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TKR Need Help and Encouragement, please...

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Hi, BEG, sorry you are so frustrated. I'm at one and a half years, and am finally making the progress I always expected. Switch primary docs so I could see the PT I wanted to see. She is amazing and has me doing things no one else ever suggested. I am working on my hips (which have been weak for a long time now, I guess) and lying on my belly and pulling to bend my knee (with a strap)so that now the ROM in this position equals the ROM when I am sitting and pulling my knee into a bend. That balance is important. I never would have guessed. Don't give up. I know that Josephine believes that by this time I should be able to "simply live my life," well, I couldn't and I'll keep on with the stretches and strengthening exercises for the rest of my life if it allows me to walk, hike, canoe. Everyone notices the difference after five weeks of PT. I love the phys therapist.
 
Hi BrnEydGrl welcome back! I'm so sorry that you are frustrated and are not happy with your ROM. That being said, you do sound happy about being able to walk perfectly, going up and down the stairs, and you are able to do full revolutions on your bike with little discomfort, which are all very positive things to keep in mind when you get those "down days". In 8 months you've come a long way, and you will continue to improve my friend. I am a year out as of June 1st and I too still get some swelling now and then if I do too much, but it's not constant like in the beginning so I'm thankful for that. They do say recovery can take a year to a year and a half, so on the bad days I keep that in mind, and I also keep in mind that I DO NOT have that god awful bone-on-bone pain that I had before my replacements and that's a blessing. Try and stay positive, you will get better with time kiddo. (((HUGS)))
 
Dear BrnEydGrl, I am from the "hip" side of the forum, but I am shocked at how shabbily you have been treated.

Your listing doesn't tell how old you are, but if you are 65 or older, I bet there may be some community services you can tap into. If you pull up your local government webpage you can look and see what is available where you are. Call a local senior center and see if they have any suggestions. Call the hospital where your surgery took place and ask if they have a patient advocate, usually an RN, who could suggest a course of action, or act on your behalf. My hospital here has an "ask-a-nurse" call in number where you can talk to a nurse and see what she/he suggests.

Is the jerk who operated on you in a large practice? If so, call and ask to speak to the managing partner and see if they can help you. You'll have to call several times, no doubt, but if you keep calling, they will eventually put you through to someone. If you can get through to his/her secretary or medical assistant, tell your story and they will tell the partner. Be the squeakiest wheel they've ever seen! There is no excuse for the way you are being treated.

I hope your old doctor can help you out and see you through this.

I'm glad you came to this forum -- you will find a lot of love, help and support here. Do post where you live, and maybe there is someone else on here from that area who can make suggestions.

Peace and love, and remember you are not alone. I'll keep you in my prayers.
 
You're doing fine!! Just relax and keep on living your life and the knee will bend more and more. I had my knee done 7 months ago (and refused MUA multiple times). I took myself out of PT at 6 weeks because they were brutal( I fainted dead away from pain on the table) and the whole process was counter-intuitive. When I left PT I barely had 90. I was told by my surgeon to come back on my anniversary and to do exercises on my own an hour a day. I said you bet... and I exercise when I feel like it,and only to build up my quad. The knee still swells and get stiff at times, at which point I lose ROM back to 80 degrees, but on a good day I have over 105 now. As a matter of fact, I am in bed as I write this, full of Tylenol and iced and elevated ..with a wicked flare up of both the knee and my fibromyalgia. I had a ten hour workday yesterday and I crashed, can't move today.
But, I am still healing..and so are you.
Don't panic, just remember easy does it..you are going to be fine.
 
I second Ms.Fixit...you are doing well. I had my surgery in early Nov last year. Had to have the opposite hip done this June and am sure that that has slowed progress on knee some. I am not much past 90 either and get lots of swelling...and my knee is still quite hot to the touch in one place. Am just starting to get on an exercise bike...couldn't because of the hip, and the knee sort of catches me at the top of the revolution where you bend the most. I see more bend some days than others depending on how hard I have pushed it but am aware I am still making very slow progress. Will probably try to get a bit more rehab in September when the hip is farther along to get more strength on both sides. Remember you can see change for over a year...so you will probably see more progress in the coming months. Hope all goes well with your mom and her recovery. It is terribly difficult being the go to person.
 
So glad to hear from you. I was wondering if you were ok? The knee is still swollen so your rom will be off. Just keep working on it, it will happen. The swelling must go first. I know that your rom isn't were you want it but it can change. Don't be a stranger please let us know how you are doing. Have you huged your :kittykiss: :kittykiss: :kittykiss: today? Hee, Hee, Take care Tashia
 
Hi BEG
Sorry to hear that your ROM is still not where you want it to be - but it sounds great that you are able to walk and do stairs and generally live your life (I have the opposite - OK ROM - but cannot walk properly)

You say that your knee is still swollen so that will be impeding your ROM right there - you know what we say here on BS "less pain more gain" :loll: Perhaps your should even think about taking a few days off from doing home PT so get the swelling down more as many people here have found that taking a few days to rest actually improved their ROM

Take care :friends:
 
