TKR Sharing my experience . . . so far

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GimpyGal

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Hi BoneSmartees -

I've been reading for several weeks and today is a good enough day that I feel I should 'give back' and share my own experience. This site is a wealth of information and support and I'm in need of both!

I'm a 62 year old, overweight but active woman. I've had only minor knee pain until April when my left knee became very painful while walking the golf course. A few days of rest still had me barely able to walk, a torn meniscus was diagnosed via MRI, and I was scoped in June. Never got better and was sent to PT until I finally called uncle as after many weeks there was no improvement.

A second opinion and a second MRI picked up more damage which led me to a TKR almost immediately. After having been disabled since April, there was no point in putting it off. I had only a few days to prepare myself and the household but time was also of great concern as my father is in Hospice and I'm my parents' only child living locally.

I might have said differently had I posted earlier, but after reading many of your experiences, I suppose mine appears unremarkable. The surgery went well. I was surprised to be given a spinal (just assumed such a surgery would be general but put my trust in the medical team) and was sedated enough all I remember was transferring to the operating room table and watching the team dress in their space suits. No other memories until I was settled in my hospital room after recovery.

My doctor knew there were many narcotics I can't tolerate, so it was a constant challenge to temper the pain. The entire time I was in the hospital I had nausea and vomiting, in spite of that being addressed with medication, as well. Between the pain and that horrible feeling I was a pretty pitiful patient. But, seriously, they were doing their best, to find meds for the hospital, but also something I could transition to at home.

Curiously, I can't tolerate morphine, but we found I could tolerate what I think is a synthetic morphine by the name of dilaudid. And with no nausea! My surgeon has cautioned that he is not comfortable with me taking this for very long as he usually sends his patients home with something that has a far lower chance of one developing a dependency. I don't see where anyone else here has mentioned dilaudid.

I cannot believe the hospital care I received. Only wanted to slug one aide who had the nerve to ask miserable me if I needed my other knee done! I was not an easy patient, ringing frequently for pain meds, nausea meds, bathroom help, and 'remove my food tray NOW, it's making me sick!' They were there each and every time and immediately! Even during shift changes, there was no delay. I was treated to baths daily, and I swear, nearly every time I used the bathroom I came back to fresh sheets. I couldn't keep food down so they enticed me with whatever they could think of - popsicles, soda pop, graham crackers, etc. So, yes, I was miserable, but I felt so grateful for the care I received!

I had surgery very late on a Monday and came right out of surgery at 85 degrees. They kept me on the passive motion machine a lot and I had the chilled cuff on continuously, too. I had a low heart rate for at least 24 hours which set an alarm off all night long. They were not too concerned, but it was disconcerting because they couldn't turn the alarm off.

They wanted me to go home on Friday and I felt so miserable I didn't want to go. I was getting around fine, though, and 'they prefer not to keep you here just for nausea' so I bit the bullet and somehow made it home and up a full set of stairs to the bedroom.

I used a walker for a day or two, then switched to a cane. I had a visiting nurse and visiting PT. After three visits they independently decided they weren't really needed and just began checking in by phone. On day nine post op, the PT told me I was walking well enough to ditch the cane around the house unless I found myself limping. I was 120 degrees my second day home and can almost straighten the knee completely.

It's not all sweetness and light, of course. I'm three week post op. I have several simple PT exercises to do several times a day. I usually only manage them twice. I'm not needing the narcotic round the clock, but am uncomfortable enough that I need it before PT and during the night. My back and hip hurt and keep me awake most of the night - I've no idea if this is referred pain, normal healing, or something totally unrelated. I'm moody, weepy, unmotivated to do anything productive and have no appetite. I'm sick and tired of being 'down' (since April!) and bored to tears. I'm feeling guilty my husband has to do EVERYTHING around the house, including the impossible task of keeping our 6 month old puppy contained and away from me!

But, from reading here I guess it could be far worse. I can't bear the thought of EVER doing my other knee, but that attitude is probably pretty normal at this stage, too. Guess I'll pull a Scarlet O'Hara and think about that tomorrow.
 
Hi GimpyGal ...welcome to Bonesmart. You will get lots of very good advice from very experienced knee replacement patients. Not me as yet as I am only 5 weeks post-op, but still not doing as well as you in the ROM department.

