My UK LTKR

[Brian]

8 weeks post-op I am pleased to have found a forum dealing solely with knee and hip replacements. Pre-op I joined the UK Arthritis Care forum but unfortunately knee discussions are mixed up with a general Living With Arthritis discussion, that consists mainly of OA and RA problems and one soon looses track of knee replacement threads.

I accept that the terms and experiences in the BoneSmart forums relate predominantly to those from the US but nevertheless have found the information very useful so this is where I shall be mainly looking for answers to my questions on my recovery, which I am finding a bit slower than what I expected.

Thanks!

 

[Jamie]

Welcome to the forum, Brian. I think you'll find we have a number of great participants from Great Britain. In fact, our forum nurse is a Brit herself! Post any time you have a question or concern ... or even just to pop in and say hi!

 

[Texas]

Hi Brian,Welcome, we LOVE the UK. And all and all, We have one thing in common, a knee or a hip , 1 or 2...etc. This forum is made up of all terrific members looking for the same out come. No matter where we are. So please post any questions you might have, or as Jamie said to say hi, others will be long shortly to help as well. Take care ......Sorry you feel your recovery is slow, but 8 weeks is not that long, so take it easy and we look forward to your posts...........

 

[stives]

Hi Brian. Welcome as a fellow Brit (except that I'm Cornish so some say it doesn't count as British!!) :hehe:

I have had lots of help and useful info from this forum. The only problem I've now got is finding time to read all the posts!

Recovery is very slow. I didn't come across the forum until just before my second TKR (which was just over five weeks ago). After the first one, last October, I just couldn't believe how long it was taking to get back to anything like normal. I was still using crutches at six weeks - because no-one had told me that if I felt I could do without them, then my body was probably telling me that it was alright to walk unaided. This time, reading about folk who abandon crutches quite quickly, I have done the same. My progress has been much more rapid second time round. It has been very helpful hearing about the progress others are making, trying it myself, finding I can do it, and therefore making that same progress too.

Here I have not been offerred any physiotherapy (apart from my 3 days in hospital), whereas in the US everyone seems to have it as a matter of course. I have had to do it all myself.

I won't witter on (I have a tendency to do that!). If you keep posting questions you will find that you will get lots of really helpful feedback from other kneesies!

 

[stives]

Hi again Brian.....Just looked at your stats page and see that you are a fellow caravanner! We're going to take ours out at the end of June and I'm hoping to be fit enough to do all the things I usually do - connecting up the water, electricity, getting in and out of the van (!) etc. It will require a bit of bending but I'm optimistic. We haven't been out in the 'van since my first op as I wasn't mobile enough, then it was too cold, then I was waiting for the call for the second op.....then it was the op, then I was immobile again.

We bought a new 'van last summer, and in a few weeks time I'm hoping that it's going to get lots of use.

We also like walking and have bikes. For many years I've only managed level rides as my knees (old sports injuries) couldn't cope. I'm hoping we can get the bikes out again before too long. :wahey:

 

[Brian]

Val, I have been driving since my 6 week follow-up but find it more painful to use the clutch on our car than on our small motor home. Doc has told me that I should go away in the van if we want to so we might try a short trip.

Doc says that most knee and hip op patients are left with some swelling and it will be more prevalent if you have RA (I thought the op would remove most of the symptoms?). He has prescribed some lovely black stockings and water tablets as I was getting fed-up with the swelling inhibiting my physio exercises and normal activities!

 

[Brian]

Thanks Kim. There are a few questions on the US aspects.

What are the US names for Paracetamol (pain relief) and Ibuprofen (inflammation)?

What is the 90 degree max flex rule before 6 weeks that I have read about. Some of the flex measurements seem quite precise - are they measured with equipment in the US?

 

[stives]

Hi Brian

We have a big car for towing the caravan, and a small one for running around. I find it easy to drive both now. When I had my first, left, TKR I preferred to drive the big car as I could get the seat a long way back. I'm still finding that the clutch in that car, which is quite stiff, really gets my muscles pulling - but I am sure that is good exercise.

What sort of motorhome do you have? We used to have an old Ford Transit base conversion when our kids were young. I think I would still prefer the ability to just take off at a moment's notice, which we can't do so easily with a touring van! We lend ours to other members of our growing family though, so need the space for all the grandchildren.

Someone else can answer the questions about the names of the drugs. I've read them on other threads. I think paracetamol is Tylenol? That is all I'm taking now as it's the safest. However, I don't have rheumatoid arthritis so I'm not the same as you. I have several friends who have had both knees replaced due to RA, and they are running around like spring chickens now. A couple are well into their 80's. They all admit it's very hard at first - but you will get there in the end. They are all so glad they had their TKRs.

