TKR SpaceGirls Road to Recovery Knee #2

[SpaceGirl]

@Jockette oh I promise I am taking pain meds as scheduled around the clock. I wake up at night to take them too! You are right about ROM, I know it will happen when it is ready. I was more or lesa just stating pt info. I did nothing except walk since my last pt appt and it seemed to help but I will say that pt was not painful at all, so its just weird that I hurt so much. I also do not take pain meds before pt unless it is a regular schedules time.

@JennyLynne r


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Well coming up on 5 weeks this Wed! I had a fairly relaxing weekend. We got a recliner for me so now I can at least sit somewhere else besides the bed. I think that helped my mental state as well. Pain ebbs and flows.

I had pt this morning, did some half rotation on recumbent bike, some heel slides and stretching. Practiced putting weight more on lefty and also walked a bit with a cane. Hoping to transition soon as I do feel more steady and walking faster with the walker. Measurements today was pretty good. ROM was 85 at start of session (last week maybe 80) so I have gained some and with light passive push, I got 90 and it did not hurt. Extension was good, almost to 0.

Getting into and out of the car has gotten much easier. It takes a min but I can do it with minimal pain now. Sleep is still hit or miss but I think its due to not being able to get comfy. I am a stomach/side sleeper usually. I have tried to sleep on side with pillow between legs, different ways to be propped and its painful still. Oh well, it will get there. Truth be told I need an appt with my reg dr(have to find new one) and get my prescription sleep med back.

I think this week I will start using my cane at home to improve so I can transition to it Soon. Other woes, my normal job at school is likely on hold until they resume class in person in Oct if then. Which is ok since I needed to be off til then anyway. I also applied to be a sub so I can have more flexibility in my schedule for school purposes. We are really short in subs so I hope to get in on that.

Have a great week y’all!

Had to come back and edit because I forgot to mention my quad is nearly normal again! I can get it back on the bed by myself 90% of the time!! I can’t do straight leg lifts yet, but I can do kicks from sitting down, not all the way out yet but slowly getting there. Woooot!!!

 

[sistersinhim]

What a great post. You have improved so much in just a few weeks! Yay!

 

[Rick951]

@SpaceGirl Glad you are making progress!!! At times it seems S L O W.... Celebrate every victory!! Ignore the setbacks, they are temporary.

 

[JennyLynne]

This is the BEST post!!! All great things, so much progress and lots of positivity... I love it!!!

 

[_Annie_]

I also had trouble sleeping and now take 1- hydroxyzine 10 mg. It’s similar to a Benadryl without the damage to my liver. My Dr suggested it and it works for me. Hope you find something that works for you.

 

[kneeper]

Congrats on things progressing! Doesn't it feel good to just be able to do stuff like get in and out of the car more easily?

 

[SpaceGirl]

Officially 5 weeks post op today! Yay for that! Nothing new to really report, my knee is still a bit swollen, mostly on the left side of it and that is what generally hurts. The other day I was leaving pt and stepped and felt like I hyper extended my knee a bit but almost felt like it tried to give out. I think I was not walking right at that point. It's hurt a bit since then but I have been icing and icing and taking meds so it's getting better. No pt today either, so that's good. I do go tomorrow, so it will probably feel a bit better by tomorrow morning. My oldest girl came home yesterday for a week from her job/newest living area, so we are having a nice week here. I hate to she has to leave again on Monday but tis life lol she probably won't be back until Thanksgiving, but I take what I can get.

Have a wonderful week!

 

[SpaceGirl]

Quick update, had pt today and measured at 94! We worked more on extension today and did some massaging on my hamstring a bit. It is really tight. Most impressive was I was able to do 10 straight leg lifts!! I haven’t been able to do any prior to today! Pt could tell my quad was not working 100% so he gave me a few different things to work on.

I did some walking around the pt gym today again with a cane. He wanted me to use it as needed vs actually putting weight on it. So basically a light tap as I walked and then had me walk faster as if I wasn’t worried about the cane. Y’all I probably could have walked without it! I had decent balance and my gait was good. He wanted me to wait one more week to switch over to the cane but I still plan to use it around the house more than the walker. Overall good visit, go again on Mon and Wed next week.

