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Revision TKR Never give up, keep trying, don't settle - that's me, Bonnie

My dog Sprocket has been by my side since coming home from RTKR on 12/12/2013. A dog is a true friend loving unconditionally.... my thought and prayers are with you. One thing I am sure Molly would want - please find another true friend - not to take her place - but to share your love.
 
Tramadol had no effect that i could register. I just used Hydrocodone but perhaps i didn't give it a long enough chance.
The wedge is great and use it with ice. I used a wedge made of pillows at night too with an ice bag which I always found helpful although I had to move my leg around a lot at night.
 
I'll try sleeping with the wedge pillow tonight @patbike although it won't be easy...I just want to get this swelling down and get back on track. I've been good all day, icing and elevating, heating, stretching...taking my meds. I sure get tired of doing nothing but the end goal is to ride my two bikes and walk for miles, so I do nothing and think about when I can do something!
 
Bonnie, I'd continue to ice through the night while you're sleeping. As for mixing the Norco and Tramadol, don't do that. Pick one and stay with it. You are right that you can take the Tramadol every 4 hours, as it's normally prescribed for 1 every 4-6 hours. It's not better than the Norco, though, so as long as you have pain and pills, use the stronger one.
 
I looked back at my posts at 3 to 4 weeks and I noticed that I was having trouble sleeping and was trying to find a substitute (tramadol and ibuprofen) for hydrocodone after staying off it for a couple of days. The substitutes didn't work and I went back to hydrocodone at night and started sleeping again. (I think I finally dropped it totally at about 8 weeks) I had an ice machine but I used it less and less after the first 2/3 weeks in favor of large gel packs. I also saw that I was using lots of pillows at night to try and stay comfortable. Ice packs helped with swelling and pain. It was at about 5 weeks that I could just get my bike pedal around having first been on the stationary bike at the PT and the gym. Soon after that I was able to rotate it enough to go for a first short ride on level ground. Short walks were also good but they did tend to make the knee sore compared to biking.

I remember progress was very much up and down and some weeks the downs out weighed the ups. But overall the trend is positive and, as has been said before, this procedure has a very high success rate. It just takes time.
 
You know @patbike, I read back through my thread trying to find where I was then, compared to where I am now. In every post in every week up until now, this time I am ahead of where I was the last time. With that being said, by May 9 I achieved 113 which was 42 days post op. Today I am 33 days post op, so to keep up my being ahead of myself or on that same track, I would need to gain 8-13 degrees in 9 days. Eight because I got up to 105 already, 13 because I was at 100 for a week. One thing that worries me somewhat is that I have read here on BS as well as other places that your ROM you achieve many times is dependent on what ROM you had pre surgery. With that, I am all over the place. First TKR I got to 135 degrees in 7 months, then as you know I gradually lost it and ended up with about 80 degrees before my scar tissue surgery. After the scar tissue was removed I reached 123, that was August 2013, but it was short lived. By October I was back about 85 degrees when the revision was decided upon. So doctor bent my knee 120 degrees during surgery, I've reached 105 post surgery. The maker of my knee says it can go 135 degrees. So if indeed ROM follows what ROM one had before surgery...I have no idea where I fall into that because I've been all over the place.

Yesterday I spent the ENTIRE day icing and elevating on my wedge pillow. I tried to sleep with the wedge but I just could not do it. Could never get comfortable enough to fall asleep. So I compromised and used a memory foam regular pillow. So my leg was higher but not as high as the wedge. Today I am back at it, laying down, wedge pillow elevating and icing. I just keep having to remind my self I am only 33 days! I am just too hard on myself. Btw...early in my thread showed it took me 8 weeks to make a rotation on the bike.
 
Bonnie, I know you have read before you should not be comparing. Each person, each knee, each surgery is completely different! I know that is true had three tkr's, recovery always different.
You are doing just fine, just take it slow so you do not get that swelling. Wishing you the best!
 
I agree that swelling is probably the biggest inhibitor to rom and also that everyone improves differently.
I had pre op swelling for several years and I doubt that it will ever totally go away but i am hopeful as the cause of the swelling (arthritic joint) is no longer there. However I know that some of the soft tissues are still not back yet and that is probably the source of the minor heat I feel in the joint from time to time. I think they had gotten out of whack pre op when they were trying to support a deteriorating joint. Now they are trying to change back to support a more correct artificial joint. My O/S said the heat and soft tissue sensations (not painful by the way just sensation) can take a long time to go away. I'm thinking a year or two before I know what the final result will be.
 
My knee has had heat since my first TKR in 2011. Although it subsided some over time, it was always there. Now, after the revision the entire incision/scar which is quite long is very warm. If I had cold hands, I could warm them up just by putting my hand on my knee!
 
