TKR Panammaniac’s Recovery Thread

[JusticeRider]

Oh yes…getting out of a chair with much deliberation, a crack and an ‘ow!’ I remember that too! That’s one thing I don’t miss.

 

[JusticeRider]

Although sometimes I said something worse than ‘ow!’, which shall not be repeated here!

 

[panammaniac]

I’ve actually heard the new knee pop a couple times, but it was a very mechanical sounding pop and of course I felt nothing. It was just kind of a strange feeling, hearing a mechanical click like that coming from inside my body.

 

[Kneely]

I sincerely wish I’d told the physio that I wasn’t worried about the ROM and not to measure it

 

[panammaniac]

Yesterday I ventured out with my wife a little bit. Our daughter had a school activity that didn’t have her home until after 10 PM, so it was just the two of us on our own. We decided to go out for a fast casual dinner. I was feeling good, so on the way to that we dropped by my small business for a quick surprise visit with my staff. I stayed there for 10 minutes or so, and then we headed to dinner. In total, I was out and about with my wife for about an hour, aided by my walker and with her always close by.

It may have been a little bit overly aggressive on day 9, but it felt great to be out after being cooped up in the house, and it was great to see some of my staff. I miss them! I did swell up a little bit, but not too bad. Back home and on the ice machine immediately until bedtime and I did ok. I dozed off in my recliner while strapped into the ice machine around 9:00, then my wife woke me up at 10 to go upstairs to bed. I ended up having by far my best night’s sleep since surgery. According to my tracker I got almost 6 hours of solid sleep and a 67 sleep score (fair). Maybe there was some benefit to tiring myself out.

I did wake up a bit more stiff, swollen, and sore today than I have the past few days. I’m sure that’s my knee pushing back and telling me I made it do too much. Message received. I’ll take it easier tonight. We usually go out for a quick dinner on Friday evenings but this may be a takeout night for me. Overall I’m still feeling pretty good though. Pain level is slightly higher, but I think it will come down with more ice time, and I feel like the mental break of getting out and being somewhat normal was worth it.

Looking at the activity progression timeline, I’m doing things at about the week 6 level without any problem at all, and I’m not even 2 weeks out yet. I’m not trying to be overly aggressive, but I just feel like things are progressing nicely and “ahead of schedule.” I’m spending my days alone while wife and daughter are at work and school, making my own lunch and snacks, doing a little bit of work (just the necessities, things my staff can’t do without me - probably an hour or so a day over a few short sessions), and even did some of my own laundry yesterday. Pain is definitely there but manageable, and without narcotics. PT is happy and not trying to push. I’m of course antsy to just “get back to normal,” but I know I still have a ways to go for that yet. This is definitely no cakewalk, but I have to be pleased with the progress so far.

 

[Mouser]

You are doing great. Keep uo the good work.

 

[panammaniac]

Day 11. I drove for the first time since surgery, only about 5 minutes down the road to the nearest Starbucks drive thru and back. No issues! I didn’t expect to be able to drive this soon, although I definitely am not ready for longer drives yet. I have a PA appointment on Tuesday to get my staples out, and that’s a 45-60 minute drive each way. My first inpatient PT is on Wednesday, and that’s a 30 minute drive. I’m not able to comfortably sit upright for that length of time yet.

My PT has ordered me a cane and will be transitioning me off the Walker on Monday. I am now able to do straight leg lifts and long arc quad lifts without straps, and my ROM is up to 95 degrees. All of this is without aggressive PT or doing anything painful. I can’t be more pleased with the progress!

This is still not a cakewalk. There’s still pain, but it’s manageable. I still can’t be on my feet more than about 5 minutes at a time. I still can’t sit with my feet on the floor longer than about 30-45 minutes. I’m still not sleeping particularly well - it’s just difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position with all the swelling. I’m starting to get the normal pains associated with incision healing. The ice machine is still my best friend. I still have a long ways to go, but so far this has gone far better than I ever expected, and I’m feeling very positive!

 

[Flashlight]

You are doing great! Do you have a car where the passenger seat can be pushed way back? My doctor is also 45+ mins away. I found I needed something to rest my foot on to raise my leg. I wasn't prepared and had to use a Kleenex box and a roll of paper towels! I rolled up my jacket and placed it under my knee/thigh for comfort. I did bring an ice pack. Maybe you won't have these issues. It just hurt to have my leg hanging. When I got to the office I had to walk around while waiting to be seen. I was still using my walker. Even now if my knee is really swollen, I bring out the walker. My doctor's appointment was changed to this Thursday, so I am anxious to see how I am doing. I was at 90 when I had my staples out and I didn't have any issues with straightening. I'm using an online PT exercise program and hoping I didn't make a mistake. Best of luck!

 

[benne68]

Sounds like you are doing really well for less than 2 weeks out, @panammaniac! Just remember you are still in the healing phase and need to take things slowly.

Pain, inflammation and fatigue will continue for weeks. That's normal and to be expected when you think about all the sawing and hammering and pushing and pulling the surgeon did in there!

