TKR So grateful to have found this community

[hopalong61]

@Relle just wanted to share my excitement I just walked upstairs without holding on to anything !! Coming down is a different matter but i'm soooo It's the little things x

 

[Relle]

@HopAlong Thats great news. Your right it is the little things because that seems to be the way this recovery goes. It's by celebrating these achievements that keeps us sane. I've been having a pity party the last few days. Still happy with my ROM but the pain is getting to me. Just about run out of my meds so off to the doctor this week to plead my case for more. This sure is hard work so I'm pleased to share on your accomplishment.

 

[hopalong61]

@Relle, the pain still bothers me too. And the lack of sleep. I'm lucky with pain relief, my doctor doesn't question it, i just reorder online and it gets delivered to me. Expecting a bad day tomorrow, been shopping again with my daughter today. Working for 4 hours tomorrow so will be elevating and icing when i get home. I'm lucky that there's only myself and my daughter at home, no-one else to worry about !
Hope you get your meds, can't imagine not having any

 

[Relle]

@hopalong61 The pain is really getting me down. Sent home from hospital with 20 x5 mg of endone and told to take them whenever I need to. I've been using them sparingly so they don't run out too quickly. The problem is in trying to keep up the PT and home PT he wants me to do.
I have my daughter and 2 grandchildren at home with me at the moment. Luckily I have a husband who is pretty good at cooking and cleaning. My daughter has just separated from her husband so is pretty much unavailable and my 4 year old grandson acts out a lot. I find it hard to deal with the tantrums and noise while I'm in pain. Things have got to start looking up soon.
With you just that bit ahead of me at least I have a glimpse into the future.
Ps my grandson has just broken our gas heater and it's freezing ️

 

[Celle]

The problem is in trying to keep up the PT and home PT he wants me to do.

The thing is that you really don't need to do a lot of exercise after an MUA. All you need to do is keep the joint moving gently.
Your knee has been wounded again by the MUA, so it will need time to heal again.

Your knee will probably swell again, so you might lose some of the bend that the MUA achieved. Don't worry about that. The bend will come back again as the swelling goes down.

Can you shut yourself in your room, away from all the turmoil? You still need to get your rest.

And I think your daughter should organise getting the heater repaired, since her son broke it. Even if they are both upset at the marriage breakup, that's no excuse for damaging your home.

 

[Relle]

@Celle Thanks for your response. I am trying to juggle doing just enough to please the PT without overdoing it. This is not that easy because it seems to catch up with me. Another week and I am going to stop going to him and just do my stretches at home mixed with going to the heated pool a couple of times per week. I go to the OS on 24th of this month and will tell him I want to recover at my own pace. He gave me that option before the MUA, now I still have a ROM of 90 I'm happy with that. Luckily my extension has always been pretty good.
Sad to say I do go and hide in my room. It's the only way to keep my sanity. Thank goodness for mobile devices, I can watch Netflix or listen to music.
Hopefully their stay will be over soon as they are looking for rentals. They have been with us for a few months now so she is ready to move out on her own.
As for paying for the heater that's exactly the advice I would give if one of my friends had the same thing happen. Harder to do when it's your own family. She is saving up bond money and has little to spare, we have also had to help her out financially as she was left pretty destitute.

 

[hopalong61]

@Relle, you do have your hands full and i don't know how i would cope if i had all that going on too, i admire you x All i can say is hang in there, it does get better. I only had one physio appointment after my MUA, i decided not to have any more as i wasn't really getting any benefit from them, all they were doing was watching me walk, bend etc and then giving me a few exercises to do at home ! I'm sensible enough, as i'm sure you are, to work out that i don't need someone to show me this. I've cut down on the exercises as i'm now doing much more normal things but i still do a few if i have time. I also found it hard to give myself a day off from physio at the start but if i have a bad day now, i stop and try to take it easy for a couple of days, it helps a lot.
I understand 100% where you're coming from about your daughter, i suppose the sooner she gets on her own feet, the better it will be for you, it will all be sorted, i hope its soon for you xx

 

[sistersinhim]

I am trying to juggle doing just enough to please the PT without overdoing it.

