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PKR Seven Weeks Post Op

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OK.....probably too challenging doing two things at a time! Went swimming today!!!! It was sublime. And my knee, yes I notice it all the time and it still swells and I ice faithfully but, I am happy to say that there is far less actual knee pain! Just a run down tired feeling and I don't feel like I have done all that much.........Maybe post op blues..........Thanks......
 
Fatigue and lack of energy is very normal. It will take a while for your energy to come back, you just need to be patient.
 
Nothing worse than an impatient patient I guess.......Thanks for the heads up. It's reassuring to know that it's OK to be tired at five weeks. Sure glad I don't have to go back to work until three weeks! :happydance:
 
Of course it's okay to be tired at five weeks, you are just out from major surgery and your body is working hard to heal. I remember working in the yard and feeling wiped out after doing a few things. I thought I would be that way forever, but now I have more energy than ever. It just takes time.
 
hi bonesmarties!
almost at six week post op..........so my endurance seems to be improving all the time, although there are days when my knee demands that i take it easy. however, the speed of my walking is still pretty slow and i am worried that when i return to work in three weeks i will not be able to keep up.....i work in special education, supporting kids with autism and sometimes you have to move quickly........ i walk, use a recumbent bike, swim, and do the exercises that my PT taught me. i try to mix it up a bit.......one day ride the bike and do PT.........the next, swim and do PT.......try to squeeze in a short walk everyday and on the days that i don't ride the bike or swim, i take a longer walk. I haven't had any formal PT with a therapist since week 4 and my OS thought I was doing so well that he didn't recommend any more PT. i am wondering when other folks got their walking up to speed.......
 
Good day and welcome Kimbocats. You are one of the our silent heros working with kids who need us most.

It sounds as if you are making good progress recovering from knee surgery. Probably you're like me, thinking that I'm a little on the young side for TKR and doing all the "right things," therefore I'd sail right through. Well guess what? Recovery from TKR is not a fitness program, it's a healing program with some stretching and strengthening thrown in to keep things on course.

Probably you will not be able to jump start to intervene on a kid as you have needed to be in the past. More physical demands on your knee will not get you ready for that eitehr. There's a delicate balance between keeping the knee limber/fit, and overdoing it. When we overdo things, we don't move forward faster, and actually can experience setbacks as a result.

So we get to learn (another) lesson in patience. Our knees are boss, and they are not unfit, they are injured from major surgery. Our knees need lots of TLC, rest, icing/elevating, and respect for their individual recovery path.

If you look to the top of this page on the right you'll see a drop down list called "library." In it are a variety of articles covering all the usual topis of TKR recovery including return to work. So have fun reading those, and the posts that will inevitably follow mine. We're here to support you!
 
I walked pretty slowly for a while and just gradually speeded up without realising...probably at about 16 weeks
 
It's going to be a challenge for your knees to meet the physical requirements of your job. Do you have anyone who assists you in the classroom? If not, could you have someone for the first couple of months? Just a thought. It's unfortunate that OSs don't stress the length of time this recovery takes and allow patience to prepare for it better. I have had a stellar recovery from 2 TKRs done two days apart and an now 9 months post op---but I would not have felt comfortable taking on your job until about 5 months post op.

But sometimes when we just HAVE to do things, we manage to step up to the plate and get in done in spite of ourselves. I truly hope everything goes well for you.
 
Actually I am the assistant to the teacher! And I will be having some support at the beginning of the year. I guess I had forgotten how slowly I moved all last year due to the constant "bone on bone" pain plus the constant swelling from a torn meniscus. It's strange that although my knee feels at times swollen, tight, sometimes achy, somewhat demanding, sometimes just plain cranky, I have already forgotten about the pain that brought me to this place.........Now that I think about it, I am doing pretty good..........Good news, I only work a 6 and 1/2 hour day with 30 min for lunch and two breaks 15 mins apiece. Guess what I'll be doing???? Icing, elevating......And if it's too much, time to use some sick days.....!
 
Well there are some plusses to your work situation. Being the assistant, I bet you do a lot of the gritty stuff. You'll find the days long. But as someone else said, there are nurses and teachers on here who were able to return to work but sometimes in steps.
 
It will take some time, trust me---I returned to the classroom at eight weeks and it sure was slow going---but again, slowly but surely, ,y speed in my gait improved and I was able to move faster and faster. My knee was stiff and sore by the end of the day---and I went to PT twice a week, too.

I would suggest that you just take it slowly (as if you have another choice) and realize what your knee has been through surgically. Ice/elevate when you can,. and rest one day on the weekend---do absolutely nothing but ice/elevate/rest. I went to church on Sunday AM and then did nothing the rest of the day.

You will get there! You will reach your destination, but the recovery unfortunately is slower than we would like it to be.
 
