TKR Panammaniac’s Recovery Thread

[benne68]

Wow, @panammaniac, that's an awful lot for barely four weeks post op. How are you feeling today?

Please give that knee a break now for a few days. It still has a lot of healing to do and we don't want you to end up on the ODIC (OverDid It Club) bench!

 

[panammaniac]

@benne68 Im actually feeling pretty good today. Haven’t done much of anything, kind of laying low today, but I do have a PT session this afternoon. I’ll give it a break for a few days. Definitely don’t want any setbacks because I overdid it. My neighborhood gets a lot of Halloween traffic. Around 500 kids at my house typically. Tonight I’ll just be sitting out on the front porch handing out candy so I don’t have to keep getting up and down to answer the door.

 

[panammaniac]

My PT told me to ditch the cane today. I don’t need it to help with walking anymore. I’ll still take it with me when I go out in public just as a visual “give me space and don’t bump into me” signal, but that’s about it. She is very pleased with my progress so far.

 

[hawk2go]

Ditching the aids is great news and a sign of good progress @panammaniac. I carried my cane when out for that very reason, until I lost it.

 

[benne68]

I’ll still take it with me when I go out in public just as a visual “give me space and don’t bump into me” signal

I did the same thing. People really do notice and give you a wider berth!

 

[panammaniac]

I’ll still take it with me when I go out in public just as a visual “give me space and don’t bump into me” signal

I did the same thing. People really do notice and give you a wider berth!

Most of the time anyway. I've had a few people look back and see me with the cane and nonchalantly drop a door on me instead of holding it, but for the most part people give space and offer a seat if we're waiting at a restaurant or something.

 

[benne68]

I've had a few people look back and see me with the cane and nonchalantly drop a door on me instead of holding it,

Ah, in those situations, you can always "accidentally" hit them in the back of the knees with your cane. JK.

 

[panammaniac]

Had to run into my business for a couple hours this morning. Unfortunately I woke up to find that I had a missed call from the alarm company. There was a break-in at 5:35 AM. Fortunately nothing was taken and they didn’t do any damage. The alarm went off and the two guys ran out immediately. Looked like they were trying to get the register drawers open but the alarm went off and scared them away. Anyway, had to run up there to meet the police for a report, take fingerprints, download surveillance camera footage, and of course get the locks changed. This was the first time most of my staff has seen me since right before surgery, and they all commented on how I was already walking better than I was before surgery. No limping! They also said I looked taller because I wasn’t walking hunched over. Of course they asked if I was coming back to work now. Not just yet - I think I need another week of rest and then I might go back for half days for a while. It’s nice to see that people notice the difference!

 

[JusticeRider]

panammaniac, so sorry to hear about the break-in! But I’m glad there was no loss or damage. And congrats on your progress! It has to be gratifying to get that positive feedback

 

[panammaniac]

@JusticeRider Thank you! The silver lining is that I got to see some of my staff. I’ve been missing them! It sounds like you had an adventure of your own yesterday, but yours was certainly a lot more taxing than mine. It’s amazing how we do what we need to do when something happens, but then we pay for it after the fact. Hope you had a chance to take it easy today after your ordeal.

 

[JusticeRider]

So lovely that you got to see your staff and that you care about them and miss them when you’re away. It sounds like a really great work environment! I took it very easy yesterday and mostly today with just a short walk. I think my knee will be ok and if it bounces back from this quickly, well that would be a really wonderful sign. But yes, I don’t recommend farm work on a sensitive baby knee if one can help it!

 

[panammaniac]

This morning I woke up feeling absolutely fabulous. No pain at all, the swelling is pretty much completely gone, and the knee wasn’t even warm to the touch like it has been. I didn’t need to head straight to the ice machine first thing this morning. I walked down the stairs alternating legs. First time I’ve done that in several years. I still have some stiffness of course, but the knee feels amazing. I felt like getting dressed and going for a long walk. I didn’t, first of all because it’s raining and second because I don’t want to join the ODIC, but seriously it’s like someone flipped a switch overnight and suddenly everything is feeling great. I’m one day short of 5 weeks. I almost decided to skip my morning Tylenol but thought better of that. I guess now I just have to be careful to still take it easy and not overdo it.

