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TKR Phrog's Great Expectations - Downgraded a Little<

I have the same stair challenges at my son's house. The last time I stayed with them (prior to surgery) was in December, 2016, and it was brutal. Their guest room is on a lower floor of their split level - 10 stairs down and up. I could only manage one step at a time, sideways, clinging to the bannister. Then, the next time I stayed with them was the end of Feb., last month, 5 1/2 months post surgery. Although I was (and am) still moving slowly and don't have incredible stair walking strength yet, the difference was astonishing. Foot over foot, holding on with one hand. It was thrilling. Still I limited the trips, and I agree that asking your daughter to help out with it is a good idea. This last time I had ordered a Lounge Doctor delivered to my son's house prior to my stay, and it was waiting for me when we arrived from the airport. Oh my gosh was I glad to see that thing. Would you be able to have something like that waiting for you? I know they are a bit pricey, but so worth it, imho. Have a great trip!
 
Woke up at 2 am with pain in quad and knee. I was too bleary-eyed to take Tylenol, but grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer and within an hour was asleep in the recliner. This morning my knee and quad feel numb and like they are swollen (but they are not!) - but no real pain, which is a welcome change! Hoping it stays this way (though losing the numbness would be nice).

@Jockette - fetching things for us is why we had kids, right? :loll:At least that's what my mom used to tell me. I can't count the number of times she started a sentence with, "Jan, you're a lot younger than I am ..."

@KarriB , I 'll be careful with the strength training. I go to a senior fitness club and have been working with Alyssa, the trainer, for six months. She is an angel who advises me constantly against my tendency to be part of the ODIC. I won't be selling the treadmill any time soon - my husband uses it daily, doing the stress test protocol but with 45 pounds of books in a backpack. He is a crazy man, but then aren't all backpackers? I sure miss day hiking with him, but backpacking just seems more like torture than fun to me. He has seen parts of the Sierra I will never see, though. At least I have his pictures!:hiking:
 
Pictures work just fine, I think. My son wants to climb a mountain in Bolivia, the Illimani, and said I should come along. The view, he said, would be amazing. Not amazing enough for me to even try to do that. I'm pretty sure it would kill me. A photo would make me much happier. "Look at all the amazing things you've done and seen. Thank you so much for sharing!"

Your senior club sounds like a wonderful place for you. Some of us need a little reining in and if you recognize that about yourself and know someone who can do it, that's a great option. :SUNsmile:
 
Yes indeed, we have fetched enough things for our kids, it’s now pay back time, and pictures work just fine for me, too!
 
phrog said:
you're a lot younger than I am ..."
Click to expand...
That's one of the sayings mothers learned in mother school. Like, "because I said so!" "If your friends jump off the bridge, are you going to jump off the bridge?" A friend and I will laugh about these says many times. She's from a different state than I am, but our mothers had the same sayings!

It sounds like you have a really good plan for your exercises! You know the knee still needs to be in control for a while longer.
 
@sistersinhim, my mom was born in Oregon and her parents were from Nebraska - and she used the same sayings your mom did. You are right: they teach those in mother school. I tried not to say them myself, but . . . some things are inevitable.
 
Arrived home from New York late Tuesday night after a wonderful 9 days with my daughter's family and yesterday (Wednesday) had my one year (well, thirteen month) check up with my OS. I gave his PA and later him an earful of woe about lack of leg strength and numbness/pain. I asked questions about which implant I have and possible soft tissue damage. He listened, he was kind and said my knee is in excellent shape, the x-rays are perfect and my ROM is excellent (zero for extension and 140 bend - I've been extremely pleased with ROM all along and know how lucky I am). He thinks that my pain and numbness may be related to my thyroid or a nerve problem. He suggests I see a neurologist because he is sure it's not related to my surgery and a neurologist may be able to do tests pinpointing whether the pain in my legs is referred pain and if so where it is originating. He says it will likely be a process of elimination to figure out what is gong on. He also wants me to continue to exercise and to "work through the pain" when it occurs. He says that I will not hurt myself and that I will have to put up with the pain to increase strength. He believes in the long run that exercise will decrease my pain as my legs get stronger. He didn't mention me coming back (though did say I could call him if things aren't resolved by the endocrinologist or a neurologist). I am pretty sure this the last time I will see him (though his pre-op info says he likes to do yearly check-ups so I may get a letter asking me to make an appointment a year from now). At first, I was so disappointed. I thought I'd get some resolution. Now I am more or less resigned to the idea that if my pain doesn't resolve when my thyroid is stable (very close now!) I will likely have more doctor visits. I will exercise, but will rely on my trainer at the senior fitness center to help me set limits. She always says she doesn't want me to cause my self pain.
 
While disappointing to you, there's a lot a good news in your OS visit. Your knee is functioning really well! You are where so many hope to be. The pain, of course, is something you want to be rid of. I hope a neurologist (or anyone else) can zero in on a cause.

Congrats on your thyroid getting close to being stable. Your health will be so much better! And you have that excellent trainer at the senior center. From everything you say, she's really good for you.
 
I’m sorry you are still having unresolved pain. :console2:

I am constantly amazed by all our different journeys. All the focus on ROM early on, like it’s the only thing that matters and achieving an excellent number is the measure of success.

And yet you have an excellent number but are still having pain, so of course you have not achieved the success you expected going into this surgery.

