TKR Recovering in Western North Carolina

[Organist]

Well, it's been way too long since I last posted. It's hard to believe that I'm actually 11 months post-op (as of tomorrow). I'm doing well. Magrat (my new right knee) is behaving well. I still get tingling, and "sharp needle" sensations around the right knee area occasionally. The numb part on the outside of my right knee is still numb, but if I press down on the area and move my hand around I can feel it "further down".

One of my goals has been to be able to get on the floor (on purpose instead of falling), and getting back up again. I'm still working on that.

I can kneel when I go forward for communion at church -- and do most of the time -- depending on how crowded it is and how I feel that day.

As for getting on the "getting on and off the floor" part, that's a different story. About a month ago (around the 10-month mark), I tried it at the "stretch and flex" class (yoga-type exercises) for the first time. I positioned the chair at the head of the mat. The good thing about that class is that she (the instructor) has us do the standing exercises first, then we get on the floor and stay there until the end of the class. That FIRST day trying it, I had a hard time getting back off of the floor. I felt like a "beached whale". It took me a couple of minutes -- which felt like much longer. It was very discouraging.

Since then I've been trying to remember the "mechanics" of getting up off of the floor the regular way. I haven't done that since before my knee problems, which has been over 20 years ago -- just guessing there. I know that in the early 1980's, I was very flexible while taking an Okinawan-style karate class
( broken link removed: https://www.ryukyukempo.com/what_is_page.html ).

I see people getting up so easily (and so fast) that I can't "wrap my mind" around how it's done. I've tried recording a yoga program on TV to re-watch in "slow motion", but haven't found one for beginners. At the point that she got up in what she referred to as "a table top" with feet crossed, I shook my head and deleted the "automatic record the series" for the program.

Anyway, since then I've been practicing each evening -- using the couch instead of a chair. I get onto the floor, do some stretching exercises, and then get up (using the couch to assist). It's slowly getting better. At least after skipping the class one week, I went back and have been able to get back up again a bit more gracefully.

Soooo, the recovery continues -- for all of us. Take care, everyone.

 

[tashia]

Organist, I am so glad you are doing so great. Yes geting off the floor was a challage for me too. I do have problem not getting down but up. Still trying to get it. So good to hear from you. Don't be a stranger. let us know how you are doing. Take care Tashia

 

[speccybecky]

Becky!! Nice to hear from you....and doing so well.

I struggle with the floor still, beached whale describes it perfectly. My numb patch is stilll there and if I press beside it I get feeling on the other side of it, a strange sensation.

 

[Organist]

Tashia and Nancy, thanks. I've missed all of you. This is a busy time with Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. However this is my first one in which my right knee is NOT in agony. So I am definitely happy having Magrat to keep me walking, practicing getting on and off of the floor, etc. I'm looking forward to a day at Biltmore Estate (when it gets warmer), and the next time that we tour the house. All of those stairs and I won't be hanging onto the rails, allowing everyone to pass me as I keep to the sides and walls moving slowly. It's still hard to think that it's been almost a year since my TKR.

Hope that you both are doing well. We'll keep working on getting off of the floor. Now it's time for a cup of coffee.

 

[Jacky48]

Hey Becky, Nice to hear from you again! I'm glad things are going well for you my friend, I missed you! I have yet to try that floor thing, I guess I'm chicken! Fear of the unknown is worse than the actual doing it I think, but one of these days I'll get brave!
Stay well kiddo and keep enjoying Magrat, it seems she's treating you well!

 

[Dulcimer Diva]

Hi, Becky! You do live in a lovely part of the country. (I'm going to Montreat, near Asheville, for a folk conference in May and the mountains are SO beautiful). Glad to hear your knee is healing well. If it's any consolation, I am still not on good terms with my own floor--haven't been able to get up from the floor w/o kneeling on my natural (L, painful) knee and hauling myself up with the aid of sturdy furniture, and even then it's stressful. (I keep flashing back on those "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials). Still traumatized by the time a few years ago when I did a house concert and had to sleep on an air mattress on the host's floor. During the night it leaked slowly. I discovered that when I awoke for the usual reason a baby boomer awakens during the night. Had to scoot my bum across the floor to the sofa in order to get up and walk to the bathroom, and reverse the process on my return. (Slept on the couch instead of reinflating and returning to the air mattress). Despite a sturdy grab bar in my tub, bubble baths remain a distant memory for me. I've been told not to kneel on my replaced (R) knee. Seriously considering getting a massage table for doing supine exercises.

