TKR Rockgirl4's Recovery---already full of surprises.

[Atlas_aus]

@Rockgirl4

Reading your recovery with interest. I am 1 week post op today, so way early but I guess not so far behind you.

The worst pain for me is my quads, guessing that is where they put the tourniquet. Ice packs and game ready seem to be useful, can't believe how many times I have ended up with chattering teeth ! We are coming into Winter here and I am such a Summer person !

Knee wise I am happy. Sadly I still have a catheter and it comes out on the 13th..... Have a lot of bruising and an amazing amount of shades

I am very lucky to have my Wife taking care of me, how people go through this on their own is amazing.

I am a side sleeper, mainly RH, and have never slept on my back... That is taking some getting used to. I have found I can sleep on my side for a while, but it is so much hassle with the catheter I have just resigned to falling in & out of sleep as it happens. Also found the sofa chair to get me off too.

Anyway hope your recovery continues in a positive way.

 

[Jockette]

I started seeing my chiropractor at 4 weeks post op, I went twice a week for the next 4 weeks. She has a very gentle approach and calls me her “less is more” girl. Her technique doesn’t involve any twisting. I do wish she did some massage, though, as my chiropractor in Ohio did that, and it was a really nice addition to the adjustment.

My deductible had been met and it only cost me $9 per visit!

 

[klinkmcbear]

@klinkmcbear I wasn't sure if they'd look at me and say "no way" for 3-4 wks, but I can't be the only one asking, as TKR is so common. Great idea!!!!

Same here - I thought he would think I was nuts!! I was so happy to hear he had helped others after TKR. I hope ART works as well for you and @RAD as it did for me. I'm going a couple of times a week, and am seeing continued relief - last night was my best sleep so far. Let me know how it goes.

 

[Rockgirl4]

So it's 3:20 AM here in the central United States, and I'm wide awake. I just finished my Day 15 Post-op PT for the morning ....why, you may ask.....
My Version of PT at 3:00 AM: 1) Wake up from sleeping on the couch to the sound of a cat puking. 2) Pull myself from the couch, grabbing the walker in the dark, flip on the lights (while successfully trying not to step in or roll through the cat puke. It's slow going with the walker, as I'm super stiff upon waking. 2a) Say quick prayer of gratitude for clean feet. 3) Clean up 2 piles of cat puke while hanging on to the walker for dear life. 4) Pat myself on the back for my efforts because both piles were in the path on the way to the bathroom. 5 & 6) Put away cleaning supplies I had gathered previously (oh yeah---forgot to mention the trek into the laundry room for those). 7) Turn off lights, back to the couch, proud of my accomplishments.

I figured after 2 solid weeks of taking care of me, I'd let Hubby sleep and do this myself. Mission accomplished. Besides, it was almost time for pain meds anyway.

 

[BCSAnna]

@Rockgirl4

Hi Lisa

It is 5:28am on the east coast of the US and I am also awake due to a puking feline. Cleaning up cat puke in the middle of the night in bad under normal circumstances; but, to do so holding on to a walker takes a special talent!

Anna

 

[kneeper]

3AM PT indeed!

 

[Rockgirl4]

@BCSAnna The things we do for the ones we love, right????!!! At least I wasn't the only one blessed with this chore last night.

 

[Celle]

Ah the joy of waking up to the sound of a cat puking! My diabetic cat does it around 5 a.m, about once a week.
Cleaning up is PT therapy, I guess, but not the sort you'd choose to do.

Congratulations on coping with it.

 

[Jockette]

While I miss my cat, I don’t miss the puking, she did it a lot.

 

[Rockgirl4]

2 weeks and 2 days post-op......yesterday was simply too much. I was extra stiff and sore from the day before for some odd reason. Then a good friend came by with lunch/dessert for me and my son, and she stayed a good 3 hrs. It was a planned visit, but I didn't think she'd stay THAT long, as she's the type who is always on the move.

As enjoyable as it was, I knew my niece was coming at 6 pm. I caught a quick 30 minute cat nap before supper, then my niece showed up. Thankfully she only stayed 90 minutes instead of her usual 3 hrs. I was "visited out" afterwards. The silver lining is I slept wonderfully in my own bed last night. It took a good 2 hrs to get settled, rearrange pillows, but wonderful sleep was all mine from 3:30 AM to 9:00 AM. I enjoyed myself, knowing it may not happen again for awhile.

