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Bilateral TKR Post BTKR---Can we compare notes?

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Day 19 - can't believe it has already been 19 days since my surgery and I can't believe I am not going stir-crazy!! Doing my best to continue to rest, ice and elevate. Definitely not missing work :) Each day I notice little differences of how certain movements hurt less or are not so difficult as they were just a few days before. Am getting somewhat tired of sitting, but do my best to move about the house. My hubby made me a 4.5 inch practice step which for the first time today my home PT helped me navigate - exhausting but encouraging. My home PT and I are finding different motions that cause less pain but result in greater stretches. I find having my knees dangle off the side of the bed where I can't reach the floor allows me to do small lifts or pumps that are much more comfortable than traditional leg lifts which gave me intense pain in my knee. Looks like one more week of home PT before transitioning to the clinic. When I got my staples out they covered my incisions end to end with steri-strips which are beginning to itch and I would love to rip off. Did anyone else feel there motion was restricted by the steri-strips? Any ideas on how to encourage them falling off?
 
Hmmmm... My doctor did not put anything over after stitches were removed. How long do they want them kept on?
 
I had Steristrips put on after the staples came out. There was a bit of bleeding from the staple punctures after the staples came out. The steristrips help protect those areas. As the ends start to peel off by themselves, trim the ends with a pair of scissors. They will eventually fall off completely. I guess mine fell off in about 1-2 weeks.
 
I was told to leave the steristrips on until they fell off. I trimmed the ends as they loosened and then "teased" a few off that had loose edges. But for the most part they would NOT fall off. After 3 weeks I just called the dr.'s nurse, who said I could peel them off gently. I made sure that there were at least scabs underneath (some of the crusties came off w/the strips).
 
Yes, my PT pulled off the last stragglers that appeared to have super stickum. :)
 
Day 23 - Today is going to be a good day. Worked with my home PT today and she had me lay on my stomach for the first time. I thought she was crazy, but once I got flipped over it actually felt really good not to be on my backside :) I have a temperpedic mattress so it provided support and comfort in addition to a good stretch. My extension was actually 5 degrees better so I will definitely be adding that to my stretching activities. The light is also getting brighter - she did a lot of intense massage and stretching and my ROM on my left blew past 90 and was at 100 degrees. My right problem child had also increased from 80 to 85. I had taken in easy since last PT on Monday and really tried to focus on icing and elevation.

With my home made step, I can also go in and out of the house quite easily now since it cuts my house step in half and I can put my walker on the outside of the step. With my new found mobility, I have been outside yesterday and today and it is like a whole new adventure. Have to make sure I don't over do the walking. Luckily I can only do laps around the house and deck right now because I have a very steep gravel driveway.

Luckily meds have not interfered with my sleep as I was originally worried. I get a good solid 3-4 hour block first thing, get up to move a bit and then do another several hours. Still doing most of my sleeping on my reclining couch, but now try a few hours in the bed each day. When I lay on my side, the leg on the bed is really comfy, but just cannot find the right combination of pillows to get the upper leg in a comfortable arrangement. Anyone got any pillow suggestions for BTKR?

Enjoy your weekends,
Stacie
 
Day 27, approaching my 4 week mark on Thursday. Having a weepy day today for no obvious reason. Had my last home PT yesterday, ROM and function continues to improve slow but sure, sleeping fairly well (half in bed, half on couch), INR levels have stabilized...

Half of my steristrips have come off, scar area both under the strips and now uncovered area is extremely itchy. How early did you start using lotion or Vitamin E on your scar area?

Also, wondering if anyone has any pillow tricks for getting both legs comfortable in bed? I can't sleep on my back in the bed so working on getting to my side. Which ever leg is on the bed directly seems fine, it is the upper leg that I struggle with. I've tried all kinds of pillows - thin, thick, extra squishy.... Any suggestions??

Hoping tomorrow is a more positive day :)
Stacie
 
feel better soon, Stacie. You are on the emotional roller coaster right now. Just hold on tight. This too will pass. It doesn't seem so, but it does. :console2: I was told to wait until the steri-strips fell off and there were no scabs present before putting anything onto my incision scar.

I can't help you with the side sleeping as I only had one knee done. Mine was easy to do. I can't think of any other way from what you have already done.

