TKR So Glad to be HERE.

[KYata]

Wow, I did a lot yesterday! Went to PT, did a couple errands in the car, hiked 40 minutes with Ginger, finally glued my plants on the wood in the fish tank which probably took an hour up and down the step stool, did a water change at the same time where I was moving the draining hose every 10 minutes and pedaled a mile on the bike going on a couple errands. Double that and it would be a full day of activities!

So today, not so much. Walked on flat smooth sidewalks for 20 minutes with G, did a couple errands in the car, doing a water change in the fish tank where I lay on my chaise and pull the hose around the yard rather than get up to move it around! Will sweep the patio and do balance homework as well.

 

[KYata]

Well all that was a bit much for the knee so didn't add extra walking or biking for the following few days. Very glad I can pick how much I do daily to stay just out of the ODIC but very impatient to DO MORE and do it FASTER. Also extremely glad that simply taking it easier for a couple days helps with the achy knees and muscles.

Had my three month check up and it went fine, I go back in six months. Physical therapy is now copay free so I want to continue getting supervised with all the strength, balance and gait exercises. I am quite sure doing it on my own would turn me into Ms. Quasimodo at some point. He watches me and amps up and tones down exercises much better than I can do on my own let alone know where I need more work.

At fifteen weeks I am amping up daily activities. I've started not just weeding but doing pruning in the garden in multiple daily twenty minute sessions with the goal to filling the enormous green waste bin weekly. Still need to sit down to properly evaluate whether another session is a good idea or not as I always want to keep going! Been continuing short thirty to fifty minute walks/hikes with Ginger and short eight to ten block bike rides [so far, probably be twice that in a week or so] which is still wonderful rather than boring. I can go shopping more or less normally, just one or two stops a trip though. I don't have much endurance after the year of not being able to move much so short sessions many times a day works better than activities lasting hours. I find I lose balance skills and/or TKR goes whirling around as I tire. Have already extended time up naturally and that should continue. When walking my back gets strained and tired if I go too fast. If I time my outings I don't have a destination in mind, if I have a destination I don't check the time. Helps a little anyway.

I just got down on the floor and back up again for the first time. It was easy to sit up then scoot my back against the sofa, hands on sofa and lifted body half way up, moved hands and feet and slid the rest of the way on the sofa. Did a little 'dead bug' core exercise while down there!

SLEEP is HAPPENING! The upper body workout from yard work helps a lot but something else has clicked as well as for the last couple weeks I have been sleeping much better. Last night I dozed in front of the TV for an hour then went to bed and slept well for another four hours. That had not been happening previously, no matter how sleepy if I moved it was all over. I thought I was awake from 4am on but every time I looked at the clock it had been at least an hour when I thought it 10-15 minutes so was nodding off the rest of the predawn as well.

 

[KYata]

Week 16 update. Things seem to be going fine.

I put an ap on my phone to keep track of walking and cycling. Went cycling for 3.9 miles with a 'hill' of 57' on Saturday and a hike of 1.4 miles with a gain/loss of 118' this morning along with a number of other walks/rides so far.

PT informed me we have reached the goals set after surgery. I asked to work more on gait/balance and will evaluate if the work is helping in a couple weeks. I am such a non athlete and haven't a clue as to how to do things better I suspect I will continue to improve as I get hints from him. I had no idea I was locking my right knee and so couldn't balance efficiently for instance.

Sleep is off and on. Some nights I feel like I get very little and other nights I feel like I get a lot. The plastic wrap trick really helps with morning stiffness, some mornings there is zero stiffness from step number one!

Can get up from the floor without scooting up the sofa but it is super scary as I am terrified of touching knees to the floor, even on the bed it was extremely uncomfortable bearing weight on either knee.

Can get up from my 12" high recliner without using my hands but it is really hard. Not sure a good idea as the right quads have to work extremely hard to do it. I can get up easily from normal height toilets now, couldn't 3 weeks ago.

In spite of all the gardening, aquarium water changes, biking and hiking I have stayed out of the ODIC again this week. If I felt free to do as I please then I feel like I might be able to do what I was up to last May but I sure don't want to join that club so am laying low very reluctantly!

 

[Celle]

Can get up from my 12" high recliner without using my hands but it is really hard. Not sure a good idea as the right quads have to work extremely hard to do it. I can get up easily from normal height toilets now, couldn't 3 weeks ago.