 

[hawk2go]

Hi @panammaniac, I'm sorry about the break-in but glad it gave you a chance to connect with your folks. Thanks for sharing your good news. You have the right idea to work to stay off the ODIC bench.

 

[panammaniac]

I saw my OS today for the first time since surgery. I’m just a couple days past 5 weeks. She said this was one of the best 5-week checkups she’s ever seen, more in line with what she’d expect at 3 months. Normally she does a 3-month checkup but she said let’s skip it and I’ll see you in a year. I feel like I still have a long ways to go before I’m “back to normal,” but the doctor is very pleased and I am as well.

At my one year checkup she said she’d check in on the other knee and see if we need to consider getting that one done. It was bothering me before surgery but isn’t now. I had a meniscus cleanup on it on 2016. I think the reason it was bothering me before surgery was because I was limping so heavily. Everything seems to have settled down for the time being. If I do need to have it done, I’d go back to this OS in a heartbeat. She even looked at my scar and joked that “a year from now I won’t have anything exciting to show my friends.”

On a side note, she mentioned that she used to use skin glue, but has since moved away from it because they had a large number of patients have severe allergic reactions to it. Getting the staples out was no fun, but she said at least that’s over with in a minute. It’s much better than the reaction I might have gotten.

 

[hawk2go]

the doctor is very pleased and I am as well.

Fantastic news!

At my one year checkup she said she’d check in on the other knee and see if we need to consider getting that one done. It was bothering me before surgery but isn’t now.

My OS was originally going to do the right knee 3 months after the left but I got just about 6 good years and saved that back to back recovery.

 

[WFD]

Getting the staples out was no fun, but she said at least that’s over with in a minute. It’s much better than the reaction I might have gotten.

I've had staples and dissolvable stitches, and I'd rather have the staples. I had one so-called dissolvable stitch stick around for more than two months, forcing me to keep it covered with steri-strips the whole time. Staples are ugly but when they're out, they're out.

 

[Whoodee]

I agree that getting the staples out was no fun. I think that bothered me more than any thing.

 

[panammaniac]

@WFD Having the staples in didn’t bother me, but I found the removal quite painful. Everything you read about staple removal says it should be painless, but mine certainly wasn’t, and others here also have expressed that it was painful. But as the doctor said, at least that’s over with in a minute or two and you’re not facing an itchy, blistery rash because you had a reaction to the skin glue.

 

[JusticeRider]

I had the glue and dissolveables and I was so relieved not to have the staples. I’m a big baby about pokey things! But I’m really glad I didn’t have a reaction to the glue…that would have been awful.

As a side note, I think in the male dominated field of orthopedic surgery, a woman almost has to be better than her male peers to make it. Two of my 4 surgeries were done by a woman and they were by far the best experience throughout. I had total trust in her. She was incredibly skillful and her after care and rehab protocols were excellent. Unlike the two male surgeons, she actually took the time to see me and speak to me on each visit.

I could be wrong but if it was a choice between two good surgeons, I’d go with the woman any day! It sounds like you had an excellent surgeon, panammaniac.

 

[panammaniac]

Interesting thought, @JusticeRider. Come to think of it, my entire surgical team is female. The OS, the PA, and PT. They’re all relatively young too. I’d estimate my OS is mid 40s, the PA in her late 20s, and my PT shared with me she’s 26. My OS is amazing and she also takes the time to talk with her patients and not only explain everything, but to get to know them a little. That really does make a big difference. I’m a hobby woodworker and we’ve had a little running gag going about power tools. When she stopped by before surgery she was joking about having plenty of battery packs ready to go. I told her to measure twice, cut once. She got a good laugh out of that. I think I’ve had good luck with surgeons overall though. When I had my arthroscopic procedure on my right knee back in 2016 it was a male surgeon and he was equally good.