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TKR RTKR February 12th Recovery thread

I’m so proud of you for meeting this milestone. You took your time and did it right. Getting your life back is what the surgery is all about. Continue to be somewhat cautious (I know you will) and enjoy the rides!
 
Hello and Happy Saturday!

Hey, AliceNutter, it's a special day, Happy Two Month Anniversary!
You are powering through recovery like a true road warrior. :egypdance: Three months down and you're revving up for the open road again. Cheers to smooth times ahead, both on the road and in your healing journey. Stay safe and enjoy the weekend!
@AliceNutter
 
67F, RTKR, 10 weeks post-op. For a week I had to step in and take care of my 10 month old granddaughter because my daughter was unexpectedly hospitalised, and therefore had very little time to do anything formally for my knee, because OMG, baby. I managed to get in a few stretches, but to be honest most of my downtime was spent sleeping to get ready for the next round of baby-wrangling. Downside (once the worry about my daughter was over)? There wasn't one, really, knee-wise. I kept moving, obviously, because baby, I walked a lot, because baby, I got down and up a lot, because baby, I carried 18lbs regularly, because baby, and when I finally got home yesterday, I found that if anything my mobility and strength was slightly improved. Upside - I got to spend an unexpected week with my granddaughter....
 
All those things you mentioned are what I like to call “natural PT” and are just as good, if not better, than formal PT. All movement counts.

I hope your daughter (and all of you) will continue to improve. :console2:
 
Wow, baby certainly kept you on your toes. It's incredible all you were able to do. An intense week of "functional rehab" :wink: Like a real world boot camp for your knee and you fared well!
Caring for your granddaughter had to be a slight diversion as you worried about your daughter. Thankfully the anxiety is over. I hope she's doing well, baby is happy and you continue to build strength and stamina.
Thanks for the update. Wishing you a lovely weekend!
@Alice Nutter
 
@benne68, the short answer is yes. Thank you for asking. I just wrote this on Another knee forum....
12 weeks post-op, Some Lessons I have learnt
1) Don't kneel on hard surfaces. Just don't. I did, and it took me a day or two to work out that while it hadn't hurt badly at the time, that was what had caused the knee to swell up even more, to the point where I thought I had an infection. 2) Don't Google TKR infection at 3:00am; you are vulnerable to all sorts of crazy ideas at that time. 3) Accept, and accept again, that recovery is not linear. Try and think about what you have done that's new, or what you have done more of than before, that could explain new discomfort, before you leap to the most catastrophic conclusion. 4) Note, and note again, the small, incremental wins - the slightly longer walk, the couple of extra laps in the pool, the minimal increase in stamina, the brief periods when you haven't thought about your knee. 5) remember why you did this, and remember what you were hesitant to do before the operation, and notice that you are doing some of those things now without hesitation 6) measure progress in terms of function rather than numbers 7) give yourself a break, from PT, from knee-doomscrolling, from reproaching yourself that you're not doing enough or that you're doing too much. That's my TED talk.
 
Bravo! :yay: Great TED talk, you get a standing O, AliceNutter!
Great points, all of them, and a nice measure of encouragement to boot. Thanks for taking the time to be so thoughtful for the benefit of those following behind you.
May it only get better!
@Alice Nutter
 
I was remembering this morning when I initially injured my knee about a hundred and fifty years ago when I was young and stupid. I had a complicated meniscal tear and ended up having surgery, and was in a cast from hips to toes for six weeks. By the time the cast came off, my right thigh was 18cm smaller around than my left thigh - I was wondering where it had all gone? My point is though that because of the cast, I didn't even think about doing any strengthening exercises until it came off, and then it was a very long and slow haul, in spite of the fact that I was still in my teens. So we really should give ourselves a break, and stop expecting it to get better sooner. If we had broken a leg, we wouldn't be beating ourselves up for not doing enough; we'd be waiting for it to heal and then start slowly building strength.
 
Wise words, @Alice Nutter. Your thoughts are right on target!
 
