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TKR On the other side of surgery

Here's to a good first work day Colleen, expect to be tired. Sounds like you've turned the corner also on your recovery.
 
Thank you @zzevi . You were right, first day back working from home was very tiring. So tiring I took a short nap around 3:00pm. I have not napped since week 5 post op. I need to figure how to balance the work, elevate, exercises and PT as the knee was very tight today. I also need to stop reading others posts on the forum. I tend to read the ones that people have had issues months after and need multiple surgeries. Like one I just read the entire thread at like several months out she fractured her patella and torn the ligament. Now a year later having more surgery with skin grafts. Just scares me and trust me I over analyze everything so I must stop reading for my sanity.
 
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@thecoll take it slow, maybe just worry about work and nothing else this week. I was exhausted the first couple weeks and needed the weekends just to get rested up for the next week. Then my knee started swelling also from having it down more, but then the wound vac happened and the dr said that would keep my leg from swelling and it did. Now 1 wk from having it removed my knee is slightly swollen, but not the ankle and foot like before. My energy level is finally started to be better, I still prefer to come home and just rest a bit. Rest up tomorrow is a new day that will need your attention.
 
At PT today I finally got forward rotations on the upright exercise bike. Odd how I have been getting forward and backward on my recumbent bike at home for over a week. Since my new knee is stubborn about bending the therapist had me try the leg press machine with little to no weight with the back seat pushed up so I had a bend and it felt good. Much better than when they try to push it on the table. Then she checked the ROM while it was hanging off the table and she said 95 but I had it to where my foot was actually under the table more than just a sitting position. So then on laid on the table and she measured while I was doing a heel slide and with holing my foot still because it was sliding she measured 100 ROM.
Did I mention I drove myself to PT as my husband had to work. First time since surgery driving that 25 min (1 way) drive and only my second time driving. On the way home I stopped at Publix and grocery shopped. Thank goodness when I arrived home my husband was back as he carried the groceries in as my knee was very stiff. So I iced and elevated while I was working during a conf call.
Guess it was a first for a few things today. Although I am frustrated with my ROM I would call it progress!
 
Congratulations on doing the forward rotation on the bike. :yes!::happydance::yay:
It's good to hear that your knee is still making progress.

Please don't let your PT "help" your knee to bend by using the leg press machine. There's too much risk of hurting it. They shouldn't push your knee at all, by hand or by machine. If you don't do anything to upset it, the ROM will continue to improve gradually, as healing continues and swelling goes down.
 
Celle said:
If you don't do anything to upset it, the ROM will continue to improve gradually, as healing continues and swelling goes down.
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Thank you Celle. I should know this by now but when I stopped PT for a week awhile back and did gentle exercises at home I felt I lost ROM. Perhaps just daily living will get me there.
 
Daily activities will help your ROM grow all on its own. You don't have to work 'hard' at it at all. I can flex my knee after a revision to 130 degrees and was able to get there by slowly adding back my daily activities and remembering to ice and elevate when my knee was swollen or overused. I still do that now after long days at work.
 
I never did PT and I've got a 130+ bend! Just live your life and use your knee normally. It will come and it won't hurt nearly as bad!
 
My son came home from college for the weekend, yeah! We did our tradition of going to the pumpkin patch and getting a couple of pumpkins. I had to walk up a slight hill that the ground was a little uneven. It was somewhat tricky and I found myself peg legging. Then we stopped for a few grocery items at Publix. By this time my knee was so tight. My son kept reminding me to bend when walking. It was hard to bend due to the tightness. At 11 weeks I would think this feeling would start to subside. I came home and iced and elevated which truly helped. Looking forward to the days of no tightness, no stiffness and excellent bending but often think if that will even come to pass. I have to stay positive.
 
I know it's been eleven weeks, Colleen, but that is still early in recovery. Improvements will come. Just give them time.
 
I Agree with Celle. It's still early and it will come. I remember being around 13 weeks, maybe more, and walking on uneven ground caused my knee to scream later that day. Now I can do it without thinking.
And I had to stop reading the complication threads as they were freaking me out. My recovery was difficult enough and I needed less worry in my life.
 
smarttoys said:
I took it pretty easy in the early days of my recovery and things went well. I iced, elevated, and medicated on schedule and did hardly any exercises at home. Just some gentle stretches and occasional exercise bicycle. Ankle pumps and quad sets felt good to me so I did them quite a bit. When or if I have to do it again I would be even more gentle.
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thank you. if it feels good - i will be doing it as well. but i am listening to those on here that are saying don't do it if it hurts. i could not agree more!!!
 
@tiptonits, I'm not the only one that doesn't do PT. There are quite a few of us on here that just do the ankle pumps and heel slides in the beginning. After a couple of weeks just taking care of ourselves and our other duties rehab our knees just fine. Read Josephine's 2 threads about her replacements.
 
Colleen, you are now a member of that dreaded club, the over did it club. Each and every one of us as visited there once or twice, but it's not a nice experience! Your knee is an infant and needs to be babied big time! Rest and ice as much as you can!
 
@sistersinhim yes, I guess I am a member of the ODIC. I am sure it will not be the only time I visit the club but will try my hardest not to! I have read Josephine's thread as well as many others who never did formal PT. I skipped out on PT for a week and another time 5 days and my knee seem tighter and seemed to have lost ROM. I am not sure that no PT is right for everyone. Seems for me it helps even by going 2x's week as they assist with more than just ROM. They help with my walking, stairs and decreasing sensitivity if the scar. I can say the day I stop PT and having the tightness feeling will be a day of celebration!
 
That's so true. Having a good therapists is the key, I believe. So many on here have been helped with their PT and so many have not. I think it's just making sure that they are not damaging your already damaged tissues. You know not to overdo it and hurt yourself. Many do not know that and think they have to have pain to get rehab. That's so not true.
 
As my OS told me 'don't do anything that hurts' when I asked him about activity post op. Uncomfortable was OK put not pain.
 
Hi Colleen,
I glad you are doing better with your ROM, it will come slowly as your knee heals and the swelling goes down. My first knee which was done 7 months ago has a ROM of 120 (it took almost 6 months to get there) with many struggles along the way including 3 months of PT and my OS scaring me with MUA!
My second new knee is 5 weeks old and my ROM is around 106, but I still have pain levels that reach up to 6+ at times and continue to take pain meds every day. We all heal differently so please don't compare yourself to others on bone smart. As you know it can be frustrating when you do.
Better days ahead :console2:
 
Majella is so right. Comparing myself to others who were ahead of me just ended up depressing me. Each knee is different and has been through different degenerations and injuries. So, it stands to reason that what had to be done inside our knees will be very individual. You are doing wonderfully! Give yourself a pat on the back.
 
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