Jo, who is an absolute fount of imformation, has got a good diagram on flexion and how to measure it. It's on one of the other threads. Maybe she'll come onto this one and pop it in for you to see. Unless you've got a few days to spare just looking through this forum!! :hehe:

 

[stives]

I've just re-read your last post. I think the 90 degree rule is for hippies. Us kneesies don't have any restriction on flexion - the more the better!

 

[Josephine]

Your wish is my command, Brian!

For this you need a goniometer - I got mine on Ebay! But you must be sure to put the fulcrum in the right spot!

In the US, paracetamol is called Tylenol and ibuprofen is called Advil.

 

[Texas]

I think the 90 rule is for a hip (someone correct me if I am wrong) . We dont have any restrictions for the knee..Bend and bend more !!! And yep Jo said it about the medicine. I think you are doing terrific at 8 weeks, you should be proud. OH and proud of those lovely stockings as well. I had white ones. They really stuck out like a sore thumb...haha.................

 

[loggon]

yep knee needs as much flex as it can get. I am shooting for 120 am a little over 115 then I will be shooting for 130.

 

[Texas]

Ah I just got to 115 today. I am shooting for 115 lol !!!!!

 

[Brian]

For this you need a goniometer ....

Jo thanks! I'd never heard of it (I was a surveyor in another life) but looked on Ebay and found two types for sale one similar to that in your post, otherwise I would have thought you were pulling my leg!

 

[Josephine]

I never joke about the serious stuff .....

 

[Judles]

Hi and Welcome, Brian!!! Don't be so tough on yourself! I'm sure when you look BACK, that you'll have realized how much progress you've made! Just take it easy!

 

[Brian]

Thanks Val and everyone else! It's getting easier with the car now.

Our motor caravan is an Auto-Sleeper Harmony, fairly compact and we might change it for something a bit longer so that we don't have to use the front seats for part of the single beds (though we can sleep double crossways). We have caravanned from 1970 with normal vans, all Sprites, folders and motor vans. Our favourite was the rear engined air cooled VW which took us all around Europe in the 1970s with our 3 children and often a relations as well.

The support socks I have are Activa unisex, below knee, but only in black. I am giving them a try together with some water tablets to reduce the edema. Our French nursing friends who stayed with us 2 nights this week thought I should try both so I saw the Doc again yesterday.

Jo, I did find goniometers on Ebay but the best value seems to be from Medisave at £7.78 inc. postage.

We had four fairly active holidays last year in Sussex, the Peak District, Dorset and Kent and I realised that my my arthritis was affecting my mobility considerably so asked if it was my RA or OA. X-rays showed it was the latter with both knee joints worn mainly on the inside and the Rheumatology Clinic referred me to Orthopaedics.

I was offered a bilateral but decided to have one at a time and that was the correct decision for me. Our local hospital does around 1000 each of hip and knee procedures annually (see National Joint Register) and the surgeon I am under is president of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK) but his Senior Registrar did my op. He has just obtained a consultant's post and is willing to do my right knee when I am ready. Waiting times are about 10 weeks.

I am finding this forum a great help in my recovery, thanks!

 

[stives]

Hi Brian

Sorry you've got problems with swelling. Mine seems to be virtually gone now except when I overdo the exercise. I've now abandoned the white knee high stockings and the aspirin tablets that the hospital sent me home with. Did you read the article Jo recently found about those stockings not being any use? I think it's a thread in the 'social network' part of this forum. I don't know if you have found that part - I didn't until I'd been using this forum for many weeks! It's the third section down when you log on.

My parents started with a rear-engined VW many years ago, and had several different motorcaravans, all that sort of size. When our children were small we had a motor caravan, then had nothing for years as we were too busy! Then we started with touring vans about 15 years ago and have had several. We even had a fixed bed, but decided that was no good for the rest of the family as the grandchildren had to share a double bed. So we now have a 5-berth (one daughter has 3 children), but when we use it we use the double at the back as a fixed bed. It's a bit long though, a Bailey Pageant, but very nice.

Do you really want to bother with a goniometer? I think as long as you are happy with the amount of bending you can do, then that's it! My left knee which is now nearly 7 months old, can bend as much as I would ever want it to, and my right one is improving all the time. I had six months between the ops, which I think was right for me. The only problem was that the left knee didn't make any progress for a few weeks while I was in the early recovery stages from the right knee replacement, but both are now improving daily.

I don't know where you live, but here in Cornwall Summer seems to have arrived! It's a beautiful sunshiny day!!

 

[stives]

No, Jo's article about the stockings is in the same section as your thread, not in the social section!

 

[Brian]

No, Jo's article about the stockings is in the same section as your thread, not in the social section!

But I think it applied to reducing blood clots and they should still be effective in reducing swelling.