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TKR Schpooko's Recovery

Hi Schpooko
I just had my last pre hab session today.
Love my PT... he reminds me of one of my sons.

He stressed keeping the leg straight after surgery. It went in one ear and out the other. That has to hurt after TKR!

I was “yeah ok noted”. But, I’m not going to do it LOL
 
IMHO, the towel under the ankle causes a lot of pain and doesn't help a bit. I wouldn't do it when the PT in the hospital suggested it, and suggest you don't either. Believe me, the towel police won't be kicking down your door if you don't do it. :heehee: I don't know where they came up with all these torture methods they try to force on us, but they need to go the way of the dinosaur!
 
schpooko said:
Every piece of paper I have from the hospital, doctors and discharge says to roll a towel and put it under your ankles with your leg straight. Well, first it hurt like crazy in the hospital so I kept kicking the towel out with the other leg (they put under both so it hurt both but more unbearable under the OP leg). They also said that the pull I feel when the towel is there is a "Good Pull", whatever that means. What did you have to do when you came home? Did you use the towel? What is the Bone Smart Way, Josephine? Opinions needed. I have done this at all because of the reasons listed above but if I should I will.
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I got that same advice. From the doctors. From the nurses. From the PTs. From my mother. :shrug: The towel under the ankles. And I had two replaced knees, so two rolled towels and two painful knees every time they put those darn things under my ankles.

And every time the nurse or the PT or the doctor left the room... I GOT RID OF THE ROLLED TOWELS. I would let my relieved knees bend slightly and oh, that felt so much better. I could sleep. I could browse the internet without being in agony. And I didn’t fear for even a moment that my knees would be worse off. Not even a little.

And I was right. The nurses were all having conniptions (I was at a rehab hospital for a week, so they were sticking those rolled towels under my ankles several times a day for a whole week — and I removed them several times a day), but my extension in PT improved anyway. +5 in each knee at first, and +2 when I left. And now they’re both -1, which is completely normal. So getting rid of the towels didn’t do anything to set back my knees. The only thing it did was make me much more comfortable! :happydance:

I know it’s hard to go against what “experts” say. On the other hand, there are so many people here who can tell you they had great results without following those same experts! :friends:
 
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HI, All. One Week Post Op. I feel pretty good. I took a shower today which always makes me feel better and I finally got a decent night's sleep. I still woke up a few times for bathroom trips but I slept on my side and I went right back to sleep. Tomorrow I have my first PT appt. So I will post and see how that goes. I also said No to the OXY. It was making me feel awful. I was sweating, waking up all the time and feeling just horrible when I took this. So I am now on round the clock tramadol every 4 hours and motrin every 8 hours. And I am doing much better. My mood swings have stopped too. So I hope this helps with recovery so I can get into a normal sleep pattern.

Thanks for all who answered my towel question. I am not doing it. It hurts like everyone said. I already told my PT if it hurts then I am not doing it. I should tell them about BoneSmart so they can read some of these posts and get a little info for themselves...:scratch:

Also, my swelling is minimal I am on top the elevating and icing like clockwork which is also helping enormously.

Take Care :ice:
 
Hi, Josephine please change my Thread Title to Schpooko's Recovery Thread... Thank you
 
@schpooko and @Nigella2 - I’m post op day 7 right TKR. I had my surgery last Tuesday, October 2nd. Pain behind my leg is definitely the worst pain I have.

@schpooko, I too am surprised you can fully straighten your leg on a flat surface because the pillow under the leg can hurt.

I am not even close to being able to fully straighten my leg on a flat surface and the towel under the ankle is so painful that I can only manage it for a minute or two.

I too have significant swelling behind the knee and in the back of my calf and my muscles and tendons are incredibly tight. When I do my heel slides and bend my knee, returning to a straightened leg is what hurts so much and all the pain is behind the knee, especially in the calf.
 
Hi @schpooko it seems I will be following the same regimen at the hospital where you were. PT twice a day. I will be there two nights. They have indicated that this will not be a vacation but more or less like a camping trip. But the nurses seemed nice. Not sure if I will be able to get mean with PT if they push me unnecessarily to do more. but will need to master the stairs as I have 15 going up to my bedroom. Hope your recovery keeps going smoothly. :)
 
Gingercat said:
Not sure if I will be able to get mean with PT if they push me unnecessarily to do more. but will need to master the stairs as I have 15 going up to my bedroom
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You don’t have to get mean, just quietly refuse to do too many reps, or none, of the exercises that hurt.

And there’s nothing to master about the stairs. They will show you how to go up and down. Once you do it a couple of times it will pretty much become automatic.

While no one expects this recovery to be a vacation, I don’t understand the comparison to a camping trip, other than for me, I don’t like camping!

