TKR Still Riding the TKR Wave

[NetballKnees]

Hi Deb ... called in to visit and see that your last post said your knee has been a bit more painful. I hope that has eased again and has become more comfortable for you. I have been MIA for a while as I had a serious case of the BLAHS due to this new knee also not wanting to bend, but I did not have a bleed into the joint space, which sounds very uncomfortable. There are so many variables that can happen after a TKR, it seems to me.

I hope you come back on shortly and let us know how your pain is going and whether it has been relieved. Did you have to do anything specific about the bleed into the joint space?

Hopefully you are more comfortable now and back to doing all you want to do.

Take Care ... Love and Hugs ... Ellen

 

[marmora]

Hello Ellen @NetballKnees
Hello Deb @happymum

Ellen rest to see you back on BoneSmart.
Deb, hope that you are comfortable and doing well, haven't seen any posts from you in awhile.

Take care to my two Aussie friends,
Cathie

 

[happymum]

Hello girls! @NetballKnees and @marmora
Thank you for your posts, I am feeling better and saw the OS last week in Perth. My husband had a week off and we went to the city together, it was lovely and just what I needed.
My knee for the last week, seems to have turned a little corner and even though its not bending much more it is so much more bearable. I can walk further and even just rest without too much pain! I dont feel as frustrated and I am feeling happier, more myself.
The Dr was very pleased with my knee. Its still swollen and bruised down both sides of my knee joint at the back of my leg. Dr said, with me, it could take up to three years to have a knee that's not swollen and bending more than it is now. (100 rom) The bruise is attributed to some bleeding still and the medication I take making my blood thin. The bleed under my knee cap I got due to the op will slowly disperse, there is nothing that can be done there. Dr said my knee was damaged from inflammatory arthritis not osteoarthritis. He told me to only exercise to the extent my knee does not keep me awake at night and just to rest when I feel like it. I had my knee xrayed before I saw the Dr. I have included it. We all loved how straight my knee and leg are now and how I can walk straight!
I do hope that you are both improving like me, having a tkr is certainly unpredictable and can be very taxing emotionally.
Im still riding along with the hope that things keep improving. I am still going to the pool but I am very careful that I dont over do it. I like the exercise bike too but it upsets my back and right hip which was tidied up a few years ago. So I stick to just 2 x 10 mins a day.
Take care and keep well girls and thankyou very much for caring x
Best wishes, Deb

 

[happymum]

Hi @skigirl
Could you please change my title to "Still riding the tkr wave!" ? I would really appreciate it. I either don't have thread tools OR I cant see them lol. (I read a post last night regarding this where you kindly said you can)
Thanks very much
Deb

 

[NetballKnees]

Hi Deb ... How lovely you and hubby were able to go to Perth together. I hope the weather was kind to you. I am so glad you feel your knee is turning a corner and although flexion still hasn't improved markedly, you feel that the knee itself is getting stronger and allowing you to do more.

I am quite jealous of your 100 flexion. I guess the bleeding is still going on because of the blood thinners. I do hope this doesn't make additional pain for you. THREE YEARS .... that sounds like such a long time to wait, but you sound as if you are being positive and dealing with things as they arise. Bit of a lesson for me I think.

I hope things continue to improve. Your doctor sounds very understanding.

I am also very impressed that you can ride a bike, even for 10 minutes at a time.

Take Care Deb and I will visit again to see how you are going. BTW ... I did ask through my thread whereabouts in WA you lived. Did you answer me? I will have to look before I ask you again. Hugs ... Ellen

 

[Jane B.]

Dear HappyMum, Cute new knee!

Sorry to hear about the bleeding, that seems unfair, but there is nothing fair about recovering from a knee replacement.

Glad to hear you are turning a corner. Selfishly, it means that we may as well.

All my best.

 

[marmora]

@happymum

Hello Deb,

Good to hear from you and read your update.
You seem very upbeat and positive in the post and loved the knee photos !

Turning that corner seems to have made a difference and your are wise to take things at a pace that doesn't cause your knee to flare up.

Blood thinners can affect various health issues and surgery recovery. I've been on various blood thinners since I was 25 after my first DVT. Currently on Xarelto.

Wow! Three years to fuller recovery, well take it one day at a time and think of the alternative if you hadn't had the surgery.

Take care and keep your sunny spirits up.
Cathie

 

[happymum]

Hi @marmora , Cathie,
No blood thinners for me but a combination of arthritis and asthma medications over a long period of time, according to the hematologist. Oh well. we are what we are! Yes i am happier with my new knee ~ I hope the feeling lasts! Ha ha I am sure it will
Yes I was astonished when he came out with the 3 year quote but it is what it is and i will be happy if things keep improving. I went out in the boat this weekend and I walked up a little ledge of sand and my husband and I were so happy! Its the little things .........
How are you going? Hope all is well.
Best wishes,
Deb

 

[happymum]

Hi @NetballKnees , Ellen,
I live in the Pilbara ~ northwest West Australia, very hot here at the moment and only going to get hotter. We are lucky everything is aircon so its not too bad. I hope you are having a lovely day.

