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TKR Sailor's Recovery Thread

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SFBaySailor said:
Lauramacky and daughter stalker, and all,
I have been doing some stretches for my piriformis muscle problem, and I'd like to share the results. It looks like they are working!
I'm doing 3 stretches. The first is called a "bridge". You might have done it in PT. It involves laying on your back, then raising your hips in the air while propping up with your feet and shoulders.
The 2nd is a stretch I found on the Internet, but several people have also mentioned it. It works really well:
Stretch
The 3rd is the stretch that Laura recommended. Laying flat on my stomach, and pulling the ankle of the affected leg up with a rubber band.
Maybe it's a coincidence, because the condition seemed to come & go anyway, but I've been pretty much pain free for the last few days :)

Cheers,
Roger
Click to expand...
Yay Roger! Yes, the bridge!!! That stretches that muscle group! My condition comes and goes...It comes when I'm not doing the stretches twice a day and goes when I'm doing them twice a day, ha! Sorry it took me so long to post but I'm not getting notifications in my inbox for some reason. :( Keep doing those stretches Roger. My PT said I might have to do these stretches for a few years since my compensation was so bad prior to my knee replacement. So great to hear!
 
My wife and I spent a long weekend in Phoenix last weekend. It was wonderful. We saw a Jimmy Buffett concert (excellent, as usual :-), and I hooked up with an old high school buddy. We took a long drive out into the desert along the Apache Trail. We saw the small town of Apache Junction, and also Tortilla Flat and the lake near there. The scenery was just awesome! And the weather was beautiful, upper 80's and low humidity! My knee did well, and I didn't even think about it much. I iced & elevated one evening at the hotel, but that was about it. I think I took some Ibuprofen once.

So I'm back to work for one week, now. This weekend we fly to Florida to take off on our big cruise vacation. There will be lots of walking on the ship and ashore. We are also booked for a sail/scuba excursion. I didn't test my knee last summer with scuba fins in the pool, so I'm hoping that the snorkeling will go well. I guess that if I get too tired while snorkeling, then I can just head back to the boat for drinks :)

The week of the cruise will be my 6 month mark after TKR! I have to say that things have really improved in the last couple of months. I still have a little stiffness laterally. The popping/clunking is still there, but doesn't seem as bad, except in the evenings. What I have noticed recently is a huge increase in strength and stamina. It doesn't bother me much anymore to stand for long periods of time, or to walk long distances. I hope it continues! It's really nice to be able to do things without the terrible bone on bone pain that I used to have!

My wife had some pain last weekend on her feet due to the dishidrodic eczema. It was not too intense, though, and she was able to walk pretty well most of the time. She had a cortisone shot right before we left, but we think that it hasn't really kicked in yet. Hopefully, she'll have some relief for the cruise, because there will be quite a bit of walking involved. When we get back, we are thinking of getting in touch with the Mayo Clinic. She needs some specialized treatment to find a long term cure, and her current doctors are just using guesswork.

Cheers,
Roger
 
Well, I'm 6 months post-TKR now, and we took the cruise last week that we had planned a year ago, and that I had scheduled my TKR around, hoping that the 6 month mark would be a good time to go. I have to say that it went pretty well. As usual, there was alot of walking on the ship and at the ports of call. One day, I recall walking the length of 3 cruise ships that were docked end to end at the pier, and I did it 3 times! That's almost 2 miles! The knee was pretty tired most nights, but our steward brought ice to our cabin every night, so I was able to ice when needed. Swelling and pain was not bad, but I took some OTC painkiller on some nights. The snorkel excursion was great. The knee actually felt good after the workout. So, everything went well, better than I had hoped!

Now it's back to work, and I have to make a business trip to Boston next week, so soon after returning from the cruise. But I now have renewed confidence in my new knee after the cruise!

My wife's eczema did bother her a little bit on the cruise. She had a cortisone shot before leaving, although I think the shots are becoming less effective with time. She had a minor flare-up during the cruise, and had to walk with a cane for one day. Because of this, she had to miss one day of going ashore. But that day of rest helped her, and she was much better after that.

I measured 130 ROM last night. I still have some numbness and stiffness on one side, and there is still some fluid in the knee, as well as the clicking noise. But at least the pain is gone and I am able to be active. As others have "graduated" from the forum, I am also thinking that it is getting very close to the time for me to move on, and get on with my life. As such, I'll probably be posting less as time goes on. I want to thank everyone on the forum that has offered me help and encouragement, especially daughter stalker , 50yrold , lavender , Lauramacky and, of course Josephine.

Cheers,
Roger
 
Josephine
Yes, it was a very nice holiday, and I am so happy that I was able to enjoy it!
Thanks for the link. I had read this article before, but read it again now. The numbness is pretty much in the same area as your report (lateral). I would not say it is totally numb, but maybe about 50% numb. I do have some feeling there. Hopefully this will improve with time. What's interesting is that the remaining stiffness also seems to be in the same area.
 
SFBaySailor said:
I would not say it is totally numb, but maybe about 50% numb.
Click to expand...
*nods enthusiastically* Yep - same here!
And I get some achy, stiff periods in it as well.
Driving in a tailback is worst, all that stopping and starting.
 
