TKR Panammaniac’s Recovery Thread

[JusticeRider]

Congratulations, @panammaniac ! Isn’t that what we go through all of this for? To get back to doing the things we love? So glad your day trip was a success! You’re doing great

 

[panammaniac]

Thank you, @JusticeRider! Yes, this is definitely what it’s all about. Just a little more than two months post-op and I’m already walking better and with less pain than I have in years. I’m still not out of the woods and have a long ways to go for full recovery, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the progress. I’m at the point now where if I need the other one done in a year, then I’ll do it without hesitation.

I hope you are also doing well. I saw your posts that you’re starting to get back to some of your favorite activities, which is awesome!

 

[Layla]

Wow! What a champ! Thats a long day and you did so well, The most encouraging news is that you didn't struggle with anything worse than normal fatigue after a lengthy day of walking. I'll bet the best part was seeing your daughter perform with her high school band. Glad to hear you enjoyed. The park looks beautiful at Christmas.

@panammaniac

 

[panammaniac]

@Layla Thank you! I’d say it was a bit more than normal fatigue. Normally I wouldn’t be done and ready to go home by 7 PM - I’d be good for about 25,000 steps. I’m also not quite moving full speed yet. I consider this amazing progress though. At this point I feel like I’m about 75% recovered, but the other 25% may take a while.

It was nice getting to see my daughter’s band perform. She gets to go back in a couple weeks as she was selected to play in the Tournament of Roses Honor Band and will be marching the Rose Parade for the second straight year. We will be going up to watch that in person. That was something that I was a bit worried about because the parking is a good mile walk from the parade route, and the I have to climb up a tall set of bleachers to my reserved seat, but after yesterday nothing seems like it will be a problem.

 

[JusticeRider]

I hope you are also doing well. I saw your posts that you’re starting to get back to some of your favorite activities, which is awesome!

Things are coming along pretty well, panammaniac, thanks for asking! I’m gonna post an update very soon. However, I’m a couple months ahead of you time-wise and you are leaps and bounds ahead of me recovery-wise. I would say you’ve been on the fast track and I’ve been on the slow track! But that’s ok! As long as we both end up in the same place in the end…full recovery! Here we go!

 

[Layla]

Stopping by to say Hi and Happy New Year!
Safe travels to and from the Tournament of Roses parade on Monday. I'll bet its fun to see your daughter marching in the parade. I hope the walk from the parking lot and the trek up and down the bleachers feels comfortable enough for you. You'll have to let us know how it goes.
All the best to you in 2023!
@panammaniac

 

[panammaniac]

Thanks for stopping by @Layla! We are excited for the Rose Parade tomorrow. It will be my daughter’s second. If you watch on TV look for the Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band. She’s one of the high school students who made it in. We are also hosting two young ladies from Japan at our home who are in the Japanese band that’s in the parade this year. We have a full house but it has been a lot of fun.

We had a little holiday adventure. There was a mandatory rehearsal on the 26th, so we had to fly home on Christmas evening. They’re very strict about it - about the only excuse for missing rehearsal is being dead, and that requires a doctor’s note. One miss and you’re out. We got to the airport to find out flight was cancelled and there were no alternatives available. We ended up borrowing a car from my in-laws and driving home. It was a 15 hour drive, some of it in heavy snow, and we had 16 hours to do it in. We drive nonstop through the night, with each of us taking shifts, stopping just long enough to get gas and use the restroom. Through some miracle we made it home with just enough time to spare for my daughter to change clothes and head off to rehearsal.

It was an adventure I never want to repeat again, but it all worked out. More importantly, the knee held up though all that unplanned car time. I’ve been taking increasingly longer walks, so the trek from the parking area to our parade seats tomorrow should be no problem at all.

Wishing you all the best in 2023!

 

[Layla]

I will watch for the Pasadena City College band!
How fun hosting two students from Japan. I always thought it would be so fun to be a foreign exchange student back in my high school days.

about the only excuse for missing rehearsal is being dead, and that requires a doctor’s note

a doctors note, bahaha!

Wow...it is amazing you made it home on time with all the adversity you faced on the way. Whew!
Your knee is a champ surviving that trek also in the cramped quarters of a vehicle that doesn't allow for much stretching. I agree with you, I think your knee will do great tomorrow. I hope you have beautiful weather and enjoy!
@panammaniac

 

[Layla]

Hey...I saw the band on tv today! Red and white. Sadly I think they were cheated out of some air time by a commercial.

Thankfully they had a live audience that I'm sure thoroughly enjoyed their performance. I hope your knee fared well and you're not too tired. A great week to you!
@panammaniac

 

[JusticeRider]

Wow, @panammaniac what an adventure! I’m so glad you made it in time and glad your knee held up to that very long drive! Your daughter is lucky to have such heroic parents I hope it went really well at the parade yesterday.

