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TKR Sailor's Recovery Thread

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Dulcimer Diva
Thanks, and that's an excellent point.
Since I am having 11 teeth extracted all at once, my OS recommends that I take 3/day 500 mg Amoxicillin for 1 week after the extractions. And also a large dose of 4x the same at 1 hr before the extractions. So I'll be pretty heavily dosed on antibiotics. So I'll try the probiotics.
How long before and after should I use them?
What would be the effect if the resistant bad bugs overrun the good bugs?

Maybe I know the answer to the 2nd question. A couple of years ago, we visited some friends who are ex-pats and live near Lake Chapala outside of Guadalajara, Mexico. Lovely people, and we had a great time. Except that I had a terrible time with Montezuma's revenge. Couple that with driving on the bumpy cobblestone streets (churning my stomach up after dinner), and you can guess the result. I was down for about 2 days! Once we took the bus down to Puerto Vallarta and got into the "touristy" locations, I was OK. My friends advised me to use a probiotic on the next visit. They said it would really help.

Roger
 
Lauramacky
Laura, thanks for the words of encouragement!
Yes, Annie is considered to be "my" dog out of the 3, so I guess that I do love her very much! She just needs to be more active! We have a large backyard, but she doesn't utilize it like the other 2.

I've never been to Scoma's, although I have been to other restaurants on the Sausalito waterfront. Do you go there a lot? I checked their website, and it looks great. I think they have access from the water.
Sausalito is a long haul for me by sailboat, because I keep the boat at Redwood City harbor. I guess it would take me about 3 hours to get there at top speed motoring, and all day when sailing. Sometimes, I go up to Brisbane, and spend a week at the Brisbane Marina. That's much closer, and I could definitely check it out then. We may also drive up there some time and check it out.

Yes, the PT has really helped. I'm really stoked with my new exercise bike, and can't wait to use it daily! I'm going to try to stay on top of doing the exercises. It's easy to get complacent.

Roger
 
Hi Roger,

Glad to see you are doing so well. Sorry to hear about your dental issues. I hope your dental procedures are quick and uneventful. Keep up the good work!

Take care! :flwrysmile:
 
DS,
Thanks for the post. Well, my OS recommended that I try to put off the dental work until mid to end of Aug. He said the risk would be much lower then. I hope I can do that, but if I get another infection between now & then, I may be forced into it.
Thanks for the words of encouragement. It sounds like you are doing well, also.

My wife & I are signed up for a cruise in November. We fly into MCO, in your neck of the woods, and the cruise leaves out of Port Canaveral. It is our only vacation of the year. I timed my TKR operation so I would be at about the 6 month mark, figuring that I should be fairly well recovered. It looks like it will be a go! I can't wait. It's an Eastern Caribbean cruise. I just hope that my poor wife's feet & hands hold up. She has a skin condition, which is like eczema, but is something different. It's very painful and sporadic. You can read more about it upthread in this thread. Just hoping that it's under control by then.

Cheers,
Roger
 
DS,
We are on Royal Caribbean. We have always cruised them, and it's always been a good on-ship experience. One year we took an Eastern Caribbean cruise out of Miami. The boarding process was a nightmare. We stood in line for hours. I've been told that Port Canaveral is much better. Our ports of call on this cruise will be Bahamas, US Virgin Islands & St. Martin. We're really looking forward to it!

Roger
 
Today I actually mowed the lawn, trimmed the edges and blew off the patio, for the first time since TKR. My neighbor is grateful that I've finally relieved him of the duty! The knee feels tired afterwards, and a little bit of swelling, but no pain in the knee, just a little muscle pain. Gone is the terrible arthritic pain that I used to have every time I did this job! And it would lay me up for 2 days afterwards. This is why I had the TKR, and I am loving the results!!!!

Lauramacky
I'll mow your lawn, but you have to supply the beer :happydance:

Roger
 
Hi Roger,

The cruise sounds wonderful! We have had a great experience with a cruise from Port Canaveral. I have not taken a cruise on any Royal Caribbean ships. It may worth a try. We went on a Disney Cruise from Port Canaveral. I really loved that trip. I hope your wife's condition doesn't flare up during your trip.

Later.... :flwrysmile:
 
Your thread title is changed! I'm so happy to hear you are making such good progress with your knee. Success is ALWAYS good to hear.
 
