TKR Second TKR Done, but still not very patient
- Thread starter NetballKnees
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Jozilla
supremo
I have an over active imagination! I am really looking forward to tkr's and at this point getting on with my life. You have an incredible story and such a positive personality. I so much want to be more active! Thanks for your uplifting posts and great advice!
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RestAssured
alpha
We will be here for you! We always are! Lean on us and we will get you through to the other side!
Jozilla
supremo
RestAssured Thank you I appreciate it and will probably need all the support and prayers I can get. Hoping my recovery is better than what I am imagining and will keep in mind the end result. NetballKnees - sounds interesting but i have never seen it! I love college basketball in the U.S. though. I think it is a much better sport than our professional version. When I have the time I will google it or see if it is on YouTube. Hope you are feeling better today! We care. Peace and prayers!
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Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®
Ellen,I am glad you had a good visit with your GP, it helps to know what the aches and pains are coming from and also to hopefully get some relief from it. Even though you are having problems with your non operated knee, your new knee is really strong and can be depended on - it is only the muscles around it that are still weak.
I hope your day tomorrow will be much nicer. Take care. Lee
I hope your day tomorrow will be much nicer. Take care. Lee
OP
OP
NetballKnees
senior
Thanks for your visit Lee. It is a bit (well, very) frustrating with the other knee playing up. The pain is so severe, it may even be a medial ligament tear. I may have to have MRI if pain persists. Apart from that, I am just plain despondent about the slow progress of the TKR. I still have to learn more patience.
Hope work has been going okay so far this week and you are handling the tiredness.
Take care ..
Ellen
Hope work has been going okay so far this week and you are handling the tiredness.
Take care ..
Ellen
Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
A good surgeon doesn't need an MRI - he should be able to diagnose that by examination and listening to your symptoms.
referee54
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Many of us learned that we had much more patience than we originally believed that we had in us.
It is that which is deep down inside of us---we discover things about ourselves that we did not know about before the TKR or the BTKR!
Ellen, work is very tiring but I am thankful I could go back to work since I was out of FMLA time and need to continue working for at least 6 more years.
Ellen, hang in there. I believe you will get there. As referee stated patience is something we end up finding in ourselves with this recovery. Sending warm and healing thoughts your way. Lee
Ellen, hang in there. I believe you will get there. As referee stated patience is something we end up finding in ourselves with this recovery. Sending warm and healing thoughts your way. Lee
OP
OP
NetballKnees
senior
Hi All ...Thanks for visiting again. Thanks for the consoling kneeper and the wise words Josephine and Tim. Lovely to have you visit again Lee. Always look forward to it.
Yesterday was a horrible day. It is 4 weeks today since the surgery and I am afraid I am so despondent about things. I just want to see some improvement - anything. I measure my knee just above the kneecap every second day or so to see if the swelling has reduced, but it is still the same as when I left hospital. I do my heel slides, leg raises, inside knee muscle tensing, hanging legs over the edge of the bed and bringing surgical leg back toward bed and a few little rambles around the house. Leg raises are great - almost vertical - which just means my quads are strong. Heel slides have not improved since the first time I started them back in hospital. The surgical leg is swollen from above the knee right down to the toes - so much fluid I can barely flex my ankle. I ice regularly throughout the day and elevate. I have actually reduced the exercises given to me by the physio. She had me doing mini squats and mini lunges. On advice from other Bonesmarties, I realised this was too much and it was not time for strength.
I had PT today and after some testing of the non-surgical knee (bending it, moving from side to side), she confirmed doctor's diagnosis of probably Grade 2 medial collateral ligament strain. She has strapped that for me and is ordering a brace and said that will probably be quite a few weeks until that knee is recovered.
I am just so frustrated. Surely it is not too soon to expect SOME improvement. I know 4 weeks is not a long time; I know recovery can take up to 12 months and longer and can continue after that; I know it is a marathon not a sprint, but so hard to get my mind to accept that and just chill.
My ex-husband has been marvellous in running around after me, but how long can I expect him to do that? I did some light dusting yesterday and felt so good to be doing something constructive. I have tried to walk without walker just around the room and I must say it was a very good impersonation of Frankenstein's monster taking his first steps!!!!!!
