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TKR So Glad to be HERE.

Even though it has only been a couple days I am noting more positive things happening.

At 2 full months after surgery and just in the past couple days I walked to the park and down and up 8 steps alternating feet! Had to cross at a light controlled crosswalk and made it in plenty of time too watching out for traffic rather than thinking about my walking too. Also forgot my cane and had zero hyperextensions walking home. Leg was tired 3/4's of the way and I was probably limping a bit at that point.

Just last night realized I could sleep on my side so long as new knee had a straight leg. How I am supposed to stay on my side like that not sure yet but I am sure going to work on it.

Also just realized I can pull my shin back during my elevated heel slides to increase the stretch using whatever muscles those are on the back of the leg. I couldn't use them that way before. No idea why, just couldn't.

Had a practically normal outing yesterday and didn't use the cane again. After a good long rest after PT we went out and about. First to the animal shelter where we saw all the critters and even stood in line to ask about one. Then we went to a thrift store where I had to walk to the store a ways from a remote parking lot. Shopped for clothes finding my favorite brand of jeans in a color I need for $1. If you have ever shopped at thrifts you know how tedious it is looking at every single piece on the rack! Did sit in a handy recliner for a bit though. Lastly we ate out and although I took the precaution to sit where I could put my leg up I didn't need to! Whole trip was 4 hours and of course as soon as I was home ice packs were put to use! I should have driven as side roads irritate my daughter and I love them. Side roads on a get away day are way more fun than freeways.

That wonderful outing almost made me forget. At PT my therapist lengthened the cranks on the bike. If the crank settings are the same as a normal bike then I suspect they are at 160mm where ordinary cranks are about 170mm. Getting there!

If I can just skip any meetings of the ODIC for a while I may feel nearly normal in another month. Chances of not making another visit to ODIC are slim when you are feeling better though!
 
Yay! You are so right about the ODIC Club meetings becoming more frequent as we start to feel better. So far, I've been able to avoid it, but I know my time is coming.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
At 10 weeks+3 days I have avoided the dread ODIC although I did have a challenge Tuesday. Was driving home after going to the movies and got rear ended while my right foot was leaning hard on the brake at a stoplight. The car that bumped me was carrying a German pop band here to do some busking and work with record producers. They were very charming and there was zero damage to either car so ended up as a strange day rather than a difficult day. My neck was fine the following day, was expecting it to be a little tweaked. I iced the knee as soon as I got home of course! I had stopped shaking by that time I think.

Last week I hit the 1 mile walking mark - hadn't walked that far for 10 months. Today I hiked but not for a whole mile, the variations in surface make it much tougher on the body than walking on pavement. Route was as flat as possible and I went for 20 minutes before turning around. I even went down the slight slopes with real steps rather than baby steps. Other than no baby steps down slopes the highlight of the hike was seeing FOUR roadrunners. Knee was threatening to overextend right at the end so good thing I set the alarm for 20 minutes rather than 25.

Sleep is NOT going well though. I'm trying to ditch Percocet by breaking them in half and only taking half at bedtime with the other half if knee starts hurting in the middle of the night. So far knee hasn't been actually hurting but I am sure up in the middle of the night. I'm not hungry or thirsty or itchy. I'm pleasantly tired with a comfortable bed and no achy bits and cannot get to sleep!!!! Went to the library and am well stocked up with reading material, maybe one will be just right.
 
@KYata - sorry to read of your car accident, but pleased for you that there doesn't seem to to be any lasting damage, to you or your car. I like the way that you are pacing yourself, testing a small boundary with your walking etc. I am a hippy who approached my recovery very much the same way. Sorry sleeping is eluding you- I thought you may like to read this article in between reading your books :) - https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/bananas-and-other-foods-and-sleeping.20808/
 
Thank you @Poppet for those articles. I do eat banana and oatmeal most mornings. Is it best to eat such foods close to bedtime? Still not sleeping well. After the last surgery I started being able to sleep better in 3 months, be nice if that was the case this time as well.

This past week my energy and comfort levels have soared. Those first few steps are stiff rather than achy and I get tired rather than achy. I am wanting to get up and go more. Another stage of healing I guess. Will have to be making sure to stay down rather than get up. Big change actually.

Strangely I am not tolerating ice as well as I had been. Same ice packs/towels/freezer but I used to be happy to move them around until they were warm, now they are off in 15-20 minutes still icy and stiff. Perhaps my knee isn't swelling/heating up as much?

I hit 2 mph on a 1 mile walk with Ginger this week. Before all this happened I walked 3mph with dog and 4mph on my own so very happy about this. I also went on a ~.5 mile hike with a moderate slope and made it easily up AND down with no baby steps and my heart rate was at about 80%, something that hasn't happened much while exercising in the past 10 months. Suspect the heel toeing so I don't limp goes down at the end of these excursions but I do think gait is improving overall.

