TKR Over doing or not doing enough?

[Wanttobebiking]

@Dearjr check out the comments from Clipless, KarriB and Roy on page 4 of thread about the middle. All good advice.

 

[Dearjr]

@Wanttobebiking i saw it thanks
I hope to make
The 2.2 miles rest and go back...just not sure if my wife could make it....lol!!!

 

[Wanttobebiking]

@Dearjr Yesterday, I had the best intentions of riding 3 miles, taking a long break, and then riding back. But there was no where to sit down, no benches anywhere—the only benches were on top of a big hill that I neither wanted to ride up nor walk up. So we stood around for 5 minutes and rode back. Thus instead of the ride being two 3-mile rides, it really turned into a 6 miler. Rationalizing it as two 3-mile rides was the only way my husband would agree that jumping from 4 miles to 6 miles was a good idea for my knee. Sometimes the best of plans get waylaid. So have a plan B in your pocket. You can always turn around at 1.5 miles and if you still feel good when you get back, ride a bit more. The good news is in. You can ride your bike again. It really doesn't matter how far you go today. Have fun!

 

[Wanttobebiking]

In 11 hours I will be 11 weeks post-op and I am feeling good. I did a 10 mile bike ride today, I am pampering myself with massages, deep relief essential oil, which arrived today @LHop (love the smell and have it on under my ice pack right now) and Sombra cooling gel thanks to @jbrooklyn. I have been using it at least twice a day since Friday and love it.

@PolarBear60 I started curling on Friday with my stick and it is easy; I don't have to do the lunge position to deliver the stone. Will send you a photo next week.

@wings On my bird walk Saturday we saw 50+ species, including 6 warblers. They are all headed your way.

That's the good news. The bad is my knee is very painful walking down stairs still, and everywhere I go there are stairs and more stairs. I never realized there were so many stairs in this world!

 

[PolarBear60]

I'm looking forward to seeing the photo. I'm glad it worked well for you. It gets better. Hang in there!

 

[wings]

10 mile bike ride

Sounds like you're doing great.

Thanks for the birding report. One of my birding pals is coming for lunch today.i'm looking forward to the visit. Tuesday will be 2 weeks since surgery. Knock on wood, my recovery has been easy so far.

Hope there's improvement with the stairs.

 

[Wanttobebiking]

@wings I am glad the first two weeks for you have been easy. You will probably fly through recovery. My first two weeks were very difficult and painful. Then revovery started to really speed up, but not as fast as I wanted, of course. I thought I might be riding at 6 weeks but it wasn't until 8 weeks that I got back on my bike. Looking back, it all went pretty fast. My 2.5 hour bird walk was even an accomplishment--the longest time I have stood uninterrupted. Glad your recovery is going well. Here is a photo of the Mississippi River Valley National Wildlife Refuge where we went.

 

[Braunzie]

@Wanttobebiking - Awesome report! 2.5 hour bird walk and 10 mile bike ride!!! That is amazing! I thought an hour in Costco was good! I haven't ridden a "real" bike in years, but now have a recumbent bike to build knee / leg strength .... I have found my left knee sometimes hurts more than my operated knee.. Do you have any problems with your right knee at all?

Thanks for sharing your picture!

 

[Wanttobebiking]

@Braunzie Yes. I have known for years that I would eventually need both knees replaced. On Thurday I am getting a synvisc injection in my right knee. I have had one before and it helped for awhile. I really don't want another TKR right now. One has been traumatic enough.

Funny you should mention Costco. We stopped there after yesterday's bike ride and that was harder than the 10-mile ride. Then this morning I made the mistake of doing 25 minutes of lap swimming. After the ride, Costco, and swimming, all in less than 24 hours, I hit the wall. I am exhausted tonight and just hanging out in front of the TV. I was feeling so strong until I went swimming, which reminded me of how far I still have to go.

I have never ridden a recumbent bike but they look fun. Two or three wheeler?

How about you? Do you have arthritis in your non-TKR knee? I injured both knees in my 20s playing sports.