 

[SpaceGirl]

Good afternoon Bonesmarties!

Have had a nice week visiting with my oldest daughter. She leaves soon, sadly. I had pt today and did so good walking! I can practically walk without the cane but am keeping it as my knee still locks up/gives out randomly. No more walker! Whooohoooo! I have pt two more times this week, still working easily on extension and bend but its going welL. I will be 6 weeks out on Wednesday. Check in soon!

 

[sistersinhim]

Yay for no more walker!

 

[SpaceGirl]

6 Weeks Post Op ​

Finally made it to the 6 week post op turn around. I am starting to feel better, much less pain, and able to do more around the house. I cooked an easy dinner the other night without too much of an issue. Showers are getting easier, not as worn out now! Getting in/out of car is better, almost normal like most people do. I still can’t drive yet as I am still slow to move leg and don't feel my reflexes are ready yet. My quad woke up a week or so ago and I can move it without assistance, finally! I can see the improvements, but still have many weeks of pt to go but I transitioned from walker to cane this week, yay me!

Now if I can get this sciatic nerve to stop hurting!! My left back side of the knee and all the way up my thigh hurt pretty bad. The pt gave me some things to try, heat compress, tennis ball under my thigh ( going to look up some specific tips for that) and stretching. Any other tips?

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

6 Weeks Post Op ​

Finally made it to the 6 week post op turn around. I am starting to feel better, much less pain, and able to do more around the house. I cooked an easy dinner the other night without too much of an issue. Showers are getting easier, not as worn out now! Getting in/out of car is better, almost normal like most people do. I still can’t drive yet as I am still slow to move leg and don't feel my reflexes are ready yet. My quad woke up a week or so ago and I can move it without assistance, finally! I can see the improvements, but still have many weeks of pt to go but I transitioned from walker to cane this week, yay me!

Now if I can get this sciatic nerve to stop hurting!! My left back side of the knee and all the way up my thigh hurt pretty bad. The pt gave me some things to try, heat compress, tennis ball under my thigh ( going to look up some specific tips for that) and stretching. Any other tips?

I had both knees replaced on 7/6/20. I am having really bad back of knee pain in my right knee. Left knee is good. The pain radiates the other way on me though. It goes down my calf, around to my shin and down to my foot when it gets bad. My therapist said it’s from a really tight hamstring. I’m doing a lot of the same things you are - putting a rolled up towel under my thigh vs a tennis ball and using a heating pad on my lower leg. I’m also doing some extra stretches and exercises to work on that hamstring. The easiest one is walking backwards - focusing on toe, heel and stretching that heel when I put it down. I know the sciatic nerve is a different thing, but maybe this exercise would help you too?

 

[allin1]

6 Weeks Post Op ​

Finally made it to the 6 week post op turn around. I am starting to feel better, much less pain, and able to do more around the house. I cooked an easy dinner the other night without too much of an issue. Showers are getting easier, not as worn out now! Getting in/out of car is better, almost normal like most people do. I still can’t drive yet as I am still slow to move leg and don't feel my reflexes are ready yet. My quad woke up a week or so ago and I can move it without assistance, finally! I can see the improvements, but still have many weeks of pt to go but I transitioned from walker to cane this week, yay me!

Now if I can get this sciatic nerve to stop hurting!! My left back side of the knee and all the way up my thigh hurt pretty bad. The pt gave me some things to try, heat compress, tennis ball under my thigh ( going to look up some specific tips for that) and stretching. Any other tips?

That sounds great. Less pain is always good!
I don't have much to offer in way of stretching, but that is next on my agenda. Now that my left knee is fixed, my right hip is hurting. It's done it in the past and was diagnosed as sciatic or possibly a tight piraformis muscle. I did some stretching but gave up. Will have to do better! Maybe we can have a stretching support group, lol.