I hope you have a good day tomorrow and get some good sleep tonight! Take care. :flwrysmile:
 
Hello All
Today has been my busiest day since surgery and all of my nerves were not needed. Made the hour ride to the OS sitting in the front seat with only minimal discomfort. Walked all the way from drop off area to the clinic on the 6th floor and back, with the help of the elevator of course My clinic is all orthopedics so blows me away that it is on the 6th floor and the reception area is as far away from the elevators as it can get. Not sure why I was so nervous, mostly because we had not talked about his phylosophy regarding ROM. He thought my scars looked good and he was very satisfied with my range which he eyeballed and didn't even measure. Rested after the hour ride home then off to first outpatient PT. Of course the hospital is doing construction so had to walk four times normal distance because you can't get dropped off at the door. Had quite the workout before I ever even met the PT. Mostly we did history and preliminary measurements, pleased to see his were similar to home PT. Based on first impressions, I think we will work well together. It was interesting to me that both the OS and PT said that 90 degrees at 3-4 weeks is very satisfactory.

The OS recommended using a product called ScarZone which is a 100% silicone gel to help relieve the tightness of my scars. Wondering if anyone else has used this product or something similar. Our local Walgreens didn't have that brand, but had one called ScarAway. Did find a website that ranks several products so think I will return the ScarAway for one of the higher ranking products.
 
Nomorepain67 great report! :yay: Sorry you had to do all that walking, but you now know that you can do it. Great to hear that your PT is on the same page as your OS. Keep up the good work and take it easy.

Take care :flwrysmile:
 
Wow Sept 1st - can't believe I am officially one month post-op!! The time has gone quickly despite the ups and downs. Seems my extremely busy walking filled Friday is requiring some TLC. Very stiff this weekend, pain mostly achy not too bad, but so glad to be back out in the world and to know I can do it. Still using my walker but can now leave it nearby to take a few steps moving between counters and furniture. My kids are teasing me that I walk like a toddler and hold out their arms for mommy to walk to them :) OS wants me to start working with a cane so that's the plan next week for PT in addition to adding the exercise bike. Now try to sit in different chairs and the couch throughout the day to vary my view of the world and work on extending how long I can sit with my knees bent in an upright position like normal people. I vary that with ice and elevation. Spent most of the night in bed from 10:30pm-4am which is has been the longest since surgery. Kept waking up every hour and a half to switch positions, by 4am just needed to get up an move. Slept another 4 hours solid on the couch. Doc also gave me permission to begin working from home 4 hours per day starting on Tuesday. Haven't missed work at all, but it will be nice to get back into the swing of things gradually.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoy your weekend,
Stacie
 
Nice to hear you're doing so well, neighbor! I'm down in Hawkeye land! I can certainly understand the stiffness after being so active on Friday. Glad you're able to work from home, that should make things a little less stir crazy for you at least.
 
Hi Nomorepain67
I can relate to your excursion to the OS. Mine was similar. The first clinic inside the doors of the hospital is the eye clinic and the orthopedic clinic is "miles" down several hallways!!! Go figure. I had to have x rays and that department was "miles" in the other direction!
Sounds like you are doing well for four weeks. I loved my walker as I found I walked with a better gait with it and still used it a lot in the house at four weeks. I started using the cane at about 4 weeks to go to the store and walks around the yard.
I'm a month ahead of you in recovery and I have to say things are getting better. I have very little pain and my life is getting back to a normal pattern without me even thinking about it. I went for my first walk along the beach today and realized I didn't have to take as many breaks as I did before my BTKR. The knees are a little stiff but it's the thigh muscles that protest. They have had it too good for too long.
Take care and take it slow and easy, worked well for me.
WAnda
 
Sounds like you're doing great. Walking along beach at 4 weeks is pretty amazing.

Ddorothy
 
Hi turtle68 I'm the one that went for the beach walk. I'm at 8 weeks and it was my first attempt since my surgery. I didn't go as far as I would have liked as I remembered I had to go back.
Wanda
 
