It's been two months since last I posted on my own thread. I am now two days past the 11 month anniversary of my LTKR. I do still have a fast thyroid which has complicated my TKR, according to internist, OS and now an endocrinologist. I've been told by them that hyperthyroid over the long haul increases the metabolism and can cause muscle loss. The endocrinologist told me last week that being hyperthyroid was a serious complication after TKR surgery and that I should expect that my muscle strength will be slow in coming back. I wasn't surprised as this is my third dance in 15 years with this hamster wheel called hyperthyroid.
I was put on meds to slow my thyroid last week, but after taking just four doses, I continue to have tremors, weakness, insomnia and pain in both legs. I'm sure that will start to get better soon. It does not seem possible to separate my thyroid issues from my recovery from surgery. My first post-surgery thyroid test was done in July, and was trending to hyper then, about 4 months after my surgery. I am not sure how long before that it might have been fast.
My ROM, as from day one, is excellent. I haven't measured it since I stopped PT at week 12 or so, but it was 132 flex and 0 extension then. It is at least that good now. The last couple of months have been hard. Christmas preparations caused a lot of pain from standing for cooking and baking - and from climbing up and down stepstools to hang decorations, and I fell on the concrete garage floor two days before Christmas. Since mid-September, I have to use a cane for walking more than a block or two. I saw the internist about my thyroid in mid January and she took x- rays of my left knee and hip because both have been angry with me (all along on the TKR journey, but particularly since the fall). She was concerned that the fall might have loosened my implant, but the x-rays were fine, so I assume any pain I am having must be soft tissue of some sort. I will see my OS at the one year point or thereabout in late February or early March, and he will take his own x-rays at that point. His advice at roughly 7 months, was that all my discomfort is due to the thyroid being too fast and I should continue to exercise to avoid losing muscle mass. I think I may ask about an MRI if my level of discomfort stays what it is now, though I don't know whether he would order one given the state of my thyroid.
I continue with just my arthritis water exercise class. My legs are too weak for the arthritis toning "land" class I had. I can't stand on one leg for long enough to do the strengthening exercises in the land class, while the water seems to support me in the pool and I have better stability when standing on one leg. I work once or twice a month with a trainer in the pool and she helps me decide which exercises I can do on my own that will help rebuild strength and not cause pain. In October, my OS wanted me to continue doing the treadmill walking and stationary bike riding I'd been doing, along with the pool and tone-up class, but I've stopped. There was just too much pain from shin splints and my quads screaming about what I was asking them to do.
Re-reading this, it strikes me as pretty doom and gloom, but in fact, life is good. Now that I'm recovered from the flu which I had for the first three weeks of January, I'm going out with friends, doing the grocery shopping and heading for the hills (literally) with my husband as we escape valley fog for clearer skies in the foothills of the Sierra. I can't drive more than about a half hour without complaints from hip and leg, but being a passenger is pretty easy as I can shift position to get more comfortable. Hubby is good about agreeing to stop after an hour and a half or so and I get out and stretch and walk a bit. We are going to try to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning so we can drive up above the fog to see the lunar eclipse which is supposed to peak here around 5:30 am. I don't love using the cane, but it's a small price to pay for independence and a chance to see and do the things I want to see and do.
I'm still not sure I would do this surgery again - at least not without some assurance that my thyroid won't act up again. The only way to do that is probably to have a radio-active iodine treatment, which the endocrinologist has suggested is an option if the meds don't work as well as he hopes they will.
So, Bone Smarties, that's more than you ever wanted to know about this phrog's recovery. Hope all of you are having success as you continue your post-op journeys. I truly believe my quads, my knees and the rest of me will eventually get to a place where I can say my knee is almost normal - and that will be something to celebrate!
United States
I’ve always had a thick head of hair; even when I had chemo, it survived. Now, however, my part seems to be getting bigger. At this rate, my husband and I may have matching hairstyles sooner rather than later! 
(He has the fringe around his ears). I’ve never considered myself particularly vain—don’t even wear makeup, except when I’m going to a wedding, perhaps—but this is really upsetting to me...
I can't wait for both you and me to get this under control so we can start to feel strength in our fabulous new knees again.
