TKR Schpooko's Recovery

[schpooko]

Hi, All.. Post Op Week 6. Things are moving along. I do find mornings upon awakening to be the hardest part of the day. I have to take my tramadol and tylenol first, then lay in bed for awhile while it takes effect and then get up to start the day. Those first steps after sitting or laying in bed are horrible. Anyone else find this to be the case for them? It gets better after I move for awhile and the meds take effect and its fine during the day. I don't have swelling anymore. But I do ice for pain reasons. At least an hour at night after I have been on it during the day.

We are going out for Thanksgiving dinner because I cannot do all that cooking for my family next week by myself. Hubby has to work and so does my son so we are going out after they come home... This will be the first Thanksgiving in all of my life that we are going out to eat. I am not quite sure how I feel about that but I know I cannot do a big meal like that myself. And my son brought home a 22 lb. bird to cook. So its waiting til Christmas for me to cook it. I don't know what he was thinking when he picked it out LOL!!!! I know he loves turkey but I think he went a little overboard...

I went to a PT eval last Saturday. She first watched me walk in with the cane in hand. She said I have a fine gait for 5 weeks out. I had flex of 125 and almost full extension. I did the recumbent bike. I found that doing it backwards felt better than forwards but I did do it for 5 minutes. I loved it. It made the knee happy.... I have a bike like this at home. My husband and son are going to bring it upstairs this weekend so I can do it when I want and not have to go to PT to use theirs. I still take some tramadol during the day ( have a bad left leg ) and tylenol which works quite well for me.

I am back to sleeping more stretches at a time. I do wake some nights to use the bathroom and if I need to take tylenol and one tramadol and go back to sleep but not too often.

I went to my RA doctor the other day and it was great to see him after so long. He gave me an injection in my trigger finger which I am happy to say fixed that problem. He is such a great doctor. His bedside manner is fantastic. He listens to you. I really missed him. I am going to really be upset when he does retire.

My only problems are stairs. It is still really hard for me. I am fearful and I just don't feel comfortable putting the weight on the leg to go foot over foot yet. Can anyone tell me when you started stairs foot over foot after TKR? I have a bad left leg too (which I don't want to jinx but is feeling fine, thank God) so going up and down has been one leg at a time for years. But right now the new knee is still to sore inside to put all the weight on (and I am overweight by the way) to go foot over foot. The other part is fear

My quad this a.m. was really sore and some days my hamstring is the problem. But I guess exercise and patience will help that along. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Well, I hope this update finds all of you doing well in your recoveries... Schpooko

 

[Jockette]

You are coming along well! Some people take months to do stairs foot over foot, so no need to worry about that at 6 weeks.

My quad this a.m. was really sore and some days my hamstring is the problem. But I guess exercise and patience will help that along. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I think patience is the biggest thing here. I did not do any specific exercises to strengthen my quad, just my daily activities, and it came along as I healed.

 

[schpooko]

@Jockette Thanks for the response. It surely is sore some days. Between my hamstring and quad, thankfully they take turns, the day starts quite sore. I guess patience and time are the key.

 

[Jockette]

You can do strengthen exercises later on, if you want, after at least the 3 month mark, but ease into it. Right now it’s too early, you still have healing to do.

 

[beachy]

Hi Schpooko!
Good report at 6 weeks. Hang in there!

 

[Greda]

I am at 12 weeks and still can’t do steps foot over foot. It has been several years since I could do stairs that way so I think it will take time to be able to do stairs correctly. At 6 weeks I can’t imagine doing steps. I still have trouble first thing in the morning too. After the first few steps I am fine but it is a bit wobbly right out of bed.
I think you are making a good choice about Thanksgiving. I need to talk to my husband about the holiday. We have not made a decision yet.

 

[sistersinhim]

You are doing great! Don't worry about foot over foot. It's way too early to worry about that. It will come naturally when your knee is ready.

 

[schpooko]

@beachy Thanks... It's so remarkable but in the morning after I have my meds I feel great with no pain all day... I am now taking coated aspirin when needed instead of the motrin. So far I only had to take 2 pills yesterday and 2 pills today. How are you doing? I hope all is well with you. With this bad snowstorm up here in PA I will not be able to make PT til Monday... Walking on snow or ice is my enemy I was fearful before surgery I am more fearful now...

@sistersinhim Thanks you made me feel better. I am going to take as long as the knee needs. When it feels like doing foot over foot I will try. But for now I just told my husband this a.m. that what a difference a few weeks makes. Those first few weeks are a nightmare

@Greda thanks you too made me feel better. As I wrote to sistersinhim I will take all the time I need to go foot over foot. My fear that is another thing... We just had a snowstorm up in the Northeast and now snow and ice are my enemy. So PT is out for now. I need to make sure every place I go is well shoveled. I am going shopping on Sunday (with my husband only) I need him to walk in the parking lots. I fear about falling so much. At the joint class the PT lady said falling can be "catastrophic" Ugh! Not a good choice of words... but I am sure she is right. Thanks for writing back... Hope you are doing well also.

 

[sistersinhim]

It certainly won't set you back to miss a few days of PT. You might even find yourself improving even more! But, the main thing is to stay safe! Falls are our enemies!