You sound a bit like many on the site, including me, who feel guilty that they have to have others running around and looking after them. I bet you are the normal go to person when anyone in the family, or friends, have a problem, are sick or down. It is hard to accept that for a while you need to let others look after you. I am sure your husband does not mind. I think two of the hardest things to accept after TKR are the fact that we HAVE to be patient and take things slowly and to just let go and let others do the stuff that we would normally do. Definitely not easy.

I am sure that some of the more experienced Bonesmarties and/or moderators will be along with some reading for you and more experienced guidance than I can give.

There are quite a few forum members on Dilaudid I believe, or have used it on the way to something else.

I hope your recovery goes smoothly, with no hiccups or speed bumps :bicycle2: Take Care and try to enjoy just accepting all the help without guilt. Your husband knows this would be reciprocated, if it hasn't already been. I will keep an eye on your post and check on your progress.
Ellen :flwrysmile:
 
Welcome to this side. Please make sure you don't overdue it. I hear you are having trouble with pain. It might be that you are using a cane. This is awful early for that. The walker is used for about a month or more so do be careful about over using that knee. Remember to rest a lot, ice, elevate, and pain control around the clock. I know having trouble with the medication is hard so I will page Josephine for you and she will give you some subjection. Please take care and keep us posted. Tashia
 
I'm three week post op. I have several simple PT exercises to do several times a day. I usually only manage them twice. I'm not needing the narcotic round the clock, but am uncomfortable enough that I need it before PT and during the night.
If your exercises are so tough you can't do them, they are too hard. If you have to take a pill to do them, they are too hard. Pain indicates damage, suppressing the pain isn't helpful.

Exercises should be gentle stretches only to the point of discomfort, not to the point of pain. Rocking backwards and forwards on a rocking chair with your feet flat on the floor would be a good example of a stretching exercise to improve knee bend.

With 120 flexion and almost straight legs after three weeks you barely need PT anyway, how cool is that?
My back and hip hurt and keep me awake most of the night - I've no idea if this is referred pain, normal healing, or something totally unrelated.
It's almost certainly stresses and strains of your body getting used to a new knee, (almost) everyone gets something like it.
I'm moody, weepy, unmotivated to do anything productive and have no appetite. I'm sick and tired of being 'down' (since April!) and bored to tears.
Absolutely par for the course. Your body is taking all your energy to heal, leaving you with nothing.
I'm feeling guilty my husband has to do EVERYTHING around the house, including the impossible task of keeping our 6 month old puppy contained and away from me!
Your husband would probably be mortified if he thought you were feeling bad. At the risk of being overly soppy for a moment, he is only doing what he signed up for, to look after you to the best of his ability. It's his privilege now to be in the giving place, and I'd be pretty sure he's proud to be there.
 
Welcome! It is great to read your story. I am having surgery in a few weeks. I am glad you mentioned the space suits. I had no idea they would be wearing these. I am a wreck and would have thought I was in a movie or that the CDC was in the operating room with me! I look forward to your posts. Peace and prayers


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a synthetic morphine by the name of dilaudid. I don't see where anyone else here has mentioned dilaudid.
Maybe because most people use the generic name of hydromorphone. There have been a lot of people on BoneSmart who have used it. Actually, you'd probably be just as good on a similar synthetic morphine called Tramadol. It's used a lot here in the UK - almost routinely for TKRs.
My surgeon has cautioned that he is not comfortable with me taking this for very long as he usually sends his patients home with something that has a far lower chance of one developing a dependency.
It's actually less of a problem than a lot of doctors realise. Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds.
My back and hip hurt and keep me awake most of the night - I've no idea if this is referred pain, normal healing, or something totally unrelated.
Most definitely referred and a good sign you are undermedicating yourself. People often don't realise that pain has many 'faces', only one of which is the awful bone-on-bone pain before surgery which is, of course, completely gone now! But you are still left with other types of pain including soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness. All these need medicating but more on this shortly ....
I'm moody, weepy, unmotivated to do anything productive and have no appetite.
You should read this - explains it all Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it.

Now I have some questions to ask you:

1. what are your pain levels right now?
(remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't forget that 'pain' also includes soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness)

2. are you still taking any pain medications, if so, what, how much (in mg please) and how often?