Righty seems nearly as limber as lefty so I have started stretching both knees when I get up. Knee is still clicking quite a bit but haven't felt any hyperextending threats for a while now. Maybe clicking is softer, would be nice. After the hike knee swelled up a little so icing is still really important.

On half a Percocet knee wasn't hurting and I still wasn't sleeping so stopping them. Didn't have one last night and knee was fine.
 
Hi @KYata yes try a banana about 30 mins before bedtime as Bananas are packed with potassium, (caution with potassium if you are on Hypertensive Meds for high blood pressure) a mineral that serves as a muscle relaxant. Another valuable mineral prevalent in bananas is magnesium. Like potassium, magnesium helps relax your muscles, making magnesium-rich foods valuable as sleep aids.

Bananas also contain tryptophan, an amino acid that's valuable in your effort to get to sleep. Tryptophan converts to serotonin, a sleep-promoting neurotransmitter, and the dose of melatonin causes you to feel drowsy and, as a result, helps you fall asleep. Milk is another source of tryptophan, which provides a boost of serotonin that can make you feel ready for bed.

The combination of a banana and a glass of warm milk may help you nod off :) I would make my milky drink a hot chocolate, using the pure cocoa powder - chocolate has a similar effect with the neurotransmitters.
 
You may not need to ice now except after you're particularly active.
 
kneeper you are so right! I have been doing the opposite for a few days now, sleeping with plastic wrap around greased up knees for moist heat and it has been great. Legs are much more limber in the morning.

Well the banana and hot cocoa were lovely bedtime treats but no miracle sleeping remedy although I seem to be more relaxed about it. Maybe I'll try to use honey for the cocoa sweetener tonight, sounds nice. Don't need or want pillows under the legs anymore and it is easy to shift in bed. I might be able to tuck the sheets in next time I make the bed!

Tomorrow is week 12, posting a day early. Been doing 2-3 extra things a day and so far so good. Pulled up errant grass around 3/4s of the backyard over several days this week and even got into one bed to pull up extra long grass runners without any problem. Been walking or hiking with Ginger every day for 1/3-1 mile depending on what else I have been up to. Did get absolutely exhausted going to a single thrift store today though. Went through just the toddler racks looking for goodies for my grandtwins then the line to checkout was about 2 dozen shoppers long, this is a large TS and line was nearly the length of the store. I went straight to the car letting DD buy the clothes. Been sitting for a couple hours and will get up and do something after I post this as it has been a couple hours.
Edit: Got up and to the garden. Finished cleaning up the back lawn's edge, took a couple of small low branches off a tree and did a little clean up in the mixed patio garden then took a shower. I was up and at it for a solid hour!

PT is going well. This past Friday my therapist put my knee at 115* and I felt a very mild stretch. Compare that to week 6 when I could force my knee to 90* but it was uncomfortable to hold. He quickly checked my extension but I didn't ask about that, all I know is knee hasn't been hyper extending lately and knee did go to the table. For the past couple weeks he has mostly had me doing balance and strength exercises with and without added weight. Some strength exercises cross the knee joint, some don't and I am feeling pleasantly tired without any pain afterwards. After a couple slight setbacks last year overdoing strength exercises I will say uncle but so far haven't had to. On stairs I want to drop fast to the next step when leading with the left leg as surgical knee isn't strong enough to lower with control so there is work to be done.

I am now much better than I was before TKR. The severely valgus knee kept me from comfortably walking more than around the house, now I can go for a measured mile at twice the speed I could then. Last year before all this started I could garden for 90 minutes, walk for 3 miles and work on my feet for 2 hours a day so I am not to where I was last year but this is a big milestone!
 
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Things are continuing to look up!

Today I walked Ginger more than a mile. Went right past the PT office, I wonder if I will ever be strong enough to walk 1/2 mile, do 1 hour of PT then walk home? I could walk there and do PT but going home would be a very sad limp now! Then we went to a mall, ate lunch and shopped at a fairly large store. To a plant nursery for a few minutes to try to get ideas for new plants for a couple sad looking borders then to our regular Tuesday movie where I parked at the far side of the lot, busy place today. After that I dropped books off at the library and went to the dollar store - walking every aisle! This morning I stripped the bed and did a load of laundry and I still need to get it off the line, make up the bed and put away the clean clothes. I'll do my balance homework then as well, my bed frame serves as my barre.

Except that I would have walked Ginger further that is just about what I was doing last year at this time!

I gave up on step counting aps because they didn't work well before TKR, maybe I need to put one back on for as a moral booster. That really was a lot of walking today. Maybe I will sleep well tonight. Been taking a cup of whole milk cocoa with honey before bed. Tastes wonderful and relaxes me as does wrapping both knees with plastic for gentle warmth.
 
That was a lot of walking. I'm thinking you easily did the equivalent of walking to and from PT and doing a PT session.
 
