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Bilateral TKR Second Year Progress

@mlwreader

I lived in Broomfield for about 3 years and the last 2 years in Denver proper; about 2 miles from downtown. I used to work downtown so my commute was a short 10 mins by bus.

I never had any issues with the altitude. Just drink lots of water.
 
kmak81230 said:
Planning on #2 in a few months.
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@kmak81230 Good for you. Do you have a date set yet? I went with getting both done at once because they were both in such bad shape. However, I can see the benefit in staging the surgeries. Logistically, because I am single, I didn't want to burden my family twice with travel and care giving, and since my doc said I was healthy enough, I went for the bilateral. For a long time the lefty was the problem child post surgery, but it has improved quite a bit. It still gives me some grief, but then again so does righty these days. Particularly going up stairs - righty does not like that very much.
 
@SherrieT So great to hear from you - and congrats on six weeks this Thursday!!!! You know, I felt so much like you in the first couple of months. I had a lot of support from family, but I was so emotionally distressed and depressed really. I knew to expect pain, but I didn't expect all the problems I had with my stitches (infections, abscesses, allergies, psoriasis) and I just remember laying on the bed or on the couch like a lump after doing ADL's, not wanting to read or watch tv or anything. The only thing I could do to distract myself was listen to audible books. It was soothing and made me feel comforted. I just lay there, shoving those pills in my mouth on schedule, not believing that the hell I felt I was in would ever end. And I did keep a written history of everything I took daily. I had antibiotics three different times, plus all the pain pills, colace, thyroid, on and on. So my point I guess is the sun was shining, I was in sunny SoCal, but there might as well have been three feet of show outside for all I cared - know what I mean?

It did get better, at about 3 1/2 months. I had a follow up appointment with my OS on December 22, and the following week the nasty and itchy/peeling rash on my knees just wouldn't go away, despite my best efforts, and I had an epiphany. I should go see my dermatolgist - and I ran it by the OS assistant, and she said they were about to suggest that very thing (ok, maybe, I'll believe that might have happened). My dermatologist diagnosed what was really going on with my knees (psoriasis) prescribed some ointment, and within a 10 day period the entire issue was resolved. And after that, I began to make some real progress.

I don't know if it was the psychological relief of finally getting an answer as to what was going on with my stitches, but I began to sleep better at night, and things really started to improve.

I still have aches and pains in my legs, especially if I sit in one position too long. And I still wake up during the night with pain in the knees sometimes, which I think is due to being in one position for too long. I really gave my knees a workout with this move, and that plus the altitude is making it a bit of a slog to get back to where I was.

It is going to get a lot better for you Sherrie pretty darn quick. You had your own set back with that terrible fall, and in my opinion you need to factor that in when thinking about where you are at this point in your recovery and the pain and discomfort you are still experiencing. I was still taking Tramadol and Tylenol at your stage of recovery, and actually continued to take it up until about four months out. I hope you can convince your OS to prescribe the pain medication that you need. I find it so mind blowing that the folks who are causing this problem with pain meds, i.e.., the addicts and drug dealers, continue to have access to anything they want, but we, the people who desperately need the help and who do not abuse the drugs, can't get what we need.

Sending hugs and let us know how it goes tomorrow. You are doing great @SherrieT.
 
@mlwreader You always make me feel so much better! Thank you so much.

I wrote a huge reply post and when I hit "post reply" the message that the site was having some maintenance came up and I lost the whole thing!

So short version is: I have (now) 2 abscessed internal stitches that have popped out. One on left and one on right.
I see PA tomorrow and will get prescription for Tramadol that will hopefully last for 10 days. And get the abscesses taken care of. Don't want them to get worse! The weather has been so horrid that I think that is one reason why I have increased pain. So hopefully as the weather warms up then it will jive with extra healing time. I will also talk to them about my PCP taking over pain management so I won't have to deal with getting the prescriptions from Boston to here. They are so good about every thing except that.

This is my 2nd week of working. My "office" is a hospital table set up at my recliner with laptop and monitor. It's going ok but I am slower at getting things done.

I took Bashie for a walk on my own for the first time the other day. 3/4 mile total. Very big deal for me but was too soon. Wasn't really on my own. 4 year old granddaughter Sabi went with me to make sure "she doesn't fall because that would be bad and she's my grandma". Next time I will drive to entrance to the field and do all the walking inside the field

I'm amazed at the huge move you did. I can't imagine my knees ever being strong enough to do that. I know (in my mind) that they will be but, in the moment, it seems like they will never be better. :)

Take wonderful care of yourself and let us know if you feel "at home" yet.
 