Our pastor offered to stop by today with snacks/treats for me and my son. It felt rude, but I had to say no. My 12 yr old woke up sick, and I'm just worn out from visitors yesterday and having to be "on." As much as I love the company when stuck at home for weeks on end, I also love my quiet time.

Overall, I think I've entered the stage where improvement is going to come slowly now, in surprising times and ways. People have begun texting/emailing, asking me when I'll be back in he normal world. Part of me thinks "Huh???? Are you nuts----no time soon!!!

We were supposed to have a small, family gathering tonight for my sister-in-law's birthday. I can't say I'm all that disappointed in Owen being under the weather. My husband will go to the party, bring us back dinner, and we get to stay home and rest. Best of both worlds in my opinion.

 

[kneeper]

I hear you about visitors. People often don't get that you are not up to much (even when you want to see people.)
I was very lucky that in the first weeks when I had people come they either just dropped something off and did a "standing" visit for a few minutes or stayed to eat with me and then left.

Good for you for saying no to your pastor--and good for him/her for not just showing up. ;) You do have to watch out for your energy.

 

[Rockgirl4]

So today I slept most of the morning and afternoon. This was after a decent's night sleep. I think yesterday's visitors wore me out more than I thought. My husband went to the family dinner without us, as my son feels even worse this evening. Luckily my father-in-law brought supper/dessert early, so we didn't miss out on wonderful food.

As for the knee, my leg muscles are quickly bouncing back, with great strength too. My glute is weak obviously, so the walker is still my friend. Swelling is still a problem, and my "baseball knot" of fluid is still sitting there with no changes. My IT Band area is tight as can be. It's no wonder the knee won't bend, but it still makes me angry and nervous. Can't lie. I keep putting my legs together to compare the right leg to the left....it's a visual reminder to myself why the TKR knee isn't doing much. Mrs. Knee is still BIG!!!

I'm jealous of everyone who has stopped the pain meds or drastically cut them by this point (2 1/2 wks). There's just no way. I'm going to try 7.5 mgs Percocet tonight instead of 10 mgs, just to see what happens. No time like the present to try.

I was reading some of the pre-op threads earlier today, and guess what I kept stumbling across----loads of TKR recoveries with people off narcotics in a week, and walking without aides or driving in no time. It's hard not to feel "behind."

 

[Irish471]

@Rockgirl4 , you’re not behind! I was at around 75 degrees at 2 weeks post op and still on pain meds. It’s okay! Slow and steady will win the race Everyone is on a different time table when it comes to recovery and it’s hard not to compare. My recoveries have always started off very slowly but I’ve always gotten to a good place eventually. You will, too!

I think it takes a long time for all the soft tissues and muscles to get used to their new positions now hat your new knee alignment has changed. Stretching (slow and gentle) is really helpful. I notice a big difference in stiffness and increased pain if I skip the stretching in the morning. I wake up 15 minutes earlier and it’s so worth it!

For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing great!

 

[Atlas_aus]

@Rockgirl4

You sure need to cut yourself some slack !!

Two people or one thousand people all of which had the same surgery, even the same surgeon will never have the exact same recovery, similar perhaps but not the same.

The only comparison I am doing is "me", before surgery me, post surgery me.

At 11 days post it is really too hard to tell if it has been a success. But already I have noticed the pain points I used to have are no longer there, being replaced with various other points of pain due to the surgery and I hope given time they will be pain free too.

Had I have not tried the op, I know my original pain points would still be there and getting worse day by day.

I am taking one day at a time and hopefully in the months ahead I will be like a new person !

Good luck

 

[Rockgirl4]

@Irish471 . Thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement. I think if I could read a "slow bending" thread every morning and evening, maybe I'd be able to shut out these worries. I do well until I get super bored or begin hurting again. I have this weird thing where it gets to 9 PM and I kind of just hurt all over from the waist down. Maybe it's all of the little activity from the day building up. My emotions always tend to run over around 10PM if it happens, so the combination makes for some pity parties and crying jags. I know it wears on my husband so I try to pick my moments.

I will keep reminding myself it's a marathon, not a sprint....and we are ALL different. My husband keeps saying what are the odds anyone had knees exactly like mine, with their exact problems, and their surgical history, and my known imflammatory response....NO ONE!!

You hit the nail on the head though about stretching. I tried it tonight during my "blah" time, and it DID help. I had done the same thing 2 nights ago and it helped some. I think I'm needing more movement later in the day to help keep me from being so stiff and sore all over.