3. are you icing your knee and if so how often and for how long?

4. are you elevating your knee and if so how high, how often and for how long?

5. what is the detail of your daily activities? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

6. what kind of PT/exercises are you doing? How much and how often? Details would are required!

I'll be back shortly! :wink:
 
And of course, let's not forget these .....

First are the BoneSmart mantras ....
- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!

And here are some very crucial articles
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Activity progression for TKRs

Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling

Home physio (PT) and activity progress: suggestions
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

And wise words from members who have shared their experiences ...
Where are you in recovery?? (TKR)
Five “P’s” of knee recovery
TKR: work “smarter” and not “harder”
Recovering a knee - from one who knows!
It's never too late to get more ROM!
It's worth the wait for ROM
 
Bless this board and those who take the time to read and chime in with their knowledge.

1. what are your pain levels right now?
(remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't forget that 'pain' also includes soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness)

Why do I always find answering this question is so difficult? I guess I would say a '3' at rest, right now. I'm currently off the ice for about an hour as I type this. I've always rated my pain on throbbing or aching - it's comforting to know soreness, burning, swelling and stiffness are valid, as well since those are more present for me than the deep aching I had earlier.

2. are you still taking any pain medications, if so, what, how much (in mg please) and how often?

2 mg hydromorphone (Dilaudid) every 3 hours as needed. If I'm 'down' and icing it's not needed except at night.
10 mg cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxer) every six hours
800 mg ibuprofen every 6-8 hours I feel this is the biggest help of all.

I confess I'm trying to pull back on meds already (even after reading the articles here.) Not just for dependency issues, but I don't want to mask the pain so that I'm doing too much and don't realize it. Does that even make sense?


3. are you icing your knee and if so how often and for how long? I still ice with the cooler cuff all night long, and with gel packs when I'm out of bed - 20 minutes on, 30-60 minutes off.

4. are you elevating your knee and if so how high, how often and for how long? Except when up and walking, it's elevated on several pillows on the sofa or bed. Not quite above my head, but above my heart.

5. what is the detail of your daily activities? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

I'm pretty much a couch potato. Cooking is limited to heating up casseroles and microwaving pre-made entrees, soups, etc. Nothing that has me on my feet more than a few minutes. I bought a stool on wheels like beauticians use so I can wheel myself around the kitchen while off my feet. Best $33 I ever spent on Amazon.com! DH is doing all the errands/shopping/kitchen cleanup, floors, dog walking. I've found I can manage laundry washing/drying/folding if he hauls it up and down the stairs.

My biggest problem that increases my pain is our puppy. No matter how attentive my DH is, there's a ton of up and down, up and down to let him in and out, fish something out of his mouth, etc. We try our best to keep that to a minimum, but it's just something we have to deal with. It's also part of the reason I'm not doing much of anything else, as housework can wait, but a puppy being housebroken, cannot.

6. what kind of PT/exercises are you doing? How much and how often? Details would are required! My home PT involves gentle stretching and strength exercises. My ROM is excellent, and my therapist's response to something that hurts, is 'quit doing it, then, and let's try this instead.' For stretching, I've the sliding motion, a straight leg stretch with the aid of a belt for my hamstring, and one where I elevate my heel on a rolled up beach towel and push my knee down into the mattress to achieve better extension. Also, one where I put the rolled up towel under my knee and straighten my leg. Only ten of each, suggested three times a day. Most of the time, I set aside time to go through them all twice a day, although occasionally I throw in an exercise or two when I think of it at random times.

For strengthening, leg lifts with toe to ceiling, then toe pointed a bit out to address an inner thigh muscle. And one that squeezes a towel between the knees. 20 reps of each. I went into surgery after having done a lot of PT to avoid surgery, so I was in better shape than some others. None of that causes pain - the stretching exercises can and that's probably because my own personality is pushing me. I'm told to increase the time on my feet only as the pain level allows.

I know in my heart I've nothing to be discouraged about and know the tears and frustration and pain are to be expected. Yes, I've read! ;) But how have all of you dealt with the acceptance that recovery is on its own timetable? I'm hounded about a Christmas I won't be ready for no matter how much I cut back on my responsibilities or how supportive my family is. And, our only daughter is getting married at Christmas (private ceremony in Hawaii, that goodness!) but the family party here to meet and entertain the new in-laws and extended family. Am I only going to be able to make an appearance or can I be any sort of hostess at all by then?

