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TKR PolarBear60's Stryker Triathalon Journey (Left)

We had a mild cool front yesterday, Roxie, so the heat wasn't too bad.

21 Weeks.

No significant changes for better or worse. I still hesitate before getting out of a chair without arms or a lower toilet seat. The excruciating pain I had doing that a few weeks ago is gone, but it's still not comfortable to do. Someday, I hope to be able to rise from those two seats without thinking about it, but not yet.

The knee is tight in the morning. A touch of the tight band and stiffness. Before getting out of bed, I stretch the entire leg as straight as I can from hip to ankle, pulling my toes up toward my knees. Then I bend the knee as much as I can. I do this a couple of times until the knee loosens up. I've had to do this for a couple of years now, and I also do it for my non-TKR knee to get it warmed up for the day. And, yes, the first few steps in the morning are a little tentative while everything sorts out strength and balance-wise.

I have some tightness at the calves where the muscles connect to the back of the knees these days -- both legs. Not sure what's up with that, but I stretch those as needed, too.

I do spend a lot of time sitting at a computer many days. It doesn't bother me to do this, but I do have to "shift gears" when I stand up sometimes.

My problems with stairs and walking longer distances are more related to my right, non-TKR knee getting worse, so I'm really looking forward to getting that done in April and really getting through the recovery process. In the mean time, I need to make the time to ride my recumbent or stationary bike to keep the right knee bone spurs from getting too bad. That should help keep the TKR knee limber as well.
 
Jean, thank you so much for keeping us updated week-by-week. It really helps to have someone who's a bit further along the recovery process to post on a regular basis.
 
You're welcome. I do it mostly for me to have a record of how things have gone, but I appreciate you guys letting me know last week that you find it helpful, too.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
PolarBear60 said:
And, yes, the first few steps in the morning are a little tentative while everything sorts out strength and balance-wise.
Click to expand...

I experience this too. Do you feel this is because of your operated knee or your non-operated knee.. or both? Just wondering if you ever think that will change? When I get up in the AM I feel like I'm about 80 years old.. sigh. I'm HOPING that changes once things settle down..

What you said about stairs triggered something for me. My PT keeps asking how I'm doing.. and I told her yesterday I'm not proud. I don't think I'm doing as well as some of my cohorts here in BS who has surgery around the same time as I. But.. I know part of the issue is my OLD knee.. I don't think I told her that.. I'll have to make sure she understands that. Thanks, @PolarBear60! See? We need you here!!! :yes:
 
I think it's mostly my old knee. What I think I'm experiencing in the new knee is fatigue from carrying the load. It bears the brunt of doing stairs. The old knee just drags behind.

My home PT identified my problem on stairs immediately. She said I was going off-balance, but she attributed it to my old knee not being able to carry the load and predicted things would balance out when I got the other knee replaced.

When I used the aerobic step to build stair strength at outpatient PT, I tried with the old knee, and it could not do even one rep. (Standing on the step and using the knee to support while lowering the other foot toward but not touching the ground.) The new knee showed great progress at this task, and even now, when I'm going down stairs using the new knee to support my body while lowering the old knee to the next step, I focus on gently lowering so I don't slam the bad leg onto the step. I feel some stress in the soft tissues below and outside my new knee from this process, and it's tiresome.

When I was first recovering and in the euphoric stage of not experiencing the bone on bone pain, I felt 20 years younger. Like the short term weight loss I experienced, that's mostly gone. I'm pinning my hopes on beginning to lose that aged feeling after I get my right knee done.
 
I have an exercise step that is not quite as tall as a regular step. I've been working it with my new knee.. I'll have to try it with my old knee.. I suspect I'll prove out that it is weaker than my new knee. Again.. thanks for making in think in those terms!! :friends:
 
Week 22.

I saw my OS for a follow-up on my hand, and he's pleased with my progress. He told me my desensitization efforts have been exactly the right thing to do, and my scar will continue to change. He says it has a good leathery texture now, and it will soften.

While I was there, I took him up on his offer from the last time I was in to get a steroid shot in my right knee. It's gone from random, excruciating sharp pains to a dull ache that flares every now and then. Driving is NOT FUN. We're preparing for the annual trek from Central Texas to Eastern Pennsylvania and back in October. I hope this shot will give me enough relief so driving is not excruciating. It has not been comfortable over the last month.

In contrast, my left (TKR) knee, has been a model child. Sitting all smug and self-righteous, continuously nodding at my misbehaving right knee and preening. So where is the left knee in the recovery process? Kind of hard to say, but it's certainly the least of my worries.

