TKR Out with the new; In with the newer!

[Ellejay]

The first outing is always exciting, and a bit scary, but you feel so good afterwards to have joined in with normal life again. I am really hoping to get to my 3 year old grandsons nursery Nativity, it's in nine days time, I do hope I will be up to a 90 minute car journey.
Bolton Abbey would certainly be a lovely place for a first outing, it is so beautiful. I hope you do get there xxx

 

[referee54]

The first outing is always exciting, and a bit scary, but you feel so good afterwards to have joined in with normal life again.

This is the reason we have had either a BTKR or a TKR---to return our lives to normal again.

The first trip out is indeed exciting and refreshing---it get rid of the cobwebs of the isolation that we have gone through and temporarily allows us to see what "real life" is all about again!

That being said, after my first foray into the real world after my BTKR, I was very exhausted and came home and crashed for most of the afternoon!

 

[LondonLady]

Hi @Ellejay , @referee54 ,@Legin , and @SuperSnapper ,
Thanks your your replies! Well had another outing yesterday-- PT. Guess a few things are going right-- ROM popped up quite a bit since last week, (PT remarked how much less swelling there was) and my extension is getting much closer to zero! Maybe the BoneSmart way works!

Now to get the rest of my muscles/tendons /other-than-new-knee-bits to stop complaining!

 

[Legin]

Whooot whooooot. All those bits.do come back. I did regular stretches not painful ones. Plus massaged I used my deprobase (emolient) to massage with so nowwwwwwww have.soft skin errrrrrrr still an.ogre tho

Legin THR Sep 14

 

[SuperSnapper]

Briilliant! It's good to hear you are progressing well.

 

[Ellejay]

@LondonLady

Maybe the BoneSmart way works

Of course it works, I'm living proof, and about to prove it for the second time. I'm glad you are making good progress, well done xx

 

[LondonLady]

another week, some new milestones:
1. Forgetting to take pain meds on more than one occasion. Also finding that I can cut back on the dosages with no increase in pain
2. Rode the exercise bike for about 10 min in PT-- my first attempt at the bike since toe op!
3. extension is approaching the magic zero mark-- not quite there yet, but is better than pre- op!

Off to a friend's house for a change of scenery for the holidays, so may/not be posting too much in the upcoming 2 weeks.
Happy Winter Celebrations to all:santaclap:!

 

[SuperSnapper]

@LondonLady
Good news on your milestones
Have a good break at your friends.
X

 

[LondonLady]

Hi Everyone,
Hope the New Year is being kind to all!
Was at the OS today for a checkup-- been two months since the op. Another milestone-- don't need to go back any more unless something goes wrong. Yea!

Also got some Tramadol-- been waking up at night with stiffness pain, so hopefully can get a good night sleep now that I'm back to work. I do miss the freedom of taking naps when I liked!

 

[SuperSnapper]

Really good news. The consultant must have been really pleased with you.

 

[Ellejay]

Brilliant news @LondonLady, well done. I hope all goes well for you from now on. Good luck back at work.

 

[Celle]

Great news, @LondonLady !

You're doing really well.
Do take care not to overdo at work, because it's still early days in your recovery.

 

[LondonLady]

Thanks, all. Luckily, I work from home, so no commuting involved, and no business travel scheduled until February--so a rather non-physical job. However, I was surprised at how hard it was to adjust to being back!

Ah, well, there's always those 6 lucky numbers...maybe next week...

 

[Jamie]

Great news, LondonLady! Please continue to let us know all th wonderful things you are able to do with your new knee. We love hearing these good reports.

 

[LondonLady]

Hi All! It's been quite a while since I've posted, but nothing much to report. Things are imporving, but its quite incremental and slow. Still trying to reach the magic zero extension, although ROM is fine. Still a lot of muscle pain, and still icing (although I'm finding that the relief I get from icing is not as amazing as it used to be). Pretty much off meds unless I know that I will be very active, as i haven't noticed much difference in pain levels with vs without them (1-2 generally; higher for the first 5 minutes or so in the morning when I first get out of bed). So all in all not bad!

I was able to make an excursion to the mall, and got a new pair of sneakers/trainers. As many others have mentioned, they do make a difference! Till later!

 

[Jamie]

@LondonLady.....I'm just now catching up with your thread. Sometimes no news is the best news of all! It means you are doing well and moving on with your life. As long as there is forward progress, please don't get discouraged if it's a little slow. We all heal at different speeds. I'm happy to hear you're trotting around in brand new sneakers!!!

 

[LondonLady]

Hi @Jamie
Thanks! Sorry for the late reply-- no news is good news... Still plodding along the recovery line-- incremental progress, but progress nonetheless. A little setback with a baker's cyst, but it seems to be clearing up.
The milestone this week, was taking a short walk, and it dawned on me that I wasn't in any pain at all ( it didn't last that long, but what a great feeling! ). Now it's taking all my resolve not to overdo it and have another setback !

 

[LondonLady]

Update... More of the same. Still lots of problems with the IT band -- pain from hip to knee along the side of my leg. Went back to the OS, and he recommended more PT. I found a new therapist.
His take on it was that it's really due to weak hamstrings, and recommends exercises for them. We'll see...

 

[referee54]

Those IT Bands can be a very pesky booger to get rid of! The show up and do not want to leave, even when shown the door!

I did a great deal of IT stretches when the showed up---very unwelcome!

Something else that helped me deal with IT issues was an ice massage---take a Dixie cup, fill it full of water and freeze it---then apply it directly to the affected area. As the ice melts, tear the paper away.

 

[LondonLady]

Thanks, @referee54 ! Will try the ice massage. I've had IT band problems for well over a year now, and have tried these (many times) and the foam noodle thing, too. The PT said he wasn't worried about stretching the band, but strengthening the other muscles. Does this make sense? It's different from previous advice ( but previous advice wasn't too helpful!)