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TKR Over doing or not doing enough?

Today I am 5 months post-op, and like many of my compatriots, I thought I would be all healed by now. Many things are good. The numbness that most of us have has pretty much resolved. I have always been happy with my ROM. The residual pain that I have is not bad enough to medicate. I am sleeping fine and can do most of the recreational activities that I want to do, including walking, biking, curling, swimming, and cross-country skiing. So what's the not-so good news? I still have pain trying to walk down stairs normally. My quads, core and glutes need strengthening, and my IT band is tight. My PT is doing deep massage on my IT band, and as it loosens, the clicking in my knee gets worse, sometimes the noise seems to come from the implant and other times it sounds like a popping tendon. Everyone around me--my husband, family, friends, OS and his team--think I am doing great. But every time the anniversary of my surgery arrives, I start to worry that this will be as good as it gets.
 
Well, I am more than 6 mths. post op but what you are describing is pretty much what I have too--other than I don't have the popping. Talked to a lady the other day that said it took her 1 1/2 years before she felt normal.
 
I'm right there with you! I'll hit 5 months in a few days and feeling much more "normal". This journey is certainly an interesting one and not what I expected! But, we are on the right path, just have to look ahead and know that the future holds more improvements although they will come slower and be less significant than to this point. If you think back to all we've been through, it is truly amazing! I saw my grandmother ( whol lived to 102!) barely able to walk with knees filled with arthritis. I am so blessed to have been able to have this TKR. Just as we had to do when we moved from the city to the mountains, we have to adjust our expectations. When we do, the outlook is much brighter!
 
When you get to 5 months, it already feels as though you've been on a long journey - and you have - but really you're only abut half way. Remember that complete recovery takes a full year, although the second half of that year is much easier than the first half.
 
@Wanttobebiking - You are doing GREAT!!! Curling?? haha!! I'm not doing that, but much of what you described I can relate to.. I can't do "downstairs" like a normal person either.. I keep "practicing", but I try to remember that when I was "practicing" going upstairs.. one day I was just able to do it, so I didn't have to "practice" anymore. I'm thinking the same thing will happen with downstairs.. (I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!) - ref: (@Thesoutherncook has coined this phrase) "the Braunzie Patience ATM machine"..... hahahaha! :rotfl: Wish I could come to Minnesota and hang out with you for a while.. (But not this time of year.. sorry.. :heehee:) .. We would have fun!!! ( Hey! I think there's rumor of a TKR reunion in San Diego this summer???? :loveshwr:)

Hang in there, my friend.. You are doing so well!!! If you can't get patience at the ATM, they do say developing it on your own is a virtue.. I'm still working on that myself.. :egypdance:
 
Today is the 6-month anniversary of my knee surgery. All in all, I am doing great but not as well as I thought I would be doing at 6 months. I can do almost everything I could do before surgery and then some including cross-country skiing, cycling, walking long distances etc. I notice I walk fast and I am less worried about icy sidewalks. I still cannot get into the deep lunge position for curling so I continue to use the delivery stick in a standing position.

In December I put myself back in PT because I was still having issues with pain going down stairs. I think that's improving but I still have pain. I see my OS in a couple of weeks.

We are going out to celebrate tonight but I don't feel much like celebrating. Our grandson called yesterday to invite us to Denver in Februray when he and his sister will be off from school. They live in a three-story house and I really cannot fathom navigating all those stairs for five days. Typically I am up and down those stairs with the kids at least 5 times a day maybe more. I am not the type of grandma to sit around and complain of aches and pains. They are used to me hiking, skiing, swimming, and rough housing with them. I don't want to go and be a "wet blanket" so I am thinking of sending my husband alone but that doesn't make me feel great either. Tough decision. I also don't want to go and then return home in even worse shape as I am meeting my sister in Tucson a week later (no stairs there) to do some birding.
 
Going downstairs normally seems to be one of the last things to attain. You can look at your recovery and see how much you've improved every week. You can already identify that you can do much more than you could before. The rest will come. I'm sure your grandchildren would understand if you aren't quite as active as you would like to be but it is important that you get together. Who knows, by the time February comes you might just start making it down the stairs a little easier. Pack up your ice and pillows and hit the road!
 