 

[SpaceGirl]

@Mrs. Ciz sorry you are struggling with pain as well. My knee was hurting pretty bad for awhile and under it sometimes hurts as well. I normally do have tight hamstrings and thought this was from that but due to location, pt says no. I have been doing those types of stretches as well due to the hamstring always being tight from limp walking over the last few years. I will ask the pt about walking backwards when I go on Monday.

@allin1 Yes I am so happy to have had the main pain subside. Thought last night I had a rough night sleeping, tossed and turned a lot due to a migraine. So when I woke up my knee was throbbing. I have been icing off and on all morning. I suspect I will nap later today for sure. Stretching is a great thing to do and I need to force myself to do it more often. I know it would help, we def need support group to keep motivated!!

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My oldest girl left this morning to head back to Memphis to officially start her new job. She was supposed to have left on Monday but had some car issues. It didn't get fixed until late Wed evening, so we picked it up on Thurs. Thought she was leaving then but the organization she works for is also a school so she had to wait until PD days were over lol On the plus side now she is only 3.5 hours away instead of 6 I will take what I can get! lol

PT is going pretty good for me, I had to skip this past Friday due to a migraine. I went to bed on Thurs night at 11ish and slept til 1pm on Friday!!! Then last night was rough because my head was still hurting and I think my blood pressure was up. So when I woke up this morning my knee was all kinds of stiff and painful. I have iced it most of the morning and I am about to get up and do some walking around the house. Also will do some stim on it to help with pain.

Have a great weekend!

 

[SpaceGirl]

Oh my, I have entered the twilight zone. Not good my friends. I was doing so well, and then the sciatica issue, which seems to be resolved. I started with a headache on one side of my head on Thurs, went to bed at 11:30, slept thru til 1 pm on Friday. I made a very easy dinner, thurs night and nothing else and all the sudden since Fri evening my knee and quad has been killing me. I wonder if I stepped weird or what. My knee is revolting and not wanting to bed far, my quad just hurts. I have tried meds, heating, icing and stim machine and nada.

The only other thing different since this past week was a couple nights I managed to roll onto my side and sleep for an hour here or there. I had a pillow between my knees to my ankles but wonder if I got caught in blankets somehow and tweaked my leg?

 

[sistersinhim]

wonder if I got caught in blankets somehow and tweaked my leg?

I have awakened with unexplained pain in the morning and assumed I had done something in my sleep. This could very well be what happened to you. As long as your knee hasn't gotten really hot, red and a lot of extra swelling you should be OK. You know what to do...ice, elevate and rest!

 

[WhenImOld]

Ouch, I'm sorry you tweaked it! Definitely rest, ice and elevate

 

[SpaceGirl]

@sistersinhim yep i have been icing and elevating a lot! It’s crazy how it can hurt so much from something so little.

@WhenImOld thanks, I did that all weekend for sure!

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Went to pt today and told them about my “tweaked” issue lol they said that was likely the cause. So she worked on massaging it quite a bit. Did some type of stim (dolphin) on the scar area to break up the tissue that is still tight. It seems to be helping, had it done 3 times already and the bottom half is so much better now. Worked on some heel slides and I got to 96 all by myself, whoohoo! She was impressed since I had barely got 90 the last measurement. Also did some weight shifting exercises and walking in the gym and then stim and icing for 15 mins.

Now I am home relaxing, icing and elevating. I am trying very hard to stay awake. Just as I was about to fall asleep last night the power went out. It was out until 3:20 am, so I am exhausted. There was a bad car wreck in our rd and they took put the power pole. I am hoping for an early bedtime tonight.

 

[JennyLynne]

Just caught up on your posts and wow, you have made amazing progress while I was gone! Way to go on that bend... send me some flex juju!!

 

[SpaceGirl]

@JennyLynne thanks girl! Just read your post trip report, sorry your bend is not more. I am sure it's just swollen from the trip. Try to elevate and ice as much as you can before next pt session and hopefully it will be better. To tell the truth I didn't expect a higher number yesterday because of all the pain I have been in but I have been diligent about icing and elevating. I do find I need to get up and walk more though because I am so stiff when I do get up. I wish they would measure my extension so I knew where I was at with that. It's not terrible but not 100% where I need to be either. I will ask on Friday when I go again.