MUA New Knee #2 Recovery<

So you improved significantly in less than a month from surgery? That's is amazing! So happy to hear.
 
@KenUSA36

Thank You! I'm having issues still with pain management (stays at 4-6 range resting or walking) and is still really stiff but at 4 weeks post op I guess it's normal. I see OS Wednesday I hope. Last 2 visits were with the pa only.
 
Hello all..hope everyone is doing well today.

Had a fall downstairs yesterday. Left foot slipped out from under me and fortunately landed on my bottom but I fell down about 5 steps and left leg did get jarred. I was able to get back upstairs to my room but as the day wore on I started to feel more pain than usual and in a different area of the knee. Nothing extreme just very uncomfortable and knee extremely stiff. Just iced and elevated most of the day. Fast forward to this morning...knee still more swollen than ususl and still very stiff. Home pt came at 9 (already aware of the fall as the home health nurse happened to call last evening) so he just had me use the floor pedal thingy and measured Rom. Today is exactly 4 weeks and I'm 88/-13. He said I'd definitely had gone backwards but feels it's just a minor set back. More concerned about losing the extension. Told me no exercising accept for walking (back to using the walker) and 1 stretching exercise 2x a day until he sees me Thursday. See OS tomorrow so didn't call them about fall yesterday.

At a month what were most of you at? No one has ever said anything about where they would like me to be at certain times of the recovery .

TIA!
 
Everyone's recovery is so different. No fall is good but you are very lucky that you fell backwards and not forwards. You will be sore of course but you will regain what you temporarily lost.

You are still very early in your recovery. It's so hard to be patient when you went through a vicious operation so you could live a more normal life. We all want it to happen RIGHT NOW. I don't like it when someone tells me I should be at so and so place in my recovery or it's too early to do something that I can do easily. We never will know what we are capable of doing if, at some point, we don't push it just a little bit. You just need to be wise about it and don't do anything too drastic. I took bus to NYC and saw a Broadway play with my granddaughter. I learned the bus was fine, walking was great but, OH MOMMA, I have to have aisle seats so I can put my right leg out next time. And there will be next time :loll:

At a little over 4 months I still elevate "toes over nose" with my cushions (I have the one with the channel in it too) and ice ice ice. Not every night but my knees tell me when I need to do it.

It still seems like it is taking soooooo long. I think we all want to be able to tap our heels together and suddenly be "normal".

Take it easy, be good to yourself
 
.knee still more swollen than ususl and still very stiff
Today is exactly 4 weeks and I'm 88/-13. He said I'd definitely had gone backwards but feels it's just a minor set back. More concerned about losing the extension. Told me no exercising accept for walking (back to using the walker) and 1 stretching exercise 2x a day until he sees me Thursday.
Do you see the connection? Your knee can't bend as well or even straighten as well when it's swollen. Swelling causes your stiffness. Your PT is correct. Take it very easy and let that swelling go down.
 
One month follow up with OS today. Took x-rays and I actually got to see my new knee. So odd to see lol. He said everything looked good, nothing changed from falling on Monday so that was a relief . Just aggravated the insides which were still aggravated from surgery. He prescribed me Prednisone 5mg for 24 days to help with swelling. He said the loss in straightening will come back with the decrease in swelling. Also was happy with the 88 Rom. He stated he sets no requirements on his patients for recovery milestones . He feels everyone recovers differently and rom comes in time (phew). Moved me off Percocet to Norco as needed.
Does want me to start outside pt in a couple of weeks so we will see. Insurance is playing games with therapy and I will not pay out of pocket first then fight to get refunded. After reading posts and articles on Bonesmart, I am not worrying about it .

I feel better finally getting to talk to him today. Feel a little bit less stressed. Won't release me to drive yet maybe after next 3 week check up. Didn't even discuss going back to work yet. Only work part time so I may see how I feel at the 6 week mark and aim for 2 days a week, 3-4 hours per day.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is doing well!

:flwrysmile:
 
He stated he sets no requirements on his patients for recovery milestones . He feels everyone recovers differently and rom comes in time (phew).
I like your surgeon! His attitude eliminates one stress factor!
 
I was always so stressed about whether or not I would meet my surgeon’s expectations.
 
Last visit from home pt today. Kind of sad...he was sooo gentle and non pushy. Insurance is making me transition to outside pt. Had evaluation with them last Monday and liked their approach for now . The therapy office is right inside my os office , which will he convientenent if I need pain medication refills . There are NO strength machines in sight. I will give it a try but will also stand my ground if things change. They massaged it Monday and I have to admit it felt good lol. They start with that and ice me for 20 minutes at the end until I can get home to continue if needed . Will also send you home with instant cold pack for the ride home.

5 1/2 weeks out of surgery but feels like 5 months. I'm still hovering in the 3/4 range pain wise but it's better than where I was. Looking forward to the day when I sleep at night and not feel like a truck keeps running me over and then backing up to finish the job.
 
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It does get better. Unfortunately, it takes time and patience. Pain is usually an indication that you are doing too much. Try to cut back on the exercises. Lots of icing and elevating, too!
 
You're at not the beginning of the end but "the end of the beginning." (apologies to Winston Churchill :wink: )
 
@kneeper I think I'm going to make my self a sign and hang on my side of the bed. That will be a good reminder each day to see!
 
Sorry I also meant to ask earlier if it's ok to take extra strength tylenol with Norco (10-325 mg every 4 - 6 hours). I've seen the chart with tramadol dosage with tylenol..just need to find it and make sure I can do the same with the Norco . TIA :)
 
You don't want more than 4,000 mg of Tylenol per day (3,000 per FDA to play it safe) and you can take up to 1,000 mg at a time. So add the 325 (which is the Tylenol part of the Norco) to the extra strength Tylenol (which I think is 500 mg) to get your per dose total. I'm not sure that more Tylenol makes the hydrocodone more effective though.

When I started lengthening the time between doses of Norco--6 hours instead of 4--I did add some Tylenol in between , not with the Norco,but kept a careful count of my total mg.
 

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