TKR No Kneecap and a TKR Experience

[Jockette]

I so agree! My 94 year old aunt is visiting me for a couple of weeks. She had a TKR 6 years ago at age 88, turned 89 4.5 months later.

Last night she said after surgery she went to a rehab facility. She was on a CPM machine for 2 hours, morning and evening. She had PT morning and afternoon. At her first Dr appointment he was not pleased and told her she had to work harder, he had the poor woman in tears. She was not allowed to leave the rehab place until she reached 90 degrees. She had surgery on Jan. 8 and didn’t get to 90 degrees until the last week of February.

I am outraged for her that she, and so many others, are so abused in the name of rehab.

I agree that it breaks my heart also at how we just wanted to fix our painful knees. Before surgery our surgeons are so nice and promise us the world with new knees, then afterwards they turn into different people with unrealistic demands on us. Shame on them, first of all for not being honest with us in telling us what to expect in recovery, and then shame on them for not consider the obvious healing process.

 

[sistersinhim]

And don't get me started on adequate pain relief. The doctors are afraid of the backlash they'd get from prescribing enough opioids to give the newly tkr patients relief during their journey. It has gotten out of hand. I pray that I don't have to have surgery any time soon! Until the media gets off of this 'now news', the people that need the meds can't get enough them. But, the abusers will!

 

[MSgirl]

I absolutely agree about the pain meds. My dr. had to be talked into giving me a prescription for the fifth and sixth week. My second knee is 1/15 and at my pre-op I plan to tell him that I need better pain control for the first two weeks. Also want to discuss the difficulty in getting refills. He would only write for six weeks. I had to go to his office to pick up the script because they are no longer able to call in narcotics. Some of the things happening might help the opioid crisis and I know there is a national database keeping track of the # pain medicine prescriptions each dr. writes, but do they really think we're going to sell ours?

 

[Jockette]

I pray I don’t need surgery for a very long time, too.

I had another (minor) meltdown this morning about how long this partial replacement recovery is taking compared to what I was led to believe. It makes me so mad sometimes. Why can’t they just be honest about the recovery.

 

[sistersinhim]

Why can’t they just be honest about the recovery.

I wonder if they really don't know. They see us normally 3 times, and that's it. They don't see our week to week struggles or feel the excruciating pain we have gone through. I was blessed that I joined BS 6 months before my surgery, so I knew it'd be a long road. Plus, my OS told me I'd hate him for quite a few months, so he didn't mislead me. But, so many do.

@Jockette, when's the last time you had your knee xrayed? I think you should check it out, just to be on the safe side. You've been fighting this pain for quite a while now.

 

[Jockette]

It was xrayed on Oct 17, all is where it should be.

It’s not really pain, just still that annoying tight feeling. And that nasty feel when I wear pants, the knee becomes a hard, wooden lump as soon as I put pants on. Would that be nerves?

My bend is getting better.

I really think it’s just this one year or more recovery time frame. It just makes me mad, it’s not what I knowingly sighed up for.

 

[sistersinhim]

Oh good, I'm glad it's in place ok! I hated pants and was so glad mine was done in late spring, so shorts were the attire until winter. Then I switched to nice soft sweat pants. Not that fashionable, but sure felt better than jeans!

That tight feeling is a royal pain in the knee! I hated it. It was the last thing to go on me, too. Icing and elevating was the only way I'd get it loosened, then as soon as I got it, it got tight again. This is just something that is going to take a while to go away for you.

 

[Jockette]

My surgeon does X-rays every visit. Maybe he knows more about partials than he’s telling!

I did find 2 pairs of pants that are a lightweight soft knit that my knee tolerates better than other pants, one pair even looks a bit dressy and they are wide leg so are really loose around the knee area. They cost a small fortune but are worth every penny!

My surgery was done last March, well ahead of this winter!

Oh well, we do what we have to to keep the knee happy and we all know it’s in charge. And my situation is way better than many others.

 

[sistersinhim]

That's so true, Jockette!

 

[sistersinhim]

After two days of shoveling snow off and on my ankle is yelling at me. I hope it's just the muscles and tendons, but it's aching, unlike pain when moving sore muscles. I'm also having some discomfort in my new knee. I will try and not do too much tomorrow. I have pathways cleared to my outdoor wood stove and the driveway cleared, but it's still way too icy to go anywhere. So, maybe tomorrow can be a mostly rest day.