So good to hear from you BEG! :happydance: With all the parental issues you've been dealing with both before and after surgery, is it any wonder you've not been able to focus on your own recovery!? I am sorry you have been disappointed in your progress but I am confident it will continueto improve. I am at 9 and 7 1/2 months and am still working on strenthening and flexion and perceiving improvement. That you walk well and can go up and down stairs well certainly suggests the rom will get there. :thumb: I liked Juniper's suggestion of lying on your stomach and gently pulling your foot back with a strap. I did it on my back a lot (and still do) and feel that was integral to my gaining ROM. Tashia's comments about the swelling inhibiting your ROM are right on. :friends: Get a good book, lay down on the couch, and put your foot up on the wall - swelling cannot fight gravity! That and some good shiatsu massage therapy will move the lymph system, which moves the fluids and swelling out. After seeing my success with it, my OS now recommends it! My attitude from the beginning was that there will be no difference from the "original equipment" and have just pursued recovery from that perspective. I am doing 7-10 miles per day on my exercise bike too.

Where in Pennsylvania are you? I have 3 trips coming up to PA between next week and mid-October! [insert smilie with a suitcase going through a beeping metal detector!!] :kittykiss:
 
I'm going to have my husband take photos of the exercises I do so I can share. He's off to a township meeting tonight. He's on the environmental council...working parks, erosion, flood control...all volunteer as he looks for work. A good man.

Anyway, the biggest change for me with this physical therapist is that she doesn't confine herself to my replaced knee. She sees that my other knee is compromised...I had it reconstructed when I was a kid because of so many dislocations. She also sees that I have hip weakness and that is actually what is interfering with my walking down stairs. Also...she's helping me build up arm and shoulder muscles so that I can lift myself up from the canoe seat. Things like "counter top push ups." I think the PT wouldn't mind taking pictures of the few exercises that I do on machines in the gym at PT. She's helped me do with substituting other exercises since PT will end after next week. If I continue to have trouble she explained how I could continue PT later.

Don't give up. I actually did when March hit and I was well past the one year mark and still in enormous pain. Tight band feeling is still present but it is lessening. Thank God for good friends who pushed me to get the right PT no matter how many hoops I had to jump through to get it.
 
Hello BEG, Dont worry about the ROM numbers...concentrate on being able to do the things you need and like to do everyday. Someone said ..maybe it was here...the knee joint is a sticky joint....I always keep that in mind and the best thing to do is spin on a bike to keep it loose......keep you knee moving....mine always feels better if I spin on my bike. And that is always the first think my OS asks me is...are you riding your bike. Hang in there.....this takes time.
 
Your rom will come, it just takes the time it needs to get there. I don't even think about it any more unless I can't get up from the floor. Please keep going and you will get there. Tashia
 
Juniper, isn't a PT that goes the extra step to help with your overall balance, gait, and strength the best!? We need all of that to really recover - you are fortunate to have found one like that. Mine was awesome in that way too. She worked on my core, gave me ways to stretch my problematic hammies, quads, and glutes, and analyzed the way I was walking even after the knees were in pretty good shape. She was able to determine how I was walking poorly because of compensating for pain etc. for years from first the hips and then the almost immediate deterioration in the knees. I even got cues on how to compensate for my flat feet. Brooke was a real gift to me! I am so glad you persisted until you found her!!
 
Well, finally I am able to come back and read for a moment. I have been taking mom and step-dad to doctor visits. I am still,with the help of her doc, trying to control her blood pressure. I don't know if I mentioned it, but when she went to the ER it was 250! Crazy. I am also now dealing with my step dad who is feeling and seeing "bugs" with his Parkinson disease and Alzheimer's. Some days I feel like getting in my car and drive and drive and drive, into the sunset. I did hire a caretaker to help a few hours in the AM and a few in the PM. I also put them on the list for "assisted living" instead of the "independent living" they are in now. It is just the next building and it would give me a break and peace of mind.

Reading your posts actually put a lump in my throat. A good lump! You all have truly been my life line through all of this. Some days I just cry and start wondering if I will need any type of surgery to make this better. Fear is a killer. I just can't imagine being alone and going through anymore.

I am so happy with my new doc, as he did not push anything. He is a "wait and see" type of doc .... as long as I am progressing even so slowly. I honestly think he just does not want me to go throug h any more. I saw my family doc, the one that helped me get a pain management doc, and he said he had never seen anything like what I went through in his whole professional life.

I try not to have any "pity parties" and honestly I am so busy with my parents I don't have the time. I AM seeing a therapist to help me through this grief of my husband's passing. The isolation, and not knowing anyone, or having time to get to know anyone, is taking its toll. My son and his family are moving from Virginia to Colorado which has been really hard on me. We did not see each other that much, but at least every couple of months.

I will not be seeing the knee doc until my surgery anniversary, the end of November. I am wondering if quitting professional P/T was smart? He said he would do whatever I wanted. I, and the physical therapist, were at the point where it did not seem necessary to come there for the things I could do at home. That way I would not use up all the P/T my insurance gives for the year in case I need it in the future.