Alice Nutter said:
Don't kneel on hard surfaces. Just don't. I did, and it took me a day or two to work out that while it hadn't hurt badly at the time, that was what had caused the knee
Click to expand...
Kneeling takes time. I started kneeling on my bed and gradually progressed to using thin foam cushions. I needed to kneel to do back exercises for my sciatica.
From about a year out I could kneel briefly on a wooden floor- say to get something out of a low cupboard. For longer kneeling( for a pilates class) I still use thin cushions at 2 years plus.
It's the peripheral nerve damage that is inevitable with TKR/ PKR- that makes kneeling a bit unpleasant until you get used to it. Some people are never able to kneel.
 
Great post, @Alice Nutter! Here's hoping some of our other members take your words to heart!
 
Happy Three Month Anniversary, Alice.
I hope you have a splendid week and it's all you want it to be! :SUNsmile:
Take care!
@Alice Nutter
 
Where I'm at now, at 3 months? I can do more or less all the things I want to do, just less of them than I might like. So when I swim, not as many laps as I was doing before surgery. When I walk, especially on uneven ground, not as far or as frequently. When I ride my motorcycle, not for as long. Doing chores around the house? I don't try and pack them all into one day. Sitting is becoming easier and easier for me, although I still have a warm feeling from knee to toes on the operated side. I can do up and downstairs fine, but accept that there are some days or some times of the day where I definitely need to use the handrail, and there's no shame in that. That's what handrails are for. If I'm carrying a load of stuff and can't use the handrail, I might do it without alternating my feet; it's better than falling. For me, it has been very important mentally to note the incremental improvements, not only in my mobility but also in my mood, my stamina, my optimism. And to recognise how much my life was being curtailed, very gradually, by the increasing pre-op pain. My main bugbear at the moment is the swelling around the joint, which has still not diminished significantly. I suspect that if I set aside the time more consistently to ice and elevate, it would, but there's always something else to do that's more important or more fun....
 
Alice Nutter said:
I suspect that if I set aside the time more consistently to ice and elevate, it would, but there's always something else to do that's more important or more fun....
Click to expand...
I hear you! :heehee:

Honestly, I still had swelling at the 3 month point after both my TKRs. Most of us do because it really does take a long time for all of the inflammation to resolve. That said, even a small increase in icing and elevating should help.

It sounds like you are doing really well. Remember that you are only 1/4 of the way through this year-long recovery. It gets better and better ... with time.
 
You're doing great, AliceNutter! Thanks for the update.
My OS mentioned that it can take up to 12 months for inflammation to fully resolve, usually easing along the way, but you may notice swelling more after activity. If you find it difficult to set aside time to ice and elevate, try targeting icing and elevating, toes above nose, at least after activity.
@Alice Nutter
 
I had my three-month follow up yesterday with the surgeon herself, and basically she agrees with y'all at Bonesmart. It all looks fine, the swelling is inflamed tissue, not fluid, and will or will not subside, function is good, x-rays good, the bone has grown into the cementless new knee, keep on doing what I'm doing. It was less rushed and tokenistic than the similar visit after my hip replacement (different, male surgeon). She was brisk and no-nonsense, but she listened to and answered all my questions and got delightfully nerdy when I asked her to explain the x-rays. It was a big relief to get that out of the way.
 
Great news, @Alice Nutter. For most of us that swelling really does resolve with time -- it just takes longer than we'd like!

Glad your surgeon took the time to answer all your questions!
 
Glad your questions were answered. Sounds like a straight-to-the-point kind of OS. Certainly tolerable when you're able to walk out of the appointment without questions still swirling in your head. Thanks for the update!
I'm happy for you that you're doing well, AliceNutter and hope you have a lovely weekend! :thumb:
@Alice Nutter
 
Don't be me. I am three and a half months out from LTKR. I have been using an exercise bike on minimal resistance every day since about week 3 to get my knee moving after sleeping or sitting for a long time, and about six weeks out I thought it would be a good idea to introduce more resistance. I did so, and the next day could hardly walk from the pain in my kneecap. When I went back to the bike a couple of days later, after the pain had subsided, I went back to minimal resistance. Fast forward to last Thursday, when a little demon whispered in my ear "It's time you introduced resistance again." So I did. The result is that I spent yesterday on my bed icing and elevating, alternating with heatpacks, instead of doing all the things I wanted to do and which I had been doing happily on Wednesday - walking my dogs in the woods, riding my motorcycle, cooking etc. Lesson learnt. If it really really hurt the first time, don't do it again. This is clearly NOT the way for me, personally, to strengthen my knee.
 
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