TKR Put the right knee in...and then the left.

[gertie]

Knee #1=10 1/2 weeks; knee #2= 4 1/2 weeks
Woke in a down place this morning in spite of sunny skies. Feeling weepy. I got through a cold rainy indoor day yesterday but it felt like a very long day as I coped with fatigue all day. I puttered around the house and did a few light chores--2 loads of laundry (although load 2 is still sitting in the dryer getting wrinkled), some slight kitchen tidying, made a quick supper for myself (but didn't do much clean up after--still some dishes in the sink).

But underlying everything was fatigue--I'd spend 15 minutes doing a task and then feel like I needed to sit down. Knees weren't sore or achy but they were--and are today--stiff in a way that contributes to the sense that everything is an effort. I know that this is early days and all I'm feeling is to be expected but it's really wearing me down emotionally.

Yes, it's a sunny day and I'll be able to sit on the back porch eventually rather than in the house. I can take a short walk. Maybe take myself for a ride somewhere. But all the things I really want to do require more energy and stamina than I've got right now.

I hate feeling this way--both the physical piece and the emotional. And I do have perspective and awareness. I'm not flooded out of my house, I haven't lost everything, my energy and fitness will return eventually, but right here, right now, I'm sick of this recovery.

To reassure myself, I think back to my THR experience last fall--my hip was remarkably pain free during recovery and I took no narcotic pain meds but the fatigue factor was big. I started driving at week 4 but was limited in what I did by lack of stamina--turned down lots of invitations during week 5 and into week 6--and then at some point around week 6 the fatigue fog started to lift and I was able to do several errands at a time, really tidy up the house, get together with friends and enjoy myself instead of struggling to stay awake.

I wonder if it would be helpful to have a "staged TKR" banner similar to the "bilateral" banner? Thoughts? Might be hard to identify a cut-off point for someone to be dubbed a "stager" but there do seem to be some experiences that we share, especially the emotional response to a prolonged recovery. When I was deciding whether to do a staged approach or not, I had an intellectual awareness that this would be challenging but no sense of just how challenging. I don't know if I would have made a different decision--there are financial reasons why this made sense--but I might have been more prepared.

 

[SusieShoes]

I think you're onto something with the Staged banner. A staged replacement of both knees in a short (less than a full year, maybe?) period of time is different from either a single TKR or a BTKR. As you note, the recovery is extended, the second recovery starting when the first recovery is just beginning to feel better.

@Josephine, what do you think of this idea to have a Staged banner? I've seen that people who undertake staged TKRs face some issues unique to them.

 

[Josephine]

I wonder if it would be helpful to have a "staged TKR" banner

Sorry, we already have too many prefixes anyway. And your case is two unilateral TKRs no matter how close together they were done. Sorry.

 

[gertie]

Okey-doke. Just a thought.

 

[sandi4213]

Oh, Bertie, I feel ya. I knew in my mind that this would be difficult, but I didn't really understand until I was in the middle of it. I've had several days like yours already and the emotional impact is hard. Sometimes I have to keep saying "It WILL get better" over and over to myself. I think I am finally learning to notice and appreciate the little things. This morning, my 6 year old granddaughter was asking me if I could bend my knee today (she asks most days, They are tired of this recovery too) and I bent it up on the recliner footrest and realized that while it's not much, I was able to bend it to where my foot was hitting the top of the first section. This was my goal last week and I hadn't realized that I had gotten there. It gave me some much needed encouragement.

I hope that you are already feeling a little better. Suspend some time outside and enjoy that sunshine. We are very smoky today because of all the fires around us, so no sunshine here today. So, enjoy for me, too. Hugs and prayers coming your way.

 

[gertie]

@sandi4213 So sorry about your smokiness and the wildfires. Hope you are safe. Kudos on the increased bend!

Yes, the sun cheers me--and it's a good reminder about noticing the small positives--I also need to remind myself of what I've learned through my sporadic attempts at meditating which is not to fight the "bad" stuff and just let it pass--and it does pass.

 

[sandi4213]

Just let it pass is good advice, for you and me.

We don't have any fires close right now, there have been a few small ones in our valley this summer! But they have been able to get them out. We are very close to Montana, which has several really large fires and Washington, which does as well. All that smoke is just blowing down into the valley. It is 9:15 in the morning and it looks like twilight because of the smoke.

 

[gertie]

Yesterday was week 11 for #1 and week 5 for #2. Patience, patience, patience!!! I'm still in that "really sick of recovery" place but I'm also sick of whining. It is nice to do my own errands (even if I can only do one small one a day) and I"m happy to be eating my own cooking again after 4 weeks of Meals on Wheels (which was not as good this time around as it was earlier in the summer). A sunny, cool, fall-like day today. Had a nice chat with a friend who is temporarily living in Ireland. Did a quick trip to Trader Joe's today for the first time since early summer (a medium sized store here). Another friend wants to make plans for the weekend--we'll need to figure something out that doesn't tax the knees too much.

I feel like knee #1 (11 week old knee) has stalled out in recovery, probably because it's had to be the good knee plus I haven't built up much strength in the quads and hammys because I've had to cut back on walking 'til knee #2 catches up in recovery. Patience, patience, patience...