Hi Roger It is so nice that everything went well for your cruise and that you are doing so well with your knee. Your holiday sound wonderful and hope that your wife can get more relief with her eczema so sad she has to deal with all of this as well. I am not writing as much as before but have also enjoyed being part of this wonderful group and will keep in touch still. Hope you keep popping in to keep us in touch and so nice to have been able to write and read your posts . Hope things keep getting better for you and you stop by still Thanks Holly.:)
 
You're welcome SF Sailor! Strange, I just got this notification. :( I'm happy to hear you're able to be more active. I think sometimes I expected my knee replacement to feel just like my other one. Unfortunately, that didn't happen for me. I still have some swelling, although it's small and numbness. My doctor said that the numbness might never go away and is quite common for a big surgery like this. But I'm able to do things again which I wasn't before. It's so easy to forget how debilitating bad knees were.

FYI about your wife, yes the cortizone does seem to wear off with time. I found that soaking in Domboro when I was having an "episode" on my feet really helped but like everything else, it's a multitude of things we do not just one thing that helps. I have no idea why mine finally went away as I had it for a few years as an adult and also in my teens. I hope hers goes away soon!

Take care! And good to hear you're in the 130's!!
 
Thanks Laura.
The bend is not consistently greater than 130. I think that was a good day. It is still mostly about 125. And, like you, I do still have some swelling (laterally) and some numbness in that area. The clunking is still there, and is very annoying, but there is no pain associated with it. It's just plain annoying though, like having someone rap you on the back of the head each time you take a step. I'm going to give things one full year and see how they work out.

BTW, I finally am having my 11 upper teeth extracted next Friday. I'll be taking a massive dose of antibiotics before the procedure, and will be on a 1 week course of antibiotics afterwards. Wish me luck.... I'm definitely not looking forward to it.

Cheers,
Roger
 
Oh wow....I remember you telling me about your teeth. I wish you all the best, Roger. I know you'll come out of it just fine. I will be thinking of you!

By the way, did you see the staircase I climbed at the Point Reyes Lighthouse? Forgive me if I've posted this but I have so many blogs and social networking things with my photos, sometimes I forget where I've posted these things! Gahh, embarrassing. lol Have a Happy Thanksgiving!! Please let us know how you feel after your procedure.

https://lauramacky.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/point-reyes-lighthouse/
 
Laura,
Wow! That is an awesome view from the lighthouse! Thanks for sharing! I'm sorry you tweaked your knee a bit climbing all those stairs, but I'd say it was worthwhile! Hopefully, the ODIC doesn't last too long.

Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family!

Roger
 
Glad you enjoyed the lighthouse pics. I'm really proud of myself because before the replacement, there would've been no possibility of me going down all those steps. Prayers for your procedure.

And thanks daughter for the happy thanksgiving! You too! :D
 
SFBaySailor said:
The bend is not consistently greater than 130. I think that was a good day. It is still mostly about 125. And, like you, I do still have some swelling (laterally) and some numbness in that area. The clunking is still there, and is very annoying, but there is no pain associated with it. It's just plain annoying though, like having someone rap you on the back of the head each time you take a step. I'm going to give things one full year and see how they work out.
Click to expand...

OK Roger. What's not working out? Swelling, numbness and clunking are practically rites of passage. As if having a bad knee wasn't enough, the powers that be are testing your faith and determination! We've ALL had the same experience (and felt the same way). Time takes care of it all. (But what's to take care of our impatience?!)
 
maryo52 said:
OK Roger. What's not working out? Swelling, numbness and clunking are practically rites of passage.
Click to expand...

Maryo,
The clunking has gotten worse over the last couple of months, and I have noticed that it gets worse when there is more fluid in the knee. It is very annoying, and the knee feels very loose. I am still wearing a knee brace. Other than that, most everything is fine, i.e. I don't have any severe pain and I can walk OK. But it's still not what I expected at 7 months.
Admittedly, Nov has been a very active month for me. Long weekend in Phoenix; 1 1/2 week cruise vacation; and a business trip to the East Coast. Lots of walking and activity. So it could be a bit of ODIC :-)

Roger
 
Yeah, same thing here. The effusion made the clunking worse. Do you take advil? I found that reduced my effusion. You're gonna be just fine!!!
 
maryo52 ,
Yes, I take Ibuprofen, but it doesn't seem to help much for the effusion. I've been taking it for a long time, even long before the surgery, so I think it's possible I've developed a tolerance for it. I'm going to try Aleeve. Maybe I'll have better results.

I think I'm experiencing a slow healing process in the soft tissues. The scar is still purple in color in most areas, so that indicates a lack of blood circulation in the area, right? Maybe it's because I smoke, maybe because of age, who knows. I've always been slow to heal. I had 3 minor surgeries for trigger finger, and the soft tissues took about twice as long as normal to heal. I guess I just have to give it more time. November was definitely an ODIC month, though, so I'm going to try to take it easy a bit.

Roger
 
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