Thirteen weeks and exactly three months to the day today! Seems like forever, but I know it is "still early" in my recovery. I keep reminding myself of that--seems like every day.
Here is what I know three months later:
--I have what I would call a significant swelling issue. My knee still looks like a cannonball. The only time that I don't really feel swelling is within about the first 30 minutes of getting out of bed in the morning. Once I'm on my feet for as little as 30 minutes or so the swelling kicks in. One of my PT assistants thinks that I just have one of those stubborn knees when it comes to swelling.
--My knee feels tight and stiff just about all of the time. See above.
--I continue to ice and elevate A LOT. I am still icing for probably three or four hours on average during the day, and anywhere from two to about six or seven hours at night.
--Since I work from home, I continue to work from my bed where my legs are elevated whenever I am working. I tried to go back to my desk about 2 weeks ago, but sitting with my legs under my desk on a footstool was not at all comfortable. (My hat's off to those of you who have to go back to an office and work from a desk! Don't know how you manage it.)
--I am starting my 11th week of PT this week. I am usually doing three times a week, but last week and this week just twice because of the holidays and PTs being on vacation. I have another two weeks to go. See my OS again on January 12th--so we'll see what he says at that time.
--I am taking 1,000 mg of Tylenol about every 6 hours during the day. On PT days, I take 7.5 mg of hydrocodone about 30 minutes before PT and usually take another when I go to bed that night. I've had to take some intermittent hydrocodone at night even on non-PT days for some reason recently. I seem to be having more discomfort at night lately--probably because of being on my feet more than usual with the holidays. So sleeping has been a little tougher recently.
--I am walking completely unaided (put away my walker, my crutches, and my cane and returned my wheelchair--hopefully never to be seen again). For the most part, I don't think I'm limping--but my husband catches me doing the "stiff-legged" walk occasionally. And I do start limping when I've been up walking for a while. I am trying to really think about walking heel to toe and bending my knee.
--I can go up the stairs pretty well foot over foot. I can also come down that way, but I do not look like a normal person!
Definitely need more flexion to master coming down the stairs.
--I am doing 15 minutes on the elliptical at the gym and then 15 minutes on the bike. Have been able to lower the seat a notch or two--but I'm still cheating, mainly in how I place my foot on the pedal. And no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to make it over the top without grimacing. (Hate doing that cause the gym is usually pretty crowded.) I try to get to the gym on the days that I don't have PT. I am not doing any other exercises at home--except gently stretching my flexion. My muscles have come back really well. My ROM is another story.
--Speaking of ROM, I don't really know how it's doing cause I haven't been measured in more than a week I think. Eyeballing it, it doesn't look to have improved at all (and a lot of times looks worse than 105 degrees). I have a sub PT this week, so may not be measured again till next week when my regular PT gets back.
All in all, definitely still slow going, nowhere near normal, and not yet happy that I went ahead with the surgery. I have a very long way to go before I even come close to recovering the function (painful though it was) that I had prior to surgery. Hopefully I'll get there.....
Niki
United States
. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a fab New Year xxx
Steps, no cane ,I did not walk without a cane till 4 1/2 months and it is only in the 7th month that steps were easy for me. 