When you get up, scoot forward to the front of the recliner, then lean forward, so that your head is over your toes. That leaning forward helps, because then all you have to do is straighten your legs and then straighten your back.. That way makes it a little easier on your quads.

 

[KYata]

That is what I was doing. I'll keep doing a rep per week though rather than give it up as a lost cause. I'll work on sitting down slowly with no hands first. Poor chair, there will be drops from a bit of a distance at first!

 

[kneeper]

Yep, keep practicing bit by bit and it will get easier.

 

[KYata]

I've been up and down half a dozen times since I wrote that I would try not to use my hands. Haven't remembered one single time. Habits die hard! Maybe put a rubber band on my wrist for a couple days?

 

[tigwy11]

Hey reading your thread @KYata What is the plastic bag thing that helps with morning soreness? I read it but don't quite understand. I hate the morning stiffies, lol.
It's good to read how things are going for you week by week. I walked 1/2 mile today with no cane! Only protest was in my lower back since my gait is off.

 

[KYata]

I tried it early on and it didn't help at all, at that point ice helped more. Glad I tried it and even gladder I tried it later on! You are less than a month out, if you have any scabs or your medical team has told you no baths yet then no lotion, put a paper towel on your leg before you wrap. Wrap loosely, the point is to trap heat not prevent swelling with a close fitting wrap!

Here is the article from the library.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/night-pain-solutions-using-moist-heat-and-clingfilm.12794/

Love those milestones! Try slowing down when back starts complaining and concentrate on using both legs equally in a heel to toe stride. I carried the cane for a couple weeks before leaving it home too. Helps to have a little dog to walk, can just pretend walking slow because dog needs to do lots of sniffing.

 

[KYata]

New knee celebrated its 4 month anniversary yesterday!

Except for duration I have been doing pretty much a normal amount of activity so far as I can remember from last year that is. Walking for up to 1.4 miles and cycling is progressing nicely from 1 to 2 miles so far on the new wheels. If one is wise apparently one retrains on a recumbent type cycle as it uses muscles differently and I wasn't really used to cycling again anyway. I cannot garden for 90 minutes without stopping but I can garden for 3x20 minutes a day easily. Haven't tried to mow the lawns yet, might this weekend.

Knees still prefer to be wrapped up in plastic at night for gentle warmth. I still have trouble getting out of low chairs without using my hands. The new knee still clicks especially if tired. I still get twinges just below the patella if I overdo but even on an extremely busy day those can be gone before bedtime. I still favor the right knee even though it is stronger than the left. Endurance is severely limited, I want to garden without breaks but if I try to work longer than 1/2 hour I hit the wall. Since I have been nearly immobile for close to a year I can expect it to take a couple years to regain what endurance I had.

PT tells me quads are strong and I have good control. Just a couple weeks ago I was telling them the ratcheting when I went down stairs was alarming. As I descend one set of muscles controls the descent then release to allow the next set of muscles to control the descent. Problem being there were little spaces between where the descent was much faster - holding the railing was essential. Either more time or the targeted exercises seems to have helped. Flex was a painless 122 today which is very close to what the other leg has and extension is fine as it has been. Gait is automatic heel/toe although speed and length of stride isn't changed much. I am not trying to increase those, if it comes it would be great but I'd do more harm than good pushing for speed and stride length. Balance is eh but that is a life long issue. I know lots of exercises to help with that now anyway.

Hoping to continue with PT. I'd push too hard on my own and I sure don't know where I need more work. Will continue to get up out of my comfy chair every 20 minutes and hope this next month to have longer 'ups' and be cycling more. I have no idea how fast I will progress with my new trike, suspect cardiovascular will be where I hit the wall rather than the legs. I especially hope sleep patterns will continue to get better!

 

[tigwy11]

If I don't move all day, I get so stiff. I am up and down. Dust, rest, wash a load of clothes, rest, etc. I think it is good to move though?

 

[KYata]

Up and down is definitely the way to go. A bore but very necessary. Hoping my ups are lasting longer these days as I regain some stamina and interest in projects.

Well it's been 5 months now.

All good. I have lost my fear my knee is going to break when riding my tricycle, am trying for those hills now and have gone up to 6.3 miles with 400 feet of climbing so far. I've walked ALL of Costco and the mall without a problem!!! Fun looking through all of Costco for the first time in a year and ended up buying a few essentials I didn't know I needed as a result. The more I do the better the original equipment knee feels as well but I do suspect triking is better for me than walking.