Josephine, thank you for your time and the quick response. I'm glad the back/hip issue is likely related to this surgery - I sure don't need other issues right now! Tramadol was suggested by my surgeon and I know he wouldn't hesitate to switch me over to that if I called. I think when we finally found something that provided relief w/o nausea, we just ran with it!

Netball, yes I feel a bit guilty for being so disabled right now. Especially since it's been going on since April and my husband is battling his own medical issues. I had the mistaken notion that I'd only need him so much in the acute phase of recovery - not three weeks out. He could not be more supportive, but I see it taking it's toll on him. He even has to take over my parents' care in addition to my own.

Tashia, you could be very right about it being too early to give up the walking assistance on day nine. Our multilevel house is all stairs, although I try to plan ahead and limit that or rely on DH. I'm going to at least go back to the cane around the house in addition to outside. Because of the layout of our house, the walker is practically useless, but the cane is not a problem.

Roy, your calling my DH's caretaking job a 'privelege' made me well up with tears and look at this a different way. Thank you.

Jozilla, yeah, the space suits took me by surprise. I was just so glad I was about to be anesthetized, though, that it wasn't too disturbing. And some people aren't taken into the operating room awake like I was, anyway. It's really true that the easiest part of this whole thing for the patient is the actual surgery. Good luck with yours!
 
Hang in there, GimpyGal! Things will get better gradually and steadily and before you know it, you just might be contemplating what I'm doing: My second knee replacement in ten months. After slow and steady progress for several months, two lightbulbs went on in October: 1) I could actually do things without constantly thinking about my new knee (surgery was in February 2013) and 2) My other knee was slowing me down and keeping me from doing things that my new left knee was ready to do. What an eye-opening experience! Only 27 more days before I go through this all over again. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and you truly "get your life back" in ways you can only imagine right now.

Take care,
Elaine

PS: Stick with the walker for awhile. I live in a quad level, so I know about the stairs. I actually started (gently) tossing my walker down the stairs so that it would be there when I got there - worked out well :)

PPS: Your husband will come through with flying colors - as will you. I'm not sure I would have said this about 3 or 4 weeks into my recovery when I alternated between sobbing uncontrollably and yelling at him for absolutely no reason. He took it all in stride and even signed up (encouraged me to schedule sugery, actually!) to help me through the second knee's recovery.
 
Roy, your calling my DH's caretaking job a 'privilege' made me well up with tears and look at this a different way. Thank you.
:blush: You are most welcome.

Allow me to suggest that if the situation were reversed you'd think nothing of taking care of DH as he now taking care of you?
 
I agree with Roy. Your DH is probably all too happy to help you. Mine is and I would do the same for him of course. I understand about your puppy and the work he creates. I have 6 indoor kitties.
Yes, use the walker now. I think the general guideline is to use it until you are able to walk evenly with long strides with the walker. Then move to the cane and use it until the same guidelines apply.
As far as your back pain of course you will have all sorts of aches. Just think of the out of balanced way you are walking now and what that does to our body.
Eventually I would recommend a therapeutic massage from either a chiropractor or PT for your back and legs. It does a world of good!


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I confess I'm trying to pull back on meds already (even after reading the articles here.) Not just for dependency issues, but I don't want to mask the pain so that I'm doing too much and don't realize it. Does that even make sense?
No it doesn't make sense. Let me see if I can convert your thinking ....
Muscles and other tissues 'know' when they are hurting and their response is to tense up, swell and become inflamed .... which causes more pain! Classic vicious circle scenario. If you don't nip it in the bud with pain meds, then the circle goes on and on, even though you might be doing absolutely nothing at all. Stop the pain and and everything settles down so you can do things. The way you know if you are doing too much is addressed in the mantra
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer or more painful in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again

Simple, huh?
my therapist's response to something that hurts, is 'quit doing it, then, and let's try this instead.'
Perfect!