 

[panammaniac]

@Layla Yeah, some of the networks really cheat the bands. The best coverage this year came from KTLA - they gave the band about a minute and a half and even zoomed right in on my daughter for a few seconds. They have their video of the entire parade on their YouTube channel. The National feeds didn’t have them on for very long.

 

[panammaniac]

@JusticeRider Thank you! We had an amazing time at the parade. Lots of great bands, and so much fun hosting a couple of young ladies from the Japanese band at our home. I had no problem at all making the mile walk from our parking space to our seat. In fact the rest of my party had trouble keeping up with me at one point. The only slightly scary thing for me still is descending bleachers in a crowd. All I need is for one person not paying attention to bump into me and I’d probably go down, but I made sure my wife was behind me to give some space and protection and I was just fine.

The little travel adventure definitely falls into the “things we do for our kid” category. LOL. She will most likely make the honor band again next year and we’ve already decided we’re not going to have a repeat. At least one of us will probably stay home with her so we don’t risk getting stuck again.

 

[Layla]

Happy Wednesday, panammaniac
You handled the parade and all of the walking and stairs involved like a champ! It sounds like you and your wife enjoyed and I am sure your daughter loved your support there. It's a special day...Happy Three Month Anniversary!

 

[panammaniac]

Quick question: How common is it for blood pressure to spike after TKR? My normal BP is somewhere around 100/60. The last new times I had it checked were in the days and first couple weeks after my surgery, and it was in the range of 138/82. I didn’t think much of it until I got a new “personal action plan” from my carrier today and it had me flagged as “pre-hypertension.” I’m thinking that big spike had to be due to the surgery and all the meds I was on. I don’t have a BP checking device at home though to see if it has gone back down.

 

[Axx72]

Glad to hear you're home and doing well! Can I ask, what ice machine are you using and would you recommend it? It seems I've gone down the Amazon rabbit hole of choices and now I can't decide.
Thanks!!

Breg Kodiak ice therapy machine was amazing.

Polar Care® Kodiak® – Breg, Inc.

The Polar Care Kodiak Cold Therapy System is the most convenient and versatile offering in Breg's Polar Care line. Its easy to use, compact design makes it great for clinic, hospital, and home use. With the addition of a little ice and water, your patients will enjoy 6-8 hours of effortless cold...

www.breg.com

 

[EalingGran]

Quick question: How common is it for blood pressure to spike after TKR? My normal BP is somewhere around 100/60

Don't know about blood pressure as I haven't checked but I noticed that my resting pulse rate has gone up about 10 points according to my Fitbit- and hasn't yet come down (13 weeks out now).
Hasn't been helped in my case by repeated colds/ chest infections. But I do wonder if there is some general post- op/ surgical inflammatory effect? Or whether it is due to not getting as good a sleep post op? Would be interested in other people's experience of pulse/ BP. Will check my BP and get back to you. Hopefully will gradually settle for both of us. Are you sleeping OK?

 

[panammaniac]

@EalingGran Thanks for your response! My resting pulse has actually gone down since my surgery. I need to find a BP cuff and check to see if it has gone down to normal. The last time it was checked was 3 weeks post-op and it was still high. I've been sleeping very well since about the 3 week mark. I was struggling with sleep but then I changed my bedtime dose of Tylenol to Tylenol PM and it got me over the hump. After a few weeks of sleeping normally I ramped down the Tylenol PM. I haven’t taken any meds at all, not even Tylenol, since December 23. At this point I’d say I’m about 80% recovered with zero pain and just a little bit of residual stiffness that continues to get better every day. I hope you’re doing well!

 

[sistersinhim]

What a great post! It is sure to be an encouragement to those coming up behind you.

 

[Layla]

Quick question: How common is it for blood pressure to spike after TKR

Some prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can increase your blood pressure, so I'd look at that as a possible cause and it's likely you'll find it's resolved once you have it checked.
You're doing great otherwise...Yay, You!

 

[panammaniac]

I just had a virtual visit with my OS this week. She said because I was doing really well there was no real need for me to go in - we could just do it over video chat. Of course if it had been an office visit I would have had my BP checked as part of the routine. Oh well, I'll find somewhere else to get it checked. I told her I wasn't taking any meds at all, not even Tylenol, I was walking about 5 miles a day, and I've lost about 30 pounds. My hip and the other knee that were both bothering me before surgery aren't bothering me anymore. That was all due to me limping so badly. The meeting ended with "see you at the one year mark." She said I'm definitely one of the unusual ones who recovered from this rather quickly. I still don't consider myself fully recovered - I still have some strength left to regain, but I couldn't be happier at this point.