I noticed an improvement in my walking yesterday. My son was unloading items from my car, which was shipped out from CA and delivered earlier this week. I was walking back and forth with him holding doors open for him, and I noticed how quickly I was able to walk. Not the slow pace of just a few weeks ago, but much closer to my normal, faster pace. How cool is that? It really is true that the recovery sneaks up on you after TKR's and BKR's. Improvements happen quietly, and I really have to pay attention in order to notice them. Unlike the setbacks which are noisy, like a sudden pain or twinge. I'll take the quiet improvements.

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday. I'm heading over to Target to pick up a few things for my place. I am leaving myself the option of using the electric cart in the store, but I think I'll be ok walking.
 
I’m walking faster, too, but not my pre surgery pace yet.
 
Oh the sneaky, marvelous joys of later recovery! Your knees are getting past their training wheels and starting to take their duties seriously. It's a wonderful feeling to realize you're cruising the aisles of the grocery store, or just did that flight of stairs without a second thought. It's like "Did I just do that? Yes! I did!" :happydance:

Sounds like this move is agreeing with you in all kinds of sweet ways!
 
Yay, your recovery is really going along now! Wonderful news about the walking time speeding up! Another big step made!
 
SusieShoes said:
the hair on my lower legs, both of them, became coarser, darker, and more abundant. :shocked: It was bizarre.
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Ok @SusieShoes this is getting a little creepy (see autoimmune post earlier), because I have the same issue on my lower legs - coarse black hair that used to be blond. And no hair on the knees, which used to be populated with blond hair. So encouraged to hear your lower leg hair returned to normal. . .
 
I wish I could say that I don't notice my knees, but I have to confess that I do. There is an area on the outside of both knees that feels . . . prickly is the word that comes to mind. Almost like how it feels after getting novocaine at the dentist, about and hour or so after, before the feeling comes completely back. Within that prickly area there are numb places on both knees. And it almost feels itchy, but the skin surface of the knees do not have dry skin or rashes, so its almost like an inside itch. I have slight swelling on the outside of both knees, but the lefty is of course more swollen than righty. No redness at all, and no heat. Sometimes they feel warmish, but no heat to speak of. And I also have hamstring issues, and experienced a really painful charlie horse in the hamstring area the other day. It was brutal. When I walk there isn't any pain, but I am aware of the muscles around the joint when walking, and they feel tired after a bit. And sometimes it is difficult to stand up from my rocking chair, and I have to push up with my arms until I get up to a certain point.

I'm not posting this to complain - just to see if anyone has any feedback. I suspect it is all part of the healing process at 6 months out, and I'm thinking the prickly/itchy sensation is because something inside is healing - maybe nerves? As for the hamstrings, I suspect that movement and walking will help with that issue. I was thinking of signing up for arthritis approved water exercise classes at the local YMCA, but I am hesitant because of some of what I have read on bonesmart. The comments that struck home for me were the ones that talked about how easy it is to overdo in the water. In the past before the big left knee blow up last year, I attended water exercise classes regularly, and was very aware of that issue of how easy it was to overdo in the water. I just don't want any setbacks, especially after risking my recovery with this move, and coming out the other side relatively unscathed. I take very good care of myself, and was extremely careful in all aspects of the move. But I feel like some of the symptoms I describe in the first paragraph above are a result of all the activity around the move on my relatively young new knees.

I should add that I ice and elevate for at least 30 minutes at least once a day, and sometimes twice.

Does anyone have any thoughts about:

The prickly/itchy issue?
The hamstring issue?
The tiredness of the muscles around the joint and the difficulty standing up from my rocking chair issues?
The water exercise classes at the YMCA - arthritis foundation approved?

Thanks for reading.
 
I have that inside itchy feeling on occasion. Like you, I think of it, and hope, it is a sign of healing.

Depending on the chair I still need to push up until a certain point and then I can do the rest of the way myself. I am trying to be more mindful of getting my hands off the arm at that point and encouraging more quad strength.

Since you just moved, if it was me, I’d wait on the pool. Like you said, you came through the move well, but why push it yet, you still have more healing to do. You will have plenty of time for that later.

