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Bilateral TKR Puppylove's New Knees

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Wow, I just did a whole long post and then when I went in and edited it to add a tag, it got all funked out. I am editing to try to fix it - hopefully it will come through ok. Lately, everytime I add a tag, it seems to delete half my post!

@PuppyLove I have that same issue sleeping. I have NO issue falling asleep but I wake up in the middle night with sharp pain from having my legs in the same position for too long. I will straighten them and then get painful muscle spasms in my thighs. Hopefully this will begin to improve sometime soon.

I'm glad you started your PT, and much of it sounds promising with the aqua therapy. You really seem to be doing great. Be careful though with the PT "working" on your leg. My PT told me she used to force ROM, etc. because that was what she was taught to do in school. But all the latest research shows that it's counterproductive, as it only causes swelling, pain, etc. (She must read BS!!!). She does push me to my limit and causes discomfort - but both my PT and OS are in agreement that discomfort is ok - pain is not. And, if you are in pain and stiff after the PT is finished, then it's too much. I had a really hard time in PT for awhile (and still do!) trying to figure out my limit where I am doing enough to see progress, but not too much to have a set back. I think you will find your Aqua Therapy helpful - it feels so good to stretch and move in the water. Such a fine line!

@Threads Here are my pool exercises that my PT gave me. I also am glad to read about @PuppyLove session, as I am going to add the bicycling in the water which I haven't been doing yet. I walk forward, backwards, sideways, grapevine and marching. Heals towards my butt and Easy squats and lunges - for stretch. Standing on toes. Standing on heals. Easy kicking while holding onto pool wall. I think there are a few more I can't think of now
 
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@PuppyLove it sounds like you are doing well so far. I am very envious of all those with recliners, I never had one and wished I did. Even now, but I am sure I would never have left it. I too was told to get all new shoes. Imagine my husband when I told him that- "oh i have to go shoe shopping" However, I have a very difficult time with shoes as I have very large feet. So, I ordered about three pairs of tennis shoes from zappos. I bought a pair of brooks shoes that were wide (I am normally medium) and they are by far the best shoes I have ever owned. I would suggest zappos. It is so fast, you will have shoes the next day. Try them on and If you don't like them you wrap them back up in the box, print out return and have hubby drop them to a ups store. so easy. Never even have to leave the house.
How old are your kids?
I have 6 and 7 year old and they are my one true inspiration to get going. They are the reason I got surgery in the first place.
 
@PuppyLove nice to hear your moving forward slowly. You are an inspiration to all of us gonna be's ..can you tell me where you are taking your pt ?you see I'm from benbrook just sw of ft worth .. so I'm learning from you and your experience part of getting ready mentally, aqua therapy sounds interesting..so what can I say keep on keeping on but at your own pace .
 
I had an OS appt today and he said I'm doing great. We discussed the PT and he agreed that the "no pain, no gain" is not necessary. We discussed the reality of pain due to the nature of the therapy, but being manipulated into pain was not good. He said to request the director as my PT, and to tell them that the OS requested it. I called the PT clinic when I left and they rescheduled me for the next hour. The director was much more gentle.

@meowmary I'm going to Green Oaks Therapy on Magnolia. It's the only one of their centers with aquatherapy. I think Baylor may also have aquatherapy. The folks at Greater Therapy Centers in Arlington (hip therapy) were much more friendly and talkative/chatty, but there's no pool. These guys are nice- I just had a better personality fit with the others.

@ljrfrm my OS upped my nighttime meds to help with my sleep. I hope it works. OS said the muscle spasms are normal during recovery. :bawl: At least we know it will eventually end!

@Shmi47 I wish I could order shoes online. I have a weird arch and I have to try everything on. I tried on 20 pairs of shoes before I found Skechers I liked. I'm sticking with shoes for rehab right now and will shop for more shoes after I get a job. I had good luck shopping at DSW and Shoe Dept. I love having a recliner- I found my power recliner at Costco for less than $300. My kids are 17, 14, and 12. I need to be able to climb bleachers to watch my daughter (12) perform in choir. She attends a Fine Arts Academy. I also wanted to be able to hike with the family- we visited the Grand Canyon several years ago and I couldn't hike as much as I wanted. I'm looking forward to a much better life!
 
@PuppyLove It sounds like your appt went great you have a great OS that understands what's best for your recovery. Best wishes with sleeping tonight. I wish he had some magic answers for those muscle spasms, but at least we know it will get better......someday :)
 
@PuppyLove, Hi Chris! Sorry to hear that you are still having trouble sleeping. Your aqua therapy sounds great. I know when Christine works on me after I do my exercises, it is painful at times. She says she looks at my body language and facial expression to see how far she can go. It worked well last time, so I'm hoping it works well again. Good luck at your OS appointment. Take care, Anne
 
@PuppyLove, I swear sometimes I think I work this site right and then after writing my post, I see your post about your visit with your OS. I'm glad everything went well. Hopefully your night time meds will help you sleep. Keeping my fingers crossed. Anne
 
@PuppyLove - great to hear the good report from your OS and that you were able to make other arrangements for the PT you wanted. I'm looking forward to standing through soccer games but that's for grandkids, not children ;-)
 
Okay, to keep it real, here goes. A friend of mine visited this morning and we chatted for a while (she brought chocolate!) then I crashed in my recliner. I got up a while later and did some PT exercises and hubby took me to vote ( walking up the stairs to the building was exhausting). Came home and crashed. Tried to take a nap and just as I fell asleep the dogs woke me up wanting dinner (it was not time yet). Son came in and took dogs and closed my doors. I fell asleep for two hours, then daughter asked if I was driving her to her event ( one mile away). My brain and body said no- dad will have to. I felt horrible, so I got up and took a shower and am now back in my recliner. I need to eat something, but right now I don't have the energy to get up. This part of recovery is the pits!!!
 
