Bilateral TKR Rhody on the Road to Recovery

[Rhodyrhody]

How you doing Rhody? Look for your posts everyday.

I'm doing ok. I have a sinus infection that is just kicking my butt right now, otherwise, ok. In quite a bit more pain this week since I stopped taking the oxy. It's amazing how well that stuff works. Last week, I was all gung ho to do this and that...feeling great, walking around the house carrying my walker or crutches w/o using them... Then, I didn't take the oxy for one day and had a major sweats withdrawal reaction. So, I decided not to take them at all anymore. I have to say...acetaminophen...nowhere near as effective, but it is what it is.

Have been working half days this week. The sinus infection has been much more bothersome than my knees. Have been having some "late night can't get comfortable because of the pain" episodes, but still feeling fortunate, because, at least I'm sleeping in my own bed and have been able to sleep on my side.

I haven't been doing a lot of icing, doesn't appear that I have much swelling at all. And, because of the sinus issues, haven't been doing a ton of exercises either - which I know aligns with the BoneSmart way . My outpatient PT eval has been moved to Monday...we'll see how it goes.

Take care, hope you're doing well, too!

 

[beachy]

Feel better soon Rhody. You’ve certainly had enough sickness while recovering!

 

[MissViv18]

Sorry to hear about your sinus infection. It seems too early to be completely off the pain meds. No need to suffer any more than necessary but do what you think is best.

Hoping for a better recovery from here on. Keep us posted!

 

[MissViv18]

Oh forgot to mention.... I am still hanging in there waiting for my surgery. In quite a bit of pain and nothing seems to help (not icing, not Tylenol, not elevating) just pretty miserable at this point and looking forward to the surgery and starting to mend. Thanks for asking!

 

[Rhodyrhody]

Sorry to hear about your sinus infection. It seems too early to be completely off the pain meds. No need to suffer any more than necessary but do what you think is best.

Hoping for a better recovery from here on. Keep us posted!

I agree, it does seem soon and I know taking them would make me feel a lot better. But, the majority of time, I can tolerate the pain. And, that massive sweat night...just tells me there's something not right with that and if I can do without them, that's what I should do.

Good luck with your surgery. There wasn't really anything helping my issues prior to surgery either (meds, shots, etc). I was however, able to get pretty comfortable if I just sat or laid down. But, I got greedy and decided I wanted to move around...so here I am.

 

[Rhodyrhody]

Feel better soon Rhody. You’ve certainly had enough sickness while recovering!

Thanks much, and hope you're doing ok, too.

Y'know...I'm pretty sure there's a reason for this. Like, if I felt better, would I be trying to exercise/do too much? (Probably definitely )

 

[MissViv18]

Rest and take it easy as much as possible. Remember … you have had MAJOR SURGERY and your knees are recovering from TRAUMA!

 

[Rhodyrhody]

Rest and take it easy as much as possible. Remember … you have had MAJOR SURGERY and your knees are recovering from TRAUMA!

Thanks, I'll try! Actually, the most 'rest and take it easy'-like thing I am doing these days...is work!

Update from the doc's office:
-ok to walk around w/o crutches or walker as long as I feel secure. (Good, b/c Mrs Rhody almost yells at me when she sees me without either)
-ok to drive next week if I feel like I have good enough foot/leg reaction time (not sure Mrs Rhody will go for that)
-ok to have a beer (huge...altho...it's been so long, not sure I even want one yet)
-ok to get on my riding mower and mow the lawn, provided I don't get too uncomfortable

"In-general" question:
Floor slides. Those hurt. Sometimes a lot. So, I'm not doing them. My home PT showed me an exercise where, I stand at the bottom of a staircase, put one foot up a step, and 'flex' my knee (of the leg that's up on the step) by moving my butt forward or backward. That one doesn't seem to hurt anywhere near as much and I get (what appears to be) MUCH better flexion and extension than from the floor slides.

Am I getting as much benefit from that as I would from floor slides? If anyone knows..."if not, why not?"* It seems like a pretty good thing, because I 'appear' to be getting pretty good range of motion out of that...but, is it "fake"?

*I'm big on "why"...it helps me remember and follow through. Ex: In the hospital, they told me how to 'get up' out of a chair. I kept doing it wrong, 'til I finally asked, "why do I need to do it that way?" They explained that the way I wanted to do it, was putting a lot of strain on my incision...that made it much easier for me to remember...

