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TKR Sailor's Recovery Thread

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patient 99 said:
Roger, thanks for the thorough outline of how your OS came to his diagnosis. I found it very useful.

Tell me to mind my own business , but with all you have to cope with its easy to get real grumpy. The ones in the firing line are usually our nearest and dearest. You might want to do something real nice for the Mrs.
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This is such a great piece of advice. My poor hubby has been cooking, cleaning, picking up prescriptions, taking me here and there, bringing me flowers, filling my ice machine, stacking my pillows...I mean SERIOUSLY...he is an amazing caretaker (sans the compassion hahaha), but I have apologized for those times I have barked at him for no reason and have explained to him what happens to me when I take these medications or when I'm so sore I can't stand it. He gets it. No apology needed he says but I do anyway.
 
@Lauramacky @patient 99
Thanks, ladies. Yes, that's good advice. Although my anger certainly was not directed towards my wife, she was a little put off by having to be around me when I get that way. I can't remember the last time I've been that angry. It's just not me. I will certainly do something nice for her on this holiday weekend :-)
 
I am going to get fitted for the rigid knee brace, and see how that plays out. It's not like I'm debilitated or anything like that. I can function fine. Sailing, yardwork, walking, travel, all OK for now. I just have some minor swelling and irritation, and of course, the clunking. But it's good to know the reason why this is happening. Hopefully, I can wait until the spacer actually wears down or the post breaks. Then I can get a revision with the new stabilizing knee.

BTW, this is a perfect example of how clunking in the knee CAN be indicative of a problem. I hear so many times how clunking is normal, and should just be ignored. The revision OS used a model of a knee to show me how the lax ligaments are causing the clunking, and how that puts undue stress on the spacer post.
 
SFBaySailor said:
I hear so many times how clunking is normal, and should just be ignored.
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I think early on clunking is normal, and goes away as you are better conditioned. You are right if it continues, you should ask your OS, especially if you have other symptoms, like yours.
Hope the rigid knee brace helps you get to a time that works better for to have another surgery.
 
SFBaySailor said:
It's not like I'm debilitated or anything like that. I can function fine.
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Hi Roger, I think this is weird. I'd have thought that your functioning would be anything but fine. I suspect you are going to say that that is all down to the elastic knee support? Will you have to wear the new rigid brace even when you are in bed?

I don't know why my calf support eliminates a lot of the discomfort that I feel in my knee. I wish I knew. Knowing for sure what's going on helps so much.
 
@SFBaySailor. Good to hear. I actually have some clunking and a bit of swelling in my right knee which was done 1-1/2 years ago. It hasn't gotten worse and it's not clunking all the time. For me, I don't want to go through anything but I think mine is not like yours. At least that's what I hope lol. Sounds like a brace for you is a good thing to tide you over. Sometimes we just need a break!


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@patient 99
Carol,
Yes, exactly. The knee is very functional, I have great ROM (0/130), and good strength. The problem is that the ligaments are too loose because they weren't balanced in the TKR. So, with any amount of activity, the looseness causes irritation and tendonitis. This builds up throughout the day if I don't wear the fabric brace. The fabric knee brace keeps the knee tighter, and helps quite a bit. But I can still feel some laxity with it on. I expect that the rigid knee brace will work even better. No, I won't have to wear it in bed, only when out & about.
I'm not sure why your calf support helps you. Maybe there is some issue going on in the lower part of your knee, perhaps the patellar tendon?

Roger
 
@Lauramacky
Hi, Laura,
Hard to say if your swelling & clunking is just residual, or if there is a problem. Most likely it's residual. A 2nd opinion would be required. I hope it doesn't bother you too much..
Roger
 
SFBaySailor said:
The knee is very functional, I have great ROM (0/130), and good strength.
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The laxity really was bad luck Roger.

I saw something quite amazing on the tv today. This man had part of his leg amputated following an accident. He still had the remains of his upper leg. He has now been fitted with a metal implant. The implant sticks out. To it he is able to screw a metal leg with a knee that has a bend that has no equal . He can now climb mountains.

If they are so clever why oh why do they make mistakes like the one that happened to you!!
 
SFBaySailor said:
didn't they determine that it was scar tissue?
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Roger, that's what the OS said could be the problem. But when he wrote to me afterwards he made no mention of scar tissue. I now thinks he hasn't got a clue what the problem is, but hopes that it might sort itself out given more time (I see him again on 5 December) .
 
patient 99 said:
If they are so clever why oh why do they make mistakes like the one that happened to you!!
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patient 99 said:
The laxity really was bad luck Roger.
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I agree that it was bad luck. But, it could have been worse. I could have had an infection, or I could have ended up with very poor ROM. I really think the original OS knew about my laxity going into the surgery. How could he have not? He examined my knee for 10 years prior, and he knew about my sports injury...LOL. I believe he thought that the posterior stabilized knee would be effective at stabilizing my ligaments, i.e. he didn't know any better. I can't really fault him, but I won't be going back to him.
 
@SFBaySailor i think it's livable and getting better very slowly. It's not bad clunking...just light clunking lol. But it does get sore easily if I push it. I think I need muscle strength in that leg which I'm working on. Once I rehab from my left knee I will start taking some one on one Pilates. I hope that helps.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
Hi Roger, I measured my knee and my elastic support. The circumference of the support is 1inch (2.54cm) less than the circumference of my lower knee (lower knee 14.5 inches support 13.5 inches).

Of late I have tended to think that the elastic support wasn't doing much other than tricking my brain into thinking everything was how it used to be. But now I am beginning to wonder if the support may indeed being doing what it says on the tin ie, supporting.

Do you happen to know what the difference in size is between your leg and your soft support? I've taken my measurement from the widest part of the support and the widest part of the lower knee.
 
@patient 99
Hi, Carol,
My support brace is wider at the top than it is at the bottom. At the top, it measures 14 inches, and my leg is 15". At the bottom it measures 12 inches, and my leg is 13 inches. So it provides compression, which helps reduce swelling. The support is provided by 2 flexible metal strips that run vertically, from top to bottom, along both sides of the brace. The compression helps reduce the sensation of stiffness, and the support of course keeps the upper & lower legs from moving in relation to each other.
If you're wearing the sleeve below you knee, on your calf, then I wouldn't think that it's providing any support to the knee. It is providing compression, though, in the calf and perhaps part of the lower knee. Maybe that is the area where you have some stiffness?
 
Thanks Roger. Its helped me to clarify the difference between compression and support.
 
@SFBaySailor Hi Roger! Reading your thread is like saying what is going on with my knee. We are somewhat the same, but I think my knee is not as loose as yours. It is quite irritating but not painful. I can also do many things I couldn't do before TKR. Wow! How similar we are with our knees. I hope things work out for you soon! Its off to sleep for me. Take care!
 
@daughter stalker ,
Hi, Maria,
Thanks for the reply! Yes, there are quite a few similarities in the way our knees have been behaving. At this point, though, I'm going to go with flow, and put off any revision as long as I can. Who knows, maybe I can go until the spacer wears out on its own, and then just get a revision at that point. I really don't have any serious pain. It's more like an irritation and a slight stiffness. Hard to describe. The knee brace works fine, though. I can do a lot of things. A couple of weekends ago, my wife and I went to a concert at MGM in Las Vegas. We walked the entire length of the MGM hotel, twice, and that place is HUGE! The following days, my knee was fine. It never knew! So I'm just going to play the wait & see right now.
I do hope that you get your knee problems worked out, if it does bother you.
Take care,
Roger
 
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