Bilateral TKR Second Year Progress

[celynda]

Way to Go!! It’s such a grand feeling to do something you’ve not been able to do for a long time.

What’s the next mountain to climb?

 

[mlwreader]

OTC antibiotc creams are how we ended up with superbugs like MRSA. So please don't do that. Mostly these little holes are best left alone and covered with a bandaid. They will heal and all the quicker for not being messed with!

@Josephine Guess I'm lucky I didn't do any damage to myself. Wonder why my OS told me to use it OTC cream if it was causing a risk of a superbug. Isn't it the overprescribing of antibiotics that is the biggest problem? Anyway, I'm not recommending anything to anyone, just sharing my experience.

 

[mlwreader]

Would someone be able to kindly change my thread title to "Seven months post BTKR and doing well .. . "Thank you so much.

I may have tweaked my right knee a little bit the other day getting up from the floor, as it is a little tender today. Also, I walked 1.3 miles, which is about .4 of a mile longer than I have done recently. I'm going to baby it a bit for the next couple of days.

This week is my seven month anniversary, and I'm so proud and happy to have made it so far. I feel like I have made it this far with a semblance of sanity as a result of finding bonesmart. There is so much wisdom and sound advice to be had on this forum, plus moral support.

I am finding that my left knee has either caught up to the right, or the right is backsliding a little bit. Either way, lefty is feeling much better, but righty is a little temperamental lately. Overall I am able to do many, many daily activities, walking, stairs (these are foot over foot, but with some tenderness - lefty doesn't much like going down, and righty isn't fond of going up). I can easily climb in and out of my son's SUV, and I have little or no trouble getting out of my low slung Camry Solara.

My knees are still slightly swollen, the left more than the right. It feels like that is the source of the discomfort. I am seeing more muscle definition in my legs in the calves now that I am walking more. I had been so laid up in the months leading up to my surgery that my muscles in my legs got pretty weak.

Overall I feel like I am doing really well. Not 100%, but pretty darn good at 7 months out. I am most of the time aware of my knees, but not in a bad way at all. I can walk much faster too and keep up with my family when we are walking together. That is fun.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[Jamie]

I've changed your thread title. Happy to hear you're doing well. It's a real journey, though.....this is why people are told to expect a full year or more for complete recovery. There are just so many little aches and pains that seem to hang around now and then for some people. It's all normal, but it does seem like a long time, doesn't it!

Hang in there.....one of these days all this will be behind you!

 

[mlwreader]

Thank you for your help @Jamie.

There are just so many little aches and pains that seem to hang around now and then for some people. It's all normal, but it does seem like a long time, doesn't it!

Yes I agree, and I don't mean to imply that I am cured - lol. Its just that I sometimes think I post all my complaints and fears and anxieties and this time wanted to post a positive update this week, because I really do feel like things are going well.

 

[Mutti3]

That is the goal of knee replacements, a better life! Positive posting are great, it gives people hope to see the a beam of light,. Very happy for your accomplishment.

 

[SusieShoes]

In addition to getting them off your chest, posting complaints is also helpful to those who read these threads to find out what recovery might be like. A post with complaints is realistic. Recovery is not a superhighway; it’s a road filled with twists and turns, occasional scenic pullovers and unwelcome detours, and lots of potholes. Heavy on the potholes. Even the most excellent of recoveries is neither instantaneous nor free of pain. Honest reports of recovery are reminders of this and anyone who reads them goes into surgery with a better idea of what to expect.

They also know to expect that at the end of the journey will be new knees and a new life! It can feel like in those first few months you’ll never get to the mythical other side of recovery, but when we do... it’s wonderful. To be able to participate in life again is amazing. And so are those more defined muscles in the legs! I saw mine and said, “Welcome back. I missed you!” So glad you’re finding the joys now!

 

[mlwreader]

I have a question about Saturday's Joint Awareness day program. How does attendance at the event work? I am registered for the event and have been receiving promo emails with bios of speakers (and a darling photo of our Jamie as well - love having a face to put with the name). Will there be an email with a link to attend? Is it a "live" event only, and/or will it be possible to watch a recording later on?

Very excited to learn lots of info next Saturday!

 

[sistersinhim]

@Jamie will be better to answer this.

 

[SherrieT]

Good report! I'm going to try to be more optimistic in my reports but still have the reality in there. I really can do so much more than pre-op but less than I want to.....

 

[sistersinhim]

You are getting there. You are already much better than before and it just keeps getting better and better! But you know what it takes, patience, time and patience! In the meantime, stay on here with us and we'll be here to cheer you on as you cheer others on.

 

[mlwreader]

In the meantime, stay on here with us and we'll be here to cheer you on as you cheer others on.

Thanks @sistersinhim - I'm not going anywhere. I know my recovery is not complete as yet. This is a great place to help each other along.

 

[Jockette]

I have the same questions about JRAD and figuring out what time to watch it.

 

[Jamie]

People who have registered for JRAD will receive an email right before the big day with instructions for logging in to the live stream. Everything Saturday will be live and "uncensored" .....hopefully enjoyable as well as educational. Immediately following the event, all the sessions will be available through the website via a video viewer. So if you want to go back and review something or you missed something, it will be there for you. As far as I know, the video will be available that way for a very long time on the JRAD website.

We hope the emails we've been sending out are showing how valuable the presentations will be to people out there. There has never been an event like this and we're pretty proud to be the first to bring it to you!

 

[mlwreader]

Thank you @Jamie - it’s going to be great. I was hoping there would be archived videos for later viewing because I am not able to watch the whole day. Good luck and break a leg - ok that’s a terrible saying given the nature of the event.

 

[Jamie]

Break a leg......

 

[Babushelen]

Yay @mlwreader !! Can’t wait till I can do such feats of prowess! We Bonesmarties appreciate the seemingly simple things that our bodies can do but other able bodied take for granted. So happy for you and am encouraged that someday I’ll be able to bend down low and get up.

For now, I’m celebrating every little accomplishment.

 

[Polkadot]

That's a great 7-month report, @mlwreader ! Congratulations on making it this far with your sanity still mostly intact. I agree with @phrog that your thoughtful and expressive posts are worth reading! You describe what a lot of us have been through/are going through/are about to go through with honesty, a bit of humor, and optimism. I look forward to your next report and expect that you will be further along in this rocky journey!

 

[MSgirl]

@mlwreader, happy 7th month kneeversary (or should that be kneeversaries for your BTKR?)! How wonderful it is to read all your exciting news! Denver has been good medicine for you. I am beyond thrilled at the great life you are now living. And getting up off the floor? Nothing is going to stop you now. It's kind of amazing to think back over these last few months, isn't it?

Do you have snow? I don't know much about Colorado except that the Broncos are there and the pictures I've seen show an absolutely beautiful landscape. Has spring arrived there yet? It is such a pretty time to be outside.

Keep on keeping on. You have this one in the bag, my friend. Onward and upward!

 

[mlwreader]

@MSgirl So good to hear from you!!!! Loving Denver, loving being near my grand girls, just happy in my new home. I’m icing my forehead as I write this because I had a procedure this am to remove a thingy and by the time he was done I had an inch long incision and six stitches in my forehead. What a headache. So over medical stuff. Did you post an update on your thread? I will go check. No snow - beautiful spring weather and all the flowers are starting to bloom. We miss you. Hope all is well with your recovery. Big hugs.