 

[RICBAK1]

Ladies kneeling is not to bad just feels funny my grandkids have encourage me to kneel so i can get on floor and play dolls or lego .Oh and if we caravan this summer i get kicked out of van by kids and wife and have to sleep in tent on airbed our van is only small 2 berth and grandad always loses.

 

[amberpep]

It was great to see your name pop up again. I, too, don't post as much as I did. The things you're experiencing are exactly how I was and in some cases still am. That tingly part of it is the nerves reconnecting (at least that's what I understand it to be). I still have an area on the outside of my right knee, about 1-1/2" in diameter that is numb, and for me, it's been 2 years, so I don't think that will come back. And, getting up off the floor ..... well, I look rather like a hippopotamus. I just picked up a whole pile of filing to do, half of it slid on the floor, and I had to get down to get it. Oh wow! What a picture that would have been...... not pretty, that's for sure.
I LOVE your area of the country. When our kids were home, the 5 of us went to Franklin for the Gem Show, then headed to Murphy and went whitewater rafting on the Nantahala! Beautiful area.
Take care .... you sound like you're right on cue ..... I'm now doing exercises for my quads, as they've gotten weak somehow and my knee was hurting more. They are helping already and I've only been doing them for 5 days. The folks on this Board are great and very helpful. We both need to keep coming back more.
abby

 

[Gran17]

Ha, Organist. you are talking about being in the floor and I just want to walk upright ...Almost 7.5 months out still having some pain or discomfort,depends how much I walk....I am happy for you tho...Keep trying.. That's all we can do....hugs

 

[ladyj]

So great to hear that you are doing so well, Becky. I can't believe it is eleven months since your op. You were such an inspiration to me when I was waiting for my TKR and you were making such a good recovery.
I have been staying at my younger daughter's all last week as she has just had a baby, and I slept on a futon which is just a few inches from the floor. I could kneel on it, (to my surprise), and got up by kind of rolling on to the floor and then getting up on all fours crab wise.
It was effective, and not difficult, but definitely not a pretty sight"

i am still doing well, and becoming much more active. My new knee is fine, but my "good" leg is still affected by tendinitis, in the back of my knee, my thigh, and my hip.
Goodness only knows why, but I feel sure it will settle down eventually.
I don't let it stop me.

I am hoping to have a day in London towards the end of the week to get some new clothing for our upcoming trip to the USA in May, which we had to postpone from last year.
Unfortunately it is snowing like mad here today, but I am hopeful we might get back to some spring weather again in a few days. I certainly hope so.

Anyway, keep up the good work.

 

[Organist]

I’m not sure why this year with Lent – and Holy Week / Easter coming up next week – seems busier than last year. Maybe it’s because last year my focus was on “pre-op” stuff, and playing the organ those last Sundays (ending with Easter Sunday) before my TKR. Oh, yes... and there were my mornings of “mall meandering”– very slowly walking around the mall (a small mall) a couple of times – alternating walking with sitting down on benches to allow my knee to gradually relax and stop screaming at me. My OS said that any walking was better than none, and it helped me lose some weight before my surgery. So it was good.

Anyway, now that I’m approaching the 1-year mark, life seems more normal and busier – meetings, events, etc. – oh, yes, and a new great-niece (Isabella) born March 9th. We’re hoping to visit them sometime soon to see the family and Bella.