 

[Thesoutherncook]

Oh, Gertie, you're doing so well. You totally underestimate your success!! You have undertaken a HUGE recovery BUT when you are done, you are DONE! Unlike me, who waited 2 yrs and started all over again! Enjoy getting out and doing some ( gentle) none knee related activities and conversations. It will give you a whole new perspective. Just having lunch out last week was a BIG help to get me over my hump!

 

[Pheebs52]

I've just caught up with you @gertie and would like to say I think *Stagers* deserve a very special badge and T-Shirt! Perhaps something with a theatrical theme for *The Stage*, eh? @Thesoutherncook, Helen, is the sewing machine set-up?

You Stagers have the l-o-n-g-e-s-t recovery road, one that would tax an Iditarod team; pffft! How could anyone possibly anticipate just how exhausting this process could be? You couldn't. The first knee was bad enough and just when things were becoming brighter, ....Wham! When I think of that scenario, I literally cringe. Your guts and determination in choosing this path are beyond my capacity to understand. I wish I had words of wisdom to impart, but I'm only human and a singular TKR, so, I do not. I'm also not going to use the "P" word, because it's tedious and overused; besides, it's the last thing you want to hear. Maybe I don't want to hear it any more either?Yes, that's it. Enough.

So, what to do? My advice, lame though it might be, is to lose yourself in books and music and get outdoors as much as possible, even if it's just a walk of one block or a road trip to the pharmacy. Anything that can keep the focus off the blasted knees is a blessing. Anything! Knit, paint, play the piano, make a gift list for the holidaze, plan a dream vacation, make jewelry, do crosswords, grow an herb garden indoors, trim a Bonsai, and polish your nails, lol. Busy is the answer, as is vicarious escape through reading and movies.

The knees are a clock and we are all guilty of watching them far too much. There are days when I've thought it would be a great distraction to develop a toothache; hah! Color me crazy.

 

[gertie]

@Pheebs52 Good advice as always. Thank you! And thank you for only hinting at the P word! Aren't we having beautiful weather here in New England? Revelling in it.

My newish avatar pic was taken on a short woodsy walk recently on an accessible trail near my house. The accessible part of the trail is only .1 mile before it turns into a regular, tree-root rutted hilly dirt trail but it's lovely to be out int he woods even for a short distance--trees, babbling brook, birds.

 

[Pheebs52]

Hi Gertie, yes, the weather has been glorious! I'm so happy to see you were able to get a tiny taste of the woods; whoohoo! The shadows in woodlands always make for such great photos don't they? Supposedly, just spending 10 minutes in a wooded setting is healing as well. There's just something about a quite green setting, eh? Enjoy!

 

[Celle]

I wonder if it would be helpful to have a "staged TKR" banner similar to the "bilateral" banner?

We do see that you've had two TKRs fairly close together, @gertie - that's one reason why we ask for signatures for everyone - and we take that into consideration when advising you. We make allowances for it, particularly when we think about the tedium of recovery and the double whammy of energy drain you have.

 

[gertie]

@Celle I was actually thinking of the banner less for my benefit or moderators' benefit and more for other members who might be contemplating doing a staged recovery or in the middle of recovery from one. I don't think reading about others' experiences would have changed my decision but it might have helped me mentally prepare.

 

[Celle]

You have a point, gertie but, as Josephine said, we already have the maximum number of banners.

What can be done is to change the thread titles slightly, to indicate a second TKR - and your thread title is an excellent example of that.

 

[gertie]

Week 12 for knee #1 and week 6 for knee #2
Status report:
--rarely use a cane in the house and now walk short distances outside without one--still use it if I want to "go for a walk"
--increasing periods of time when knees feel a bit stiff but otherwise OK--and then times like right now when there's also a bit of soreness (but I also realized that I was overdue for a tylenol dose).
--doing more out in the world--yesterday was especially busy--had my annual physical in the a.m. (all is well), then lunch with a friend at a restaurant with a lovely patio (and an extra chair to prop up my legs), a quick trip to a nearby farm market, then later a short walk up the block and back. Today, 2 quick errands but otherwise lots of rest time.
--feel like I could tiptoe into the ODIC if I were only thinking about how the knees feel but my tendency to get fatigued saves me--fatigue still hits most afternoons, although I have a hard time falling asleep for a nap (naps were more likely when I was taking Rx painkillers)--talked about this with my PCP at my physical yesterday and she agrees that it's energy drain from 2 surgeries close together and will improve with time.
--right knee (#1) is gradually feeling stronger--less muscle pain/fatigue when I do my up the block walk, was able to step up my front step while carrying a grocery bag today (couldn't do that last week)
--mood continues up and down but our continuing sunny weather helps a lot

 

[sandi4213]

Your avatar pic is beautiful, I feel more relaxed just looking at it. I think you are doing wonderfully. Each new accomplishment is so important at this point. My second knee is still swollen on the top, so that limits me some, but the fatigue stops me more. Good to know your doctor understands and it will get better. I do kinda miss the naps that were pretty regular when I was taking the oxy.

 

[rubyyarn]

@gertie , we could add -STAGED to the end of our original title. That way people looking for that experiance can find it.

I'll be having knee #2 done in two weeks

 

[gertie]

@rubyyarn Great idea about the titles. And I'll be thinking about you as you approach #2! How are you feeling?

 

[gertie]

I feel more relaxed just looking at it

It's a lovely spot--the only downside is that there's not a bench--would be great to be able to sit there and stare into the woods.