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TKR Second knee replacement June 11, 2021

Day 22 -- The TWANG is gone, now I am back to a familiar soreness and stiffness. It's amazing what a few days of backing off will do. I've had issues with tight hamstrings for a long time and before my surgery was doing daily stretching. So it's something I have to be aware of always.

My PT wants me to start coming in person for sessions 2 x per week--after I see my surgeon this Wednesday. The travel back and forth is going to take up a lot of my time but I want to do everything I can to recover, so I'll do it.

On another note, the city of Toronto finally allowed barbershops and hair salons to reopen on June 30. They had been closed since last November! So my big excitement for the week is that I am getting a haircut on Wednesday. The last time I got a haircut my hairdresser's mother was about to get a TKR--so we will have lots to talk about.

Happy July 4 to our American friends down south!
 
I love your reference to "dog days of recovery". I'm 30 days post surgery with my right knee. I feel like I should be doing more, but if I push it, I pay the price at night. So, I'm walking a bit, semi pedaling for about 15 minutes a day, and stretching the hamstrings--- and icing. I had a partial knee replacement about 8 years ago, and I don't remember it being like this, but memory can be selective. Keep the positive attitude - I think that's most important!
 
Maybe going to PT once a week will be ok, since it’s so time so time consuming. Its more how you handle your recovery, and just plain time to heal, rather than going to formal PT, that helps you recover.
 
Jockette said:
Maybe going to PT once a week will be ok, since it’s so time so time-consuming. It's more how you handle your recovery, and just plain time to heal, rather than going to formal PT, that helps you recover.
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I was doing online PT 2 x per week and loved it. It was so convenient. But there is something to be said for in-person sessions. I would love to get some of the treatments they do to increase blood circulation--gentle massage, etc. I think I've found the right balance of stretching, walking, and daily activities. I've started doing half-peddling on my stationary cycle and that feels pretty good. I can now imagine a life without pain....
 
Day 30 -- The long slog of recovery continues. I went for in-person PT on Friday--I was dreading it. I had rehabbed my first TKR with online physio and loved the convenience (and not having anyone touch my knee). But I have to say that it was a terrific, very positive experience. I have a modified program of exercises, to accommodate my wonky hamstring, and the PT people were caring and supportive. I got more accurate measurements for extension and ROM. And the PT actually massaged my hamstring which was an amazing treat. It was actually fun to see other people who were rehabbing after knee surgery and there was a kind of effervescent camaraderie that I hadn't experienced during the last 16 months of COVID. My knee/leg ached after the PT but it was the familiar soreness, so manageable. I'm looking forward to my next visit tomorrow.

I am almost off painkillers, though I still have to take one at night. I tried to sleep without the Hydromorphone but ended up having two awful, sleepless nights and just couldn't get comfortable. Not being able to sleep on my side is still a big problem. But I am down to one tablet at night. And if I can get off the narcotics completely by the end of next week, I will have a green light to drive...

The right knee is coming along slowly. My ROM hasn't improved much (95-100) but I know that there is still lots of time to heal. I did get a haircut last week and then walked 10 minutes to have dinner with friends--all went well though it was hard to sit in chair while getting a hair cut. My friend who I was having dinner with had a TKR right before me a year ago. He is still in pain and his knee swells up all the time--I try to tell him that there is still time to heal but it has been very hard on him. He has seen his surgeon several times and goes for PT to bring down the swelling--but, given a choice, he wishes he had never gone through with the TKR. I don't take my success with my first TKR for granted.

My goal for the week is to get out and walk outside every day. I have been doing all my walking in the house (including stairs), but it is time to get out and see the world again. I'm going to start with 10 minutes at a time and see how it goes. My motto is: "Easy does it."
 
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It sounds like you're doing well! At about 4 weeks I decided to take a walk outside for about 20 minutes. I thought I did well, but a few hours later I could barely bend my knee! PT said I was overdoing the walking, and my gait wasn't "normal" yet, so it tightened everything up. Whew! So, be careful, and yes, easy does it.
 
Thanks, Atkinson8. My wonky hamstring really keeps me in line. It's like the Praetorian guard of my knee--if I overdo anything, it sounds the first alarm.
 