Kimbocats...I am in the same situation as you. I am a special ed. assistant at an elementary school and I am really nervous about the start of the school year coming up faster every day. My PKR was 5/30/12 and I am still having pain and weakness. I can't walk fast either, and the beginning of the school year is always hectic and I have to make many trips back and forth from one end of the school to the other. I really won't be able to stop and ice/elevate during the day, and then when I get home there are things to do there. When I planned the surgery, I thought I'd be good as new 3 months later. Doctors really should be more "up-front" when preparing patients for this recovery. I think my co-workers will assume that I should be fine and able to do it all right off the bat.
I feel your pain! Stay in touch. Maybe we can help each other.
Good luck!
Laurie
 
Hey Laurie,
Do you get any kind of lunch break? We have a strong union that makes sure we get breaks.......I used to work through mine in the past but now I plan to use that time to ice........going to bring ice packs on day one. I just spoke with a woman who was, of all things, doing my mammogram and she had total knee replacement and said that she needed three months to get back to work. I will be at nine weeks when I return and sitting here on the eve of six weeks, it seems do-able, but I am thinking I will feel the "oops I've overdone it" feeling which is not very fun. Not to mention that at least for me, no one has really given me a long term plan for sucess with all of this. I just ordered a book on knee replacement written by an OS and a PT who actually had TKR and so it will be interesting to read it from the perspective of an expert in this field who's experience is both as a clinician and as a patient.

As far as work, I plan to be honest about my physical ability and what I feel like I just can't do. I have some sick time built up so if I have to take time off, I will have to, although I hate leaving the kids I work with in the care of a sub. Take care Laurie. We will get through this. Take care!
 
Kimbocats (love your user name)--the book you have gotten is excellent---tells you lots and lots--things you would never think to ask. Has lots of great exercises with pictures which really helps. You will love it and wish you had had before surgery. And yes, it would be really helpful if the OS or someone in his office could have given you much more info on what all this would entail. But once the surgery is done, they feel the rest is up to you---even if you don't have a clue. That's what makes this forum so great---too bad we didn't all find it when we were just thinking about surgery. Enjoy Total Knee Replacement and Rehabilitation.
 
At six weeks I was only taking slow short walks outside the house and was yet to drive. No way I could have returned to work. Hence my oft said recommendations that return to work should be 10-12 weeks and even then with a Phased return to work. May seem a bit extreme but it's for the best.
 
Hi
Yes, I do get a 30 min lunch break. In order for me to ice and elevate, I will have to go to the other side of the staff room from where everyone is to do that. I guess I'll have to do that, but then I'll draw attention and to myself. I hate to seem like a wimp. I have plenty of sick days available, but it is a real inconvenience to the teachers I work with when I'm out. The subs that come in for me cannot teach the lessons to their satisfaction and it causes more work for them.
What book did you order?
I wish the doctors and physical therapists could understand what we're going through first-hand in order to better help us. They only know what they've been told, but hearing and experiencing are two very different things, as I have come to learn!
 
I hear ya!!!! Most of the subs cannot deal with the child that I support and even in my "less than perfect" state, the alternative of having subs, who for the most part, are incompetent, is far worse. I drew so much attention to myself limping around our elementary school campus last year that putting ice on my knee won't be too distracting! One of the teachers at our school had a TKR and another one is up for one so I think I will have some support. I ordered a book called "Total Knee Replacement and Rehabilitation: The Knee Owner's Manual" from Amazon. I am anxiously awaiting its arrival. Yes, I was assured before I had my surgery that I would be able to return to work in time for the beginning of school! I was also told to have patience with my recovery and that full recovery would not happen until at least six months to a year. I heard what the OS said but was so ready to be out of the pain that I was in that I didn't really process what this meant. Now I get it!!!! I still have three weeks so I plan to take very good care of my knee. Let me know how it goes for you! Take care
 
Unfortunately, a phased return to work is not really feasible in the line of work that I do. I work with kids with autism and that would throw them for a complete and total loop to have me come in for part of the day and then have someone else take over for me so I could go home. The way our substitute system works, a sub is assigned to work for an entire shift, not a partial one. It's an all or nothing deal, at least in terms of a "work day." For example, when I have a doctor's appointment, I have to take the whole day off even though my appointment only takes me away for a couple of hours. Does this make sense? I have some amazing co-workers who will have my back. We have a very tight knit group of folks who work closely together and care for one another. On a positive note, I have lots of time in my sick leave and if my knees says, "no way, not yet, no can do," then I will have to take time off. In the meantime, lots of TLC for the knee!!!! Thanks so much for caring!!! So very appreciated!!!!
 
Thanks, I am so excited to get the book. As much anxiety as I have about returning to work, I have been told by my PT and OS that my recovery has been nothing short of remarkable in terms of my endurance and what knee is able to manage physically.......My PT advised me to have ice packs in the freezer when I return to work. And yeah, my OS told me that I could return to work on Sept 4, and he did tell me that it takes patience and at least six months to a year for a full recovery............but I didn't really understand what that really meant. Did I ask what this meant?? NO! I was more of the mind, "fix this painful, troubling knee pleeeeeeeeeese!!!" But as they say, " the devil is in the details." Thanks for all the kind words and support!!! I hope I can get through this work thing, but if I need time off, I will definitely take it.
 
definitely ice at lunch and kick back when you get home.
 
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