Wanttobebiking said:
We are going out to celebrate tonight but I don't feel much like celebrating. Our grandson called yesterday to invite us to Denver in Februray when he and his sister will be off from school. They live in a three-story house and I really cannot fathom navigating all those stairs for five days.
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Go!!! By all means, GO!!! You will be fine.

Remember, recovery can take longer than we will like it to, and you are doing great! Let the stairs take care of themselves---in a way, it will be a bit of PT, and if you get tired and sore, just stop for a while and ice, if you can.

Remember, this is what we have the TKR for---to get back on with our lives and enjoy everything as we should!

Get that plane ticket!
 
Wanttobebiking said:
I also don't want to go and then return home in even worse shape as I am meeting my sister in Tucson a week later (no stairs there) to do some birding.
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You should not be in worse shape---you will continue to improve little by little before you get out there,and, if you listen to your knee, just shut things down for a while and ice/elevate----remember, these are the reasons we went through with the TKR!
 
referee54 said:
You should not be in worse shape---you will continue to improve little by little before you get out there, and, if you listen to your knee, just shut things down for a while and ice/elevate
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This is what I need to hear.

Every morning my husband looks over at me as I start my very gentle PT exercises for descending stairs and says, "You have been working on your knee diligently since day one." And he's right. I do not want to do anything to set back my recovery. I have been avoiding stairs for about 2 months (making the trip to Denver an about face), which means no swimming and having to walk through the administrative offices at the gym to avoid the steps to the women's locker room. I'm so tired of asking to go through "the offices," and I look totally normal and walk fast.

Had the invite come from anyone other than one of the two grandkids, my answer would have automatically been, "Would love to but now is not a good time." It is so hard to say "no" to those two (ages 12 and 9), and we always have a great time together. That said, I am so sick of this recovery, I would be willing to miss this one trip if it would mean a faster recovery.

I still haven't made a final decision. I keep waffling. I might go for 3 days instead of all 5 (work is playing a role in this decision, too, as I have a heavy "vacation" schedule planned, which includes three weeks with the grandkids in June.)

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It really does help.

@Braunzie I meant to say "happy birthday" to your knee yesterday, but got too caught up in my own post. As I have said before, I cannot wait until my attention is focused on something other than my knee. So happy belated. :flwrysmile:
 
I would use the stairs---it is a good type of PT for you, and again, slowly achieving normalcy is what it is all about---going up and down stairs is one of the last aspects to come back, but it is a large victory in our battle to achieve normalcy.
 
I'd go see your grandkids. So you can't do everything--you can still do a lot and have a good time.

What I did when I was getting a handle on stairs was to them at least once a day to start. Or even to go down half way and back up at the very beginning. Once I was back at work I did stairs every day, but only once a day to start.
 
@kneeper and @referee54 The reason I have been avoiding stairs is because it hurts to go down normally. When I do the step-by-step method too much, my right non-TKR knee starts to complain. I was told to avoid stairs by my PT and PA until I could go down with only 3 on the pain scale. I can't avoid them altogether as I have about 12 to get in and out of the house. But I avoid the basement steps, the steps at the gym, and steps everywhere else. Sometimes I can do a few steps before the pain starts, sometimes 4 or 5. Today, it started to hurt with the first step. When I start to worry that there is something wrong with the implant, I tell myself you couldn't be as active as you are if something were seriously wrong. I really don't want to blow out a tendon or a ligament. With this info, do you still think I should tackle the stairs anyway and just grit my teeth? I am really getting tired of being so constrained. I'm looking forward to getting answers from my OS in 12 days. And I am still struggling with the age old question of whether I am overdoing it or not doing enough. Maybe stairs hurt because I am not doing them?
 
Is it muscle tightness? Where does it hurt?

I am better now that you only have two ligaments in your knees---the ones on the sides, so you won't blow those out. IF the knee is just tight, than take it easy and try a few steps at a time.
 
referee54 said:
How tight are your quads?
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They aren't tight. I can do a standing quad stretch holding onto my ankle with no problem or pain. My PT has worked on my IT band, and I can do a standing IT band stretch touching the floor, with only a little bit of tightness that seems to go away about 20 seconds into the stretch. She is now having me work on my hip flexors, which are very weak in my TKR leg. I have strengthened my glutes and core and the PT is happy with that. Truth known, it is all starting to make me a bit nervous.
 
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