Day 35 - Having a glass is half empty kind of day. Wish it was a glass of wine, then half empty would be ok because I would have already finished drinking half of it :) I should be excited - went "back to work" yesterday as I am able to work from home for 4 hours each day. Had a co-worker come to the house and before we knew it 6 hours had gone by and I could barely tell I had been gone a whole month, so need to pull out my ODIC card today. It was great to use my brain and be productive, but despite my best efforts to change positions and ice as needed, did too much upright sitting with legs hanging down. Had 7 hours of connected uninterrupted sleep on the couch, still can't find a comfortable position in bed that lets me sleep longer than 1.5 hours. I am Still nursing the over use from OS/PT/Store outing on Friday - knees stiff & sore, only light stretching and walking over the weekend. Had 2nd clinic PT and I really like him. Did some warm up machines and then mostly assisted stretching to tight but no pain. He wanted me to relax my legs so he could move them thru different assisted movements which in the moment felt really good and productive. He asked me to trust him and despite my efforts to relax, it was tough. Maybe it's because he's probably half my age :) My right is still being the disagreeable child. It wasn't until we were all done that I realized I had noodles for legs and still needed to walk out to the car through the hospital construction which left me totally discouraged. The one step forward two back syndrome. I had all I could do to make it through the halls and ride home until I got home so I could get my legs up, ice and cry my heart out. I only needed a few minutes of no interruptions and loud music pumping in my ears through my iPod to pull myself together, not to mention pain meds and a muscle relaxer, until I was able to relax and pull myself together. Felt bad I had to put the kids telling me about their day on hold, but I absolutely needed to shut the world out for those 15-20 minutes.

Thank you BS buddies for sharing my journey and letting me vent today,
Stacie
 
You are doing well, Stacie! We all go to ODIC from time to time.:yes: As president of the ODIC I will revoke your card if you like! :spin: It is just a fact of life. We need to listen to our knee(s). The knee is boss!

You are really brave to have had both knees done at the same time. I had a hard time making the decision doing one. I couldn't even think about two. :shocked: I'm jealous about you sleeping 7 uninterrupted hours. I wish I could. :cry: Good for you!!! :cheers:

Isn't it nice to feel somewhat normal even if you aren't going in to work? Time flies! :)

Take care and sleep well :sleep:
 
Hi Maria

Thanks for the pep talk. Turns out noodle legs means over did it again and more swelling. Canceled PT for Fri. because I could barely bend either knee and even walking was painful. The 7 hours of sleep was a one shot deal. After overdoing it at PT on Wed, next two nights sucked - short 1.5 hour naps - ugh!!!! How is my brain supposed to function for 4 hours of work after that? Work is going well and I am so thankful I can do it sitting from my couch, I am very blessed. Its now the weekend and I am taking it very slow and easy - just some stretching and walking, still swollen 4 days later. Will chat with the PT on Monday to take a different direction.

Got out and about yesterday with a short trip to the local orchard :) Then went up the hill (in a car) to my sister-in-laws for dinner which is always awesome because she is a chef. Chicken marsala, tomato tart and a fabulous salad. Even bigger was I made it up the 3 steps into her house!! Baby steps - had to be a bit creative, but it was worth it. Broke the rules and had a tiny glass of wine with dinner - just wouldn't have been the same with ice tea.

Awesome news is Bucky won again today 48-0 against Tenn. Tech in 90 degree heat; last week was 45-0 against UMass. Two weeks in a row we have had 3 running backs with 100+ yards!!! Once the Big 10 season starts will have to see how they do, fingers crossed. One of the perks of BTKR is I have an excuse to sit for 3 hours straight and watch football - my absolute favorite sport!!!

Two questions for those BTKR that have gone ahead....
1. How long did you use a walker? I'm 5 weeks out, taking more steps away from it around the house using my toddler steps as my kids like to tease me about, but still feeling like knees could buckle at any time.

2. My quads are now starting to spasm or cramp up, most often after sleeping in same position for a few hours? Any suggestions for reducing or relief??

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
Stacie
 
Hi Stacie! I hope you had a good week. Have an awesome weekend!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®
 
bottomshollow - Hi Bottomshollow, could you please change my thread title? I'd like it to read "Post BTKR, Can we compare notes? I had posted a couple questions before, but didn't get much feedback.

I'm now 6-weeks post-op and have a few questions for my other BS bilateral buddies and would love to compare notes.
1. For those of you who used one, how long did you use a walker? I'm 6 weeks out, taking more steps away from it around the house using my "toddler steps" as my kids like to tease me about, but still feeling like knees could buckle at any time, not really a pain issue. OS would like to see me transfer to a cane, but PT wants me to wait a bit because I've had more pain the last two weeks.

2. My quads are now starting to spasm or cramp up, most often after sleeping in same position for a few hours? Any suggestions for reducing or relief??

3. The Big D - Driving question... When did you start driving after BTKR? I know we are all different, but would like some ball park figures. I have the luxury to work from home so not a big concern, mostly curiousity.
 
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