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TKR Ortho dr or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Knee!

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Is the tightness from swelling, do you think? I have some stiffness and numbness, but no tightness. My knee is somewhat swollen, but not too bad. Deedles8 - I know it's hard to accept others moving at a faster pace than you, but keep your eye on where you were. Any improvement is good, and like anything else, people are different. You'll get there.
 
Therapy today and new ways to strengthen. I was doing the Total Gym with both legs, now they want me to do it one leg at a time. Boy! That's a workout! Also did the chair squat - my "good" knee was complaining about that one - surgery knee was fine. I asked my PT when do you know when it's time to stop therapy. She said I was pretty nearly there. My flex is great, extension is almost perfect, mostly I am strengthening my legs and hips. Maybe a couple weeks more, then I am through, although I feel I'll need to stretch every day from now on.
 
Funny, I asked last week when I'd be able to stop the exercises. I have two sessions this week and I'm officially "let go" but she said I should continue stretches pretty much forever. As for the exercises, everyday living and things should take care of it. I'm on my feet all day at work and go to the gym 3-5 times a week, so I'm hoping that's enough. Since both knees were done, I figure I've been doing therapy 3X/week since June 26. I'm ready to be done!
 
I was thinking about joining the gym here in Homewood, but we're going to be doing some traveling this fall and winter, and I don't want to be paying for something I can't use. I may check into a month to month membership while we're still in town.

Burning up today. Our AC went out on Friday, had the repairman in, fixed it (we thought,) broke again Friday night, AC repairman back out yesterday. Turns out it's something with our electric - we have an older home we bought last year with a combination fuse/breaker system which we planned on upgrading someday. Well, someday is here. Call is in for electrician to upgrade to all breakers - hope they get here today!
 
Cant even imagine this heat without A/C! Sure glad my school didn't have to use a "snow day" because of the heat today!
 
Got the A/C going yesterday - that's the good news. Bad news - must replace entire electrical box - BiG Bucks!

Another good day in PT for me. How do you know when you've had enough PT? I think I'm headed there. I went ahead and made appts. for next week, but I think that may be the end. I'll miss it. Although it's hard work, I always come out feeling good.
 
I would I DIE without the AC this past few days; you are tough! Yes, join the health club; is a great one; I use to go there religiously three time a week and it was not even work. I definitely will join back up when I am healed. Glad all else is doing well

Karyn
 
Don't you just love that you get your AC fixed and we now have this nice, cool weather? Murphy's Law, I'm telling you! Too bad about the extra expense, however....

In some ways, I'll miss the PT, too. The people are wonderful there and, dare I say it, it almost seems "fun" when I'm there, even though I'm working hard. I guess I know I'm done because they're not doing anything new and tell me how great I've done. Adding a few more weights to some things, but that's about it. Like you, I feel great when I leave. Then again, I feel great when I do my exercises at home, too. Apparently there's not much left to gain with flexion and extension, so maybe that's how you know you're good to go. Like I said before, they told me to continue the stretching for ever!
 
Yesterday, we took an architectural boat tour of Chicago. What a glorious day for it - 70's, sunny, blue skies - great fun and a beautiful city. I walked all over Navy Pier plus driving up and back, and on the way home, I definitely entered into the ODIC. I had taken my extra-strength Tylenol in the morning, but forgot to take any at noon, and by the time I got home at 3:30, I was definitely behind the pain. I almost felt as if I had the flu, achy all over. I resisted taking something stronger and waited for the Tylenol to kick in while lying down on the bed. Felt much better in the evening and just fine this morning. Just about the time I think I'm definitely over this surgery, it tells me I still have work to do.
 
I know the feeling. I was in church for two hours this morning with the leg down. When I got home the ankle and knee were swelling and I had to take pain meds and ice and elevate. We aren't there yet by any means!
 
I've taken to keeping a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol in my purse just in case. Seems like you never know when that knee will remind us that it is still there!
 
Yeah I know. I ate lunch with two friends I used to work with at the school today. I had not seen them in about four months and it was great. We chatted for two hours! you know what that led to, don't you? Yep, the knee has hollered ever since! And I have PT tomorrow.
 
I released myself from PT today. ROM is 141, extension -3. I'll miss PT, but time to move on and establish a routine with my knee at home and keep working on that extension. I've found that putting weights on my leg and letting it hang off the bed is as good a stretch as anything.

I told my husband several weeks ago that I would be glad when I could get up and move around without thinking of my knee. Well, that day has come. I don't think about it most of the time now. It gave me a little pain this last week with the weather change, but nothing bad. The numbness probably bothers me more than anything, but I guess I'll learn to live with that.

I will probably be looking at the left knee next Spring. Today when doing chair squats at PT, I had to stop because of my left knee. Right knee was great!
 
Congratulations on your graduation! You have done amazingly well and be thankful for that! You have been blessed! I finished PT today. I have been at 0 extension all along but have only achieved 115 flexion. The PT says he thinks I will get the next five degrees without PT. He says since the good knee only goes to 120 degrees that I will probably settle at about 120 after the swelling goes down. I have to see the OS Monday and he, of course, will have the final say-so. If he wants me to go back and try to do a little more, I am good with that.
I am still having pain and stiffness but not unbearably so. All in all, we have done well, dear friend!
 
Just curious Brithael, but if your ROM is 141, just how far can one go? I don't mean gymnasts or ballerinas but healthy, normal people? Is there such as thing as too much Rom? Inquiring minds want to know? LOL!
 
Funny that we both are through with PT on the same day! I read somewhere on Bonesmart that somebody had an ROM of 150, but I'm happy with 141 - my left is measuring 142. My PA told me you can do almost anything you want with 120, so you're going to be just fine!
 
Well, congrats to you, too! Wow! 141? After I hit 125 at three weeks and had my post-op, I was never measured again, though she told me once I was at least 130. I'm thinking you can now bend that knee totally backwards! I remember asking the doctor at some point in this journey what my ROM would end up being and he just said most people are good with 120-125. If you can go more, then why not!

I went to the gym for the first time since my PT release last Friday and felt really good. Didn't overdo, which I tend to do, and felt fine today. I was extremely pleased. Just walking up and down the halls at school all day and up and down the stairs there is helping me even on the days I don't go to the gym I figure. I'm still doing 30-40 minutes of exercises in the morning (including the hang your legs off the bed with ankle weights on them) and wonder how long I'll keep it up!
 
My OS had a patient who wasn't satisfied with the 140 degrees he had after a regimen of alternating rest & PT; turns out he was a devout Muslim who must not only kneel but prostrate himself while kneeling several times a day. My OS would otherwise never have done an MUA on a patient with that great a degree of flexion, but the patient insisted. He now has the 150 he says he needs. My feeling is that perhaps God might have cut the guy a little slack anyway (but then again, the Judaeo-Christian standards about how much self-affliction is too much might differ somewhat, even in the face of injury or illness).
 
Nerves had a little prom night before last dancing across my knee, so I took some Tramadol, but didn't really see a lot of difference. Today, the weather change (I assume) is causing me some pain just below my kneecap. Just taking Tylenol though. Walked the puppy to the park for the first time since we lost our other dog last Fall. Sadly nostalgic. I don't think about my knee much now unless it tells me to think about it by causing a twinge. I haven't been doing my stretches for extension, but I also haven't been getting the hamstring pain - does this correlate? Maybe I was doing too much. I kneeled on a padded surface yesterday without thinking, and without pain. This is good.
 
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