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TKR Rubyroo TKR #2

I’ve been fortunate that from December 24- December 29th I was able to manage on just Tylenol. Yesterday my leg was “talking to me” a good portion of the day & last night I decided to take a Tramadol. It helped take the edge off. Today I am 3 weeks post op. There is no way to describe all the weird feelings that you feel inside your leg as it heals & all the nerves are refiring and connecting and whatever the heck else is happening inside that sucker! But it is uncomfortable and weird feeling & I don’t like it! Poor boo boo leg :groan:
Oh well...just part of the road we have to go down. Knock on wood...haven’t had too many zingers yet. No universe- I am not calling all zingers, thank you very much! On the 26th we celebrated Christmas with my daughter & her boyfriend. My son, daughter in law & GB (grand baby) were supposed to come but daughter in law was feeling funky & so they bowed out to be safe. Tomorrow we will gather with everyone and exchange gifts so we’re looking forward to that.
 
Wishing you a Very Happy New Year and a pain free 2022 xxx
 
I changed the sheets on one of the beds today! I was able to lie on the bed on my stomach & reach the top left corner of the mattress which is against the wall & get the fitted sheet wrangled onto the mattress! It was not too uncomfortable on my almost 4 week post op left knee. Holler!
 
Wow, well done you, :yes!:I haven't attempted to roll on my stomach as yet. Fortunately my sheets aren't fitted so I just throw the sheet over the bed and the duvet on top.
How are you sleeping? Are you able to comfortably sleep on your side yet?
I spent most of the night changing positions, as I cannot stay in any one position too long, Mali bless her puts up with a lot as her sleep is disturbed too as she sleeps glued to my side :puppysmooze: I'm constantly aware of my knee, then mornings I awake up with it so stiff almost feels as it could do with a squirt of WD40 :heehee:
Wishing you a lovely day xxx
 
I booked an aromatherapy session on my back and shoulders for yesterday and when I arrived realised I needed to lay on my stomach. I wasn't sure I could do it but I did and rested my knee bent up to the aide on a cushion. It was ok but not sure I would want to do it again in a hurry. I don't know how you found the energy so soon after op but well done!!!
 
@Sara61 I spend a lot of time at night changing positions too. I can partially sleep on my side but it isn’t very comfortable. The medial part of my knee resting on a pillow is barely tolerable & I can’t do it for long. But I do notice that it is slowly becoming less sensitive & in time will improve. I’ve been lubing up my scar/leg with various products & it is looking much better. I have PT this afternoon and I’m trying to think positively about it. I will only do what I feel comfortable doing but today I have a different therapist & I don’t look forward to telling him what I will & won’t do- but I will give him the dirt from the beginning. Last time in 2019 I hurt so badly & I had such intense anxiety about going to PT I swear I have PTSD (exaggerating a bit here) about PT. But this time I don’t have the anxiety I had- just kind of a mild dread of going. It always turns out ok so I’m not sure why I’m being such a weenie. I guess it’s like a dog you rescued from the pound & then you said- hey wanna go for a car ride? Then you drove that dog by the dog pound- doesn’t exactly give ya a warm fuzzy! Thank goodness we have this forum where we can vent and share all of our thoughts, feelings etc. I mean who else is gonna understand this stuff but y’all???
 
Rubyroo said:
I had such intense anxiety about going to PT I swear I have PTSD (exaggerating a bit here) about PT.
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No an exaggeration at all. Surgery can give you a bit of PTSD. And certainly suffering from intense PT can take you there as well. Just be firm - you are in charge during any PT session.
 
I understand. I went to my first physio at 2.5 weeks. Amazingly I was pretty much pain free, had full extension and was at 115 bend. She was really impressed and suggested I add in reciprocal stairs and standing quad stretches, which I tried a few times in front of her. This session alone set me back two weeks. More pain in the form of a nasty quad pull that made even basic exercising impossible. More pain meds. I blame myself because I was so happy with my progress and anxious to keep it up. When I got home and tried to figure out what went wrong, I saw that those two exercises were not even recommended until week 10. So it’s worth knowing that it’s easy to get into trouble with physio, whether you are behind or ahead.
 
I thought I was the only one who could not find even one bed position comfortable for too long. I have given up on worrying about sleep as I am lounging around most of the day when not trying to do a bit of exercise, icing or doing my best to help out more in the kitchen. I swear I see the clock every hour.
 
Rubyroo said:
I had such intense anxiety about going to PT I swear I have PTSD (exaggerating a bit here) about PT.
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I have trauma trigger with PT as well. Not a full on PTSD response but definitely a dread, increased anxiety and a need to talk myself down from bailing. What's weird is that I have had PT for injuries, even when I broke my leg and ankle, and it's the TKR recovery protocol that scares the pants off of me. Before each session, I wonder if I will actually go. I'm at about 65% attendance.
 
PT went quite well this afternoon. I was able to gingerly but comfortably go around on the bike both backwards & forward- did that for 5 minutes. I was quite pleased about this. Therapist had me walk around without my cane & said I was doing pretty good & I could lose my cane. When I’m at home I walk predominantly without it but still use it when I get up in the night to use the bathroom and when I walk to the mailbox. So I’ll use it whenever I feel the need. I was able to do all the exercises he asked me to & was able to do them fairly comfortably. I shared with him my thoughts on PT at the beginning of our session & he was accepting & agreeable. Near the end he measured me with the goniometer as I was in a heel slide position and then he moved my leg back just a tad further and that hurt and I fussed at him about doing that! I measured 115 on flexion & -5 on extension. He said for someone almost 4 weeks post op (in 2 more days) that I was in the upper 10% of folks that are doing this well, this quickly. Overall he was a pleasant therapist. I had him today for the first time & won’t have him again because I’m scheduled with other folks. He also gently felt and carefully moved my kneecap around- not the greatest feeling but not painful- just weird. If I was having this dude again I’d have to emphasize again- thou shall not move/force my leg ever again or I’ll dot your eye!:no-fin:
 
Hold your ground @Rubyroo. I'm glad the session went well and you all came to an agreement, of sorts. ROM at 115/5 is decent one month out. How do you feel today? Other than the forced flex, were any of the exercises challenging while you were doing them?

I wish I had identified the exercises that were challenging while I was doing them at my early PT. There are a ton of things we do in the hour session and they all roll into one another for a blurred experience. Recently, I've been identifying how I feel with each exercise and that helped me understand which were too challenging for my point in recovery. It has made for a better experience because I can inform the therapist.
 
Yes, 115 at 1 month is awesome! I was barely 117 when I was discharged from PT at 3 months, 2 weeks! I think I'm further than that now but don't know for sure as no one is measuring me anymore. Congrats on your sheets! That's an accomplishment!
 
Walked around in my front & backyard today without my cane very slowly & carefully for about 30 minutes picking up sticks & retrieving the trash can from the street and rolling it back in place. Gosh it felt good to be outside & putter a bit. Then I came inside and rested the remainder of the day. Yay baby steps!
@hawk2go All of the exercises I did the other day at PT I was pretty comfortable with. None of them were to difficult. More PT tomorrow. Hopefully not too bad.
 
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