 

[Braunzie]

@Wanttobebiking - You sound like superwoman! 25 minutes of lap swimming on TOP of the 10 mile ride AND Costco? No wonder you hit a wall!! I'm sorry you are exhausted, but I would be feeling quite inadequate if that were not the case, even though we are NOT supposed to compare experiences!!

My recumbent bike is stationary. (aka no wheels.. ) And I can use it without getting rained on here in the Great Northwest.. even though our weather lately has be FABULOUS!! I've got a regular bike in the garage, so maybe someday I can remount it and get some fresh air simultaneously!

I really don't want another TKR right now. One has been traumatic enough.

- I ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!!!!

Yes - I have bone on bone / arthritis in my left knee. (I used to play sports with a "sacrifice the body" kind of competitive nature.. It's definitely caught up with me.. ) For years, my left was my "bad" knee - then somehow my right knee just leapfrogged it and got so bad during my vacation to Louisiana last year that I had to spend the last couple days getting pushed in a wheel chair through the zoo and one of the wildlife preserves we visited. I felt pretty pathetic, but fortunately I was with my husband and siblings and they were very compassionate about it... Even now my left knee "talks" to me occasionally and reminds me it's not too far behind in getting its own replacement. AUGH!! Hoping it lasts long enough to let my right knee get strong enough to allow for the compensation.. Hopefully by the time I retire (4 years), I can be to the point where I don't even think about my knees.. That day WILL come, won't it???

 

[Kssii]

Boy can I identify with all you write. I too started with a "bad" left knee (total inside meniscus removed in 1980) that somehow became the "good" in the 2000's. Like you, I don't look forward to getting that knee done and like you I am hoping it lasts awhile longer until the right is good and strong. I am happy that I survived walking at the horse show and fair this weekend but that is just flat walking--though be it a lot of walking and on pavement at that.

 

[wings]

Great report @Wanttobebiking. Thanks for the photo. Virtual birding for me. Well, I will not be able to wait too long before my RTKR - it's acting up in PT. Maybe I'll get in a small bike ride (around the block) before the RTKR. PT is going to put me on a recumbent stationary maybe as soon as Wednesday.

 

[Wanttobebiking]

Looks like we are all in the same boat. My brother lucked out. He has only one arthritic knee. @Braunzie the same thing happened to me. My right knee was injured first and was always more troublesome until somehow my left knee degenerated to the point that it became the loss leader. I probably could have waited another year to have the LTKR but I knew the right could go quickly too and my surgeon does not do bilateral TKR. I am just getting to the point of thinking I did the right thing. When my OS stopped in before the surgery, I even asked him if he thought we were doing my TKR too early. Then I asked him after surgery how bad my knee was and whether we had done it too early. The point of all of this is I was biking and walking the weekend before surgery so I went into it strong which hastened my getting back to biking, swimming, etc. but it also lengthens my emotional recovery. I still ask my husband every few days if he thinks I did the right thing and he always answers yes. And he's right. My left leg was bone on bone, locking, buckling, and getting more crocked by the day. I am hoping for a miracle for the right knee.

@wings good luck on the stationary bike. It took me two sessions before I could make a full rotation and when I did I started to cry I was so happy.

@Kssii walking on pavement is the worst. Costco is the hardest thing I do. I envy the BLTKRs and admire those who schedule their second surgery soon after their first. I just don't have that kind of courage.

 

[wings]

@Wanttobebiking, guess what?

First, I did the stationary recumbent for 7 minutes yesterday. It was really slow, but full revolutions!

Secondly, the birds are passing through. White Pelicans were reported in Dallas the other day. If I could drive, I bet I could find some.

Hope you're having a great day!

 

[Wanttobebiking]

@wings Hi Wings. Congrats on the 7-minute ride on the stationary bike. You are doing really well. It won't be long before you are on your fat tire bike at the beach. I remember each of those milestones, and I think it is good to celebrate each one by telling someone about it, giving yourself a high five, or just basking in the accomplishment. I kept a journal and wrote down my daily accomplishments as well as med times, PT exercises, and exercises in general. I still have "firsts" but not quite as often as in the beginning. I filled up my journal, though, so now I just keep track of them mentally.

