MUA New Knee #2 Recovery<

[Softtail]

Envied you having the second one done, cause I have that to go thru next April. Know how bad it is not to get that wonderful sleep back. It will come,so hang in there.

 

[beachy]

It’s good to vent. Especially here!
All I want to do is rest and nap this afternoon. When hubs came home from work tonite I warned him that I was tired and a bit cranky. LOL
He took it well and gave me a candy bar. Have some chocolate. It fixes everything.
I hope your tooth stops hurting. Insult on top of injury. Feel better!

 

[Txmomgmom3]

So I saw my OS this past Monday. He's concerned about the tightness and really felt around the knee and said I may be getting adhesions. Bend is still at 110 so that's a good thing...extension however was +10. We are trying a 20 day course of prednisone. Also gave me a prescription for ambien (10 pills). He took one look at me and says you're not sleeping are you? I was like dang do I look that bad . Makes me wonder what the next step will be if the prednisone doesn't help.

Fast forward to today at PT. Told them what OS said and they pretty much disagreed. She feels it's the IT band issue. She had me straighten for her today after she worked on it and said it was about a +5. I just know I'm tired of this constant stiffness and the left knee is getting tight again. It's jealous I guess lol.

Cleared to drive if not on any pain medication but advised to do only if necessary.

Will try the Ambien tonight - hopefully I sleep

 

[Jockette]

I just know I'm tired of this constant stiffness and the left knee is getting tight again.

Time:

Time to recover
Time for pain as swelling to settle
Time to heal.

You’ve had both knees done not quite 6 months apart. Your body is working hard to heal from 2 major surgeries. The left knee is not fully healed and now needs to be the stronger one.

You’ll get there.

 

[Txmomgmom3]

@Jockette thank you! I have to keep reminding myself to be patient...I think part of it is that the holidays are here and I'm just not up to all the things I usually do. I honestly wish the knees would have gone at the same time lol...but as the saying goes "if it's and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a Merry Christmas "

 

[Celle]

So I saw my OS this past Monday. He's concerned about the tightness and really felt around the knee and said I may be getting adhesions. Bend is still at 110 so that's a good thing...extension however was 10.

It's unlikely that you have adhesions, as your flexion is so good.

Extension often takes longer to achieve than flexion, because you have large muscles and tendons at the back of your leg that need to be stretched slowly and gently.
It's still very early in your recovery and you have plenty of time for extension to improve.

Don't try to rush things by doing lots of exercises - that often ends up being counter-productive.
There's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because both flexion and extension can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

Here's an article about extension:
Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it

 

[beachy]

I know the feeling about not doing your normal holiday prep. My son sat me down recently and said "Mom, we'll all be together and That's all that matters". Once again the child becomes the teacher. Don't put so much pressure on yourself that you can't enjoy the day. Been there, done that. I bet half of what you normally do is great!

 

[Txmomgmom3]

Well the prednisone hasn't changed a thing. In a span of 6 days my rom went from 115 back down to 85 and the extension is +15. I had the stomach flu over the weekend so obviously haven't been overdoing it. OS is at a loss and I'm disgusted. Icing and elevating hasn't helped. I just don't get it. It literally feels like my knee/leg is frozen. 7 weeks today and I'm definitely regretting it

 

[Jockette]

I’m so sorry.

I’ll tag @Josephine to see what she thinks.

 

[beachy]

Sorry to hear that. There must be some reason. I hope Josephine can help you get to the bottom of it.
Sending you prayers.....

 

[Txmomgmom3]

Thank you both. OS is still saying he feels its scar tissue/adhesions..brought up MUA, which he doesn't want to do as I was doing ok except for extension. But if it continues to go backwards may just have to..idk.

 

[sistersinhim]

I hope you can get some answers.

 

[Txmomgmom3]

Mua is scheduled for this Thursday December 13th. Lost more rom from last Wednesday and extension is still +15. That's with absolutely no pt since last Tuesday per OS orders. Wanted to see if just daily life activities would improve my rom. So here we are. Is what it is. So I just said to heck with it today and finished my Christmas decorating :tree lights::chris-win: Tomorrow and Wednesday will be baking for family and with my grandbabies. It's not like I can do anything about what's going to have to be done Thursday .

 

[Jockette]

Do you have additional swelling?

 

[Txmomgmom3]

@Jockette it's between slight and moderate which is how it's been pretty much since the 3rd week.

 

[Josephine]

Bend is still at 110 so that's a good thing... extension is still +15. OS is still saying he feels its scar tissue/adhesions

I'll bet you anything he is WRONG! IN order to check that, before you get put under, ask him to let you know what your ROM is after the MUA and before you wake up! It's the only way you'll know for sure.

 

[sistersinhim]

One week of just light daily activities isn't near enough to test if it worked or not. But, you have already gotten this MUA scheduled and I pray it works for you!

 

[Txmomgmom3]

@Josephine it's gone from that 110 to 75 as of yesterday. That's why I agreed and scheduled it. I will ask him for sure. So its ROM immediately after and when I wake up in recovery? I keep going back and forth on doing it. I don't understand how I went so backwards so fast.

@sistersinhim I was thinking the same thing. J was only going to pt 2x a week and was only doing minimal work, maybe it was still too much. Idk ....its like I'm in a vise 24 hours a day and it's just getting tighter. The pain is staying at a constant 4-5 and its coming up on 8 weeks post op.

I either do it or wait but if it pushes over to 2019 then I start out of pocket all over again. That's the dilemma with the holidays not much room for decisions. I really appreciate both of you responding

 

[sistersinhim]

It sounds like swelling to me. If you don't see it inside, it's still swollen inside. That inside fluid can make it really stiff and lower your bend. I understand your wanting to go ahead and get it done while your copay is covered. Ask your OS how much ROM he gets in the OR when he does the MUA. Afterwards, you will probably swell and that ROM will get worse than what he gets in the OR because of that swelling. Don't over exercise it. It needs to be treated very gently afterwards, just like you would a new tkr.

 

[Josephine]

I don't understand how I went so backwards so fast.

It's inflammation/swelling. Most ROM problems are due to that but I've never yet heard a surgeon include it in his list of probabilities.