Jacky, you’re right. “Fear of the unknown” is definitely worse than the actual doing of it – when we’re so used to adjusting to “bone-on-bone knees” (whether one or both). I still find myself sometimes at least resting my hand on the edge of the sink when I get off of the toilet. I’ve been consciously reminding myself not to hold onto anything (not even to just rest my hand reassuringly on the sink or something). I still have a lot of exercise to do to get more strength in my core muscles and in my legs/thighs. I’ve found that if I “think about it”, then I think too long. So I’m trying to get into the habit of saying “Don’t think about it” while at the same time getting up from the floor or wherever. I’m with you on the “chicken” thing. Last Sunday – being St. Patrick’s Day – I wore my kilted skirt (long) with the organist “robe” over it, and decided that I was NOT going to try kneeling with the long straight skirt and the robe – too many things to get tangled in. I usually wear slacks.

D. Diva, did your OS tell you not to kneel on your new knee? Did he say why? As others have said the new knee doesn’t hurt, it just feels strange. It’s the process of getting on the floor and back up again after years of “BAD KNEE” and getting to the bone-on-bone level of agony that makes it hard – NO STRENGTH left to help with sitting down on the floor without “plopping” down, or getting back up without “working at it”. Of course, you have your other knee scheduled for surgery in a few months. So that might affect getting up and down too. Take care Glad to know that you’re coming to Asheville in May. Maybe we can get together for a cup of coffee or something while you’re here.

Thanks for all of the “welcome back” posts, everyone. I’ll catch up with more posts later. We have a “senior citizen, healthy living” typ of meeting with lunch in a bit. So I’ll be back later to catch up some more.

 

[Organist]

Richard, your grand kids (and the airbed in the tent) have definitely been good incentive for you to get used to getting on and off the floor again. I’m working on it – better than I was a little more than a month ago.

Abby, getting off of the floor is DEFINITELY not pretty. I’m glad that nobody is taking my picture either. We were at a friend’s home this afternoon/evening for dinner and conversation. She had had gastric bypass surgery a few months over a year ago, and has lost a lot of weight. So she’s dealing with the “getting off the floor” issue too. She showed us how she has to do it – using a coffee table and a sofa to help after she gets on her knees. So she’s “in the same boat”. Getting strength in our quads is definitely going to help. We’ll definitely have to “check in” with each other more often It definitely helps.

My hubby was just musing that since there are biceps, triceps, and quadriceps ... So what would uni-ceps be?

Gran17, sorry that you’re still having some pain/discomfort when you walk a longer time. At not quite 4 months out, I started going to the YWCA (a year’s membership) where I mostly used the stationary bike for most of my exercise. That helped since I didn’t have my weight on my leg, and I could start very slow and only do as much as my knee could do without causing pain. At about the same time (3½ months) I ended up with a shin splint on my right leg. So that meant more physical therapy, and slowing down at the YWCA for awhile. As they tell us, each person’s recovery is unique. It’s such an individual thing – recuperation. Fortunately in our group there’s usually some other members who are having (or have had) a similar situation. A friend in Asheville had her TKR a week before mine. She’s gradually getting where she feels like she’s recuperating more, but for months she had problems with the pain and swelling, and walking. As you say, we’ll keep trying until we get better.

Jess, I find it hard to believe that it’s been 11 months since my TKR too. Sometimes time seemed to drag (earlier in the recuperation), but each month that passed seemed to “pop up” as a surprise. You’re “coming up” on your 8-month post-op. So you’re getting there too. My hubby and I go to a chiropractor once a month – to keep “on top of” misalignment of places like lower back, hip, ... – things that we unconsciously do to compensate for what was going on with our knees, etc. I’ve also been doing more ankle exercises to strengthen them – after years and years (decades) of “sprained ankle” incidents. DO let us know how it’s going with your trip “across the pond”. That’s going to be a grand trip.

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions, comments, and encouragement. It helps to have each other here. I’m still telling others with knee (or hip) problems about our wonderful forum here. Take care. Time for bed now.

 

[Janet2012]

Becky, nice to see you again! Time is flying now, isn't it? We'll have passed the one year mark before we know it! I kneel when I have to, but it's not often that I need to. I wouldn't kneel to crawl around the floor, but to just get up off the floor, it's only for maybe 3 seconds I'm on my knee anyway. I did achieve taking a bubble bath to celebrate my 9 month anniversary, I think it was. But graceful? No. No one will watch me and think, "There's someone that does yoga!" Thanks for coming back around! I don't read through all the threads anymore now that I'm able to get up and do other things, but I was happy to see you!