 

[beachy]

I’m happy that you’re almost pain free! I still take pains meds if I need to. Just to get a break from the achiness. Maybe 1-2X day.

We got 3” of the white death. It’s mostly gone today, but I’m very careful of where I walk. The maintenance was out shoveling and de-icing the walkways last night. But, it’s very cold and windy. A bit early for this kind of weather!

 

[schpooko]

Hi, everyone. Post Op week 7 starting tomorrow. I started doing the recumbent bike each day for 5-10 minutes. The stretch you get from the bike is so good. Especially the hamstring. Today the quad muscle is a bit sore. Each day gets a bit better. Still taking meds especially in a.m. I do have left knee bone on bone so I have to take care of that one too. I will not be doing this knee anytime soon. As long as I take meds and tylenol the knee is quiet and that's all I ask. My RA doctor said to me the other day that knee surgery is brutal. His words not mine and he is right as we all know.

I put a video on, that I promised I would do, regarding those deer we feed. Please go to the social room and see it. It's really a cute thing to watch for a minute. I don't have a video yet of the large buck we also feed and pet because he is off doing his thing right now this time of year. But hopefully he will be back soon.

We are going out for Thanksgiving this year. First time in all my life we are eating Thanksgiving in a restaurant. I cannot cook a whole dinner right now for Thanksgiving. It would be too much for me to do alone and my hubby works so I don't really have the any help so we are going out. We will make a big dinner on Christmas instead and we will have turkey this year with all the trimmings.

What is everyone else doing for the holiday? Hopefully you all have someone to take care of you and make your holiday comfortable and relaxing.

I hope this update finds all of you moving along in your recoveries... Enjoy the video and to all a Happy Thanksgiving... Schpooko

 

[Jockette]

You are coming along well!

 

[beachy]

We've gone out a few times with other families for Thanksgiving. All the wives had full time careers and we went on strike LOL.

 

[Txmomgmom3]

Hubby is doing the turkey, daughter will do the sides with Mom's supervision (I can sit and prep at least). I am going to make a pecan pie for hubby and a chocolate pie for daughter but am just going to pick up a pumpkin pie from Costco. Hopefully I will be up to baking for Christmas.

 

[Kiwigirl62]

@schpooko , you're doing fine, i am nearly 9 weeks an found week by week from week 5 slowly there was an improvement. Stairs are the worst and I have just started to tackle them today...wait til you are ready.

Also although on waking....my best moment knee wise.....with hardly any swelling after a good sleep...i do some gentle stretches an almost can imagine normal....til i get up. Then it is trying to 'suss out' which muscle/tendon/ ligament is going to give me grief today...."please God let it only be one"....

Anyway incrementally each week is a little better (maybe different), but the tortoise wins the race not the hare

 

[schpooko]

Thanks everyone who got back to me on my last post. I now have another opinion poll for advice if you guys don't mind. It's in regards to driving... I am 7 weeks post-op today and I have an OS appt. next week. My OS is 45 minutes to an hour away. Anyone who is back to driving or past or about 8 weeks did you feel comfortable driving at that point? I know everyone heals differently and I would like some opinions and advice as to when did you start driving and when did you feel good enough to drive 45 minutes or so. It is back road driving to the OS's office, not highway so any advice anyone can give would be appreciated.

I have not driven yet because of the bad weather we have had here in PA and I am not sure if going that distance should be my first trip. I am doing PT here at home and hubby and my son have been going to the stores either on his way home from work or after school etc...

I don't want to drive all that way to the OS's office and then see him and then feel tired or sore to drive back. Its also very hilly in the area I am going to be driving through. I was thinking of asking my son to take me and get a doctor's note from the doctor for him for school.

Thanks ahead of time for the advice... Schpooko

 

[NavyGunns]

@schpooko, since your TKR was your right leg, that will have a greater impact on your ability to drive than someone who hag their left knee replaced. Of course the most important thing is that you are not taking any narcotics as that can be very dangerous. Assuming you are good there, the key is how comfortable and able are you with moving your foot from the gas pedal to the brake, especially in emergency conditions. You should go out to an empty parking lot and give yourself a test drive of sorts.

 

[sistersinhim]

I would get your son to take you. Even if you could use cruise control the whole time, it is going to be a very tiring day. Maybe you can try driving to the doctor's office, then let your son drive back. I started driving at 7 weeks, but I would not do it alone. My first try was in an empty parking lot to be sure I could do an emergency stop. Then, I drove for about 20 minutes the first real time, but still with someone with me.

 

[SusieShoes]

If you can get someone, like your son, to drive you, do so. If you had been driving for a few weeks, I might say differently, but you don't know how your knee will handle the drive and the length of time you will be out. It would be a problem if you find you don't feel like driving back, or aren't sure your knee could handle it.

Before driving, definitely practice on your driveway, a parking lot, or a quiet street to find out how well your new knee works (you'll probably be quite pleased) and whether it hurts to brake, for example.

 

[Mom2Lucy]

@schpooko , my rtkr was Oct 04.I know we all heal differently, but I agree that’s a long drive for the first drive, especially as you have to be sure of making the return trip. I’m not driving yet, I might try a practice around the block this weekend. Good Luck to you!