I have been so busy, with basically little time to bird. I had a flock of redstarts in my yard a couple of weeks ago, and four of us are going to head to Alma, Wisconsin, in a couple of weeks to see the tundra swan migration. I'll take a photo of the swans and post it for you. It is supposed to be 80 here this weekend, so I hope to get out twice on my bike.

Stairs are my biggest challenge still. I can climb them with no problem, but it still hurts going down.

When is your second TKR? Are you starting to feel prepared for that?

 

[wings]

Tundra swans! Nice. I was on a birding trip to Magee Marsh (Ohio) and Michigan this past Spring. 3 of the 6 participants had serious knee deterioration afterwards requiring surgeries. I think it was all of the climbing in and out of the third row in the van.

Second knee is Nov. 12. I'm doing exercises for both knees now. The right has lost a lot of muscle mass with the post op inactivity. Maybe just maybe I'll get a fat tire bike ride in between surgeries.

 

[Wanttobebiking]

@wings. I didn't know birding was so strenuous. Seriously, that's too bad about your birding buds, but we need to keep our knees strong so we can access all kinds of habitat. I knew I needed to do something about my knee when I was in Tucson with my birding sister last February. She has never been able to outpace me, but I was telling her I needed to slow down and find someplace to sit.

My thought through my entire recovery has been to stay as active as I can. It doesn't take long to lose muscle mass or conditioning. It gets easier to be active with each week and I have found that biking (and swimming if I'd get myself to the pool more often) are easier on my knees than walking. That's what my PT said, too. I started the stationary bike as soon as I could make that revolution. I think I swam at 6 or 7 weeks, and got on my bike outside at 8 weeks. I think I could have done it earlier, but I was cautious.

I have been meaning to answer your question on your thread about the gel pack on the knee, but work has been crazy. I was very germaphobic at first. I made my husband wash our sheets every 3 days for the first few weeks (surprised he actually did it) and I nearly used a clean hand towel every time I washed my hands (he was doing laundry constantly). Now I let people feel my knee when it's hot and I don't even ask them to wash their hands first. I think it makes sense not to put anything like a shared gel pack on your knee until your incision is healed and you feel comfortable with it.

 

[Kssii]

Some people swim, some ride bikes etc. to regain strength. Now me, I went for a hike in the woods yesterday (we have 50 acres.) It was a beautiful day and I was really enjoying the walk, when we lost the trail and next thing you know, I am being stung by ground dwelling yellow jackets!! Three stings on my ankles and a glancing hit to the new knee. They hurt, but as long as I was focused on walking, I was OK. When I got home I did the benedryl, hydrocodone thing, but then about 2 hrs. after it happened, the one on the top of my foot started hurting so bad that I ended up taking a 5mg oxy--glad I had some left from my knee operation!! That worked pretty well--still about a 3-4 on the pain scale--then about 6 hours later the itching started. Never thought I would prefer pain, but both ankles were driving me mad--nothing help, so in desperation--more oxy. Fortunately I made it through the night and today I can control the itch with benedryl.

 

[referee54]

I am being stung by ground dwelling yellow jackets!! Three stings on my ankles

I hate those little boogers---this time of year they are relentless!

By the way, the last time I got bit by a yellow-jacket, somebody told me to cut up an onion and put it on the bite. It did not help, but I smelled quite lovely the rest of the day!

 

[Wanttobebiking]

I love onions. My husband was watering the garden when he disturbed a yellow jacket nest. He came walking into the bedroom early one morning with an ice pack on his lip. I was about 3 weeks post-op so it was the infirm helping the injured. He was stung about 10 times. Luckily we had lots of ice.

@Kssii funny you should mention oxy. I have a full script left and I nearly took one today. For some reason my knee is pretty achy...probably too much desk work.