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TKR New knee 30th October 2012 - Age 34

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Lol! Speaking of dancing, I did that too! Went out for a girls night a few weeks ago and danced for over an hour without hurting! The only issue I still have is that my quad will not allow me to bend fully (especially when I first start moving after sitting or laying for a while) but I'm working at it. Also, I'm down 30 lbs and am going strong!

Without the support of this group I never would've made it through with my sanity. I thank you all for being there and helping me through my journey! :flwrysmile:
 
I like the patch better than the gel. The patch is good for `12 hours so you don't have to keep applying the gel.
Keep moving forward, a little at a time.
Best of luck,
David
 
I have been talking about your case in clinic, not using your name or location. You are one of the youngest to be come a member of TKR club. When I have a patient in their late 40's, I use you as an example. So, when an OS tell a patient they are to young, I tell them about your history, and get another opinion. It all comes down to quality of life.
You go girl!
David
 
David, feel free to use my story. My first knee surgery that caused all of this ended up being in a medical journal too. My doctor then told my parents (I was only 11!) that I may never walk again and that after 40 years of being an OS, he'd never seen anything like it. It was THAT bad. All because I was standing in a gym and stretched my leg in a beam like a gymnast. The right leg was up on the beam and my left knee just gave out on me and when I collapsed I hit it just wrong enough that I broke my kneecap in half, like slicing off the top of a tomato. So he screwed it back together, put me in a 90 degree cast from ankle to hip for 8 weeks and hoped for the best. Let me tell you, as an 11 year old, taking pictures from my surgery in for show and tell was so fun! I told myself that no matter what I had to do I would walk and play like a normal person. I played softball and skied for years but after 4 years I had my first clean up surgery. 3 years later I needed another but put it off for 2 years because I wasn't going to be in crutches walking a college campus. I then had several surgeries (5 total) and had seen several OS's who told me I was too young for a replacement though all of them said my knee looked like that of a 90 year old woman. Once again, by February 2012, I couldn't walk without a cane and lots of drugs. I tried a new OS again and again he was not thrilled about doing a TKR on someone my age. So, I agreed to one more clean up surgery but told him that if it didn't last I wanted a new knee. Reluctantly, he agreed to my deal. He figured he would get at least a year or two out of this one. Two months later I was back in and told him I was done. I waited 6 months in agony after that only because I had a big anniversary trip planned. So I packed my bottle full of Vicodin and NSAIDs and went on my trip. Got back and scheduled surgery for the end of the month.
I did have to have the manipulation done and I still have issues with the muscles not cooperating perfectly. But to be able to spend the weekend on my feet for 6-7 hours at a time and not have to take a single pain pill, that is worth every bit of agony I went through during recovery and the little bit of stiffness I deal with now.
 
Shubbles, diclofenac and bowel issues and acid reflux!!! I should have put that together!! Thanks! I learn something every time I check in here.
 
Well it has now been over two year since my TKR and I still say it is so worth it! I still have stiffness acts sitting too long and when it rains or gets cold it takes a minute to get moving but I no longer take any pain meds for my knee at all. Anyone out there wondering if they should do it, DO IT!

I was thinking about this forum recently because I am taking my mom in tomorrow for her first TKR. I told her that she must sign up and become a part of the smarties family because without my friends on here, I don't know how I would've made it through, at least the first 6 months. So, hopefully she will join and find good folks like I did to help her get through the tough times.

I want to send a big hello out to any of you that still follow my thread, though it's been a long time since I have been on here. Hope you are all well. :roseshwr:
 
Good to see you again. What a great post about your recovery and pain free life.
All the best for your Mom tomorrow.

Sent from my iPod touch using BoneSmart®
LTKR Sept 13 2011
Revision April 15 2014
 
I'm so happy you thought of us and decided to give an update. You have no idea how important your words are to members and those who are just reading on the forum as guests who are needing information about TKRs. Success stories can sometimes be pretty slim because people get better and just go on with their lives. That's as it should be. So.....we are thankful when someone takes the time to post a good word about life after surgery.

I do hope your mom joins us. As you know, she'll find a lot of company here and even if she has a perfect and quick recovery, chatting with others who are having their surgery about the same time helps to pass the days and weeks as you work through recovery.

