TKR Panammaniac’s Recovery Thread

[Layla]

It sounds like a lot has worked in your favor, panammaniac. You're blessed! May it only get better.

 

[Layla]

Happy Two Month Anniversary...to date.
I hope you have a wonderful week as you continue healing. You're doing great!
@panammaniac

 

[panammaniac]

Thank you @Layla. I’m still doing well. Still have to be careful not to overdo things because that’s my tendency. I’ve cut down to just two doses of Tylenol a day, when I wake up and at bedtime. I’m still icing 3-4 times a day, especially after activity. Getting stronger by the day!

 

[JusticeRider]

Over here cheering for you, panammaniac! You’re doing great!

 

[panammaniac]

I have a new "sensation" that started up last night - a very localized sharp shooting pain in an area about the size of a dime on the inside of my knee. It isn't intolerable and it passes after a few minutes, but it woke me up 3 or 4 times last night. I do get occasional "zingers" but they tend to cover more of the leg, starting either down by my ankle and shooting up, or starting in my thigh and shooting down. This is the same kind of feeling except in a very small area. I wonder if this is just another type of zinger. I'm not too worried about it except it did briefly disturb my sleep a few times.

 

[sistersinhim]

My zingers were very localized, just like you are describing what you are feeling. I never had a zinger go all that way down my leg. That must be quite uncomfortable.

 

[Layla]

Sounds like another type of zinger, as you suspect, panammaniac.
Small sensory nerve fibers are cut with the incision. While healing you may experience sensations of tingling, pins and needles, itching, burning and even the feeling of a minor electrical shock. These are usually good signs that the nerves are spontaneously firing through the regeneration process. So while unpleasant, know that it's only temporary as your body is healing just as it should. I hope you sleep well tonight.
@panammaniac

 

[panammaniac]

Thanks for the replies. That’s kind of what I suspected. It’s just bad enough to be slightly annoying. @sistersinhim when I get the “big” zingers up and down my leg they’re like an electrical shock. Just a quick zap, I wince a little bit and it’s over. Uncomfortable but it doesn’t happen enough to be unbearable. The ones last night were more like a very localized throbbing or stabbing sensation. Again not unbearably painful but enough to wake me up a few times. It was more like a minor annoyance and “hmm, that’s a new one.”

 

[panammaniac]

Last night it didn’t happen at all. No zingers, nothing to disturb my sleep. Sunday night was just very bizarre. Hope that doesn’t happen again, but I’ve learned to not be surprised by much of anything in this recovery.

 

[Layla]

I recall being a little thrown by some of the odd sensations early on, even a tad worried...What Was That, that I just felt?!! It became apparent that most of the sensations were short lived, normally replaced by a different one. Pretty quickly I was able to dismiss them with the thought that it was a natural part of the recovery process and thankfully my body was healing as it should.
May your week be zaps and zinger free!
@panammaniac

 

[panammaniac]

I saw my PT today and she said we’re done. I have been officially discharged and don’t need any more PT sessions. In her words I’m doing “fantastic” - way ahead of plan and recovering far better than can be expected.

A big test for me is going to be next Thursday. My daughter’s high school band is performing at Disneyland and we’re spending the day there. I’m just planning on taking it slow and finding a place to sit down as often as I need to. I had planned on renting a convertible rollatlor that can also be used as a wheelchair. There’s a rental place near me where I can get one for $35 for a week, but at this stage I’d feel pretty silly pushing something like that around. I think I’ll just see how I do and take breaks as I need to.

 

[sistersinhim]

I think it'd be worth it to rent the rollator. You're only 2 months out and walking around Disneyland will be asking a lot of that baby knee of yours. It's better to have it and not need it than to need the rollator and not have it. You might end up being very sorry you don't have one.

 

[Jockette]

I agree with @sistersinhim. Even though you are doing really well, you are technically still early in recovery. If a setback happens, it can take a very long time to rebound back from it. I had such a setback, from overdoing, at 4 months post op, and it took months to recover from it.

but at this stage I’d feel pretty silly pushing some like that around.

You have been doing very well, and you’ve been very sensible about your recovery. Don’t take any chances now, it’s not worth the price you might pay. You’ll feel even sillier if you have a big set back because you didn‘t have a sensible option with you.