 

[Jockette]

I’m so sorry you knee and ankle are so unhappy. Hopefully rest will help.

Since they are both on the same leg, they must be affecting each other. Your foot and ankle still need healing time.

 

[SusieShoes]

I would wager on the weather being at the root of your pain. Well, and more than usual activity. But mostly the bitter cold.

 

[kneeper]

Is it the (formerly broken) ankle that's acting up with the snow shoveling? Maybe the combination of cold and motions with the shoveling?

 

[sistersinhim]

Yes, it is the same leg as my broken bones. The ankle is feeling about 50% better today! I'll take it and am blessed for the improvement. By bedtime, it was rough, but after laying down and getting off of it, it felt better.

It was -9 this morning when I went out to 'feed' the firebox and when I came back in, my new knee was quite uncomfortable. The pains lasted for hours, but is fine now, thank God! Here, in Virginia, the normal low temperatures are in the 20s, not the negatives! So, weather does still affects my new knee. But, it just seems to be extreme cold that makes it hurt. The storms don't anymore! It used to be any drastic change in the barometric pressure would cause terrible pains. No more with my new knee!

Tonight is supposed to be even colder than last night, so I might as well take some Tylenol before even going out to the fire tomorrow morning! With all our snow and the frigged temps, church has already been canceled. But, Monday is supposed to be back to normal! Yay! The warmer weather will be a huge blessing!

 

[Jockette]

The same here in Delaware, temperatures going to the 30’s on Monday and possibly 58 on Friday!!!


Right now it’s 16, feels like 0 and going down to 2 tonight. I might as well still be in Ohio! And those are cold temperatures even for Ohio!

I’m staying home until Monday.

 

[jaschembra]

When I have been outside feeding animals in these single digits these past 2-3 weeks...and carrying in wood for our fireplace - I have thought of you many times! I remembered that you had to carry wood to your burner and all the activity you had to do on your knee early on and I think - yep - you recovered doing "daily activities" and yours were tough! Now you have that knee that has grown up, but may still be in college getting into a little trouble here and there as it matures into an adult!


@Jockette Yep, we are finally warming tomorrow and will be sunny and in the 40's all week - it will feel wonderful!

 

[sistersinhim]

@Josephine, would carrying heavy weight, like my firewood, cause my tkr to wear out faster? I don't want to overdo it.

@jaschembra, I tried to run my outdoor stove last year for only about a week. My new knee threw a fit. It was way too early. It was only 6 months old then and I wasn't going to push it. Thank God it was a fairly warm winter and my home's electric central heater didn't run up the electric bill too much! And thank God for being able to do the wood burner this year! I'd have a terrible time paying this month's bill if not!

Most of my ADLs were taking care of myself, my home, 13 cats and yard! Now, I'm down to 7 cats, but all the rest is the same! It's true that I might not be completely healed yet. Some take up to two years. But, I can do just about anything I want to do! Just am having more pain than I used to a few months ago. I blame that on heavy work now.

 

[Jockette]

You are way ahead of me, but I still feel it in my knee if I pick up something even remotely “heavy”.

I moved a 3 drawer plastic shelf thing today, after taking some, but not all, of the drawers out. This afternoon I vacuumed 3 rooms in my small house. My knee is very uncomfortable tonight. More so than I think it “should” and we all know about that “should” word!

And this extreme cold is not helping either of us. That’s why I haven’t gone out since Wednesday! Glad I didn’t have to!

Monday’s coming!

 

[sistersinhim]

@Jockette, isn't it aggravating when our knees act up when we just do the normal things. But, remember, as time goes on, the knee allows us to do more and more! Some of us heal slower than others, but we will get there sooner or later!

That 'should' word is like that 'patience' word, both of them are bad!

I see you're on the east coast, too. How much snow did you get? Did you have all that wind, too?

 

[Jockette]

We got maybe 5-6 “, it’s hard to tell because we did get the wind, more after than during the storm, but the snow drifted. We can see a lot of our grass, but then there are the drifts. So I really don’t know.

I used to like snow. It was so pretty in Ohio. But now, I’d rather not get any. Ours will melt next week!