Day 31. Went for in-person PT on Tuesday. Very interesting development--my PT thinks I am suffering from muscle spasms and that when I try to bend my knee, my quads and hamstrings all fire in the wrong direction and prevent my knee from bending. (The Praetorian Guard!) We did a few bends with the (gentle!) assistance of the PT, with my knee totally relaxed (rag doll), and the difference was astonishing. So the PT contacted my OS and I have been prescribed some strong muscle relaxants. The PT says they will make me very sleepy--and I'm actually glad about that (LOL)! I'm at that phase right now that I wake up in the middle of the night (like right now) and can't find a comfortable position to sleep.

I'm actually pretty happy about this--there are no mechanical issues with the knee and I'm not really in pain. I suspect that if I did nothing, the issue would resolve itself in good time. My muscles are still trying to get over the trauma of the surgery. The good news is that I can stand for 30 minutes at a time without pain--before the surgery, that would have sent me to bed to lie down for an hour. I can also walk without problems and my balance is very good.

It's funny--I can imagine a time six months down the road when this will all seem like a distant memory. But I'm glad to record my experience here and now. Maybe somebody will benefit from this in the same way that I have greatly benefitted from reading about all of your experiences/journeys to recovery.
 
Thanks for sharing your positive report, Freestyle! My sleep is just now starting to improve after several months. Hang in there.
 
Hi Freestyle! So glad to hear things are going better with your second knee now. I am looking at getting my second knee done next month (date not official yet) and I really like the advice of going back and reading posts from when that first knee was done. My first one was TEN years ago and I know I have forgotten a lot and probably have selective memory.

Good luck with your continued recovery!
 
Susie-Q said:
Hi Freestyle! So glad to hear things are going better with your second knee now. I am looking at getting my second knee done next month (date not official yet) and I really like the advice of going back and reading posts from when that first knee was done. My first one was TEN years ago and I know I have forgotten a lot and probably have selective memory.

Good luck with your continued recovery!
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Thanks @Susie-Q. My first TKR (last September) went so well that I had forgotten what a long slog it is. I seem much more impatient this time around. Part of what makes it seem interminable is that I am not seeing any progress on my ROM. The first ten days seemed weirdly easy. There is that point at which you can lift your operated leg without assistance and lots of little gains that elated me. This part is harder.

Good luck with your TKR--you've certainly come to the right place for support!
 
Selective memory is good! One knee at a time. . .
 
Day 35 - Clarity. I had my first PT visit since starting on Cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxant) a couple of days ago. I'm not sure it has made a lot of difference, but I'll only be on it for five days. During the PT session I had a moment of enlightenment (and so did my therapist). When I try to bend my knee on my own, sitting on raised hospital bed, I feel a sharp pain in my hamstring at 95 and have to stop. If I bend my knee with the assistance of the PT--without engaging my hamstring (rag doll)--I can bend to at least 105 without any pain. So the problem with bending my knee clearly is my injured hamstring.

This is useful information because I am now on a two-track program of PT--stretching and exercising while letting my hamstring heal. We have officially thrown out any exercises that aggravate my hamstring, including measuring my ROM by bending my knee on my own. (Unofficially, I had thrown out these exercises weeks ago.)

The good news is that my hamstrings don't hurt when I walk or when I do my daily activities. I can't do a single revolution when I cycle but I can rock back and forth without pain. So now it's just a long, long waiting game. I am going to start swimming next week (nothing too vigorous, will probably swim with a pull buoy between my legs) and am looking forward to getting back to doing the thing I love most....

I read a lot of the threads here and am, by turns, amazed and inspired. Some people seem to breeze through recovery, a few struggle against terrible odds, but most seem to make their way through a series of different challenges. Thank you to all of you for sharing your stories. I hope that my own story will be useful to someone else down the road...
 
Here is a question for the seasoned veterans on this forum--is a ROM of 90 on my right knee enough to drive? Has anyone here driven with a ROM of 90? I will be at six weeks next Friday and that's when I started driving after my first TKR, though my ROM was about 115 and it was my non-driving leg. I tend to be very careful so I will probably get in the car without driving and try to feel what it is like to work the gas pedal and brake.

Also, if I still take a painkiller (2 mg Hydromorphone) at night does that mean I shouldn't drive?

I'm going to see my OS next Thursday so will of course consult with him but I wanted to see what the experience here has been.
 
Operating a motor vehicle while taking a controlled substance is illegal and puts you and others in danger. I understand you wanting that freedom but think twice.
 
