TKR Question on pain and swelling six months post TKR

[Onestepatatime]

@Layla yeah it’s been a crappy summer but given I’m walking better now than when I was pre op is very promising. I live alone and it’s a lot of alone time which has its ups and downs for sure

 

[sistersinhim]

I got my hair cut and colored yesterday.

That is amazing! Being able to sit in the chair that long is definitely something to celebrate.

BTW, I got mine cut and colored yesterday, too. It sure feels better in this hot summer.

 

[Onestepatatime]

@sistersinhim true, but I was paying for it. I had PT after that. I iced in between appointments for an hour. Girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

 

[Onestepatatime]

Great News! I measured easily 120 degrees and got a full forward motion on the bike!! Yay me!!! I was so happy and there were a lot of high fives going around. I need to learn stairs again, still cannot do stairs one foot over another.
The terrible thing though, is the elevator in my building broke down again and I am on the 5th floor. I have an appointment with my surgeon at 11:30 and not going to be happy doing the stairs down and up. Fingers crossed it gets fixed very soon. At 8 weeks up and down all the stairs sounds very painful.

I am also having anxiety about returning to work. Mentally I want to, as I have been feeling very alone and kinda isolated. But I would like to continue to spend my days doing PT, go to the pool on off days, and enjoy the beach finally. I work remote but it is busy days on zoom meetings, etc. I am just feeling kinda anxious, IDK...

 

[EalingGran]

Great News! I measured easily 120 degrees and got a full forward motion on the bike

You are doing really well.

The terrible thing though, is the elevator in my building broke down again and I am on the 5th floor. I have an appointment with my surgeon at 11:30 and not going to be happy doing the stairs down and up.

That is really tough. Hope it gets fixed soon. I have a lot of stairs in my house and that was difficult. I couldn't do stairs normally for months although I did have some ongoing ligament issues. I wouldn't worry about not being able to do one step at a time.

 

[Onestepatatime]

Appointment with my surgeon went well. He was very pleased. He suggested I wait another week or two to return to work full-time. I think for my mental sanity I will transition next week and get up to speed with what I missed, and then the following week do fuller days. I know BS recommends 12 weeks. 2 more weeks puts me at 10 weeks. I am just feeling so disconnected from society but want to be careful I do not jump into 6 hours of zoom meetings with no time to ice or elevate in between. Yet I do not want my employer to be concerned. Help...

 

[Elf1]

@Onestepatatime congrats on the 120 degrees and a full forward rotation on the bike. I get that you're feeling really isolated right now but be very careful with returning to work, especially full time. If you can keep it to half days and maybe 2-3 days a week to start that would probably work for you.

I know from past experience that a lot of bosses and fellow employees see you back, even if its via Zoom, and think you're all healed up and 100% ready to go. You really have to watch it. I tried doing half days after my spine surgery and it worked for like the first week. Ended up someone had to take emergency leave and even though I still had another Soldier in our section that should have been able to pick up the slack, that didn't happen. I was the civilian contractor working with/supporting them but they looked at me like I was the expert. Before I knew it I was back to working 8+ hour days again.

Since you'll be working remote and on Zoom try setting yourself up before your meetings start. Get a cooler and put your ice packs in it and have it right by your chair so you can pull them out and ice. Plus see if you can set up something under or by your desk so that you can elevate your leg while on the meetings. It may not be a perfect elevation but any little bit should help. Have drinks and snacks handy so you don't have to dash to the kitchen. Try to stand up at least every hour and if you can't do anything else at least kind of march in place to work out the stiffness. And they have to let you take bathroom breaks. Put a pillow or two in your chair to make it as comfy as possible. Maybe one to sit on and one behind your back so you're sitting up straight.

Just a few things I could think of, hopefully they can help you a little.

 

[benne68]

want to be careful I do not jump into 6 hours of zoom meetings with no time to ice or elevate in between

This is very smart forward planning.

Two thoughts from my recoveries to add to Deb's suggestions:

• Set a timer that reminds you to get up and move around each hour or so. I found that my knee became very stiff with long periods of sitting. But a few minutes of walking around the house helped.
• Also, plan for some "rest" periods. Many of us discover that our fatigue increases when we return to work. I was so glad to be working from home so I could grab an afternoon nap when needed.

 

[Onestepatatime]

Hello All,
Wanted to give an update on myself: Today is my first day back at work. My doctor did approve the phased return. I used the guidelines provided by Bonesmart and modified it to fit my PT schedule and my boss was fine with it.
My other update is, I broke my pinky toe over the weekend. I took a bad fall in my apartment slipping on bug spray that made my floor like a sheet of ice. I know it sounds dumb, I did not know it left such a reside on a wood floor. I sprayed a bug on the ceiling, took a step and wiped out. Should I go to PT? I am so annoyed this happened!
Ok, back to catching up on emails, etc. Apparently I need to live in a padded room! Hope everyone is doing ok.