I know there are others worse off than me. There are some Bonesmarties with young children to run around after. All I have to look after is me and the dogs and I don't even have to look after them at the moment because ex-husband is walking them, feeding them etc. There are other Bonesmarties who have to handle everything themselves - pain, meals, looking after a house.
Anyway, that is enough wallowing for one day I think. So sorry to dump all this here, but it does help to get it out.
Hope other forum users are having a better day and life is treating you all kindly.
Take Care ...
Ellen
Yesterday was a horrible day. It is 4 weeks today since the surgery and I am afraid I am so despondent about things. I just want to see some improvement - anything. I measure my knee just above the kneecap every second day or so to see if the swelling has reduced, but it is still the same as when I left hospital. I do my heel slides, leg raises, inside knee muscle tensing, hanging legs over the edge of the bed and bringing surgical leg back toward bed and a few little rambles around the house. Leg raises are great - almost vertical - which just means my quads are strong. Heel slides have not improved since the first time I started them back in hospital. The surgical leg is swollen from above the knee right down to the toes - so much fluid I can barely flex my ankle. I ice regularly throughout the day and elevate. I have actually reduced the exercises given to me by the physio. She had me doing mini squats and mini lunges. On advice from other Bonesmarties, I realised this was too much and it was not time for strength.
I had PT today and after some testing of the non-surgical knee (bending it, moving from side to side), she confirmed doctor's diagnosis of probably Grade 2 medial collateral ligament strain. She has strapped that for me and is ordering a brace and said that will probably be quite a few weeks until that knee is recovered.
I am just so frustrated. Surely it is not too soon to expect SOME improvement. I know 4 weeks is not a long time; I know recovery can take up to 12 months and longer and can continue after that; I know it is a marathon not a sprint, but so hard to get my mind to accept that and just chill.
My ex-husband has been marvellous in running around after me, but how long can I expect him to do that? I did some light dusting yesterday and felt so good to be doing something constructive. I have tried to walk without walker just around the room and I must say it was a very good impersonation of Frankenstein's monster taking his first steps!!!!!!
I know there are others worse off than me. There are some Bonesmarties with young children to run around after. All I have to look after is me and the dogs and I don't even have to look after them at the moment because ex-husband is walking them, feeding them etc. There are other Bonesmarties who have to handle everything themselves - pain, meals, looking after a house.
Anyway, that is enough wallowing for one day I think. So sorry to dump all this here, but it does help to get it out.
Hope other forum users are having a better day and life is treating you all kindly.
Take Care ...
Ellen
Yes, it can be hard to accept that your knee is a mere baby at 4 weeks. You've been sawed, hammered and had your leg shifted around. That takes time to recover from.
Bummer about your other leg. There is no set timeline to get off the walker. You will gradually walk less like Frankenstein
and move to a cane and then no aid. The important thing is to be stable. I'd think especially with the other leg now, stick with the walker for a while.
(((NetballKnees)))
Bummer about your other leg. There is no set timeline to get off the walker. You will gradually walk less like Frankenstein
and move to a cane and then no aid. The important thing is to be stable. I'd think especially with the other leg now, stick with the walker for a while.(((NetballKnees)))
referee54
Former BoneSmart staff member
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2007
- Messages
- 17,577
- Age
- 72
- Location
- Northern Part of the Buckeye State
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
Many of us have the "arthroscopic approach"---we have had these done prior to the TKR or the BTKR, and we are used to getting things rolling rather quickly. As kneeper has stated, your knee has sustained major surgical trauma. IT has been cut open, two bones have been sawed off, you have been pounded and a jig applied, and then glued and finally sewed up. This kind of surgery is going to require quite some time for the knee to recover from, so it is a rather slow process.
It actually sounds like, from what yo have written, you are doing rather well. I know that it is difficult for yo to take this in, but four weeks---less than a month---you are doing fine. Take a look at thse pictures and yo will appreciate why your knee is progressing so slowly.
TKR surgery - WARNING: real life photos
It is almost unfathomable what has been surgically done to our knees while we are in the operating theater. Improvement here, in a TKR recovery, is measured in tiny increments; nothing major really occurs---a revolution on an exercise bike could be a major cause for great joy.