Roger, I saw your comments earlier on. You are doing so well! I'm at a year and a half and still have swelling and pain when I stand for too long. Went to a friend's tennis match and didn't realize I needed to bring my own chair. I am back to PT for tendonitis, which I think I've had for most of this year. Now I'm getting the right exercises and we work together to adapt them when I get too much pain. I know it's been a long recovery, but you can't imagine how optimistic I feel now. So envious of your getting on the water. Part of my PT involves getting strong enough that I can sit down on the seat in the canoe--up at a family cabin in Lassen Park in CA. Hopefully, we'll be going there in August. Good luck with dental work. It sounds like you know it's necessary. What does the OS say?
 
juniper
Thanks for the mail. My OS says that since I am having 11 teeth extracted all at once, he has prescribed Amoxicillin 3x/day for 1 week after the extractions. He also recommended holding off on the extractions until mid to end of Aug, if at all possible. I just finished a course of penicillin, and the low level infection is gone. Let's see if I can maintain until end of Aug without another occurrence. It's just really hard to keep those areas clean, even with diligent flossing, because I have so much bone loss and deep pockets.

Yes, it was nice to get out on the water last weekend. It involved a lot of stepping up and down into the boat, as well as going up & down the cabin steps. So it gave my knee quite a workout. I had a little swelling the next day, but it was well worth it from the psychological standpoint!

Good luck with the strength training. I have finished my 12 weeks of formal PT. But I'm going to continue doing ROM and strength exercises at home, as well as some increased walking. I found that once the strength in my TKR leg got above 70% of the non-TKR leg, that my walking improved a lot. In other words, the TKR leg feels more "equal" to the non-TKR leg.

Lassen Park is beautiful. I haven't been up there in quite a while, though.

Cheers,
Roger
 
Roger great to hear you got out on the water. Growing up on the east coast my dad always had a boat and I loved the water. I live on the coast her in northern ca and love being able to admire the ocean whenever I want!
 
My knee Charlie
Good to hear from you!
I grew up on the East Coast, also. In CT. We lived near a lake and my dad also always had a speedboat. My wife helped convert me over to sailboats :) She taught me how to sail on a 15 ft dinghy that was very tender. It left very little room for mistakes, so it was a good boat to learn on!
I'm not sure where on the N Calif coast you are. The Sonoma & Mendocino coasts are beautiful! But that is a very treacherous coast for boating, north of Point Reyes. I boat in SF Bay, and rarely feel the need to go out the Golden Gate. The shoals outside the Gate can be rough at times. 7 foot swells are normal, and it gets worse from there. SF Bay has all the wind and adventures that I need!
I hope your knee is coming along.

Take care,
Roger
 
I agree that it helps to keep up the stretching and strengthening. I'm beginning to understand just how much pain I dealt with all year long while I was teaching last year. I begin half time teaching in September. So glad. I know that I need to keep this up. The things I love to do most involve a lot of sitting...reading, writing, corresponding. When I'm not working I get in all the str. and walking cycling and swimming...but once I began working last year, I couldn't keep up. After work, I lay in bed icing and elevating for two hours, then did the planning for the next day, answered parent email...

Yes, Lassen is beautiful. My husband's grandparents built a cabin on Juniper Lake, so close to the lake we can almost jump in from the porch. Later it was turned into a wilderness area, but we still have the cabin...hopefully for many years...share it with ten families all with children who are growing up and would love to use it also. It is my most peaceful place. When we go, my husband and I, who drive each other nuts much of the time, fall in love again.
 
12 week update:
I've finished my formal PT, and I'm continuing to do exercises at home:
Exercise bike
ROM and extension exercises
Muscle building exercises: Squats; Ankle Curls; Knee Curls. These can be done at home without machines. My PT showed me how. It involves using a rubber band with the ends tied into a knot. The knot is placed through a door jamb, and the door is closed to hold it in place. Then, I loop my ankle or knee through the free end and do the exercise. It works pretty well.
Walking

I do want to get the strength in my TKR leg up beyond 80% of the non-TKR leg. I feel that I need this for the activities I do. When sailing, there is quite a bit of stepping up from cockpit to deck to adjust sails, etc, and this sometimes is done in a pitching sea. Also, some crouching down. It all requires strength in the leg.

Lately I've been doing fine as far as mobility and ROM. I still have some pain, though. A little bit at the base of the quad, at the quadriceps tendon, where it connects to the knee. And also some pain on the inside of the knee, in the area of the medial collateral ligament. I've been using OTC meds for these. Also, the tight band feeling across the knee is somewhat reduced, but still there and very noticeable. I don't think the pain is related to overdoing it, since I've cut back quite a bit since finishing PT over a week ago. I think there is probably still some healing going on.

Roger
 
Congrats, Roger! Your progress is great to read about. I hope you are able to get back to full sail soon. I have been slack this week on the PT, as I got my butt kicked yesterday. My sessions have been almost 2 hrs., and wear me out. It really helps to hear about your experience 12 weeks out for perspective.
 
Hi Roger:) Nice to hear that all is going so well for you. It is a nice feeling to see things getting better and getting back to the things that were relaxing . You have done really great and hope they just keep getting better each day. Holly:SUNsmile:
 
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