@PuppyLove, I hear you Chris!! But you might not think you did a lot but you did. Having a visitor, and then going to vote...and walk up steps.....no wonder you crashed. And then you came home and took a shower!! Like I said yesterday, just taking a shower knocked me out. We just have to keep telling ourselves it will get better. Hang in there:yawn:
 
Hang in there - and good for you for listening to your body.........it is the pits though!! And yay for a friend bringing chocolate :)
 
@PuppyLove wow 3 kids! :) Hopefully they are treating you well as you are recovering.
Ok I can't believe you got that recliner so cheap especially electric.
It sounds like the day caught up with you it's good you tried to sleep but like my house you probably really don't get any rest.
I caught a bug this week and it knocked me off my feet as well. I couldnt understand why whole body was hurting I was totally wiped out at pt. I have been sleeping all day too. So hopefully it's not that for you too.

You will be hiking and climbing those bleachers with your family. I feel the same. I just want to keep up with the active part of my family. I keep telling myself I am giving one year to myself to heal and know that I will be doing all the things I want for the next 20 years or as long as these knees hold out for me. It's so worth it In the end.
Have a good night.
 
@Shmi47 I agree about being active. We bought new bikes for the family several years ago and hubby and I have rarely used them due to arthritis. He's waiting for me to recover and for him to rebuild his leave time for work and he'll probably have surgery next year.

My kids are treating me very well, and are old enough to do things for themselves. I'm sure it's harder with your kids' ages. My daughter has a sore throat and feels "kinda sick" but has no fever and hates missing school. They had tests in every subject this week and she was a trooper. I have a feeling she'll crash with me this weekend. My kids go to school in a city that borders on Dallas (now famous for Ebola) and the school district sent an email asking us to take our kids temperatures EVERY DAY. We have been sporadic with that but no fevers here. I think this area is one of the allergy capitals due to the winds and the amount of pollen we get. I hope this is the case with her and not a virus.

I hope you are feeling better. How awful to have a bug on top of recovery! Of course, it does cause more forced rest which is good. I hope you get some good rest this weekend!
 
@PuppyLove , Thanks for describing your aqua-therapy sessions. I've chosen an outpatient PT clinic that has an aqua-therapy pool, even though I'm not ready for it yet. Anyway, I was wondering what sort of exercises I'll be doing there, and thanks to you now I know what to expect. I *hope* to get back to actual swimming someday- prior to replacement any type of kick was too painful.
 
@Clipless. They add different exercises to each session. Last time I also did a kind of lunge and some other stretches. It feels good to exercise in the warm water. After PT is over I definitely need to find a heated water class at the rec center.

Good luck with your recovery- I'm sorry I missed your thread but I'll look for it now!
 
My six week update:

My daughter was sick this weekend (sore throat, cough and fever) and quarantined herself in my room with me- hubby abandoned us for the futon. She checked everyone's temp and I came up at 100.0, though I'm wondering it was a hot flash, since I haven't had another high temp since. Her last fever was Sunday, so she went to school today. That's a relief for me, as entertaining her (mainly with TV shows) was exhausting.

I did not leave the house all weekend. I didn't even walk on the street. I was exhausted. NO energy. This is the pits. I'm ready for a burst of energy. I drove the kids to school this morning, then came home and slept for three hours. And I actually slept six hours last night, thanks to Norco and Benadryl. My OS told me not to give up the narcotics yet and wrote a new Rx for me. Thank goodness. He told me to take 2 at night with a Benadryl and one during the day if I'm not driving. I was trying to take Ibuprofen during the day, but it doesn't help nearly as much as Norco. I tried Tramadol but it didn't help any more than Ibuprofen. I guess I'll hang on to my Rx meds for a while longer.

I cancelled my PT on Monday. I was exhausted- called and told them I had a fever over the weekend and would be in when I was sure I wasn't sick. I've been spreading my exercises throughout the day when I feel up to doing them. My knees have been feeling really tight and when I moved sideways in the recliner I had severe pain (note to self: no sideways movements!) I guess these are the ups and downs of recovery.

I think I need chocolate. Chocolates makes almost everything better! :yes:
 
@PuppyLove Keep resting, your body needs it...especially if you're fighting off something. I didn't do anything today either. I sat on the recliner all day and then went upstairs and rested a bit in bed. I didn't sleep because I was afraid it would make sleeping harder tonight, but now I wish I did. Remember that your body healing is a lot of work, and resting is the best thing you can do to help it! It is the pits though.......it gets old. But we will all help each other through this. I'm glad you will keep up with the meds - they really do help!!! (As does chocolate!!!)
 
Speaking of chocolate - I'm just finishing off a piece of chocolate and ginger. Both are healthy food items and necessary to build up my inner strength for my journey ahead :yes:

@PuppyLove - I think @ljrfrm gave you some sage advice. You need to look after yourself during the whole healing process - especially if your immune system is taking a hit from some outside germs. Listen to your body, it knows what you need.
 
@PuppyLove, I, too get very tired. It's like any little thing exhausts me. Used to being very active, so this whole recovery thing is taking way to long. Haha. I'm glad you are listening to your body and resting when needed. I get to start each day with my husband brings me coffee and adages my scar, knee and leg. So when I get up, I'm not quite so stiff. I love the mornings when nothing hurts yet. Thank you for your posts. - Joni



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@PuppyLove You are truly amazing. I just read up on your knees. Wow. I have always heard that knees are tougher than hips. I applaud you, from one hippy to another :) I am so proud of you. I wish you continued success in your recovery and I will try to check in more often. You rock...Just sayin :) ...Hugs....Sue
 
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