I understand completely how you feel---I was in your place a while ago---but trust me; improvement will be made---just not in leaps and bounds---and you will reach the pint of being fully recovered.
Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
Are you quite sure this is what he said? Because standard Panadol actually stays in the system effectively for 4-5 hours while Panadol Osteo is a slow release and supposedly stays effective for around 6+ hours.
I'm going to ask you again to tell me in as much detail as you can, what these exercises are, how many you do and how many times a day.
That's not at all uncommon for 4 weeks out as you are slap bang in the middle of the 'angry tissue' stage when everything in your knee and leg is inflamed, painful and hot! So I am going to suggest a really way out thing - I think you should take a two whole weeks off all exercises and just stick with heel slides and short walks around the house but always with your walker. No more Frankenstein impressions, okay? And the time you have, ice and elevate intensively and take your pain meds by the clock.
Well, stop measuring your leg - if you really must, do it once a week. It's not at all uncommon for some people to experience this and your first priority is to get that swelling down.
BTW, what are you using for ice?
Ellen, as usual Josephine offers great advice. I can feel the frustration 
in your words. You want to be independent again and do for yourself. It will come. The only thing I am going to suggest is a self massage. Massage your leg from ankle upward gently past your knee and into your thigh as you have your leg elevated. My in home PT suggested this for me for both the swelling and the bruising I had post op.
Many healing thoughts and hugs going your way.
Lee
in your words. You want to be independent again and do for yourself. It will come. The only thing I am going to suggest is a self massage. Massage your leg from ankle upward gently past your knee and into your thigh as you have your leg elevated. My in home PT suggested this for me for both the swelling and the bruising I had post op.Many healing thoughts and hugs going your way.
Lee
OP
OP
NetballKnees
senior
Thanks for your visit and words of wisdom and encouragement kneeper, Josephine, Tim and Lee. Today is another day and I am feeling a bit better about things. I expect too much of myself - always have - and thought I would be such a poster child for knee replacement. I was so wrong.
It is a beautiful day here in Brisbane and so hard to feel too badly about anything.
Josephine - I am sure that is what he said about Panadol, but always willing to admit I heard or remembered wrongly. I do that sometimes With the exercises, I lie on the bed and do 10 heel slides, 10 leg raises, then sit up and slightly bend the leg and turn it on side and tense the muscle (or attempt to) on the inside of the knee 10 times, then hang my legs over the edge of the mattress and pull my leg back further 10 times. The PT added another exercise yesterday - holding on to the walker and doing 10 "marching" movements with the surgical leg. Ex-husband is getting me a skateboard today to try Tim's suggestion, which was greeted with great approval by the PT. At the moment I am icing with a large clay ice pack which almost wraps around whole knee. I ice until it loses its cool (about 45 minutes) about every 90minutes or so. My "rambles" around the house consist of getting off recliner and walking to en-suite toilet and then out to family room/kitchen and up and down the hallway a couple of times. Although I live on the bottom of a hill, the road is still very steep outside my house, so can't walk on the road, but I do go out the front once or twice a day onto the driveway and look at the gardens.
The biggest problem at the moment is the medial collateral strain in the non-surgical knee really needs me to rest completely to aid that in healing, but I know I do need to move the surgical knee somewhat. Maybe your idea of 2 weeks off exercises will help everything Josephine.
Yesterday I slowly swept my bathroom and have done some light dusting. Today I made tea and toast for my breakfast, but really don't do much at all. I am so lucky my ex-husband and I have always had an amicable relationship (we worked really hard at it for the children) and he is being so great right now.
I will try the massage Lee. I already massage around the scar and the top of the leg, but will now do the lower leg as well.
Thanks everyone for caring ...
Ellen
It is a beautiful day here in Brisbane and so hard to feel too badly about anything.