 

[happymum]

Hi @Jane B.
Thanks for the lovely reply, glad you liked my little cutie!
I have turned a corner, so I'm not worried about the bleed. OS said it could ooze for a while yet. Makes a difference when you know whats going on and whether to be worried or not!
No, not selfish at all Jane B. giving other people hope is what Bonesmart is about and I would be lost without it.
Nice to know that i have comforted someone.
Best wishes to you in your knee recovery,
Deb

 

[marmora]

Hi Deb @happymum

It's very good for the spirit to accomplish small goals and being out on the boat and walking in uneven sand bring smiles of joy ! It's adding all these small things that build up our confidence in our recovery.

I took the commenter train in/ out of town without using my cane yesterday morning and it gave me great confidence.

I'm taking or should I say "my knee" is taking a slow road to recovery. Flexion at about 105/110 and extension at 4/5 at week 15 post-op. And that's what I have to accept and be comfortable with that.

Going to the gym 2-3 week and therapy pool once a week and walking outside for 20-30 minutes several times a day. All and all getting my life back to normal, out and about with friends,back to various clubs I'm a member of.

Life PostTKR is good and the light at the end of the tunnel will soon require sunglasses !

Take care,
Cathie

 

[happymum]

Yay for you @marmora, Cathie, so glad that you are having a few wins too! So good to hear
You are doing a lot to, I'm very impressed, good for you! I wonder when you get your post op X-ray. I hope this week brings much laughter and love.

Love Deb

 

[happymum]

Hi @skigirl
Could you please change my title to "Still riding the tkr wave!" ? I would really appreciate it. I either don't have thread tools OR I cant see them lol. (I read a post last night regarding this where you kindly said you can)
Thanks very much
Deb

 

[skigirl]

Sorry to take so long!! My step daughter and grandson were visiting and I was so tired at night that I did not see your tag!! the title is changed now.

 

[happymum]

Thanks very much @skigirl

 

[marmora]

Hi Deb @happymum

Hope that you are having a good weekend, we had a very,very rainy Saturday in Dublin.
But, a great day for celebration as Ireland beat South Africa in rugby on Saturday evening .

Take care,
Cathie

 

[jude2014]

Hi @happymum I have just found and read your thread. I see you too are from WA, although you are in the Pilbara and I am in Rockingham, south of Perth. My nephew lives in Karratha, are you anywhere near there?
I presume you had your surgery in Perth, if so, which hospital did you attend?
I am having my RTKR next Wednesday, 17th December. I have severe Osteoarthritis in both knees, they are bone on bone and very, very painful. I read in one of your comments where you could not walk along the sand with your husband at the beach. I too have not been able to do this for a few years and it is something I am really looking forward to doing again.
I am not too apprehensive about the surgery and recovery but I do worry how my left knee will stand up to the pressure of supporting my R knee until I can walk comfortably on it. I think I will have to wear a full knee brace on the left knee for a while to give it some added support.
I hope you are not finding it too hot as I heard on the news somewhere up north was going to be 43 degrees!! Does the weather have any impact on your knees?
I shall check in on your thread again soon and see how you are doing. Take care fellow Sandgroper!!

 

[happymum]

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well and happy, its been a very hard year for the world.
I had a total Knee replacement on my left leg in July 2014 at 51 years. I had an extended recovery as I have inflammatory
arthritis which complicates things. After getting through the first 12 months of pain it settled. I did not achieve a good
ROM.
I have been very happy with my Knee Replacement and I have been able to do many things I never thought I would be
able to do, walk along the beach, swim with flippers and snorkel, and just live without a lot of pain in my knee.
Anyway the last week, I have started to get severe pain when I move my left leg in a certain way. Getting up from sitting, walking up a small step, moving it the wrong way in bed (it wakes me up - this can happen also when I am trying to get to sleep.
Short, sharp pain, nearly tear inducing, runs down to my toes and lingers after. Starts at a 9 and feels comparable to the pain I felt after knee replacement. The knee feels a bit stiff and swollen.
I work a lot sitting at the computer ( have done this no worries for past 3 years) and have recently been using the walking machine for up to twenty minutes twice a week for exercise as well as housework.
The pain is on the medial side. Somethings grabbing and WOW it hurts so much.
Has anyone experienced this?
Thanks for reading.

 

[Sara61]

Hi to Bonesmart, sorry you didn't have a easy recovery.
One of the specific sports I was recommended not to do after my surgery was walking on a treadmil, apparently it has a hard impact on the knees, the surgeon highly recommended outdoor walking, try stopping using your treadmill and ice and elevate that knee for a while, if this fails and you still have pain I would suggest speaking to your doctor xx

 

[happymum]

Thank you Sara 61. No more treadmill for me! Thank you, I hope I haven't caused damage...