 

[panammaniac]

You are doing great! Do you have a car where the passenger seat can be pushed way back? My doctor is also 45+ mins away. I found I needed something to rest my foot on to raise my leg. I wasn't prepared and had to use a Kleenex box and a roll of paper towels! I rolled up my jacket and placed it under my knee/thigh for comfort. I did bring an ice pack. Maybe you won't have these issues. It just hurt to have my leg hanging. When I got to the office I had to walk around while waiting to be seen. I was still using my walker. Even now if my knee is really swollen, I bring out the walker. My doctor's appointment was changed to this Thursday, so I am anxious to see how I am doing. I was at 90 when I had my staples out and I didn't have any issues with straightening. I'm using an online PT exercise program and hoping I didn't make a mistake. Best of luck!

I have a SUV, so the seats can go back a ways, but I’m also 6’2” so I won’t have enough leg room to elevate. I’ll be fine. Taking an ice pack is a good idea that I didn’t think of. I’ll definitely do that. I’m only seeing the PA this time, and Tuesday is two weeks kat-op, so I believe she’s probably going to do a general follow-up and staple removal. I feel like I’m ready for them to come out!

I wish my provider had an online PT program. That would definitely be very convenient. My Wednesday PT is scheduled as a “consultation,” so I imagine they will lay out a plan and schedule based on my progress. I use Kaiser and they have three PT centers in my county, but unfortunately the closest one to me is 30 minutes away.

 

[panammaniac]

Sounds like you are doing really well for less than 2 weeks out, @panammaniac! Just remember you are still in the healing phase and need to take things slowly.

Pain, inflammation and fatigue will continue for weeks. That's normal and to be expected when you think about all the sawing and hammering and pushing and pulling the surgeon did in there!

Yes, definitely trying not to rush it, and I don’t think I am. I’m still spending the vast majority of my days in my recliner strapped into my ice machine. It’s a little frustrating for me as I’m an active person, but I’m taking it in stride. Getting out and about for a quick lunch or trip to the coffee shop helps my mental sanity and also gives me a little bit of exercise.

Most of my discomfort right now actually isn’t the knee area - it’s the band where the tourniquet was. I have a visible dark purple ring on my thigh and a big knot on the outer side of the thigh where they squeezed down. It’s pretty tender, and I think that’s what kept me from sleeping well last night. I just couldn’t get comfortable in any position.

 

[panammaniac]

So. Little. Sleep. That is by far my biggest frustration right now. As you can see from all of my posts above, my healing and rehab are progressing quite nicely and “ahead of schedule,” if you will. I’m not trying to rush anything, but I’m enjoying the fact I can get up and about and be out of the house for a quick bite to eat or cup of coffee this early on. But this sleep thing is just annoying. I’m not in any real pain or discomfort. I’m not napping much during the day. I’ve taken a few short naps out of necessity, but I’ve never been one who enjoyed or felt refreshed by an afternoon nap. When bedtime comes I’m tired, but then I just lay there and can’t drift off to sleep. It’s incredibly annoying.

I’ve had one halfway decent night’s sleep since surgery, and that was just decent, not great. I got about 6 hours of good sleep in that night. That was two nights ago. On each of the two nights since then I’ve gotten less than two hours of measurable sleep according to my tracker. It’s mind boggling, like there’s no explainable reason why I’m not drifting off. I know it’s a very common issue though - the body’s response to all of the trauma inflicted on it.

I’m considering just sleeping in my recliner tonight to see if that makes any difference. It’s in the living room, but no big deal. I’ve also been pondering trying Tylenol PM, but I don’t know if there’s enough antihistamine in that to have much of an effect on me. I’m kind of a big guy.

In a previous life before I owned my business I used to travel a lot, including about 8-10 overseas trips a year, and week long trips where I was sleeping in a different bed and different time zone every night. I never had a problem with that - I was always able to adapt and adjust to the situation. This one so far has me stumped.

 

[benne68]

I’m considering just sleeping in my recliner tonight to see if that makes any difference

Many of our members find that they sleep better in the recliner during the early weeks of recovery. Just know that sleep difficulties are normal. We all struggle with it. So, sleep wherever you can, whenever you can!

I’ve also been pondering trying Tylenol PM,

Again, some of our member find it helpful. I didn't -- because the antihistamine flushed all the fluid out of my body, making me have to get up to urinate every hour on the hour. (Ok, maybe that wasn't a bad thing? )

If you decide to use it, just be careful to count your total acetaminophen use so you don't exceed 4000 mg/day.

Good luck!

 

[Jockette]

Again, some of our member find it helpful. I didn't -- because the antihistamine flushed all the fluid out of my body, making me have to get up to urinate every hour on the hour. (Ok, maybe that wasn't a bad thing? )

I didn’t have this issue with Tylenol PM, but, because I have dry eye syndrome, I woke up the next morning with painful eyes, the antihistamine had dried out my eyes. This hadn’t occurred to me when I took it.

 

[panammaniac]

I slept a little better last night - just under 5 hours according to my tracker, but good solid sleep. I woke up this morning to find the cat curled up on my pillow, so maybe she decided to help me sleep. I didn’t toss and turn last night like I did the last couple nights. The blankets weren’t all in a twisted up mess by morning like they have been. Hopefully I can build on that. I’d love to get back in my own bed but don’t want all of my restlessness to disturb my wife’s sleep. If I can get that settled down a little I might be able to get back to my own bed this week.