Thanks again and please don't hesitate to return any time to let us know what you're up to!
 
@Shubbles, I think Roy's comment was excellent. I totally concur. Sometimes I wonder what goes through a PT's head when they make comments like that. Words can cut like a knife, and set a patient back mentally, especially after having had a leg sawed, cut, hammered, and having to deal with that pain. It only takes a thought said out loud to give a deep hurt... When I was in my 30's I did what the medical professionals said and never challenged them. Now that I am almost 65 my thought is that it is my life, my leg, and my pain. And I can work out solutions that may "cross the PT's" but if it is helping me, that is what is most important. One day early in my PT my therapist had me doing flex work and then suddenly switched to hamstring stretches on the table. I could not transition from flex to extend very well. Rather than "obeying" I told her that I had found an intermediate exercise that would help me transition to that next one and I did it. She looked surprised but said, "If that's what will get you there, yes, do it" and smiled. And I did it every time afterwards. And when she used the electrical stimulus on my leg, I tried her way and saw it was not good for me, so my doctor and I said "No more" and my PT said ok. It should be a team effort but we should always remember that it is our leg, our pain, and our mental state, not theirs...You are doing fine; remember the bonesmart mantras and be good to yourself.
 
@Shubbles, I cried into a big towel and sometimes I just sat and groaned and cried in the beginning. When I saw my doctor this past week, I was explaining the electrical stimulus situation with my PT. Right in the middle of talking calmly, I burst into tears and cried my eyes out. My husband sat calmly and my doctor came over and put his arm around me gently. He just let me cry too. Then he asked if I was crying due to the pain, the memory of the pain, or my feelings about it all. I said it was a combination of all of them. He told me that was fine and common, and that we can just tell the PT (who is really very good) that no, we are not going to continue this because "the doctor says I can replace it with swiming." And that is what we did. Crying is normal and ok. Sometimes I think it is due to frustration and not being able to do what we would like to do. Crying from pain, however, needs to be addressed as pain must be managed to stay ahead and keep rested.:flwrysmile:
 
Shubbles - so good to hear from you. We share an anniversary as I had my right knee done the same day as you had your left done. (I was going to get them both done that day, but my body had a different plan!) I am delighted you have had such a successful recovery and wish your mom bunches of good wishes. I too, am so grateful to "those who went ahead" on this site as their support and their stories and the administrators' wisdom are also what got me through recovery from day to day! My recovery has been good; I see my OS on Friday for my 2 year check-up on my knees and my 13 year check-up on my hips, and then he plans to put me on the 5-year plan! I am planning for all to be perfect!
 
Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I posted in here. I love that I can come back and check in whenever I have a chance.

So, I am wondering from all of you that are now a couple years out, like me, how does your knee do? Lately, I have had quite a bit of ache going on and it really concerns me because I expected it to be gone by this point. I find that I get a lot of jolting pain from the muscle behind my knee when I move it after I have been sitting or laying for a long period of time. For example, if I sit on the chaise with my feet up watching a movie, when I am done, it is super tight and jolting when I bend it again. Any suggestions, other than, don't sit on my butt too long? :rotfl: I can walk around and shop and it doesn't bother me, so that is awesome!, but it is the sitting that actually bothers me. Also, the past 2 nights I tried to do my evening walking in place that I have been doing and for those two nights it ached so bad I couldn't do it. After 10 minutes I had to stop. Could it be the dampness in the warming weather?

Please let me know if any of you are going through similar things. Would love to know this is normal!
Thanks!
 
I think some pain is normal at two years, and my doctor verified it. My knee aches at times, especially after bike riding or exercising, and yes, after sitting. I will say this however, it is a million times better than what it was. I have learned that surgery, any surgery, will not restore the original equipment. My right non-surgical knee, which has minimal damage, hurts more. But yes, my surgical knee gets stiff and aches. I've worked very hard to get the quad strengthened too. I was shocked at how much atrophy there was in all the muscles around the knee. That may be part of what's bothering you or, hate to say it, arthritis.
 
I sometimes get aches randomly in my 3 year old knee. And I get stiff when I sit for a long time, but it does loosen up quickly.
 
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