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TKR Ollie's Adventure

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@tiredwife Today is a good day! Had my six week appt. with my OS. He likes my progress and wants me to lose weight before the next one. He is happy with my extension especially, and that I am getting good flexion back. He is in the slow and steady camp, encouraging ice, rest, elevation for everything!! I am glad - after reading some of the horrible treatments from surgeons and PTs that get posted, I am happy to have my 'guy.'

And - He is right; I have to drop weight, not only for my knee, but for my overall health. It has been hard with bad knees as I am sure you and your husband know. So much I can't do - but I am hoping it gets better with this one new knee. Will have to stick with low impact - swimming, stationary bike, walking. . .and watching what I eat. Dang it, anyway!! :groan:

I have PT this afternoon - am looking forward!

How about your day? Good one?
 
@Ollie Hi! Glad you had a good check up! Yes weight is a big issue. My husband has lost some before his surgery, after the surgery and hopes to keep losing. Slow and steady. Has a lot to lose but it took a long time to put it on, it will take time to get it off. I have a lot to lose but I have stalled out.

Hubby's PT was at noon so it blows the whole day. Can't do much before and by the time he is home, ices and elevates it is too late to do much after. He used the eleptical today for the first time. Really rough getting on and off it. Don't think he liked it much. Haven't done much else today. He found a reciepe he is going to try today with knockwurst and potatoes. Let you know how it turns out.

If you try the frozen waldorf salad make sure you set it out about 15 minutes before eating. It freezes hard.
 
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I had a good day today after overdoing a bit on Saturday and spending Sunday quiet with ice and elevation!! PT was nice and relaxed, too

I have a Director's meetings tomorrow and Wednesday that I am looking forward to; will take my ice wraps, etc, and take it easy. I won't be going to the group meals at the local restaurants. . . Just too much out and about too soon, I think. I also have PT Wednesday AM, so will have to work my meeting in somehow, if I can. No matter - Will feel good to be thinking about work instead of movies, books, games, etc. . . I know you all understand!!

Am heading out of town Thursday AM - an overnight trip that we are both looking forward to. We have the route planned and stops scheduled so I can get out and walk a bit. Will ice and elevate as soon as we get there, and take a nap before dinner. A block away from the hotel is a theater and we have tickets to see a show. WooHoo!! I get to be a real person again!!

Yippee!!


Ollie. LTKR June 10, 2014
 
@Ollie Sounds like your life is starting to get back to normal! So glad for you! I wonder if wearing ted hose while traveling would reduce swelling? I hope your trip goes perfect! Have a great day!
 
@tiredwife Great minds think alike!! I AM planning on wearing my TED hose on the drive!! I have an extra leg just for that purpose! When I left the hospital, I got an extra pair - my surgical leg was pretty ugly looking after a few days. My ice wrap Velcro straps kept catching and snagging and I had a bit of mess from my incision, too. So, when the time came, I put a new one on just my surgical leg and saved the extra - thinking that it would come in handy for this trip !!

Taking those blasted things off was like taking a big breath of fresh air!!
 
@Ollie Yep, great minds we have! :) My husband hates his ted hose, but they serve a purpose. It gives the guys a taste of what girls who wore pantyhose went through.
 
:heehee: I can laugh just thinking about the shimmy- jump needed to get those last few pulls up!!!
 
Well well well. . . I had two days with work/meetings and I really enjoyed getting out and using my brain!! The down side was having to sit too much and being out of my 'safe zone'. I got up to walk around every hour or so, and I elevated and iced both days. Still, my knee, calf, and ankle were puffy by the end of each day and I really didn't like that.

I had PT Wednesday and my ROM is 2 / 107. Getting there slowly, but without pain!!

So I didn't overdo this week per se, but the PT, and meetings took a bit of a toll and I had a mildly rough day today. I have been focusing on being up and active, taking short walks twice and doing my stretches, however my other knee has flared up from all the additional stress and that made me really grumpy. I took Tylenol and naproxen in the morning, but just before dinner, I took a dilaudid. That was the ticket!!

Tomorrow I will be gentler with myself, and pay closer attention to my discomfort levels; I am getting closer to tapering away from the narcotics, but I still find I need a bit of additional relief in the afternoon and evening.

My biggest goal is to NOT overdo and have miserable days. . . Or at least not create miserable days for myself!


Ollie. LTKR June 10, 2014
 
@Ollie On days you do so much you don't need PT for sure. It is all about pacing yourself! If you need the meds you need the meds!

On another note, why is it when a cat desided to lick itself it is right in your ear?! And when you are trying to do something? Mine do it on purpose! AAAAArgh!.

Get some rest. Oh, hubby made some homemade rosemary bread today. He is soooooooo bored! We took our grandson to the playground behind our house and hubby found a new way to work out, playground equipment can really wear you out.
 
@tiredwife You are so right about cats. . . Mine do the same. My Jasper wants to sit next to my pillow every AM and have his morning 'grooming'. Every Morning!! :) Two of mine are also cardboard beavers - give them a cardboard box and they shred it. Our 'for now' room had a cardboard shred pile that made us laugh last night. They'd been busy, for sure! They don't eat it, they just tear it up!! Thank goodness they chew boxes and not furniture!!