I’m reluctant to sleep in my recliner because I’m already spending most of my day in it. I don’t really want to get in the habit of taking a sleep aid either, although im not opposed to melatonin as I used to take that all the time when I traveled abroad.

 

[panammaniac]

Well two weeks ago today at this time I was out cold in the operating room while they sawed and hammered away on my leg bones. Very shortly I will be headed down for my post-op appointment with the PA. I’m guessing she’ll probably take my staples out.

Yesterday I had my final in-home PT appointment. I know here at bonesmart we try not to have a timeframe for anything, and I certainly haven’t been pushing for one. But my PT’s goal was to get me to 90 degrees by yesterday. I was at 97 without any aggressive or painful work, so mission accomplished. I start outpatient PT tomorrow.

I’m still very pleased with the progress. I’m walking with less pain now than I was pre-surgery, just slower and over much shorter distances. I graduated from the walker in favor of a cane. The only thing I don’t like about that is that there never seems to be a good place to park the cane when I’m sitting so that it doesn’t fall on the floor, but I’ll get that figured out eventually.

I slept a full 8 hours last night, which is the most I’ve had since surgery. It’s not great quality sleep though according to my Fitbit. I’m still pretty restless, only getting a “fair” sleep score. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep improving on that. I’m still sleeping in the guest bed because I’m pretty sure all of my stirring will keep my wife awake at night.

So far so good. I’m far better off than I ever thought I’d be at this point in time.

 

[Layla]

Great update! Happy Two Week Anniversary! You're doing so well.

The only thing I don’t like about that is that there never seems to be a good place to park the cane when I’m sitting so that it doesn’t fall on the floor, but I’ll get that figured out eventually.

Check out Amazon for cane accessories. They do have accessories can be used to keep your cane upright.
A great rest of the week to you.

 

[panammaniac]

@Layla I just ordered something called the Cane Minder from Amazon. It’s $8 and is basically a little set of wings that wraps around the cane that you can use to lean it up against a wall or hang it on the end of a table. It arrives on Friday so we’ll see how it works. Worth a shot for $8. I’ve been on a cane for two days and I’m already tired of picking it up off the floor. Last night it fell over and woke me up in the middle of the night.

Got my staples taken out yesterday as I expected. That wasn’t a pleasant experience. Some of them stung a little but a few of them hurt quite a bit coming out. It’s done and over with though. The PA was very pleased to find that I was walking on a cane and not taking pain meds this early on. She said everything is looking great!

My sleep seems to be improving. Last night I got a little over 7 hours in, with my Fitbit giving me a sleep score of 70 which is “fair.” My blankets haven’t been in twisted up knots for the last two mornings, so it seems that I’m starting to settle down a bit. Maybe I can get back to my own bed in another night or two.

I’m basically using this forum to journal my progress, so trying to post daily updates for now as I’m seeing daily changes.

 

[panammaniac]

Tylenol PM for the win! I was reluctant to try it because I didn’t think it would make much difference, but last niht I’m swapped out my bedtime dose of Tylenol for PM and I was out cold. Slept through the night for the first time since surgery. I was still a little bit restless according to my tracker, but nothing like I have been. I think I found my regimen for the time being. If I sleep like this again tonight I’ll be able to move back into my own bed by the weekend.

First in-person PT went well yesterday. They have a machine that I actually found kind of enjoyable to work on. I don’t know what it’s called but it’s has a sliding table on an incline so you put your feet up on a wall and let it pull you down under your own weight to gently stretch the muscles. The PT I got is in mutual understanding that we will push to the point of discomfort but not to pain. I think I’ve been pretty lucky with that so far, drawing PTs who understand that.

Swelling and bruising are way down. The knee is no longer red hot to the touch when I wake up, just slightly warm. I’m able to easily walk up my stairs using alternating legs instead of one step at a time. I can’t do that coming down stairs yet, just going up. Still seeing significant progress and improvement every day!

I stepped on the scale for the first time in over two weeks and was surprised to find I’ve lost about 4.5 pounds since surgery. I’ve of course been mostly sedentary and eating only slightly less than normal. It got me into wondering if your body burns more calories while healing, so I did a little research and found that yes, that is actually true. I certainly won’t fight it. I’ve been on a mission to lose about 25-30 lbs since signing up for the surgery and this was a little unexpected boost. I’m down about 12 now since mid-June.

 

[panammaniac]

Seems that my sleep is more or less back to normal as I’ve had 4 days in a row of decent sleep. I’m still slightly more restless than I was pre-surgery, but that is slowly improving.

The steri-strips that they applied after removing the staples are starting to fall off. I’m very pleasantly surprised at how minimal the scarring is. I’ve read that my OS is known for really keeping the scarring to a minimum. My PTs commented that she makes a shorter incision than all of the other surgeons at that location. I was self-conscious about walking around in public in shorts, but I think by the time shorts season comes back around it may be hardly noticeable.