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

I have a glued incision and dressing comes off on Tuesday--7 days after surgery. No stitches or staples to be removed. The adhesive on the dressing irritates my skin a bit so I'm glad to get it off.
 
I have had 11 knee surgeries and never took PT. What tiny bit I did in the hospital after my tkr, I was in total control of. I allowed the nurse to come to my house the first 3 weeks, but when PT called, I told them I didn't want PT and that was that. She said she'd tell on me and I told her to go ahead. When I saw my OS at 4 weeks he never said a thing. He just wanted to see what I could do. I pulled my foot under my chair and he was happy. He also gave me a prescription for PT, which I just threw away.

I, too, am alone and had to take care of myself. I didn't just sit around and do nothing. The first weeks I did my ankle pumps and heel slides. That's it, except for my daily activities of just living. No one has to take PT. Most choose to, and it's up to them what they allow their therapist to do to them. Your body knows how to rehab itself without taking PT, including the knees. Follow the guidelines given to you, and you will do great without the agony of aggressive PT.
 
2 weeks post op and time for an update.

In my last posts I was concerned about in-home PT expectations. Thankfully, the PT who came last week was the lovely lady who came after my hip replacement--very low key, common sense, gentle. At my request she put the goniometer away and it stayed in her bag all week. She did eyeball my bend and expressed some concern that I was "regressing" with flexion but also acknowledged that the swelling was getting in the way and encouraged me to continue elevating/icing.

All other indicators are good--good strength, 0 extension, walking well. She did a gentle massage each visit that felt wonderful. She took the dressing off and the incision looks fine--lots of little steri strips which are just now beginning to fall off. She assessed my gait, accompanied me on a short stroll down the driveway and said I was fine to walk outside by myself. So, all in all a fine experience.

Over the weekend, I elevated/iced and did gentle bending. One short walk outside with a friend. A different PT came yesterday--the woman who had come right after I got home--also gentle and low key. She did measure bend and I was just over 100, which is where I was when I first got home. She thought that was fine. She did say something along the lines of I could get more bend if I just tolerated pain better. Hmm... Well, I tolerate pain just fine but am not willing to push to the point of extreme pain--but I just nodded and said uh huh.

I think the swelling is slowly diminishing. My ankle looks back to normal. Lower leg is still bruised but improving. I can see some kneecap definition on the op knee.

Yesterday's PT encouraged me to start using a cane sometimes around the house (I have been pushing the walker one-handed a lot). I used a cane most of the day yesterday and then switched back to the walker in the evening when I felt like I might be starting to limp a bit with the cane.

Still taking pain meds but beginning to forget it's time for a dose.

Took my first shower since the in-hospital shower. Felt great.

I love my leisurely mornings, out on the back porch, reading, writing, elevating/icing. But by mid to late afternoon, I've had it with being sedentary. Nothing I can do about that right now except deep breaths and a gentle stroll around the house. Netflix is my new best friend.
 
What a good bend for just 2 weeks! Yay! You are ahead of the game. And your extension at 0! Many of us find that hard to get to. I did. This is a really good report today. Good up the easy work!
 
I went into the surgery with good extension--and not so great flexion--so I wonder if my post surgery numbers reflect that.
 
Very possibly. It makes sense.
 
you are doing just great. i love that you're reading, writing, icing and elevating on your back porch ~ hope the weather stays nice. nothing like fresh air and sunshine to heal.:flwrysmile:
 
gertie said:
I went into the surgery with good extension--and not so great flexion--so I wonder if my post surgery numbers reflect that.
Click to expand...
At the moment, they could well do that. However, don't forget that ROM can continue to increase for a year or more, so there's every chance that your numbers will continue to improve.
 
@liam2015 This screened back porch is a perfect recovery spot--there's a daybed that I can stretch out on and get that leg elevated--I used to sleep out here on hot nights before I got AC in the house. if I needed to be inside the house all day I'd be a crabby lady.
 
It is a huge mood uplifter to get outside in the fresh air!
 
@gertie ~ you have a screened-in porch with a daybed? that sounds heavenly.:angel: we have a deck but can't sit out at night due to the mosquitoes. what a perfect place to recover.:flwrysmile:
 
I had my 2 wk follow up appt today with the OS's assistant. The worst part was the time in the car--35 min there and back and I"m here to tell you that Subarus do not have generous leg room! My trip home from the hospital 2 weeks ago was in a Toyota Rav and I was fine in the front seat--could almost completely stretch out my leg and I'm tall but not in the Subaru. Ah, well. Home now w leg elevated and iced and all is well.

The PA came in and announced that he would not be manipulating my leg at all, which let me heave a sigh of relief. I reported my most recent #s from Monday's PT visit (her report had not yet landed in my file) and he was pleased. He looked at the incision and pronounced it looked fine. Said to expect swelling to continue especially after activity. Said I'd wean off the pain meds naturally (as you say on here) by forgetting to take doses and he renewed my Rx. Said I could drive as soon as I was off daytime pain meds. Encouraged me to get off the walker and onto a cane, which I've been doing when in the house.

Interesting waiting room conversations which illustrate the wide range of recovery experiences. First I met up again with a woman who had been in the hospital PT area at the same time as me when we were getting our discharge assessment. Chat, chat--she's achieved over 120 degree bend already at 2 weeks. Yowza. Then there's me, who I think is doing pretty well for 2 weeks out at a little over 100. And then a woman came in still wearing the leg brace we were given post-op and told to wear until we could do a straight leg raise. She said she hadn't been able to do one yet, hence the brace. So, right there, the continuum.
 
100 degrees is outstanding at 2 weeks! You had nothing at all to worry about a MUA! You had a very good report!

As you see, 3 people in the waiting room have 3 different outcomes! No 2 knees are the same!
 
Poor choice of words on my part--I wasn't worried about an MUA but I did think I'd get poked and prodded more in the visit. But he just eyeballed things.
 
Oh good. It was a really good visit and report!
 
Great report! Yes every knee is different, having a hard time with that knowledge! Wouldn't it be wonderful if our knees were all poster child knees??:yahoo:
 
It was a good visit--and really interesting to see firsthand the range of recovery experiences. Sadly, I think the woman still wearing the brace felt discouraged at seeing me and the other woman walking around without a brace. Hopefully, someone put things in perspective for her.
 
@becticu I'm going to do what you've done and get my other knee done later this summer so I'll have direct experience of that no knees the same deal. How are you doing?
 
@gertie, remember no two knees are the same, even on the same body. I'm preaching to myself there. I would tell you it's doing fabulous but I would be lying. I have named my right knee "Beelzebub". You get the drift? My flexion is pretty bad at around 70ish. I had much more swelling and pain with this one. He did say he had to do much more with this one than the left so maybe that's why. The thing is, I still did the right thing because the right knee was so bad that I still would have been limited for exercise if I didn't do it. Go for it, we all get through it, sometimes the time table is just a little different.
 
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