I have a new PT partner named Bucky. He is a 13 pound 2 year old spaniel mix that is very bouncy and mouthy that needs to be taught that he is safe and it is okay to get touched all over and such. I need to get him outside to potty and practice getting handled/groomed and learn how to learn every hour or so. Walking him means a lot of balance practice to not step on him and to step in all directions to get him to mind. I need to extend his walks a little at a time which fits perfectly with what I should be doing rather than what I want to do [which is to see what is on the other side of that mountain not that I would get very far]. If I would just remember to squat rather than stoop that accounts for so many PT exercises!

Good thing I found him as I have graduated from PT. He told me it is all working up the stamina now as I am plenty strong and flex/extend are the same in each leg.

My knee wants to be wrapped at night still so I am doing it. Still hate getting out of my low chair without using hands. Still getting suddenly and unexpectedly exhausted a couple times a week but a few minutes of rest and I can complete whatever I need to do just fine. One problem with getting tired is I lose balance easily so if I am feeling off balance important to be careful and possibly take a break. Knee doesn't hurt but as I tire my back will hurt and I start walking funny. I am still not trusting it bent, need to work on that. Still not sleeping well every night, getting good and tired helps that a great deal though.

 

[Slainte]

Thanks for the update. Nice to get a glimpse of what's ahead. Looks pretty good!

 

[tigwy11]

It's good to read what it is like at 5 months. Thank you for sharing and helping me realize there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[KYata]

It does and unless it is written down one forgets how hard things started out.

I remember I was able to do one extra thing a day, other than keeping clean and feeding myself. Well Tuesday I took the dogs for a couple of short walks, went to movie/dinner plus a little grocery shopping which counts as 3 extra things and came home to quite a mess. Bucky had pooed in his crate so on the spot I got an extra hour of dog washing/grooming/walking partly dry, crate washing, floor washing, laundry and finally I got to take a shower!

One amazing thing was while I was good and tired my legs were fine. I did take it easy yesterday and suffered from bratty adolescent dog antics all day though.

Another amazing thing was I had been waiting on his first bath as he came with serious trust, aka he bit, issues. He was a champ, I was squeezing shampoo in his toes and washing his bum without any fussing. Now he is really mine. Something about giving a bath to a rescued dog is very bonding.

 

[KYata]

Been 6 whole months since I got my new knee!

Am much better off than I was before TKR but that isn't saying much. Am half way to where I was before I broke both legs and suspect I will be doing better than that in six more months.

TKR doesn't hurt. It gets stiff and muscles aren't strong enough to get out of a low lounge chair without hands without a super effort so I am leaving that alone for now. It will still pop on occasion but mostly has stopped that and when it does pop it isn't a big deal. I do get unexpectedly tired and need to sit NOW, I do get back aches if I walk too fast for too long and my leg will feel floppy when it tires but all that is after a decent amount of exercise/use these days. Usually it doesn't need wrapping at night to be happy. The scar is still half ugly red/purple and half silver and any change is too slow for me to notice. I probably should be documenting its progress to see that there really is progress. Sensation is continuing to improve on skin and scar, be interesting to chart that change as well. I still hate to get on the floor. Backing up to furniture and using elbows is fine but the move to get up without knee on floor is super hard work and threatens to pull muscles. That along with getting out of low furniture with no hands is going to be a focus of the next few months, patience is needed to slowly build strength without pulling anything and getting discouraged.

Yesterday I took dogs for a 1.5 mile excursion which was close to being a real hike. Was going to turn around after .4 miles but Bucky wasn't out of his mind excited so I went for it. Part of it was up and down an eroded trail with lots of fist sized rocks which meant I had to go slow to pick my way. Felt great and we all napped after. Landed wrong on left leg half way through [well after the rocky bit!] but going slow and icing it at home fixed the sore knee right up. Today took it much easier just triking with the dogs. I warmed up by running slower Ginger first, triked for a good 2 miles and will be doing some gardening once sun is lower in the sky and probably training Bucky to walk nicely on leash during the course of a short neighborhood walk.

 

[Wanttobebiking]

Hi KYata. Congrats on reaching the six-month milestone and on all your accomplishments. I am glad I stumbled across your thread. Sounds like you have been through a tremendous amount and you still have your sense of humor. Wish we could go for a long bike ride together tomorrow and just enjoy the day!