KYata said:
Today I walked Ginger more than a mile. Went right past the PT office, I wonder if I will ever be strong enough to walk 1/2 mile, do 1 hour of PT then walk home?
Click to expand...
Of course you will!
You're doing so well and it's not even 3 months since your surgery.
However, by that time, you probably won't need PT any more.
 
I'd like to think that I will be done with PT soon but my gait is very off still and at PT working hard on some muscle groups.

Been busy working on the fish tank today. It hasn't been changed for 2.5 years and needs one. Huge job taking everything out of a 180 gallon tank! It was really overgrown, half the plants are out but it still looks fully planted. I am looking forward to all of it save the fish catching. Expect just emptying the tank will take several more days of working 1 hour on, 1 hour resting and then the fun begins - planning the next look.
 
Strangest thing this morning. Took Ginger for a walk and my new knee was completely silent for the first 5 minutes and fairly quiet for the whole 50 minute walk. It's been clicking 3 counts per step unless I 'march' and exaggerate the step. Even at the end of the walk the clicks were much quieter than they have been and continued to be absent if I exaggerated steps.

Last night there was a bit of drama as a hose blew off a pump in the aquarium and quite a bit of water went on the tile floor. I thought new knee would be sore or worse after all the weight lifting and bazillion extra steps needed to move furniture to clean up but seem to have lucked out and it was more than fine, it was good for the knee. I don't feel any extra swelling, knee seems the same flex/extend wise and no aches or pains.
 
Funny, KYata, we were sitting at the kitchen table last night working a jigsaw puzzle when water from the washer began flowing over the floor. That was a fun clean up, too.

I also get that sound when I walk and am able to "cure" it the same way. I mentioned it to PT, and they have begun working with me on gait. My primary PT mentioned when the knee starts to make noise, it's a good thing, because it means the swelling is going down, and it's loosening up. It sounds like everything eventually "settles in," but it sure is a strange feeling!
 
Only time I am glad the washer is in the garage is when it overflows!

It was so odd for the knee to be quiet. If it was due to swelling would swelling diminish during the course of a walk? Well as it turned out I walked Ginger and did little else the rest of the day, just seemed wise. Working in the aquarium means standing still on a stepstool and bending/twisting to move the upper body which is very hard work. Fish are in for it today though. I won't walk G, I will get my arms wet!

We put the rugs back last night. That's moving the sitting bits of furniture 4x in 2 days. Good drying weather for them, they were still sopping in the morning but crispy dry by afternoon. I had been avoiding moving the furniture to deal with rugs for quite a while, it was good to get it done so long as nobody overdid it. Good drying weather today as well, better get some laundry on the line!
 
I suspect what happens during the walk is the ligaments loosen up after about five minutes. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how this is a good thing, but I'm sure it is.
 
3 months to the day!

Knees continue to be somewhat quieter. I find I must wear shoes if I am doing more than a couple minutes up, my left foot needs its orthotic.

The past couple weeks have been all good. More energy, less time thinking about KNEE, getting more done easily. Sleep is still awful but I suspect I am doing that awful type where you do sleep but cannot remember falling asleep or waking up.

Today for instance I moved the rocks back into the aquarium from outside. They are all much larger than softballs and there are maybe a dozen. No problem. Then I hung a small load of clothes on the line. Then I gave Ginger the first bath since TKR. First I groomed her, including trimming feet and claws, bathed her on the lawn then took her for a short drying off walk where I stop and brush her out to dry and remove more loose hair. No problem. That was just the morning. Going to play in the aquarium again, go to the movies, stop and shop for a bit then have dinner out. When we come home we are packing up a box of goodies for the grandtwins' third birthday celebration. What difference from last month where I added 2 extra activities to the usual daily routing!

PT going well except I hate side steps which clearly means I need to do them. Have noticed I am more nimble dodging the tiny bits of cheese I drop to reward Ginger for behaving on walks, suspect this particular torture is why. I am easily pedaling a mile in the 5 minutes I get on the exercise bike. I was astonished to find both heels on the end of the table when I pushed from the end to lay down for my ice and stim at the end of the session.

Recovery seems aimed at increasing strength and endurance at this point staying below levels that are too much for still recovering knee tissues. My leg muscles are generally pleasantly tired when I take a break which is lovely compared to the aches and pains from healing knee bits. I know I can walk a mile in 1/2 hour but am choosing to do other activities instead as I tend to push to achieve that goal rather than let it happen. Keep telling myself there is no ribbon, money or glory in it but those darn personal goals are hard to get out of mind sometimes.
 
Another milestone. I rode my bike around the block this morning! Right heel on pedal, left mid foot on pedal. Practiced starting and stopping the whole way.

Walked Ginger around the block when I got home, that .75 mile was nothing after putting in 12mph miles in PT.

I forced myself to rest and now am up to work on my fish tank, that's up and down a step stool trying to decide on which bit of wood to screw to my driftwood masterpiece next.
 
I still have days where my right knee will click off and on for no apparent reason. MOst of the time it doesn't.
Great to hear you're getting out and about.
 
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