And then there are others who months later have low ROM and are struggling with their number even though they admit they can do most everything they want and they have little pain. But their “success”has not been achieved either, because so much emphasis is placed on a “good ROM”

I hope you eventually can call your surgery a success. Maybe that success is different for all of us. :console2:
 
Thanks for posting an update Phrog! Your ROM is spectacular . . . my lefty is numb with envy :rotfl:. I'm sorry you weren't able to get definitive info on the pain. I hope when your thyroid gets resolved it will disappear - or that the other specialists can come up with something. I'm glad you have a trainer and gym that you like. I, too, am finding the slow to recover muscles and stamina to be quite annoying. But I figure going to the gym is better than being a couch potato - particularly for the ticker. I have my 1 yr post-op visit next month. :upright:
 
i'm also envious of your excellent range of motion. i think you had a very positive and informative appointment with your surgeon and learned a few things you didn't know before about your implant; also excellent to hear that everything is in place and in working order. sorry you still have the pain; however, you've been able to travel and function very well being away from home ~ that's a big deal!

good for you continuing with your fitness routine and how lucky you are to have a good trainer that is looking out for you regarding the pain. good luck searching for answers and resolutions to the pain you're having and also your thyroid issues. :flwrysmile:
 
Thanks, all. I'm not always as positive as I want to be, but your encouraging comments help. I kind of love the way you gently remind me how fortunate I am and how much better my leg is behaving than it was about 10 -12 months ago (oh that was a hard time!). Susie, Kmak and Liam, you are right that I am fortunate in the trainer - she's a sweetheart and makes the time in the pool fun. Kmak, you are so good about exercise and taking care of yourself that I bet your one year report will be full of really good news. @ColleenAda, that was the best laugh I had all day. Early on, my OS told me I had to join a gym and it's been his mantra all along even after I did (just not the kind of high intensity gym he had in mind!). It did occur to me on more than one occasion that maybe he ought to be paying for it then. :heehee:
 
My OS also told me to push through the pain/discomfort to continue building my strength. Good to see your great report. Also, I hate to say it, but glad to see some late bloomers still posting post 1 year of the items we still struggle with. This forum is wonderful for those first hours, days, weeks and months, but with such a long overall recovery, it’s nice to read what I’m experiencing is still normal for some people.
 
I am about six months behind you Phrog. I am at 7 months, doing well with daily activity. However, I still experience muscle pain, especially behind the knees and in my upper thighs from time to time. Also some low level jolts if I move my knees in a certain way. I too have excellent ROM and numbers. I guess where I'm going with this is, from what I've read of others' experiences, that sometimes the recovery just takes longer than expected. As a complete lay person medically, I would think that 120/0 numbers (mine) would mean that I am . . . . cured. And yet my knees tell me differently, because I do experience situational pain and discomfort, and my knees are still swollen, although mostly slight.

I know that you have other medical issues going on with your thyroid (I did too a couple years back, but my numbers are now in the normal range and I feel so much better), and that could have an impact on the length of time to full knee recovery. I have fibromyalgia and I know that it has impacted how I felt during this journey. Also I moved recently to another state. Even though my kids did most of the heavy lifting, there was a lot of activity around tasks that only I could do, and the entire experience really impacted my energy and stamina. That in combination with the high altitude where I am now living requiring a period of adjustment, has probably contributed to my swelling and slow progress. I feel completely acclimated to the altitude now, and my knees feel pretty good as well.

The reason I brought up my move is reading about your travels and visit with your family, even though your knees are in great shape as your OS says, if you are one down because of thyroid, and you add in the travel, you might have more impact on your recovery that you realize. And there is the jet lag factor too.

Anyway, please keep your chin up. Only you know what makes you comfortable. I hope you will continue to post your recovery challenges and successes. Its great to read someone's journey who is months ahead of me.
 
@jaschembra - I so agree about people posting later in their recoveries - I like the successes, but reading about challenges that are still going on helps me worry less about my numbness and low level pain.
@mlwreader thank you! I think you're right - I just have had a lot going on that might effect recovery. I finally got back into the pool on Thursday and am hoping that gentle exercise helps
 
It has been a couple of months since I've written here. I checked in by reading a few threads yesterday and was glad to see some progress with those I've lost touch with - and sorry to see that others are still struggling with swelling and pain. My knee continues to gain strength, but at 16 months I am also dealing with continued numbness and a heavy feeling, along with occasional sharp pains with certain movements and walking on the outside of the knee and just below the knee cap (I assume the center pain is in the tibia). All of this was present at one year when my OS said my implant is perfect and the symptoms not related to the surgery. My primary ordered an MRI of the lower spine that shows a severe narrowing of the neural passageway at L5-S1 and probably impingement of the nerve. My doc did not refer to a neurologist as the OS suggested, but instead to a spinal orthopedist. I will see him in a couple of weeks. My primary says likely the spine doc will try to use stretching exercises first and then injections if that doesn't work. I've been doing exercises on my own that my primary gave me. I have an Rx for PT but am trying at home exercises first. My primary did say that the sharp pains are likely NOT related to a spine problem, though, since I can reproduce the pain by pressing hard on those two areas. One thing at a time. I am fairly optimistic that dealing with the spine will relieve what is my biggest issue and perhaps the sharper pains will subside with more time. It's been a long 16 months, but with the thyroid under control and the information on the spine, I think I am on the road to getting it all sorted out.
 
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