My hospital experience was great, nurses were awesome and PT only consisted of short walks and showing me how to do the stairs. No exercises. I hope yours is the same.
 
Hi, @schpooko!!! I'm so glad to see you're on this side of surgery and things are starting to improve for you.

(Admin note: schpooko is participating in a BoneSmart test of ACTIVE Scar Shield, so you may see me mentioning it here in her thread as she progresses in her recovery).

We were a little late getting our Scar Shield product out to the testers, but you should have yours Wednesday or Thursday. It will be delivered to your home. Please post and let me know it's arrived. There will be instructions for the application and taking photos in the package you receive, so let me know if you have any questions.

Please tell me what type of bandage you have on your knee. It should either be a gauze type that is changed every few days or an Aquacel dressing with a special antimicrobial compound that is left in place for about 7 days. We'll want you to start the Scar Shield just as soon as the bandage is first removed.

Here's hoping that things continue to get better for you!
 
@Jamie Hi, I was just going to write to you when the door bell rang and it was Fed Ex with my Active Shield Present. So I did receive it. I have not yet read any of the instructions and such so I will do that. I do not get my staples or my bandage off til 10/16 late day... I am really looking forward to that. So I will get back to you after that time and let you know what is happening.

Schpooko
 
Day 10 Post Op. Hello, all. Hope everyone is feeling good today. I am feeling good today. Got a full night's rest only getting up to take med and visit the bathroom. Went right back to sleep. I have a visit in an hour from the PT lady. She sounds mean on the phone so let's see what happens. I told my hubby to stick by me here when she tells me to do something that I feel is going to hurt and I say No. I don't want him on the sidelines saying well just try that and so forth. I am doing really well and I don't want any, and I mean any set backs because of PT... I was going to ask her today about a cane to get around. If I can have one my husband will pick one up for me this afternoon when he picks up my medication and some pizza :roseshwr: Well, I will post later to let everyone know how PT was.
This site is such a Godsend. It's great to know info before it happen. As they say knowledge is Power. I am so glad I found BoneSmart and all the wonderful informative people on this site.
 
You can take it from many of us on here that you don't even need PT and you can tell her that! If she tries to push you, tell her to leave. I had only one that came to my house that tried to push my foot with her foot and I told her loudly, "NO!". She said she was going to report me as non-compliant. I told her to go ahead. My OS never said a thing about me not taking PT and was thrilled with my progress! Stick to your guns and not let anyone hurt that knee!
 
@schpooko. There are a lot of Physiotherapists who tell people to give up canes or walkers way too early.

I am not an expert but I think until someone is totally sure on their feet and their gait is back to normal they need assistive devices.

It is an issue of safety especially out in public around other people or on uneven surfaces.The cane can help alert people to give you some space.
Good luck with your appointment.:flwrysmile:
 
Hi, everyone. Well, PT was fine. She was very gentle and listened to everything. She did not make me do anything that hurt. She says that if it hurts don't do it. I will not be getting a cane anytime soon because my quads are too weak. And they are really weak. See I did not do any exercise or anything in I don't know how long but I had an accident which lead me to get the Right Knee done before the bone on bone Left one. So nursing that all summer and not being able to do any PT to heal the the right knee (there was just too much pain) has lead to mushy quads. My legs shake when I try to do any quad exercises so it's not safe to use a cane anytime soon. So I do have a lot of work ahead of me to get my quads better. And again she did nothing that hurt me she believes if it hurts stop and don't do it. So I guess I will keep her around for awhile so I can get into a better place with walking without any devices. I will be see her for at least three weeks at home so that's nice too.

Tired now so its time to rest, elevate and ice and if a nap comes along well that too.

@beachy Good luck tomorrow and I will be thinking of you...
 
schpooko said:
So I do have a lot of work ahead of me to get my quads better.
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First, you have to heal.

You’ve just been through major surgery and the Energy Drain will take over for a while.

My quads were fine before surgery but very weak after, for a while.

Right now is not the time to play catch up for months of not being able to do much. Plenty of time for that later.
 
Yes, I agree. Healing is my number one priority but I do want to walk with my new knees and that will take a bit of work on my part. Nothing strenuous, nothing knee hurting or swelling, but I do want to go at the end of the month to see some colleges with our only son who will be going to college next fall. I have looked forward to this my whole life to do this with him and he even got wheelchair assistance for me at his interviews so I won't have to do much walking but I will do this. I just would like to be a little bit stronger. And with small exercises that do not hurt the knee in anyway that would be helpful ...
 
Thanks for the good wishes!
You sound determined to visit colleges with your son! I wouldn’t have missed those visits for anything. Don’t join the ODIC before then.
 
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