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Bilateral TKR Scheduled February 2016

Thank you all again so much. @ScooperTR It is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or even any light at all right now. I am rebelling to the point of giving it all up. Don't know if that would be good or bad...

@Celle and @Creation Wow that is great to see your timetable of progression for ROM. So much for their window of opportunity. Thanks so much for posting for me.

Last night slept till about 2 am. Then got out of bed to the chair and took a half oxy and slept from 4 to 7:30 am. Feeling so out of it. I feel like I am going backwards and my legs are made of lead.

Here's hoping week 5 takes a turn for the better!
 
@Kaykay,

I understand how you feel. Days feel like weeks! But we must hang in there! There are good days and then the bad ones. You have to hang on the feelings of the good moments. There will be more. And formthe bad days,, they will pass...
I was just lying in my bed doing my sliding stretch and extension. I was thinking how I just can not wait for that right leg to fell like the left...that is: nothing! No pain, no thightness, no pinch, no overstrech weird feeling when doing the extension, etc... Then I remembered how it was the exact same thing for that left leg 5 years ago. It will get better.
Meanwhile it is an exercise of patience, tolerance, perseverance and resilience!

I am sending tons of energy and strenght!
:flwrysmile:
 
Oh man! I just did some sitting in a chair I alternate with while rocking back and forth pedaling. When I went to get up I heard and felt a loud crack in my knees, right one more. Never had any trouble getting out of that chair before. Needed help to get up to my other chair and started icing. Doesn't hurt while sitting more than a little ache, but when walking it's weak and hurts. Don't know what this means! I have been very inactive the last 2 days. Seeing my gp wednesday but she won't have a clue. This is the problem with having an out of town doctor. Any ideas? Is cracking any part of normal?
 
Yes, thanks @Celle that chart is good to see as ROM will be slow coming for me.

And, Kaye, I think week five things did look up a lot as far as energy and being able to do more.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
You may have loosened a bit of tightness with that crack, but it's unlikely that you have done any damage to your knee implants, because they're very strong.
You're doing the right thing in icing your knees. Just take it gently.
 
Day 28

All day was pain from that crack. I kept a low profile and iced a lot. Can stand today but it still hurts a bit. Really slowed me down. I think what happened when I was seated at my dining room chair doing my pedal machine, is that I put my feet way under my knee instinctually and tried to get up without any care. So my knees were bent way beyond 90 and just couldn't do it when I put my weight on it. I didn't mean to bend them like that it just it did it by itself. Odd. I get very flexible on the pedal machine and can go all the way around with no problems.

No meds last night. Had a lot of sleep last night, slept from 9:30 to 11:30 pm, then went to bed at 12 M and slept till 7:30 am. The best yet. Got up fed the cat put the coffee on, watched an old movie, had breakfast and fell asleep again for an hour or so. Amazed that I could sleep so much.
 
Day 29

Another hard fought night with sporadic sleep. Taking a bit more meds to keep up with the pain and edginess. PT this morning then off to the gp for check in. Will be exhausted later today.

Upside, I have been losing weight like crazy, on low carb diet. Don't feel like eating much anyway. Now I need to get some new clothes 2 sizes smaller. My pants are actually falling off when I stand up. Resorting to elastic velvet paints haha, that will go well with my worn tennis shoes for the doctor visit today.
 
I'm one day ahead of you, but with a revision. Recovery seems an eternity right now. I tried to reduce one pain pill having forgotten to take them on time, oh have I paid for that this afternoon.
Well done on your weight loss.


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Day 29 continued.

PT came today and my ROM increased with me doing nothing at all. It is 86 and 88. Quite the improvement from last week. They will be back Friday. Ha, I didn't tell them I did nothing. Oh well. The doctor visit went great as well. She was excited that I finally got the knees done. She had her hip done last year and gave me a great tip: Before you go to move/stand whatever, tighten the muscle and then move. It wakes up the muscle and gives it a heads up. Works great.

Stopped to pick up my favorite pizza to bring home, ate and iced, fell asleep at 5 pm till 7 pm. So that is going to impact the night's sleep again but couldn't help it, sooooo tired.
 
It's great to know that you're improving! :yes!::happydance:
The increased ROM just goes to show that you don't need to do lots of exercise. Just a little bit of walking around the house and a few heel slides are all you need.
 
Day 30!

Slept ok with the help of full oxy twice and half in the morning. But woke up with a lot of pain in my shins specially the left leg. The only thing I can think of was yesterday during PT I swung my legs to get off my bed and the left one had a big pain sear down the side of it. Don't know why, just getting off the bed like I always do, maybe in a bit more of a hurry and it couldn't keep up. Hope that resolves today. ugh. PT has been surprisingly gentle and not a problem. And of course now that I am back on meds here comes constipation. Will fight that with some stool softeners and more liquids.

My husband has been home with me for this time and will be going back to work next week. I am starting to worry about that already. I don't have any more visitors to come and see me, daughter is 2 hours away in college. I will have to rig a tray on the walker to carry food and coffee. But I should be ok other than that. Just bored!

The doctor called to check on ROM again and was satisfied with the increase. Whew. He also agreed that sitting around for three years before the operation put me totally out of shape and the least little thing is hard on me. So that's great news for me. No more MUA suggestions.
 
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PT today. 90 and 88! Yay! I haven't done much but rest and walk, heel glides etc.
 
Day 33

So muddling through the days and nights. The nights are always challenging. Usually waking at 2 am take an oxy and sleep till 6 am. Mastered getting in and out of the tub for showers, always with my husband standing by for safety. I like to fold my leg backwards and go over the tub, holding onto the bar on the wall and the handle installed on the tub outside. I am just starting to walk a few feet without the walker, just by accident not really intending to but it saves time, the PT said that is how it starts. I try to get up once an hour to walk around and can go for 150 feet up and down my hallway.

The pain is still prevalent. Not bad when sitting doing nothing, but then getting jabs and zings at the most unexpected times. Dull aching still present most times and that leads to headaches. Is there a pain chart that shows or tells how long this pain goes on? I am so looking forward to the pain being gone or greatly diminished.

I've exhausted my supply of well-wishers and tomorrow my husband goes back to work so it will be slow going and lonely. The boredom is setting in, I am stuck in my house, being on a high hill with no walkable grounds anywhere, and too chilly to even go out on the deck yet. Hopefully the pain and headaches will give way to allow some concentration on reading or creativity to occupy me.
 
KayeKaye,
Some of us take pain meds for 3 - 4 months, what you are experiencing is normal.
Try the games room for a distraction why your husband is at work, it is in the Social Room link above.
In a couple of months you will start to feel normal, you are still in the very early days of recovery.
Where are you in recovery?? (TKR)
Chart representation of TKR recovery
 
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