 

[Layla]

How fun for your daughter, you and your family. I'll bet you're proud of her.

but at this stage I’d feel pretty silly pushing some like that around.

Please don't feel silly. Disney can involve a lot of walking as I am sure you know. You're recovering from major surgery, doing really well and you don't want to do anything at this point to jeopardize the steady progress you've made. Another consideration is to rent a mobility scooter for the day. Why take the chance of exhausting yourself this early into recovery if you don't have to. You can save your energy for your normal daily activity and outings.
Whatever you choose to do I hope you enjoy!

 

[panammaniac]

I know Disneyland very, very well. Up until the pandemic we had annual passes for over 20 years. We live 15 minutes away and went multiple times a month. It was our go to entertainment when we had nothing else going on, and with the passes we weren’t obligated to stay all day to get our money’s worth. Quite often we’d go on a Friday night, have dinner, walk around the parks for a couple hours, and go home. We were on first name basis with a lot of the staff. Unfortunately after the pandemic they cancelled the annual pass program and replaced it with something that wasn’t nearly as beneficial for us, so I haven’t been in nearly 3 years. That’s another story though that I don’t need to get into here.

I figure worst case I can rent a mobility scooter or a wheelchair once I get into the park if I find I need one. And we’re going on a weekday. Sometimes it’s difficult finding a place to sit at Disney, but on a weekday it shouldn’t be a problem. We know where all of the good places are to sit and rest. So we’re thinking we can just take it slow and easy, let me sit and rest often, take a few ice breaks (I’ll take instant ice packs with me), and if I start hurting I can fall back on renting one of the options available at the park.

Rest assured I’ll be sensible about it. I’m slightly worried about the day, but my wife and I are on the same page. I won’t overdo it and she won’t let me overdo it. I can be a little stubborn about that but she’s there to check me.

 

[Flashlight]

Have a great time! Maybe think about bringing your cane to lean on if you have to. I know it saved me a few times when I was getting tired. Wishing you a beautiful day!

 

[panammaniac]

Have a great time! Maybe think about bringing your cane to lean on if you have to. I know it saved me a few times when I was getting tired. Wishing you a beautiful day!

I might just do that. I have a folding cane that I can easily put in a backpack, so that wouldn't be a bad thing to have along. I actually considered buying a folding cane chair specifically for this visit, but there are mixed reviews on how friendly Disney security is to those. Some reports of Disney refusing entry to cane chairs, and other reports of staff being fine with them as long as they're not used as a chair. If it were any day other than a weekday I think I'd be a lot more worried. It shouldn't be that crowded so I should be able to take a sit break whenever I need to. They have mobility scooter rentals at the park for $60/day, so that's a decent fallback option if I really get tired. I'm trying to be optimistic that I'll be fine, while keeping all other options open just in case.

 

[panammaniac]

I did it! Spent 11 hours at Disneyland today. Walked 15,000 steps and held up just fine. I had a foldable cane in my backpack but never took it out. Never rented a wheelchair or scooter. I was getting pretty tired at the end - in fact I was pretty much done at that point - but we had already done everything we planned on doing, so we were all ready to call it a night. I’m home now on my ice machine. I’ll probably be sore in the morning but don’t feel too bad now. The next couple days are definitely going to be take it easy days.

I actually feel that I got through today with a lot less pain than I would have 6 months ago. I’m amazed that I could do what I did today just 2 months posed surgery.

 

[panammaniac]

And now the morning after...and everything is fine! My hips, ankles, and back ache from all the walking, but the knee is 100% fine. It's perhaps a tiny bit more swollen than it normally would be, but nothing really noticeable. I'm still going to roll back activity a bit today and tomorrow just to play it safe, but I am so excited that I legitimately made it through a day of being on my feet all day and doing a lot of walking with very little issue!

 

[benne68]

I'm still going to roll back activity a bit today and tomorrow just to play it safe, but I am so excited that I legitimately made it through a day of being on my feet all day and doing a lot of walking with very little issue!

Good news! And good decision to give your body a little break after all that activity yesterday.
Wishing you a healthy (and pain-free) new year!