I like all of your ideas. I bought one of those straps last month and I will try to find time to use it. I also took a little break from my own p/t to let the knee calm down a bit. I will try to use my recumbent bike a little more often. The knee "catches" a little bit on the revolution at the hard part when it bends the most. It is a little painful but not too bad. I was having pain again, not terrible, with all the awful humidity. I wonder if that does make a difference.

I just wanted all of you to know how much your notes mean to me. From my heart...again, thank you and sorry I do not get on here enough!

BEG
 
Hi BEG,

I feel for you. :console2: I can't imagine what you have gone through. You are one tough lady! My heart goes out to you.

Take care!:flwrysmile:
 
Thank you for letting us know how you are doing. I do know you have had a ruff time but you will make it. When the pain and the knee stop bugging you,you will find looking more positive in the day. Being a widow is ruff but that is what it is. Being alone all the time espically at night at first is horrible but when your parents are in the new place which I think is such a good idea, will give you time for you and you need it so badly. I hope you still have those three :kittykiss: :kittykiss: :kittykiss:. They love you just the way your are.. Stay out of feeling guilt its a killer. You are doing everything right and deep down,,You know that. Do your crying because you do need to get it all out. In time and that is what you need is time. Take you day and brake it up into morning, afternoon, and evening. Stay into Day. I know you know all this but life is hard right now. It will get better as you have time for you and your :kittykiss: :kittykiss: :kittykiss:. So glad you are seeing someone for the loss of your husband. I think the first anniversary is coming up, isn't it? When a ruff day happen remember other have been there and now are ok. Please try to keep a journel and you will see that you are very strong and that you have come so far. When you are having a ruff day remember its just a day . Please remember we love and you have friends all around the world that love you. I too am alone and don't have many near friends but during those time I can come here and be with my friends. Take care and oh by the way, Have you hug your :kittykiss: :kittykiss: :kittykiss: today? Hee, Hee, Love Tashia
 
Hang in there beg and never forget your knee family is just a few clicks away! We care and almost always some is online. Do take advantage of any help you can get for your parents. I would venture a guess that if you had more time to rest and recover your knee would improve. I guess that time will come.

Be well and stay in touch,

Dawn
 
Hello again my friends!
I needed to come back here and read all your messages again for some comfort. Still a bit nervous about this knee and wondering all sorts of things. It has only gained a tiny bit of ROM in the past few months. I am worried what the new doc is going to say. His last words were " see you at your anniversary and lets hope you gain some bend." He did remind me of the turtle and the hare. :) He said just as long as you keep gaining but it has been so minimal. Not what I want for the rest of my life...hardest thing is to get out of a car. :sad:

I am wondering if I should go back to P/T? Not the person I was going to, but maybe someone else? It is so hard to question all of these things while being alone and no one to ask their opinion. You all are so helpful.

I have been seeing a new (mental) therapist because my regular one left the area. That was really hard on me since I have been seeing her since I moved to the area. When that is the only person you actually talk to, it is hard when they leave. My new one is OK and is still helping me with my depression and grief. I may eventually change to someone I feel more comfortable with.

It has still been a real challenge taking care of mom and step dad. Mom's blood pressure meds are causing confusion and I guess dementia is setting in too. I was just told they will soon be able to move in to "assisted living quarters." That will be such a help and maybe I can then move on with my life.

I finally did something for myself. I was planning to visit my daughter in Florida for a week. It was a nice trip but one my cats became ill. I had two brothers I rescued 8 years ago. They were very close to each other and have been my sole comfort over the past couple of years. Unfortunately,I had to put down one brother when I came home. He was beyond any help with liver and kidney failure. I went "standby" so I could rush back home to see him before he passed. It was the most heart wrenching thing I have felt since my husbands death. It was just 5 days ago so I am still not dealing with it that well. His brother is having a tough time too. He was not eating properly before I left so I took him to the vet. He did not have a temperature but she found a sore in his mouth. She figured that was the eating problem and gave him a antibiotic shot and gave me the ok to leave him with the pet sitter. I talked to the pet sitter daily. He became very ill suddenly......rushed him to the emergency hospital... they all tried everything and had three separate vets tell me it was not hopeful. He did not seem to be in any pain...so I had to make that terrible decision. It broke my heart.

Anyway here I am....still hanging in there....and needing some friends.....:boohoo:What must be wrong before a "revision" is needed? What happens now, if you sill don't bend? Yes, I can go up and down stairs. Down can be a little challenging when I am stiff. I work out on the recumbent bike and make full revolutions without any problem. I just have no clue where I am....still is not enough to go through life...."big sigh"
 
Dear BEG, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I know it's a very difficult thing to deal with under less difficult circumstances, but with everything else going on in your life right now, I'm sure it's quite devastating. Have you tried exercises in the pool to increase your bend? I found that to be most helpful. It's much less painful and seems to make a difference. It sounds like you are doing everything right to keep your life on track, so I hope you can find something to help with your knee. I would think additional physical therapy would be a good thing as well at this point.
 
BrnEydGrl,

I am so sorry for the loss of your pets! They become a part of your family!

As far as the knee, do you know aprox what your bend is? Have you talked to your OS about the problem? Know that we are always here and we care about you! :console2:
 
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