Why are you worrying about pleasing PT? Aren't you the one paying them, in a round about way? You are the boss, the employer. The only thing you should be worrying about pleasing is you knee! It has been re-injured and needs to be moved with gently. If it hurts at the time or later, then don't do it anymore for a few weeks.

 

[Jockette]

I am trying to juggle doing just enough to please the PT without overdoing it.

Do the bare minimum at PT to appease your PT, but you only have to please your knee when you are home and the PT is not with you. They can’t make you do anything when they are not with you!

 

[Relle]

I am feeling overwhelmed with life at the moment. My big fear is that my knee will lock up again. I am just telling my PT what he he wants to hear because it's easier. He is trying to scare me by saying the window of opportunity will close. I know from what I've read on Bonesmart that this is not the case but a small part of me still thinks what if he is right. I just want to get through the next week until I see my OS and have a talk with him. He is more forward thinking than the PT.
I've been having hot flushes and sweats a few times a day since I had the MUA. My knee isn't hot so I don't think it's infected and I'm long past menopause. Has this happened to anyone else?
I do appreciate every message that I receive. Hopefully it won't be too long and I will start to see things more positively.

 

[Jockette]

He is trying to scare me by saying the window of opportunity will close. I know from what I've read on Bonesmart that this is not the case but a small part of me still thinks what if he is right.

He is wrong. If he was right most people we know who have had knee replacements would have poor rom because most people don’t get it back early, it takes time.

I am having some issues with my recovery, and in spite of that, my bend is getting better and I am past a year!

I understand that tiny bit of doubt. As I just said, I am having some problems myself, (but not about ROM) and even though I KNOW better, a tiny little voice in the back of my head taunts me with “I didn’t do my exercises after the first month”. I understand.

But the testimonies of many here who didn’t do any exercises, just what’s involved in their daily activities can’t be wrong. The testimonies of those whose ROM improved way after a year can’t be wrong, as mine is still improving.

The PTs don’t see us after the first couple of months, so they don’t have proof that they are wrong.

Please try to relax. I need to tell myself that, too. This is one of the most difficult recoveries, it messes with our minds as well as our bodies.

 

[Relle]

@Jockette thanks for your reassurance. It certainly is a long and sometimes hard journey. I have just come back from a short walk outside in the sunshine. The weather has been cold and windy here for the past week so I have been stuck inside. Feeling a bit better now. Off to my GP this afternoon to get my pain meds assessed. I have a good relationship with him so once that's under control I'm sure I'll be feeling a lot better.
You're right, the PT doesn't see people after the first part of their recovery. I know he means well and he is a lovely man. I think that is part of the problem, it sounds silly even writing this but I don't want to offend him because he truly believes he is doing the best for me.

 

[Jockette]

it sounds silly even writing this but I don't want to offend him because he truly believes he is doing the best for me.

We can be sincere in things we do and say, but if they are the wrong things, then we are still wrong.

My PTs were very nice, too, but they regularly force bent my knee. Ever so slowly, but still to a painful place. The fact that they sincerely thought they were doing the right thing, and they pushed slowly, didn’t make my pain any less. They were still doing the wrong thing.

I’m glad you had a refreshing walk outside. Sometimes it helps just to get out of the house.

 

[Relle]

@Jockette i know

 

[Marguette]

I am feeling overwhelmed with life at the moment. My big fear is that my knee will lock up again. I am just telling my PT what he he wants to hear because it's easier. He is trying to scare me by saying the window of opportunity will close. I know from what I've read on Bonesmart that this is not the case but a small part of me still thinks what if he is right. I just want to get through the next week until I see my OS and have a talk with him. He is more forward thinking than the PT.
I've been having hot flushes and sweats a few times a day since I had the MUA. My knee isn't hot so I don't think it's infected and I'm long past menopause. Has this happened to anyone else?
I do appreciate every message that I receive. Hopefully it won't be too long and I will start to see things more positively.

