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PKR Snooz is a "Snoozin" Susan

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Hi, Thanks for asking. I am doing okay. Sorry the leg jerk caught you badly!! As I have decreased the prescription pain meds, the leg jerks have been better. The intestinal issues have FINALLY begun to ease off, and after 6 days I have a little appetite! Yesterday, I dreaded PT terribly, but felt so much better after going. I am mainly using ibuprofen and Tyenol to control pain, and I think that will improve my state of mind. I am able to read some now, whci
 
Has anyone else had issues with being cold, as in freezing? I assume it is due to the aspirin I take twice a day to thin my blood. When I ice my knee, I am miserable because I am so cold.

Can anyone tell me how you balance your day 12 days out? I elevate/ice most of the day, but it is making me cranky and unpleasant, LOL. I have moved to the recliner for a while, and have my feet up, but understand that is not the same as elevated. I try not to be on my feet much more than to do a FEW PT exercises, go to the bathroom, and go to the kitchen once in a while. I know I have weeks of this ahead of me, but I am trying to find ways to pass the time somewhat productively. Right now I am huddled under a blanket shivering!
 
@Snooz Wow, almost forgot about the cold. My husband would be under blankets and quilts and I would be roasting (expecially when he threw the blankets on me). We fought over the thermostate he was always cold. Luckilly it has passed. You can elevate in the recliner with a few extra pillows. If I remember right at 12 days hubby got up, went to the one chair, went to another chair, went to bed, wondered around, napped a lot, watched tv, did pt, listened to a lot of music, talked to friends on the phone and the ones that dropped by. I would have to go back over my thread to be sure. He also probably did a lot of things he wasn't suppose to, he is an overdoer.
 
At about 8 weeks, things do ease up quite a bit, but the first month is tough. I did the same, couch to bed---I could read and watch Amazon prime. I learned to knit, made hats and scarves. I watched all four series of Downton Abbey which I loved. Also Call the Midwife.

My doc told me to have two hours elevating for every one hour up---but I stayed mostly in bed with leg up for the first few weeks. By then, the swelling had eased and I could move around more.
 
@skigirl, I will be two weeks tomorrow, and I still cannot imagine being up moving for an hour at a time more than once or twice a day!! The longest I am up is to go to PT (40 minute drive, 40 minute appointment, 40 minute return drive), and that exhausts me! Other than that, it is trips to the restroom, a very occasional trip to the kitchen, switching chairs, and the shower (also exhausting!). Should I be getting up and moving more?
 
@Snooz exhaustion is a sad part of the recovery, you can only do what you can do. Are you eating enough protien for energy? Your body is using a lot of its 'fuel' for healing right now so there isn't much left for moving around.
 
@tiredwife, you have probably "hit the nail on the head." With all the meds to get my system moving, I have had absolutely no appetite and have had to force my self to eat. That is finally improving, so maybe I will have more energy. I am definitely craving protein.
 
@Snooz Hubby had to force himself to eat too. But he did and it helped a lot! I think even those protien shakes would probably help.
 
Do any of you ice through the night? I finallly tried sleeping without the ice machine last night, and while I did not sleep any more, it was so nice to feel warm! No real difference in the knee this morning. Both my OS and PT have said to focus on sleeping when sleeping and not worry about elevating at night. What has worked best for you all?
 
@Snooz For the first couple of weeks hubby iced day and night. We use a wedge under the mattress to elevate at night, That way when he got up his leg wasn't swollen much. We used the wedge right up to week 7. He still elevates and ices throughout the days. (8 weeks yesterday). You have a great day!
 
@ladymax How often, and how long did you ice your knee after the first two weeks? In a bit of frustration yesterday, I turned the ice machine off and used gel wraps off and on all day and once through the night. It felt so good to feel somewhat warm again.

I am not having a tremendous amount of swelling, thank the Good Lord! It was worst over the weekend as we experienced a cool front moving though the area with rain. I am working on my extension and yesterday achieved a little over 100 degrees on the bend. Two day is two weeks post surgery. The incision looks good, but the steri-strips do not want to let go, LOL. I think they were surprised at how well they were stuck at the week one check up.....they should see them now. The curled edges have gone down and are stuck just like they were day one! They clipped the "tails" last week, and said the stitches will dissolve. Trying to find the balance between moving about and elevating has been challenging, but I will get there. Tried to do a small load of laundry yesterday, but I cannot walk and carry the laundry just yet. :( I did help roll out the dough for pizzas last night, and my daughter finished them up so I felt a little productive and useful. Actually ate a slice with some apple slices, and it was very good. My husband was very impressed that I stopped after rolling the dough and iced/elevated without being reminded. My biggest struggle is the shower and toilets that are not handicap height. Hubby is installing a new hand held shower head tonight with a lower hook so I can reach everything from my shower seat.