Which is more than I can say for all this ... and bear in mind here that you are not even 4 weeks out yet

- the sliding motion heels slides are good!
- straight leg stretch with the aid of a belt for my hamstring don't recommend this one
- one where I elevate my heel on a rolled up beach towel and push my knee down into the mattress to achieve better extension okay, but no pushing - be gentle always
- one where I put the rolled up towel under my knee and straighten my leg okay
- only 10 of each 3 times a day no way, jose! 5 of each once a day is plenty

For strengthening,
- leg lifts with toe to ceiling, toe pointed a bit out to address an inner thigh muscle
- one that squeezes a towel between the knees.
20 reps of each.
You don't need any of these. Your knee/leg does not need strengthening. It's not weak, it's injured. Treat is gently. These exercises can wait until at least 12 weeks out.
None of that causes pain - the stretching exercises can and that's probably because my own personality is pushing me
But it is causing you pain. You already said that.
I know in my heart I've nothing to be discouraged about and know the tears and frustration and pain are to be expected. But how have all of you dealt with the acceptance that recovery is on its own timetable?
Only up to a point. I think I managed because I'm just a natural sloth, I reckon! :snork: But if you're not, your only solution is to bear in mind the possibility that not accepting it will reap percussions in terms of pain and an even longer recovery.
the family party here to meet and entertain the new in-laws and extended family. Am I only going to be able to make an appearance or can I be any sort of hostess at all by then?
You should expect to be treated like the lady in waiting you are! Waiting for your knee to heal! No doubt you will have many family members coming who are well able to cook and prepare, so contact them now and arrange with them to take all that over for you. Divide the meal and prep up into lots and get someone to be responsible for each bit then on the day you can just sit and direct operations! Yes you can still be a hostess, but only from your chair. Expect to be waited on and have absolutely nothing to do with prep, cooking, serving or washing up. I am quite sure that everyone will be more than happy to rally round and make a fuss of you for once. You can do the grand hostess thing next year and enjoy it with your new knee!
 
Josephine, thank you for the food for thought - and for the time it took you to respond. You've made a lot of sense, and have given me a wealth of information to think about and some things to adjust. I'm sure you are used to new posters who are inclined to follow the advice of their surgeon and PT. I believe it also doesn't hurt to gather more information from those with personal experience, while still having some faith in their medical support staff since they actually 'see' the patient.

What ends up being exactly right for me, probably lies somewhere between the two philosophies. I'm slacking off on the PT (wow, that wording shows I have a ways to go in adjusting my attitude, doesn't it?) and giving myself permission to medicate more freely, should the pain levels rise.

You have convinced me that listening to my body is the most important practice of all.

I do think I'm ahead of the curve on recovery, which may be why I was presented with more PT than what you recommend. I can walk with long, smooth strides without the cane (no limp) and with no increased pain if I don't overdo the length of time I'm on my feet. A ten minute walk is fine, but more than that and I pay for it, so ten minutes is it, right now. I'm not at my regular pace, that's for sure. I still don't feel comfortable taking the full set of stairs the normal way. But, I find I have to remind myself to take the short set of four stairs the way I was shown to do during recovery. Still, it feels like great progress at four weeks.

I believe the strength exercises have been helpful and haven't aggravated my pain. What increases my pain is overstretching - too many reps and not gentle enough. So, I'm paying better attention to that. The main reason the strengthening has been beneficial is that I have standard toilet seats and having my quads stronger has really helped me get on and off easier. It has helped with the up and down, up and down, of dealing with the puppy, too.

I'll be four weeks out tomorrow. I've all but stopped the dilaudid. The past two days I only dosed with it at bedtime, and that was mostly because I hoped it would help me sleep, not because of increased pain. I don't sleep well at all, but I suspect the ice cuff has something to do with that, and frankly, I have sleep issues anyway. Between my CPap and the ice machine, I feel 'tethered' and can't get into the sleep position I prefer.

Thank you the most, for reassuring me I can be a hostess from the seated position. Nearly all of the guests for the dinner at our house are out of town and staying at hotels, so I can't delegate as much as I'd like to. However, we've decided to keep it as informal as can be, and are considering a very simple menu (like a big pot of chili and cornbread, or a lasagna) that can be assembled in advance. The dinner follows a ski/sledding activity so I don't feel a bit wrong going with such a menu. Either of those dishes can be prepared over several days and frozen, too. The actual wedding reception won't need me for more than my presence and check book.