For me, the pool did not go well, obviously 4 weeks was too early, but even at 3, 4, and 5 months I tended to do too much stretching. I was not in any class, just in my 55+ community’s pool, and while hanging out and talking to the others I was moving almost constantly. Towards the end of the summer it was a rare occasion that I went to the pool and when I did I would try to stay in the deeper end and hang on the noodle and try to keep my legs in a straight relaxed position.

But then my recovery has some issues which could be why my knee didn’t like a lot of movement in the pool. Any time I was in the pool my knee felt huge. Even shower water makes it feel that way even now. Have you ever felt that?
 
For me that prickly sensation was numbness coming back slowly. It took over a year for some feeling to come back, but I still have a numb spot on the outside of my calf.

I would think at 6 months swimming would be ok. Did your OS give you a thumbs up? Mine gave me the ok at 7 months, but we were being very conservative due to the infection. I still waited until 8 months and didn’t do a class. I’m a lap swimmer, so I began lapping at 8 months. It was very hard, even though I had been teaching full time I could only do 3-4 laps in the beginning. It took about a month to build up that muscle and energy to swim my usual 15-20 laps a day.
 
@Jockette Not the huge feeling like you describe. Just the prickly/numb feeling, but nothing different in the shower - same as walking around. I'm inclined to agree with you to wait a little bit on the pool. Just to give things a chance to settle down to pre-move plus status. I feel conflicted, because I want to get out and meet people, but am not in completely healed shape to do some of the stuff I want to do. Also, my tutoring will start up with a vengeance in May, and I probably won't have time to do the pool when that happens. However, I should err on the side of caution I suspect.

@KarriB - my OS gave me the go ahead for the pool with respect to post-surgery activity probably 3 months ago. But I had to wait for abscesses on the knees that took forever to heal, plus a fungus (on the skin on the knee - athelte's knee I called it), and then psoriasis. So I couldn't go into the pool until all that cleared up. And it all cleared up right before I needed to get started doing my move, so no pool in Feb. either. I am not a swimmer, but did love the water exercise arthritis program at my old pool, both for the exercise and the fellowship with the ladies. Do you teach swimming?

Maybe what I will do is go to the Y and observe a class to see what movements they are doing. Then I might be able to make a more educated decision. I have to remember too that my body is adjusting to the mile hi altitude - I just swept the leaves off my patio and you'd think I just ran a marathon!!!!

Also @Jockette, I too try to remember to take my hands off the arms of the chair halfway up to give my quads some workout.
 
If you go to that pool to observe you’re going to want to go in! It’s like looking at a piece of chocolate (or whatever) and debating whether or not you want it. :rotfl: You’re going to be too tempted and caution will go out the window. :heehee:
 
Jockette said:
You’re going to be too tempted and caution will go out the window. :heehee:
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@Jockette Haha too funny. I won't bring my bathing suit! :rotfl:

But seriously, I just googled how long to adjust to higher altitudes, and the answer is 3 to 6 weeks. And I am only at the end of week 3. And given that I am 73 years young recovering from double knee surgery just six months ago, I think the wiser course of action is to put the pool on the back burner for now, even maybe until after tutoring ends in July. Maybe I'll find a book group instead. . . .
 
My daughter was in her mid twenties when she took a teaching job in South Africa. She was physically active, had played college basketball and she was easily wiped out for a while after arriving there.
 
I do water class 3 x a week. I used to only do the class 2 x because the Wed. class was too aerobic. On Wed. I would go to the pool and do my own routine for an hour. I’ve been doing water exercise since about week 9 but didn’t do class until about 3 months or so. It definitely helps my knees feel better. All I can say is - listen to your body and avoid the fast movements and jumping. Move at your own speed, not at your neighbors speed or the instructor. Even now, when they do jumping jacks, I use the hand weights so I have some buoyancy and I don’t hit or jump off the bottom so much. And I like the 4’3” depth of our pool versus the shallower end. I’m more buoyant. Hope that helps. I think it’s an excellent idea to go observe a class first. My friend, who is bilateral and 70 goes 3 x a week and she is just past 5 months but each individual is their own. The best advice is to take it slow until you know the effect it has on you.
 
I should add the point I was making with my daughter was not the move itself but the difference in altitude. I forgot that part! :heehee:
 
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