I guess I am rambling a bit, but it is so hard to find much information on Partial knee replacement experiences. Around here, there are quite a few who have had them, but few post to any boards. You only hear from those with negative experiences, which percent wise is less than 30% with PKRs from this particular practice. Praying I remain in the 70% for a positive turn out. As my doctor said, he could not justify a TKR with the condition of my knee, but that did not mean it was not in my future as we see if osteoarthritis develops in the middle or outer knee.

Had a somewhat sharp knee jerk last night and thought of you, but it passed quickly. I hope you are doing well, and finding each day a bit more pleasant than the previous!
 
[Bonesmart.org] Snooz is a "Snoozin" Susan
@Snooz, just read all the info about TKR---recovering from a PKR is really not much different even though it's advertised to be shorter and easier. You've had a pretty invasive surgery with all the bone, muscle, tendon, and ligament trauma that goes with it. So just follow those BoneSmart mantras and accept that TIME & PATIENCE are what it's going to take to get through this. Gonna' be a few months before you begin to feel "normal" again, but it will get better and better. Just resist the temptation to overdo when you begin to feel better---'cause the knee will not be kind to you if you're not kind to it.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.
 
Hi @Snooz! I had my right medial Partial KR on March 19. My recovery at 8 weeks sounds very much like yours, meaning it went well. Seemed to stall at about 6 weeks but has gotten better despite a non-related health issue. For the first few weeks I elevated all night but only iced when I would get up to take pain meds. I used an ice machine during the day and gel pack at night. I, too, am very cold blooded by nature and sleep helped more than ice at night. I think a total would have been far more painful upfront in most cases.
I found my portable over the toilet raiser was my best friend as was the shower seat. The first time I could use the toilet without the elevation (I think at about 7-8 weeks) was one of those milestones!
I also had sharp stabs and probably a pulled ligament but doing very little for many weeks has helped that. It just takes a long time even with a partial to heal all of that surgical damage. Hang in there and I'll follow your progress.
Christie
 
Thank you, @cjf1222 ! Glad to see someone else posting on the Partial Knee replacement! I also have a raised toilet at home, but ran into an emergency at PT, and handicap stall was not available! I thought I was going to be stuck there!!!!
 
I forgot to mention, my PT also told me to fling my knee over the back of the couch, so @Josephine, this will be the second time you have heard of a young PT doing that! A very bad idea as it aggravated the medial knee where the replacement was done.
 
I iced (and still ice) for a while when I first get into bed. Then at some point I take the ice pack/polar cuff off and go to sleep. If I wake up overnight I might put it back on for a while again.
 
Snooz said:
@skigirl, I will be two weeks tomorrow, and I still cannot imagine being up moving for an hour at a time more than once or twice a day!! The longest I am up is to go to PT (40 minute drive, 40 minute appointment, 40 minute return drive), and that exhausts me! Other than that, it is trips to the restroom, a very occasional trip to the kitchen, switching chairs, and the shower (also exhausting!). Should I be getting up and moving more?
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That's exactly how I was after my PKR. I was content with going to the bathroom, getting something to eat, and a shower every few days. I had no energy and felt wiped out. I didn't have random jerking but have a numb spot were there is no feeling.
 
@ATPlus , how did your partial work out for you? I have the Oxford Knee, and so far seem pleased. I was able to ride the recumbent bike at PT for 10 minutes on Friday (two weeks post-op), but it was SLOW!! I am walking a little more and doing just simple stretching exercises. That has helped improve the energy level a bit. We are gong to the beach for a week to just change scenery. I am hoping that will help the mindset more than anything.

I see you are looking at total knee replacements in the very near future. Wishing you the very best with that. I have several family friends that have had bilateral TKRs and they have done very well! One lady is at the two year anniversary and she just went water skiing for the first time in her life this summer at 65!
 
I had my partial 8.5 years ago due to a meniscus removal 25 years ago. It was a Zimmer and is still in great shape (it does make noise sometimes). I think it would last my lifetime and it's worked out really well. I' m just sorry the rest of the knee didn't hold up. I've never had problems.
I didn't go the PT and did the bike like you but it hurt like heck at first and couldn't go around all the way. I was worn out for a couple and think I mostly felt sorry for myself. I drove my standard transmission car (LPKR) after 3 weeks. The biggest hurdle was to climb stairs the normal way.

I love to backpack so the partial really stood up to lots of abuse. I don't know if I'll waterski, but a lady I met while hiking had recently had a BTKR (we shared scar stories) and at 72, she was really moving. She was completely the Appalachian Trail, 2186 miles and said her replacements changed her life.
My doc told me I could do whatever I wanted but no to jump or run. I'm about 3" shy of being able to touch my heel to my bum. Take it easy.
 
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