Guess I'll go practice my Lady in Waiting role. I want to get it just perfect!
 
Checking in to report I was a good little Lady in Waiting for Thanksgiving yesterday. What's even better, is I had no guilt assuming that role, and amazingly enough, the holiday managed to do just fine without anything other than my presence. After hosting the holiday for 40 straight years, I enjoyed being a guest for once.

I've a couple of questions. Days are getting easier but nights are still miserable at 4 1/2 weeks post OP. I know it's commonplace for sleep to be disrupted for a long time, but what's worrying me is my knee is just uncomfortable, but my lower back and hip have a real good ache going that the muscle relaxer and Tramodol don't relieve.

This week I asked for a script for Tramodol as my OS encouraged getting off the Dilautin if another drug addresses the pain just as well. I figured at this stage of recovery that was smart, but nights seem worse.

My worry is that pain in this area is NOT related to surgery and recovery, but is another issue for me to deal entirely. Why would my lower back and hip ache more than my knee? The OS didn't do anything to my back!

I felt I was ahead of the curve on recovery, but after the first few weeks of rapid improvement, I can't see any improvement day to day, and just a little if I compare it week to week. Does healing slow down to a crawl?

My ROM has not been measured since I came out of surgery, although I showed the OS my bend at my 2 week post op appt and he said I had already achieved far more than many people do several months out. Within 2 days of my release from the hospital I was comfortable at 120 degrees and -7 degrees on my CPM machine - the maximum the machine allows. I've actually quit using it since I figured it was no longer doing any good. My instructions were to use it 4 hours a day, but IS it still needed to keep that ROM, or has it served it's purpose? In the back of my mind, I'm wondering if that is aggravating my back.
 
Days are getting easier but nights are still miserable at 4½ weeks post OP. I know it's commonplace for sleep to be disrupted for a long time, but what's worrying me is my knee is just uncomfortable, but my lower back and hip have a real good ache going that the muscle relaxer and Tramodol don't relieve. My worry is that pain in this area is NOT related to surgery and recovery. Why would my lower back and hip ache more than my knee? My CPM machine - I've actually quit using it since I figured it was no longer doing any good. My instructions were to use it 4 hours a day, but IS it still needed to keep that ROM, or has it served it's purpose? In the back of my mind, I'm wondering if that is aggravating my back.
You have defined and assessed your problem with great acuity!
1. CPM machines really aren't doing any good - the clue is in the name "continuous passive motion". This means that your muscles aren't doing any of the work which they need to in order to make your progress real.
2. your back pain most certainly is being caused by that machine. The position it holds you in for 4 hours at a time is unnatural and harmful to your lower back.
3. Try putting a heat pad on your back and doing ordinary back stretches to counteract the issue such as these ...

back.JPG
side 2.JPG

bend.JPG
seated 2.JPG


I felt I was ahead of the curve on recovery, but after the first few weeks of rapid improvement, I can't see any improvement day to day, and just a little if I compare it week to week. Does healing slow down to a crawl?
Never compare it day by day and much better to compare it every other week or even once a month. It's a long slow business and you should remember the story of the hare and the tortoise and who actually won the race!
 
Thank you, Josephine. I hadn't used the CPM machine in days until yesterday and last night the back pain was worse. So, I guess I'm done with that!

I'll add the gentle back stretches to my PT routine. I've been doing a couple of others I found online, as well, that seems to target the right area.

I did the grocery shopping today. And paid for it. The store is too big and the list was too long. Lesson learned!

Thanks for the quick response. This site is the best!
 
Guilty as charged. :sorry: I did read the article. :angel: What I didn't do was keep the trip short enough. 15-20 minutes would have been just about right and it took twice that long because there were only two cashiers and long lines. I'd expected the grocery to be deserted the day after Thanksgiving. I guess the store did, too, since they weren't well staffed.

I had my husband unload the groceries from the car and stow them while I iced and elevated to minimize the mistake. It was just so nice to get out and see if I could resume a normal activity. Not quite yet.
 
When I started going grocery shopping and mine was at 6 wks - I would go with my husband and if I got through the store and mine is not that large I would leave him at the register and go to the car and sit and I always brought my ice packs and started icing in the car. Be kind to yourself and your knee and especially listen to the knee.

I hope you feel better today. Lee
 
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