PKR PKR Part Deux: now I’ve got a matching set!<

[MCC]

Thanks @Jockette! My ears must’ve been burning! Haha Slowly, but surely is the name of the game, I suppose. How are you doing?

@SusieShoes i had two freezer ice packs, but they got warm too quickly, so now I’ve got a couple trusty Ziplocs to fill with ice at our pit stops. I think you’re right, icing all the way is definitely the way to go! I’m looking forward to those longer strolls. I’m in one of my favorite places in the world this weekend and it’s bumming me out to have to miss all the outdoor fun. At least the view is pretty nice!

@NavyGunns - yes, I think the backseat is where I’m headed. We’ve got my in-laws in the car with us, but there is a teeny tiny 3rd row bench seat that I’m hoping I can get into. My left knee is sooo ready for its turn on the operating table that I’m not sure it can lower me into the seat. Ha ha, but wherever I sit I will certainly be getting out to move around more on the way back!

 

[SusieShoes]

Oh my gosh, that view is gorgeous! Worth upsetting any knee.

Mr. Shoes kept a small cooler in the car. We carted those gel packs everywhere. Ziplocks with ice are a great option. I have gallon ziplocks stowed in my carryon luggage on a permanent basis. You never know when you’ll need an ice pack! Even on an airplane you can get ice for your ziplock from the flight attendant.

 

[MCC]

Well, the car ride back went better! The right knee wasn’t happy per se, but not miserable either which is a step in the right direction. I had a nasty left patellar luxation that made the left knee very angry, but icing the whole time, a different car config, and walking more on the ferry really helped. I also rested all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday, which I think made a big difference.

In other exciting news, I have the left knee scheduled for November 14! I’m a little nervous about having recovery time in the winter since I’ve really enjoyed being outside so much this summer, but couldn’t stand the thought of losing another summer for hiking and fun stuff.

Thank you all again for your help and support! This group has been such a lifesaver and I’m so glad I found it!

 

[MCC]

Hi all!

I’m 11 weeks out today and things are slowly improving, but I feel like my trip to last week set me back a bit. I can be up a bit longer before the pain starts, which is great, but then I hit a point where my shin pain suddenly kicks in something fierce and won’t stop. I imagine I’m up more, so I’m stressing the newly healed fracture site more, but it’s creating some sleep problems again. I suppose I just need to take it easier.

I also just found out my disability insurance sent a document that never arrived that says my benefits end next week! I can’t see how I can work now, so I’m hoping to get it extended another month or so. What a challenging system this is to work with!!!

Anybody out there with a very physical, active job have advice for me about going back to work? I’m so nervous about getting banged in the knees by a big dog or bitten or something, but also just the thought of being on my feet for 10-12 hours without opportunities to really put my legs up and ice for an hour makes my stomach churn. And my left knee, while doing its best, is increasingly unreliable. Eeee!

 

[SusieShoes]

Anybody out there with a very physical, active job have advice for me about going back to work?

Would you like us to change your thread title to ask about going back to work advice for a very physical job? You'll get more responses that way. Just tell us what you'd like your new title to say.

I’m so nervous about getting banged in the knees by a big dog or bitten or something, but also just the thought of being on my feet for 10-12 hours without opportunities to really put my legs up and ice for an hour makes my stomach churn.

Keep your cane with you. I carried mine while walking and did so long after I needed it. Having it in hand accomplished a few things:

* Signaled to others that I wasn't yet 100% steady. Especially useful at corners with approaching vehicles. They would actually stop at the stop sign for me.
* Could be used to ward off dogs or hostile humans. (Dogs happened, hostile humans did not.)
* Could be used to knock debris such as branches or discarded beverage containers out of my path.
* Could be used if I got tired to take some work off the knee(s).​

The thought of being on my feet for 10-12 hours at only 3 months post-op makes me wince. Is there any way you can get a desk job for a couple of months? Or be on your feet for only an hour or two to start, with rest in between? Work part time? With a partner? Anything you can do to cut down on your activity for a little longer will help immensely.