Hi Freestyle, here in Oregon (maybe this is not a state-based law?) if one is taking opioids one is not permitted to drive.

I weaned myself off opioids and onto Tylenol and an herbal/CBD salve for knee pain (legal in my state), which took me and once I did that, driving was okay to attempt. My knee was barely at 90 degrees when I started driving, but soon it had increased, so the 90 was only for about 4 days, I'm guessing, and i took about 4 days to do, decreasing the strong drug and using a pill cutter to halve them.

I only first tried backing out my driveway, and when that was easy, then I tried driving around the block. I did far better than I had expected! My worst moment was when someone parked too close to my drivers door in the grocery store parking lot and I had to squeeze into the car sideways and that was awkward and uncomfortable!

If you do as I did, once you're ready to try, just practice getting in and out, then moving your foot to the various positions it needs to be comfortable being in, for instance if you found had to suddenly stop, etc. Just try practicing the things you need to be able to do while sitting in your driveway, even, if need be! I was worried it would take me longer to be allowed to drive with the right knee having been done but, nah!
 
Thank you @BBCG! Since I read your thread avidly, I knew that you had begun driving pretty quickly in your recovery. When I think about driving (as I sit here in my recliner), it is the ability to lift my leg/knee and to extend and push my foot that seems crucial. I can do both. But I love your idea of just getting in the car and practicing moving my leg before I even think about taking the car out of the driveway. Fortunately, any drives I need to take initially will be very short. If I don't feel fully confident and in control, I will postpone driving for a while.

And rest assured, @FourCats, I wasn't planning on driving until I got the okay from my OS. (I don't take legal liability lightly.) I have weaned myself off the Hydromorphine except for taking 1 pill at night--and by the time I see my OS on Thursday, I won't be taking it at all. There is a possibility that my OS will advise me against driving until I improve my ROM, so I have to be ready for that too.

But that is the strange nature of the second TKR--I keep comparing my second TKR to where I was at with my first TKR at this point. (My local PT warned me before the surgery not to expect the second TKR recovery to be the same.). Week 6 was my big breakthrough the first time around--I was able to do a full revolution on my stationary bike for the first time and I began driving right after I got the okay from the OS. And driving meant that I could go swimming again....A good friend has happily agreed to pick me up for swimming, she's a swimmer too. So I will get to go swimming even if I can't drive....
 
Every knee is different, even on the same person. I was “allowed” to drive at 6 weeks but didn’t feel comfortable till 7-8 weeks. Once you are off your pain killers, drive around your own property/driveway/street and see how comfortable it feels. If possible, bring a friend who can take over if they have to.
 
Freestyle said:
Here is a question for the seasoned veterans on this forum--is a ROM of 90 on my right knee enough to drive? Has anyone here driven with a ROM of 90? I will be at six weeks next Friday and that's when I started driving after my first TKR, though my ROM was about 115 and it was my non-driving leg. I tend to be very careful so I will probably get in the car without driving and try to feel what it is like to work the gas pedal and brake.

Also, if I still take a painkiller (2 mg Hydromorphone) at night does that mean I shouldn't drive?

I'm going to see my OS next Thursday so will of course consult with him but I wanted to see what the experience here has been.
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Hey Freestyle! As far as driving goes - as long as you're not taking any substances that could impair your driving (which you already know), and you can lift your leg from gas to brake and back, and your reaction time is good, driving shouldn't be an issue. My first TKR was during the winter months and it was a good 6 weeks before I began driving again. This time, I started driving much earlier. I had someone ride with me the first time out at 3 weeks. It hurt to maintain braking and it was a very short drive. I live in a small community and did some driving around town and took the big step of driving to my PT sessions last week, week 5. I didn't ask my Dr for clearance to drive and it didn't come up during my 2nd post-op visit last week. So sharing all of my experience to say we know our limitations. If you can get in the car, practice driving with someone in the car with you. If you're able to drive short distances, do that. Gradually work your way to longer excursions. Right now my driving perimeter is less than 10 miles and I'm comfortable with that. My next step is going to be driving to see my daughter and her family. It's a 25 mile drive and freeway/expressway most of the drive. Not quite ready for that, but getting closer. Good luck in your decision making on driving and of course follow dr's orders. p.s.-reading that you're a swimmer your name of Freestyle is really cool!
 
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