 

[sistersinhim]

With your being back to work, you really don't need to go to PT. The preparation of getting ready for work, working, and then getting back home and doing your daily activities is all you really need to do. Of course, if you want to still take PT, you certainly can, but you will probably be extra sore until your body and knee get used to working again.

 

[Onestepatatime]

@sistersinhim Hi thanks for the reply. I work remote and only going to do 3-4 hours a day 3x a week and then gradually add more hours. I def need more PT, as my quads are very weak and walking and stairs is extremely difficult. Although my bend is ok, the rest of me still needs some help. I think I will cancel PT today and see how I feel Wednesday.

 

[Jockette]

as my quads are very weak and walking and stairs is extremely difficult.

This is par for the course this early in recovery.

Stiffness/Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue has been disturbed and is healing...and full healing takes a full year or more.

The MUA reinjured those healing soft tissues.

 

[Onestepatatime]

@Jockette thanks for the reply. I still can't believe I fell and broke my toe and am all banged up. I did not go to PT today, will see how I feel Wednesday. I forgot how tiring working is post op! It is 8:30 pm and I am getting ready for bed. I am exhausted!

 

[Layla]

Apparently I need to live in a padded room!

It certainly must feel like that when you can't seem to catch a break while healing from surgery.

Your leg endured major trauma, in a very small area, albeit controlled. Your muscles, tendons, ligaments and other soft tissue is going to cause you discomfort, but as you know from past recoveries, you will regain strength and stamina as your leg continues to heal. Sleep well tonight!

 

[Elf1]

@Onestepatatime how are you feeling today? Did you make it to PT or cancel?.

I feel so bad that you broke your toe and that you're banged up. I can so relate.

We have a wooden step, for lack of a better word, that the grandkids put in front of the sink so they can wash their hands. Its pretty good size and very heavy. A few weeks after my surgery I was going in and out of the hall bathroom and being careful of the step since I knew it was in front of the sink as the grandkids were over. Well, went in after everyone left to put the step away and clean up the flood from the kids washing their hands.

Sure as can be I somehow manage to hit it with my foot, and of course I was barefoot and about went through the ceiling! I bruised the daylights out of the toe next to my pinky. How I managed that and completely missed the pinky or any other toes is beyond me!

Hopefully you're starting to heal and feel a little better.

 

[Onestepatatime]

@Elf1 thank you for sharing that story. Good to know I’m not alone I went to PT today but a lot of the exercises hurt my foot too bad. The Velcro surgical shoe is lovely as well. My foot is too swollen to get into a sneaker.
Returned to work Monday doing half days and I’m really exhausted. One day at a time right now. How are you feeling? The grandkids must be good medicine!!!

 

[Elf1]

@Onestepatatime the grandkids are good medicine most of the time but Hubby and I laugh that its good they go home! Those kids have so much energy, its non stop. I wish I had a quarter of it.

How's half days at work going? It has to be exhausting, even with working remote. I know for the short time I did half days after my THR I would stop at the grocery store to grab something for lunch on the way home and end up crashing on the couch for a while. Our stamina does improve so it will get easier, just takes time.

This recovery is bugging me, I have no patience what so ever and want to be back to normal. I have two more sessions of PT on the schedule and still have another round of eight approved but think I'm going to stop after the last one Thursday. See Doc the day after Labor Day so unless he thinks I should continue I'll just go on my merry way.

 

[Onestepatatime]

@Elf1 yes returning to work is exhausting. To everyone post TKR, is it normal to be really sore after 3 months? Yesterday I went to a work lunch, someone drove me and it was only an hour. Then I had PT after. Today I woke up a mess. My legs are so sore and my back hurt. Hoping arthritis is not getting worse up my vertebrae. And work is super demanding. Next Thursday there is an on-site meeting and I am nervous about getting there. Then we are supposed to tour the hospital and have lunch. It is my new boss, and kinda need to go. I am feeling so overwhelmed and uncomfortable. Too late to say I should have waited longer to return....

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!

 

[EalingGran]

To everyone post TKR, is it normal to be really sore after 3 months?

I think that can be entirely normal- especially if you are back at work and doing a lot. I found that I would be pain-free after resting and elevating but would get sore/ tight and achey as the day went on- standing especially brought it on. I was still elevating and icing quite a bit at that stage.

 

[Onestepatatime]

@EalingGran thanks for the response. I did not anticipate how hard it would be to return to normal. How long will it take before getting up early to exercise, have a normal work day, and be able to go out after work? I went out the past two nights and while it was so good, I am absolutely wrecked today. I am in pjs all day and am just going to let my body recover. I have a work meeting Thursday and it is a bit of a walk. I am already nervous about how I will feel afterwards.

My goal this week is to make the time to get to the pool at my gym on my off PT days. Geez it is still rough. I think the MUA set be back a bit?

Thanks!