and let me see what kind of range you have. I layed down and pulled my knee up and before she even measured she said - oh you've got this! I can see you have nothing to worry about. Then she measured and I was at 126
She said you will easily get another 10 or so in the coming months. I haven't been to PT since week 8 and last measurement was 113. I've done nothing strenuous exercise wise and still feel quite a bit swelling but obviously it's going down since my ROM is going up. She said to expect swelling for 6-12 months. Very normal.
We also discussed that maybe in another month or so at my 4 month mark I could go back to PT to begin some strength training especially since my job entails lots of time on my feet with lots of walking. I'm going to play that by ear. For now I'm going to continue to do my ADL's and ride my stationary bike and continue to ice and elevate after activity
I'm tentatively scheduled to go back to the "friendly" skies of flying September 1st. I need an airplane emoji!! Lots of work to do before this actually becomes a reality. I see her again first week of August.
All in all I feel great and now can just concentrate on getting stronger
The first thing she said was let's get up on the table and let me see what kind of range you have. I layed down and pulled my knee up and before she even measured she said - oh you've got this! I can see you have nothing to worry about. Then she measured and I was at 126
She said you will easily get another 10 or so in the coming months. I haven't been to PT since week 8 and last measurement was 113. I've done nothing strenuous exercise wise and still feel quite a bit swelling but obviously it's going down since my ROM is going up. She said to expect swelling for 6-12 months. Very normal.We also discussed that maybe in another month or so at my 4 month mark I could go back to PT to begin some strength training especially since my job entails lots of time on my feet with lots of walking. I'm going to play that by ear. For now I'm going to continue to do my ADL's and ride my stationary bike and continue to ice and elevate after activity
I'm tentatively scheduled to go back to the "friendly" skies of flying September 1st. I need an airplane emoji!! Lots of work to do before this actually becomes a reality. I see her again first week of August.
All in all I feel great and now can just concentrate on getting stronger
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What a great follow-up appointment and report! 
Pheebs52
big-cheese
Fabulous report @flyaway79! You must be so relieved!
JennyLynne
post-grad
That is one great report!! [emoji574]️
(Do my phone emojis work?)
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(Do my phone emojis work?)
Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