 

[MCC]

@SusieShoes yes, that'd be great! Let's change the title to "Going back to a very physical job...Eeek!"

Great idea about the cane! I don't have a cane, but I could bring my crutch. I do contract, locum work, meaning I fill in at a number of hospitals in the area when doctors are out of town/sick/on maternity leave. It's great, but unfortunately it means I don't have much control over what my day's schedule looks like. I'm trying to book dates with the hospitals I know will work with me for half shifts and lots of icing breaks, though there's never really a guarantee that I'll get any of them. Emergencies tend to walk through the door right when you sit down to finally eat a snack, call a specialist, or take a bathroom break. But, I'm going to avoid any place where I'll be the only doctor on staff if I can, so that way somebody else can deal with critical cases and I can ice if I need to! The tough part is that I don't know if there's enough work to actually make a living that way. :(

Any other advice is appreciated. I read the phased return to work plan and I don't think I'll be able to take it that slow, but I'm sure going to try to modify it!

I'll figure it out I'm sure, but between getting ready to deal with the physical discomfort and find a way to have enough money to survive on while I'm recovering from knee surgery #2 (disability excluded the left knee as a pre-existing condition), I'm a wee bit stressed!

 

[MCC]

Hi all! It’s week 12, so I thought I’d give an update. My wonderful OS wrote you disability insurance a note, so I’ve got 5 more weeks off, then managed to find part time gigs for the first 2 weeks! whew!

I’d been experiencing quite a lot of shin pain, so my PT massaged my tibial surgery site last week. What a difference! The massage was uncomfortable, but my shin pain completely resolved! So what did I do a few days later? Walk 4 miles total over the course of the day. It felt great walking that day (truthfully I was shocked when my pedometer said I was up that much) and pretty good the next morning. but as the day went on moderate swelling, some retinacular pain, and can’t be on my feet nearly as long as I’d gotten to. So stupid of me! I’m hoping I’m back to “normal” by next week. My leg felt so heavy today, so I did some lymphatic drainage massage and that’s helped, but I’m back on the ice man tonight. An excellent reminder not to run before I walk. And not be such a dope.

My flexion is progressing slowly but surely and I’ve just topped 100 degrees. Fingers crossed in 5 weeks I’m closer to 120!

Have a great night!

 

[HoneyB]

Any chance your insurance would pay for you to rent an electric scooter when you go back to work, if that could fit into your work routine? A doctor at one of our local hospitals has mobility issues and uses a scooter.

 

[kneeper]

I'm so glad you were able to get the extra weeks off. They will make a major difference.

 

[MCC]

@HoneyB I wish I could! Unfortunately so much of my job involves needing to be able to maneuver in all kinds of ways for each patient and the hospitals I work in are so tiny, I don’t think I’d fit anywhere!

I found a couple of hospitals that will let me do half days and that I know are really well staffed to do the heavy lifting and provide good restraint though. Fingers crossed in another 4 weeks my knee likes being stood on for a bit longer than it does currently!

 

[MCC]

One more question for you all. I’m at 12 weeks now and still so much more tired than is normal for me! I’m definitely more energetic than I was a month ago, so it’s coming back slowly, but I always need a nap during the day and am beat by 10pm. if I go on any sort of outing for a 3-4 hours (these are pretty rare! Generally I’m out for less time at a stretch), I’m happy to be on the couch and reading for most of the rest of the day aside from cooking/puttering around the house.

For instance yesterday I went with my mom to see her Ortho and discuss PrP, then we went to lunch, then I had PT and I walked back the 1/2 mile home and was absolutely knackered!

Is that normal? I still don’t sleep as well as normal, so I’m running on a bit of a deficit. I keep waiting to wake up feeling sprightly, but it’s not happening...

 

[Jockette]

Oh yes, that’s normal!

Take advantage of the freedom and ability to nap, you won’t get that once you’re back to work.