OK---off to bed soon. I'm going to attempt 2 nights in a row in my own bed. Wish me luck, and thanks again!!!

 

[Rockgirl4]

@Atlas_aus --- I agree I have to get out of my own head. I do not have enough to keep my mind occupied, and the boredom of the last 2 days has allowed me to overthink it ALL again. My husband and I had a long talk tonight because he could tell I was upset about something. He brought up the same thing about all of us being different, and my own unusual knee history that is unlike any other....thus one CANNOT compare. During that long talk, he asked if I was getting anxious about being out in the world more next week----the world where everyone will be asking about things, offering their own advice, and bringing up the horrible 2015 "knee that refused to bend" situation. Like they know what MIGHT happen, and it's up to me to prevent it, and blah blah blah.....That's a lot of it---I've already had friends/family texting me about doing my exercises, making sure I do my homework, letting the PT hurt if that's what it takes.....None of that has helped my worry over it all. Just makes me question, anyalyze, and get mad. I've ignored those texts and am not about to justify things. Time to move on to crosswords, Netflix, a book, or some scrapbooking---DISTRACTION, here I come!!!!

 

[Didot]

I’ve been off line for some weeks. Trying not to read over and over, searching for answers. This became my problem. I was obsessed. Trying to make sense of the place I was in. But I can now say, that at nearly 5 months, after definitely being on the bottom of the bell curve in recovery ... stiffness,swelling,immobility... I see change. However following the advice here, I’m struggling with zero strength and forever feel like my leg is going to collapse. But I’m positive ... now I am trying to push it a bit each day. But the more I try, the more stiff, swollen etc it becomes. A nightmare really.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[kneeper]

It is not unusual to feel the day catching up with you by the evening.
Are you getting any napping in during the day? I know I would find myself getting cranky/emotional and uncomfortable around mid afternoon and figured out that was my cue to lie down. Even if I didn't sleep, somehow the lying down helped. I don't know that I ever made it to 10pm...

 

[Rockgirl4]

Let's talk "Zingers!" How do YOU describe them?

A few hours after waking up this morning, I started having a weird ache/pai/jolt/sensation on the upper medial side of my knee. It kind of felt like a very deep muscle spasm....but much more powerful and unsettling. It wasn't like an electric shock either though. It came in waves too----maybe 5-6 times over 15 minutes., none for a few hrs, then 4-5 more. They let up this evening and I've only had one since supper.

Keep in mind this is a good 1.5-2 inches from my incision, which surprised me. It made me wonder if this isn't the notorious "zinger" after all and maybe they're deep, strong muscle spasms (?)

 

[Rockgirl4]

@Didot I think it's wise sometimes to take a break from the Internet. It's so easy to get sucked in to where everyone is at (or not!!), and I do think it can lead to obsessing. I'm guilty--100%. I hope things continue to improve for you, and I'm sorry it's been slow going.

@kneeper I'm actually the queen of napping, but even with catnaps during the days, my nights are messed up. I do best with 8-9 hrs of sleep a night. I can add it all up right now and guarantee I'm getting more than 8 in an entire day'....but the nights are wacko. I was up until 4 this morning (after going to bed at 12:30 AM),got online at 2:40 after laying there forever, finally took a pain pill 90 minutes early, knowing I'd lay there hurting if I didn't. I did manage then to sleep 4 hrs. I later napped from 1-4 in the afternoon today because I was so tired from missing last night. Emotionally, it all takes a toll.

Personal Sidenote: Feel free to skip--not knee related.....I wasn't in a great mental state going in to this TKR. I had already canceled last December when my mom got sick and died suddenly 11 days later---the day before my TKR. I had already rescheduled the day before she died, knowing she was terminal and hadJ only a few months to live. The entire Spring was getting her estate settled, getting the house sold, and having everything wrapped up before my TKR --rescheduled for May 21. We got it done, but my brother and I both admit the shock and suddenness of it all, plus the work involved this spring, was just exhausting and left little time to grieve. This TKR has been 100% wrapped up in that since December, and some days I can cry on a dime---yesterday was one of them. I had to write my brother his final Estate check (his half of our mom's estate---the small part that was probated), plus let him know 1 other piece to expect in the mail. It dredges it all back up again, and yesterday was the perfect storm. Then I started worrying about bending, ditching the walker, etc. Sometimes I wish there a MENTAL pre-hab. I probably would have been better off postponing my surgery until later in the year when my head as more right, but I was trying to take advantage of my son's summer break. Live and learn!!!