 

[sistersinhim]

-ok to get on my riding mower and mow the lawn, provided I don't get too uncomfortable

I found the vibrations from the riding mower was extremely painful, especially afterwards that night and the next day. You might want to try just a little bit of the yard at first. Then see how it going to handle it.

 

[Jockette]

I found the vibrations from the riding mower was extremely painful, extremely afterwards that night and the next day. You might want to try just a little bit of the yard at first. Then see how it going to handle it.

And you might want to wait a while longer before you try it.

 

[Rhodyrhody]

And you might want to wait a while longer before you try it.

Well, not going to happen today (because it's pouring) and you can be sure I'll be taking a cautious approach to that when it does happen. (If it were up to Mrs R, it would be...like...maybe April )

 

[Jockette]

I’m with Mrs. R!!

 

[sistersinhim]

Can't she ride the mower?

 

[Jockette]

Can't she ride the mower?

I rode one a couple of times and found it an overrated experience!

 

[Rhodyrhody]

I still have the below question, which is kinda why I'd like to be able to post it on a separate thread, as some might see it that aren't necessarily reading about my (boring and long-winded) recovery...

"In-general" question:
Floor slides. Those hurt. Sometimes a lot. So, I'm not doing them. My home PT showed me an exercise where, I stand at the bottom of a staircase, put one foot up a step, and 'flex' my knee (of the leg that's up on the step) by moving my butt forward or backward. That one doesn't seem to hurt anywhere near as much and I get (what appears to be) MUCH better flexion and extension than from the floor slides.

Am I getting as much benefit from that as I would from floor slides? If anyone knows..."if not, why not?"* It seems like a pretty good thing, because I 'appear' to be getting pretty good range of motion out of that...but, is it "fake"?

*I'm big on "why"...it helps me remember and follow through. Ex: In the hospital, they told me how to 'get up' out of a chair. I kept doing it wrong, 'til I finally asked, "why do I need to do it that way?" They explained that the way I wanted to do it, was putting a lot of strain on my incision...that made it much easier for me to remember...​

 

[beachy]

Sounds like you’re doing well!

I’m ready. Less than 2 weeks and good to go. Joshua 1:9 for sure. Not worried at all.

 

[Rhodyrhody]

Floor slides. Those hurt. Sometimes a lot. So, I'm not doing them. My home PT showed me an exercise where, I stand at the bottom of a staircase, put one foot up a step, and 'flex' my knee (of the leg that's up on the step) by moving my butt forward or backward. That one doesn't seem to hurt anywhere near as much and I get (what appears to be) MUCH better flexion and extension than from the floor slides.

Am I getting as much benefit from that as I would from floor slides? If anyone knows..."if not, why not?"* It seems like a pretty good thing, because I 'appear' to be getting pretty good range of motion out of that...but, is it "fake"?

*I'm big on "why"...it helps me remember and follow through. Ex: In the hospital, they told me how to 'get up' out of a chair. I kept doing it wrong, 'til I finally asked, "why do I need to do it that way?" They explained that the way I wanted to do it, was putting a lot of strain on my incision...that made it much easier for me to remember...

So, if folks could weigh in on this exercise, I'd most appreciate it. Thanks

 

[DLR]

@Rhodyrhody at this point I would say whatever works without pain. I have not done floor slides, I simply if on a chair or the toilet check how far I can bring my foot in. I was doing bed heel slides for a while but they started to cause back pain. What you are doing is accomplishing the same thing, right now it’s not about strength simply keeping that joint mobile. I am 6 weeks and my OS is thriled with my knee, he doesn’t measure he simply watched my function, walking with my cane and sitting comfortably on the side of the exam table swinging my legs.

 

[Josephine]

which is kinda why I'd like to be able to post it on a separate thread

Well you'll find we won't let you!

Am I getting as much benefit from that as I would from floor slides?

Most unlikely because they will cause more swelling and pain and therefore will inhibit the ROM!


Tell you what, I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?

 

[Rhodyrhody]

I can answer questions, sure...but....for now... I just really want to know about that exercise. I'm not sure why you'd say that the exercise I asked about would cause more swelling and pain than floor slides, when that doesn't seem to be the case at all. I'm just trying to ascertain if it's considered effective...