It's still vaguely tight. Where the quads meet the top of the knee, I have some problems. Getting in and out of low chairs is still no fun. I head straight for the handicapped toilets or regular stalls if they have bars or a tall fixture. I'm experiencing some slight heel discomfort.

I have a new kitten, and as a former feral, she likes to hide. This has required me to get down on the floor to pull her out of her hiding place. This is not fun either, but it's doable with a great deal of hesitation and turning in circles on my part while I try to figure the best way to do it with a palm that hesitates to have weight put upon it and a knee that hesitates to be kneeled on. I've been okay kneeling on the right knee, but that's iffy.

For anyone looking for reusable ice packs that can be loaded with ice cubes and water -- ideal for traveling and staying in a hotel/motel, I can recommend these from Mueller. I have recommended others, and they will still work, but this one comes with a neoprene wrap, closable with hook and loop to hold it on your knee (or wherever you are applying it). The other ice bags I've recommended will be able to use this strap to secure it as well.

I think my extension is still good, and my flexion allows me to do anything I need to do. If I understood my OS correctly, he expects me to have flexion of 120 and extension of 0 (maybe based upon what he achieved during the surgery?). But I think I'm more at around 100. I can do stairs and ride my stationary bike with no troubles other than those caused by my right knee on stairs (it can't do it's share of the work).

Oh, yes. I knew I was forgetting something. The numbness or dead area. I think I've slowly noticed improvement in all areas, but it has a long way to go until I could say it's going to be gone. Same goes for the dark skin from the iron in the blood for the bruising inside my thigh at the knee area. It's fading very slowly, but it is fading.

I could complain about the TKR knee, but the right knee is reminding me how much worse things could be, and keeps the TKR knee feeling good by comparison. Well, most of the time it feels good even without having to compare it to a bad knee.
 
You are doing great! I also recently got an icebag- specifically for my next TKR, which is coming up soon. I am planning to give my fancy schmancy ice machine away to a friend. I never used it after I left the hospital... not once.

I'm sorry your right knee is flaring up already. I understand how that feels, as my right knee declined fairly quickly after my LTKR.
 
After yesterday's injection, the right knee is feeling much calmer today. I hope I get some relief at least through the next month.
 
I must say I like that you're still posting week numbers - I've lost track that way and just have to subtract one. :D

I think we're pretty much in the same place recovery-wise 'cept my hemosiderin remnants are from varicose vein treatments from last spring! The numbness / swelling area I have at the top of the knee has been giving me pins and needles sensations the last few days!
 
Tigz, I either have to check my last post or count it out on the calendar for week numbers. I've been having to do that since about the 4th week. I think the most significant changes now will be as feeling comes back into that area, and it does it in definite fits and starts.
 
@PolarBear60, Thanks Jean for your updates. They sound very similar to mine if I would just remember to post them:thankyou:. I had the cortizone in my left knee and also the Sinvisc(sp). They have helped! I hope yours lasts for your trip:yay:. I liked your story about your kitty and you on the floor too:SUNsmile:
Thank you for all your good info!
 
Week 22 1/2

Too exciting to wait. I'm more able to get off a chair without using my arms.

This is the big news. I'm able to get off the low toilet in the house without thinking how much my husband must hate me. (Several months ago, I told him I wanted new, taller toilets for my birthday. He ignored me.* The only reason must be because he hates me, right?)

I'm still thinking about both these actions far more than I would like to, but it's a subtle change telling me better days are near. They will be for you, too. Hang in there.

(* In his defense, he claims we haven't had time, and we can't find a design compatible with what he wants for our house. We'll have to go to a bathroom store instead of Lowe's or Home Depot, and that will have to be while we're in San Antonio for a longer period of time than we have been. I'm guessing the earliest this could happen would be December or January.)

Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
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@PolarBear60 - Tall toilets make a big difference. My husband is 6'8" and was a Master Plumber for a number of years (still is, I guess, technically), so when he remodeled our house he just installed them without even talking to me about it. :heehee: I have gotten spoiled and when going out in public - especially before surgery, and early thereafter, there were a couple times I was worried about not being able to get up from a small toilet.. - what do you do, call for help???? :rotfl: (How embarrassing!) Anyway, when you get them, you'll really appreciate them!

Great news about being able to get up from sitting without using your arms!!! Something I am definitely looking forward too! Haven't been able to do that in years!
 
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We'll be traveling most of the month of October, so I won't be checking in too often, and I'm likely to miss a few tags. I apologize in advance.
 
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