Hi Relle
I'm with you on several levels. There is a part of me that wonders if PT and exercise are really needed especially when I don't see any changes in my ROM and I get so stiff when I don't exercise. I've been going to the pool almost everyday. I really enjoy it and bending the knee is so much easier but then I tend to overdo it. I was having hot flashes and sweets alternating with chills for about two weeks after going off my hydromorphone. As it turned out, I learned that I was going through withdrawal when I went to the ER. are you still on meds? If not, how long have you been off? and did you go off gradually? something to consider. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Relle]

@Marguette that's exactly what happens with my PT. I really don't push myself as much at home as he has told me I should. My knee is still swollen and bruised from the MUA so it makes sense that my ROM will get better when that goes down. My ROM is greatly improved and I'm managing to keep. Fingers crossed I don't have an argument on my hands when I see the OS next week and tell him I'm happy to heal at my own pace. I think he'll be ok with that.
I found I overdid it last time I went to the heated pool as well. I'm really only going there to do a little walking but mainly as a treat. We have not long moved into an new home that I love but unfortunately the bath is quite small. I found it hard to get into before my TKR and I have to sit with my knees under my chin to fit. The pool isn't as relaxing as a nice bath but it will do until I can save and replace the one I have at home.

I hadn't thought about medication being associated with my hot flashes and I'm still on 15 mg of oxycodone daily. I did however have 80 mg of oxycodone, naproxen, paracetamol plus the maximum amount of morphine allowed in less than a 24 hour period when I had my MUA. My stomach is still a bit rare so it wouldn't surprise me if the flushes are my body releasing the toxins.

I went back to my GP yesterday and had a good talk with him about my pain and how I was feeling. He has given me some more pain meds to help me through. In our country he has to call a national drug register with my details to get approval to write me a script. So far I haven't been knocked back but he said it does happen. I'm really hoping that over the next few weeks I'll be able to gradually cut back and we discussed how to go about it. I'm sure going at my own pace with rehab will help greatly. I also told him about my depression and he offered me counselling if I want it. He totally understands why I'm feeling this way which was nice to hear.

I am starting to feel a bit more positive but know I've still got a long way to go. No more overdoing it for me. That's my new mantra.

 

[SusieShoes]

Overdoing it is bad in lots of ways; one thing is that it causes more fear. The knee swells. The knee hurts. Did I do something wrong? Did I do too much? Did I not do enough, is that the reason? Fear leads to stress and stress leads to... more fear. It can become a self-feeding trap.

That's why it's so important to learn how to listen to our knee(s). It's really listening to our bodies, becoming better communicators with ourselves. In TKR that means the knee. The knee will tell us when we've done too much.

Too much for you will be different than too much for me, or for any other person. There are people who can exercise a lot right away, and their knee says that's fine. Other people's knees will tell them it's too much. If your knee swells and hurts more after whatever amount or type of exercise you're doing, it's too much. If it doesn't swell or hurt, you're doing good.

No more overdoing it is a wonderful mantra!

 

[Marguette]

Relle
that was a lot of meds in 24 hrs and while probably necessary and well supervised, those Meds can have a lot of side effect, including having an impact on your blood pressure, which can cause changes in body temperature. I hope things will settle as you ease off meds. It took five weeks for me to return to normal after stopping all meds except Tylenol. When I went through these difficult episodes, I reminded myself that they would be short lived and practiced deep breathing exercise. The one thing that stood out for me through this process is that not enough education is given pre-op about the possible effects of meds and we, as patients, don't know what to ask. We don't know what it is we don't know. Hope you feel better.

 

[Celle]

I found I overdid it last time I went to the heated pool as well. I'm really only going there to do a little walking but mainly as a treat. We have not long moved into an new home that I love but unfortunately the bath is quite small. I found it hard to get into before my TKR and I have to sit with my knees under my chin to fit. The pool isn't as relaxing as a nice bath but it will do until I can save and replace the one I have at home.

Beware of being in the hot pool for too long. Because you're basically applying heat to your knee while in the pool, it can increase knee swelling.

 

[Jockette]

we, as patients, don't know what to ask. We don't know what it is we don't know.

I agree!