Josephine - I am sure that is what he said about Panadol, but always willing to admit I heard or remembered wrongly. I do that sometimes With the exercises, I lie on the bed and do 10 heel slides, 10 leg raises, then sit up and slightly bend the leg and turn it on side and tense the muscle (or attempt to) on the inside of the knee 10 times, then hang my legs over the edge of the mattress and pull my leg back further 10 times. The PT added another exercise yesterday - holding on to the walker and doing 10 "marching" movements with the surgical leg. Ex-husband is getting me a skateboard today to try Tim's suggestion, which was greeted with great approval by the PT. At the moment I am icing with a large clay ice pack which almost wraps around whole knee. I ice until it loses its cool (about 45 minutes) about every 90minutes or so. My "rambles" around the house consist of getting off recliner and walking to en-suite toilet and then out to family room/kitchen and up and down the hallway a couple of times. Although I live on the bottom of a hill, the road is still very steep outside my house, so can't walk on the road, but I do go out the front once or twice a day onto the driveway and look at the gardens.
The biggest problem at the moment is the medial collateral strain in the non-surgical knee really needs me to rest completely to aid that in healing, but I know I do need to move the surgical knee somewhat. Maybe your idea of 2 weeks off exercises will help everything Josephine.
Yesterday I slowly swept my bathroom and have done some light dusting. Today I made tea and toast for my breakfast, but really don't do much at all. I am so lucky my ex-husband and I have always had an amicable relationship (we worked really hard at it for the children) and he is being so great right now.
I will try the massage Lee. I already massage around the scar and the top of the leg, but will now do the lower leg as well.
Thanks everyone for caring ...
Ellen
Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
I lie on the bed and do
- 10 heel slides,
- hang my legs over the edge of the mattress and pull my leg back further 10 times
Do one or the other OR 5 of each, no more just yet
- 10 leg raises,
- sit up and slightly bend the leg and turn it on side and tense the muscle (or attempt to) on the inside of the knee 10 times,
Do 5
The PT added another exercise yesterday
- holding on to the walker and doing 10 "marching" movements with the surgical leg.
Not yet. Your still too tender to do this yet a while
Ex-husband is getting me a skateboard today to try Tim's suggestion, which was greeted with great approval by the PT
And me but don't go mad with it!
![[Bonesmart.org] Second TKR Done, but still not very patient](https://bonesmart.org/forum/attachments/ski-gif.16657/ "[Bonesmart.org] Second TKR Done, but still not very patient")
At the moment I am icing with a large clay ice pack which almost wraps around whole knee. I ice until it loses its cool (about 45 minutes) about every 90minutes or so.
That's good - I was going to say "that's cool" but I'm not that corny!
My "rambles" around the house consist of getting off recliner and walking to en-suite toilet and then out to family room/kitchen and up and down the hallway a couple of times.
Very good
- 10 heel slides,
- hang my legs over the edge of the mattress and pull my leg back further 10 times
Do one or the other OR 5 of each, no more just yet
- 10 leg raises,
- sit up and slightly bend the leg and turn it on side and tense the muscle (or attempt to) on the inside of the knee 10 times,
Do 5
The PT added another exercise yesterday
- holding on to the walker and doing 10 "marching" movements with the surgical leg.
Not yet. Your still too tender to do this yet a while
Ex-husband is getting me a skateboard today to try Tim's suggestion, which was greeted with great approval by the PT
And me but don't go mad with it!
At the moment I am icing with a large clay ice pack which almost wraps around whole knee. I ice until it loses its cool (about 45 minutes) about every 90minutes or so.
That's good - I was going to say "that's cool" but I'm not that corny!
My "rambles" around the house consist of getting off recliner and walking to en-suite toilet and then out to family room/kitchen and up and down the hallway a couple of times.
Very good
Ellen, just a quick hello. I hope there was more sunshine for you and less pain and discouragement. No need to reply if you are feeling punky but I do want you to know that I am thinking of you and sending warm healing thoughts. 
OP
OP
NetballKnees
senior
Thanks Josephine once again for wise advice. And I'm afraid I would have been corny. Congratulations on your restraint.
Thanks so much Lee. It is cloudy and a bit stormy today, but I feel calmer in myself. Sorry I have been such a "cry" baby. I have been thinking of you too and hoping your recovery is going well. I hope work is being kind to you and not wearing you out too much.
Thanks so much Lee. It is cloudy and a bit stormy today, but I feel calmer in myself. Sorry I have been such a "cry" baby. I have been thinking of you too and hoping your recovery is going well. I hope work is being kind to you and not wearing you out too much.
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