Today will be a restful day again. Kim is starting to feel personally motivated to start exercising and being healthier (for herself and to support me) but she seems to think that I can do more than I actually can/should. We have had a couple good conversations about where I am in my recovery, etc. I am feeling so much better, am more mobile, and am wanting to do things around the house more. But I can't stand for long periods (cooking or cleaning), and really am not 'well' yet and cannot take back all of the chores I used to do, as much as both of us would like to do that!

She is naturally a 'driver' who wants to get going, that if a little is good, more is better, and the like. She sets lofty goals and it never fails that she never gets there because she can't maintain the intensity level she starts at. She then feels defeated, gives up, and then . . . You know how that cycle goes. I've been telling her over and over that she/we need to make smaller changes, set goals that we can step to. . . And for my recovery, I believe in what what I've learned here - the knee is in charge, that pain will set you back, and that setting attainable goals but being ready to either speed up or slow down is how you get where you want to go. I want to use the same philosophy for the life changes we need to make to lose weight and get our lives back in motion! We can't do everything all at once; we need to start small, with changes we can maintain. If we find that we have done too much, that we can't maintain the pace, etc, then we re-evaluate and adjust.

Will keep you posted!! :fingersx:
 
@Ollie We all want it to happen now. Our philosophy now is it took a long time to get the weight on it will take a long time to get it off. It won't work to try to change your life in a big way that you can't maintain. Small changes at a time that you can continue with for the rest of your life. Hoping you two find a way to make the changes work. Baby steps. If you are flexible you won't get so discouraged.
 
Seven weeks post op. . . Had dinner with friends last night and it was fun - until i hit the wall. Was ready to get home after about 2 1/2 hours, mostly just fatigue. Got a bit uncomfortable, but were heading home as that set in!!

But it was great to feel human again!!


Ollie. LTKR June 10, 2014
 
[Bonesmart.org] Ollie's Adventure
@Ollie,Getting out and doing something "normal" is good for the inner spirit and refreshes our mindset. Glad you got out with friends and and fun. Just have to remember to keep the outings a bit on the short side here early on and increase time in increments as things get better and better.

It is a temptation to overdo when we're feeling good---but we pay dearly afterward, but we usually think it was worth it.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.
 
@Ollie Sadly the energy drain stays with you for awhile. Eat more protien and it will help. All your body's energy is going toward healing. Hubby was 9 weeks yesterday with 1 week til TKR #2. You have a great day. Don't forget to ice and elevate after your outings.
 
Good PT yesterday!! Lots of walking with fins, lots of work in the current. Felt so good!! I was worried that I'd back slid because I felt so stiff that AM when I got up. Some leftover 'over do' from Tuesday night's dinner out! I was determined to work hard, though and at the end of my session. . My ROM was 116 / 0. Yep, it is that good!! Happy Dance. . .

Now today I am tired but no pain. Did a bit of shopping; loaded up on the leafy greens, picked up some tahini, capers, soy sauce for the pantry, and then Kim made a terrific roasted salmon and mixed greens salad for dinner. She is an Ina Garten fan and was trying out a couple recipes!! I am a happy Taster for her test runs. And to support my recovery and the need for protein and calcium, I am planning on some Greek yogurt and strawberries later. WooHoo!!!


Ollie. LTKR June 10, 2014
 
@Ollie all we had was Casey's (local convenience store/gas station) pizza and some grapes. We were babysitting and grandson is picky had to take most of the toppings off his pizza, but he is only 3. I saw hubby has chicken laid out in the fridge for tomorrow don't know what he has planned. Had home made beef stroganoff yesterday and the rest of the strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream for desert.
Happy dance for you ROM:happydance:
.
 
WooHoo!!! ROM is 120 / 0!!!!! My PT was delighted!! I LOVE aqua therapy!!!

Today I drove myself to therapy and went to Starbucks after!! A tiny reward for a good week; I am at 9 weeks and am only using dilaudid at night. My toilet issues are under control and fading as I taper away from the narcotics. I've been using my recumbent bike on non-PT days, and have worked my spinning up to 10 minutes. That and my stretching plus working a few stairs in each day has helped my slowly and carefully get to 120. I still ice and elevate each day, and it has made all the difference, I think. I keep my shopping trips to 30 minutes max, and am just starting to think I can do more walking without my cane - although truth be told, I need to switch hands and use it for my other knee, now!! Anyway - After PT and any excursions out, I ice and elevate and will keep that up for a while.

My cats have been so funny lately - they seem to think that WWF wrestling and NASCAR racing are best in the dark, across the bed. I've been a trampoline several times. Lucky for all parties they have avoided my knee. . . Last night I banished them and woke this AM to find a couple toy mice pushed under the door. The cute little terrorists!!

@tiredwife - How was your day? Restful, I hope!! Hubby's pain getting tucked away? It is amazing how different his two knees have been; I bet part of it is that his system is still on high healing alert and sensitive to the renewed stresses. Hope all keeps settling down and you both get your 'groove' back!!

Shopping tomorrow for party ingredients; Kim's taking salads to a birthday party!! I get to have kielbasa & kraut for dinner since she'll be gone. It is a blood oath that I will never fix kraut when she is home. . . Yeah for me!! Funny how little things are so wonderful!!




Ollie. LTKR June 10, 2014
 
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