 

[HoneyB]

I work from home. I have a dedicated home office, but can work from the sofa which is what I've been doing during my back-to-back TKRs. I beat myself up all the time for not managing to work more hours. Since my first TKR in February, I've only managed to work 20-25 hours per week. Like you said, @MCC, I'm either tired, or have trouble focusing, or take a pain reliever that makes me drowsy, or whatever. I just haven't been able to really get back to work even from home. I have work projects that have been kind of "on hold" and it's driving me crazy. I'm a very Type A person and I can't stand performing at less than my best. This has been one of the most stressful parts of recovery for me, much more stressful than ROM. I wonder how much longer the folks I work with and for can be patient with me on this.

 

[SusieShoes]

Being tired and needing lots of naps is normal! The people who bounce back with lots of energy early on are exceptions. I was just like you at 12 weeks: exhausted after activity and just wanting to chill. My body needed the rest.

Glad to hear you got a little more time off. You’ll be glad you did!

 

[skigirl]

there is a big boost in your energy between 12 weeks and 16 weeks. I went back to work at 14 weeks---I worked in a sport goods store and stood for 8 hours. I did find that support hose helped me a lot---I got the ones that were thigh his and had no feet in them---or I cut the feet off and then folded up the bottom of the stocking. They made a big difference in my leg swelling at the end of the day.

 

[NavyGunns]

@MCC everything you’ve described is normal. Remember, you are still healing which takes energy, of which your body only has so much of. As you’ve said, your feeling better and stronger, which you should, but there are still limits. You just need to be aware of them and adjust your schedule according to them.

I really found another threshold at about 14 weeks (I’m just past 16 weeks now). I pretty much do what I want and rarely feel the need to take a nap. But I do sleep very well as I’m normally wiped out at the end of the day.

 

[MCC]

@HoneyB That sounds so frustrating! I’m sorry you’re going through it! This recovery is so long in ways I never expected and I’m hopeful I can get some energy to be focused all day. I’ve gotten so used to my quiet, slow mornings at home, it’ll be a rude awakening to try to be back in the thick of it. I’m crossing my fingers your energy levels bump up as you get closer to a year out and full recovery, but don’t beat yourself up at all! You’re doing part time work and that sounds pretty darn impressive to me!

@SusieShoes, @Jockette, @NavyGunns I’m so glad to hear this is normal and that hopefully I’m nearing the end of the super tired time! I managed to be up doing stuff for about 5 hours after a good night of sleep, so that’s positive! And now it’s time for siesta numero uno.

@skigirl thats a great idea! Do you have a brand you like? And what level of compression do you like? I was looking at 15-20mmHg, but there are so many out there, it’s hard to choose!

 

[skigirl]

I went to Discount stockings.com and got the Light compression. I used the thigh hi with no feet in them and that worked for me, it was no so "Orthropedic" But I also got some cute knee highs on Amazon which were called Dr. Motion. There are a lot of really cute knee highs on amazon right now. don't forget to use smile.amazon.com and make the Foundation for Advancement in Reasearch in Medicine your charity---that is our parent foundation and it helps to finance our forum!!!

 

[HoneyB]

@MCC - Two of my friends and I have worn the Mediven-Comfort-Open-Toe-Thigh-High-w-Beaded-Silicone-Band Compression Socks and found them to be very comfortable. I'm short so I was thrilled that they even come in petite length which is I couldn't find in local stores. I found the wide top band with silicone dots to be comfortable. They have a size chart for you to measure various parts of your legs (length and diameter) for a good fit. They are comfortable enough that, even after I don't need them, I plan to wear them under jeans for extra warmth during winter football games. I've bought three pairs from two different websites just depending on which had the best price at the time. They are a little pricey. I've paid about $50 for each pair.

 

[Eeek]

If you like more of a knee sock, i‘m very fond of sockwell compression knee socks. I think mine are mostly light compression.

You can find them on amazon for about $25 a pair, lots of styles and colors.