@RunA42K - Bonnie, Bonnie, - how many times have you heard and read not to compare knees? Every knee is different and every recovery is different - even if it is the same knee!!!

Please stop comparing your recoveries and trying to race your progress this time against last time. :no-fin: Your ROM is excellent for where you are this time.

:flwrysmile::flwrysmile::flwrysmile:

Caryl
 
Thank you @Celle @Oldie I know you are right, but I was just curious. My recovery the first time was horrible. I never imagined it could be so painful. This time much better...that is where I run into trouble, since I feel so much better I think I should be doing better. So yes, I counted the days, 33 days post op today, so I'm not that far along. I am resting LOTS! All day yesterday, all day today, wedge pillow and ice. I'll do the same tomorrow too.

Does anyone have any ideas if soaking in an Epsom bath would be good? I read that it has anti inflammatory properties.
 
Are you cleared by your surgeon to do baths? If so, it wouldn't hurt you. But......I don't really think it's going to make any real difference, Bonnie. There just isn't anything magic out there that helps except TLC and time.....along with that illusive....patience. You're doing the right things by taking it easy and icing. And you're keeping your pain under control. You just have to wait this out and not allow yourself to feel that you're "behind" in some time schedule. Your knee is determining your schedule and it will continue on its own.

Try not to worry about that statement about ROM being roughly what you had going into surgery. That is a guideline meant for primary TKR patients who have had long-running disability so that they don't think they'll be running marathos after their TKR. It's a general guide anyway that many people blow right through in their recovery. Your implant is able to flex to 135. The only thing that stops that is soft tissue, which can be toned and worked on for months and even years after recovery. You are disciplined and you will have ample opportunities to slowly work up to an excellent ROM. Patience.....patience....patience. ((((HUGS))))) to you, my friend. I know you're eager.
 
I'm not a bath person but I must admit It sounds like a fantastic idea. My wife says don't forget to use a skin moisturizer after a long soak. I assume your incision is totally closed and ready for soaking. :-)
 
I'm not a bath person either and yes, my incision is completely closed. It was just a thought. I know when people have achey muscles and sprained ankles they soak in Epsom salts. But actually I am seeing some improvement today in swelling and ROM. Two full days so far of the wedge pillow and icing. His may sound silly, but an easy way for me to tell that I have improved ROM is sitting on the potty. With a tile floor I have grout lines and tiles and there is one tile that my goal is to get my foot behind the grout line completely. Today I was able to get my foot 3/4 of the way back from that line. On a bad day I can barely put my heel on the line. So yes, I am doing the right thing this weekend.
 
That's the same way I measured how I was doing, Bonnie. Aren't we scientific??? If you're healed up and want to take the hot bath, do it....it could help your "mentals." Just be sure to take extra care getting in and out of the tub and have someone around in case you need help.
 
My knee has had heat since my first TKR in 2011. Although it subsided some over time, it was always there. Now, after the revision the entire incision/scar which is quite long is very warm. If I had cold hands, I could warm them up just by putting my hand on my knee,

Bonnie, my OS told me that while my knee was healing it be warm, just means more blood is going into the area to help healing. After my revision, my knee was warm for almost 6-9 months , less than in the beginning but still warm.
 
Oh, Bonnie! that was the way I used to measure my improving ROM, too! Who would have thought that sitting on the throne provided post-op physiotherapy and motivation? :giggle:
 
bonnie, my pt recommended one thin pillow on top of the wedge, and it helped make it a lot more comfortable. Glad it's doing better today and that you're taking it easy. It's still a roller coaster for me some days. My whole right leg hurt yesterday, and I went to my PCP yesterday, and he determined it wasn't my knee, but a pinched nerve and muscle spasms in my lower back. Can't believe how much better I am after one day on a medtrol pack, and a muscle relaxer at bedtime. Oh these bodies, but it just takes patience.

Hugs, Dorothy
 
@turtle68 So sorry to hear about your back, but at least it was not your knee! I've had the medrol dose pack before and it does wonders. One time I had plantar fasciitis sooo bad in my foot and at the time an 8 year streak in the Houston marathon that I did NOT want to break! With very modified training and the dose pack starting 3 days before race day, I kept my streak alive. Of course after the 7 days of medication were up, it was back with a vengeance because I had just run 26.2 miles on that foot. So here's hoping that when your pack is done, your pain will be gone too.
 
The thing about the medtrol pack, you feel so great you overdo. Couldn't hardly walk yesterday, and today went to the biggest Home Depot I've ever been in in Sugarland and shopped the whole thing. Then I wanted to go to the grocery store but will do that tomorrow. My new mantra for 2014, only one big thing a day, and the Kroger out here is a Fred Meyer and as big as a Costco. I think patience must be a four letter word.
 
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