 

[Organist]

Janet, it's good to see you here too. I can do yoga once I'm on the floor and STAY on the floor. Actually I think I'll be able to for the "cat-cow" from a hands-n-knees position -- but NO "downward dog", at least not in the near future. Congratulations on the bubble bath. It's a nice way to relax. I'm thinking we might schedule a massage one day soon -- after Easter Sunday. Holy Week tends to be too busy around here.

Have a wonderful weekend. Hopefully Spring weather will arrive soon.

 

[Janet2012]

Spring is always hopeful!

 

[Organist]

Definitely.

 

[ladyj]

Hi All,
Sorry I haven't been here for a week or two, I have had a raging outer ear infection which wouldn't clear up, and put any pain I have had with my new knee well in the shade!
I think, and hope, that it is at last, improving, even though I am still on antibiotic tablets, antibiotic /antifungal / cortisone / cream, and also antibiotic / antifungal ear drops.
It has made me think though, because miserable as it has been, I was able to forget about my knee and to take it completely for granted. In other words, I had an ear infection, my knee was perfect and of no concern to me.
The thought of being able to say that this time last year would have seemed impossible.
I agree with you Becky about still doing things that we used to do when we still had bad knees. I tend to grab the windowsill at the top of my stairs. I don't need to, I just do................because I needed to for such a long time.
So glad to hear that everyone else is also doing so well.
If I had known a year ago what I know now, I wouldn't have worried about the TKR at all!

 

[1ELISEA]

I can do yoga once I'm on the floor and STAY on the floor. Actually I think I'll be able to for the "cat-cow" from a hands-n-knees position -- but NO "downward dog

Becky
Good to hear you are doing so well. The fact that you are doing yoga is impressive; downward dog is a killer for even those without a TKR. I mean doing the downward part ok, but the up dog portion, well that is just eucky!

Are you doing the yoga for fun or to get into shape for trip or something else fun?

 

[Organist]

Jess – Sorry that you’ve had such a problem with an outer ear infection. Hope and pray that it’s finally getting better.

I guess we’ll keep reminding ourselves about not clinging to things as we get up and down, use the stairs, etc. and work on getting our strength back – letting go of things we no longer need. Of course, lightly holding the stair rail is still a good idea. I am soooo glad that I had my RTKR – long recovery, hiccups in the journey, and all. It’s still much better when all is said and done. I’m glad that we have each other here in the group.

 

[Organist]

Elisea, good to hear from you all too. Downward dog looks like something that might happen a long way down the road yet. We’ll see. The “yoga” classes are VERY much beginner stuff. We’ve been going to a “chair yoga” class, and have decided that we’re past that one now – that is – I’m ready to drop that one. It’s not challenging anymore, but was a great start since I had been adapting exercises in EVERY “yoga” class to do from the chair, and occasionally standing up. Liam was coming with me to the chair yoga class to support my continued recovery. So he’s ready to drop that one too.

The Friday class is about right for me at this point – along with one other class. The Friday class, I think I’ve mentioned, starts standing up, and stays on the floor once we get there until the end of the class. The other class – maybe called “gentle yoga” or maybe a different kind of “stretch and flex” gets up and down more often. So we’ll see, when I start going to that one with Liam. Possibly when the instructor has everyone get up for an exercise (and I finally get up) the next exercise will be finished and she’ll have everyone get back on the floor. If so, I’ll continue adapting using the chair. I make sure to have a chair next to the mat so that I can use it in getting up, and in helping with the standing balance exercises. As for the purpose, we started this “goal” in January last year – to eat healthier, exercise, lose weight, and improve our health – also to take some of the excess weight off to help our knees, hips, etc. No trips planned yet, though we will be making short-distance day trips here and there to see family and friends. After all, we DO have a new great-niece whom we haven’t seen yet -- except pictures. That will come next week, hopefully. Oh, yes. We DO have annual passes to Biltmore Estate, so next time we visit I’ll be able to enjoy the house and surrounding area much better -- along with all of the stairs in the house.

Time for bed now. Talk to y'all later.