So How's My Recovery Doing??

[Jamie]

You were pushing it by going back to work at 12 weeks. So....to compensate for all that extra activity, I would stop all the rest of what you're doing....no exercises....no pool. That's just too much for this soon in recovery. No wonder you hurt!!!

Also, you need to be on some type of pain meds still if you're hurting. Over the counter meds are fine. But take them just like you did your prescription pain pills....max dosage and on a schedule day and night. Barb is right also...you need to be icing during the day at work and definitely when you get home.

Remember, no errands on the way home. No cooking, cleaning, laundry and all that other stuff. Work is PLENTY for this stage.

 

[jerseychick]

I agree with Barb. I think you are overdoing it. Work all day, then lots of exercise and you are at 12 weeks. Sounds like a prescription for disaster to me. I am also early in recovery and if I do too much I get swollen=stiffness=pain. Are you taking your pain pills and an anti-inflamitory? How about elevating and icing?

 

[luke71352]

Blondie,
Luke here again - and there you go again, trying to put a short leash on this, after everything that everyone has offered for advice. Just gotta keep sluggin' girl. A few days go by and it feels worse, and you swear you're going nowhere, something has to be wrong with it. Then maybe 4 or 5 weeks go by and you suddenly realize it is a little better. You can do things you couldn't before. I now call them "plateaus" , and at 20 weeks I'm probably a couple ahead of you. But let me remind you again that although I was working half days in the office by week 6 I did not return to work full time until week 17. I know it doesn't deem like just going to work would be a lot of effort and strees on the knee BUT IT IS. You are pushing it pretty hard.
Like others, I am accepting that I probably won't feel like it's my knee again for a full year, and I think you should do the same.
Luke

 

[Josephine]

Great post, Luke!

 

[Susie-Q]

I agree. I'm having lots of ups and downs right now and I know it's all related to the amount of activity I'm doing (which is too much) and the fact that I'm still healing. It's not the new knee that's to blame, it's me entirely......

In fact, I'm scared to say what I've been up to because Jo and Jamie would most likely kill me!!

 

[Josephine]

Eh?

 

[Susie-Q]

HAHAHAHA, did I type that out loud? Just pretend I didn't....... :evil:

 

[Jamie]

Okay, Susie.....SPILL!!! What the heck HAVE you been doing, my dear????

 

[rab269]

I am in the same boat as you are. I am still very swollen which makes the rehab very difficult

 

[brs0660]

I think we all want to do too much....and do to much. I think when we overdo, we also have to be willing to take the punishment...swelling, discomfort etc.

 

[Susie-Q]

I am learning that it doesn't matter what I do, the fact that I'm doing anything more than creeping at a snail's pace back into my regular lifestyle, I am going to have soreness. I mentioned this to my PT today and she agree with me. My doctor said I could start back to Curves in Sept if I wanted, he would write me a note to get out of paying for another month but no matter when I go back, I'm going to have some soreness and pain. I haven't started yet but I might some time in Sept but very, very slowly.....

So here's what I've been doing:

I agreed to host a party for my son and 15 of his high school friends last Thursday. yes, I am crazy. Both of my kids helped tremendously with cleaning and straightening up and all the kids brought snacks, food and beverages so I didn't have to prepare any food at all. It was exhausting and I was sore but I relaxed the next day with ice and recovered. Would I do it again? No. But not because of my knee, because some of those kids are too crazy and I think my neighbors might kill me if I did it again.

Saturday I did about 20-30 min of mild yard work. My roses needed pruning something fierce as no one has touched them since spring. I pulled a few weeds, raked up a few dead leaves under them, fertilized and watered them. I felt pretty good and so I stopped, knowing I could easily overdo it.

Sunday my dad and sister came over and I spent about 2 hours in a chair looking through old photos with them (it was fun!). After they left my quads suddenly were very sore, it hurt getting up out of a chair. Was it the yardwork the previous day or sitting in the chair with my legs bent at a 90 degree angle? Who knows.....I spend most of my time at home with my leg mostly straight on the recliner or on the bed. So what did I do? I went out in the front and did about 20 minutes of more yardwork!!! :D See! I told you that you didn't want to know what I've been doing........ lol I had these flowers that stand about 2-3 feet tall in the front and they were totally dead and looked horrible. I carefully cut them down, that was it. All the yardwork I did was standing and bending over at the waist, at no time was I on my hands and knees at all.

I did not complain, except to my family, about my pain as it was all self-inflicted. I had no one to blame but myself. Yesterday was daughter's orientation at middle school and off to the store to buy school supplies. Today was PT and Target to get a few things but since about 1:30 I have been very lazy at home, icing and taking it easy. I'm still a bit sore but better than I was on the weekend.

My theory is that I am going to have periods of soreness as I try to ease back into life. I'm not going to try and overdo it but I'm also not going to baby myself so much that I sit around like a lazy lump. I'm listening to my knee(s) and adjusting accordingly. My right quad is a bit sore but not more than a 2 on a scale of 1-10 and only when I use it to get up from the couch. I am sore but not really swollen at all.

Talking about being in a chair again, I do notice when I spent any length of time in the den at my computer in a chair with my legs bent that they become sore and achy. I'm assuming this will work itself out in time. Most of my computer time is on the recliner using the laptop.

So let the spanking begin!!!!

 

[Jamie]

No spanking. But I don't necessarily agree with your activity. You are increasing it in hectic spurts instead of gradually. You won't die from that, but you will hurt more. And we do try here on BoneSmart to keep our patients out of pain whenever possible.

You are only 2 months out from your surgery. You are supposed to be resting and relaxing a lot of your days....even if you don't think so. But...I think you have the wrong idea of what that "resting" is supposed to be like. It is NOT good for you to lie still or sit in one position for extended periods. You should get up now and then and move about the house (not do 30 minutes of standing yard work!). Moving around means walking some laps inside or outside starting at 5 minutes and working up to 30 minutes or so. Or riding a stationary bike in the same manner.

When you are lying or sitting...move your leg frequently. Heel slides are great. Sitting in a chair you should be moving your leg around and bending it back behind you under the seat. These are gentle stretching exercises that are so much better for you than what you're doing.

What you have described is either feast or famine for your joint and muscles. Try to find ways to increase your activity level more gradually and your knee will thank you a lot.

 

[Jamie]

I am in the same boat as you are. I am still very swollen which makes the rehab very difficult

Hi, rab269....welcome to BoneSmart! I'm glad you decided to join our forum. We'd love to get to know more about you. Why don't you start a thread of your own in the recovery forum and tell us about yourself. I look forward to your posts!

 

[Susie-Q]

Maybe I didn't describe it too well. I do get up and move about the house, quite a bit. I don't sit for too long because I have to get up to go to the bathroom, get some water or a cup of coffee, fold laundry, make dinner, shower, work on my parent's mail, etc. I'm probably getting up every half hour at least....... I really don't feel like these activities are too much as normally they don't cause me pain. I won't do any more yard work again, I think that was too much.

And I do move my leg a lot, it never just sits still when I'm sitting. I bend it up and put my foot on the edge of the footrest, sometimes I sit with the foot rest down so my leg is bent. I straighten the leg up tensing my quad often too. I guess I was trying to find a reason why it hurts when I sit for too long in a chair and maybe it's all the extra activity I'm doing. I will ease up on things, I promise.......

This is why I didn't want to say anything because I knew I would get in trouble.....

 

[Josephine]

And I do move my leg a lot, it never just sits still when I'm sitting.

Dear girl, why can you not get the happy medium? Sitting and resting means sitting still and then, every so often, have a short period of exercises. Nothing too strenuous. If you sat still all day and had maybe 5 periods of 5 minutes of exercises that would be plenty.

 

[Jamie]

You're not in "trouble." I'm just trying to get you to understand that those "little" things you are doing are NOT little when you're recovering from major surgery.

Household chores especially are more activity than you should be doing now. Think about what you do when you "make dinner." You stand for an extended period of time (more than 5 minutes). You bend, stoop and stretch as you get things from the fridge or cabinets. You twist as you move about to stir things on the stove or work at the sink. All in all, it's quite a workout for you at 2 months out.

If you couple an activity like making dinner with even things that sound like they aren't much (like opening mail or folding laundry - assuming you are sitting down), then you have created a really active day for yourself. This why you are hurting...that stiffness is pain from overdoing things.

You are doing the right thing by periodically moving your knee when you're sitting or reclining...keep doing that! But you still are going to need to scale back your activity if you want to experience less pain.

 

[BlondieT3]

THanks again everyone. I didnt want to go back to work, I was forced by my workmans comp company, but I have survived it and think I will only get stronger. I am trying not to do too much after work, and I am putting ice on it often.. Im still taking percocets once in a while and some NSAIDS... Actually today was an 8 hour day and I did ok. Today was a good day... Does anyone use PENNSAID drops, I got a Rx for it today and just applied it.. We will see... Im so glad I have you all.. ....It truly helps.

 

[Josephine]

Diclofenac, an NSAID. So don't take oral ones as well. Or if you must, make sure you tot up the daily max which is about 2,400mgs. Must say, I often use Ibuleve gel which is a topical ibuprofen (topical meaning you apply it to the 'top' or the skin!) and I find that extremely effective for my shoulder pain.

Have you thought of taking Tylenol to add to your pain killers? It's a pretty good analgesic and doesn't have any side effects like drowsiness.

 

[Susie-Q]

All is well, gals, don't worry. Except for having to take out my elderly father on Wednesday, I have been taking it easy and my knees feel much better. Normal light household chores really have not been a problem for me the past couple of weeks, it's when I do more than that that I have trouble. My daughter has come to me requesting chore money lately so it's been nice to give her some of the more laborious tasks, like dishes, cat litter, vacuuming, etc. So it's working out nicely.

Like everyone else, it's hard to fight living up to other's expectations as well as our own. We just have to learn to say no.

 

[rab269]

I am 11 weeks post-op and playing golf tomorrow for the first time since surgery. Keep doing your exercises and stretching and you will improve. I had my doubts too!