TKR Strange New World

[Denny39]

At the moment, my feet are firmly planted at month 1. I’m sure you are familiar with the famous saying, “Time flies when you are having fun”. Some time ago I realized that I had reached the age where fun is no longer relevant. Time flies whether or not I am having fun. TKR however, has the diabolical ability to bring time to a crawl. This is the longest two weeks I have experienced since waiting for Christmas as a child. Thanks for your input.

 

[sistersinhim]

Merry Christmas! I pray you have a very good day and that time starts to fly for you! The healing continues to get easier after the first month. You'll almost there!

 

[Rick951]

@Denny39 Merry Christmas!! Things will get better!! I have been in the same place you are now. You will start to have better days. Then you will over do it, you will pay for it. You will recover. Then you will find what caused you issues before does not anymore. That is when you start to feel good about having the OEM parts replaced. I said the exact same thing you did just before I decided to have my PKR. "I am sticking with the OEM parts as long as possable".
Just remember this is a marathon, not a sprint...

 

[Denny39]

A lot to be said for OEM parts huh? Thanks fot the input. Things ARE slowly getting better. I now have very close to the same ROM I had before surgery. Torque is still a no-no. Sleep is still in the disaster category.

 

[Celle]

"I am sticking with the OEM parts as long as possable".

A lot to be said for OEM parts huh?

I had no idea what you meant by "OEM parts", so I googled it.
Apparently, it means "Original Equipment Manufacturer".

That was quite funny. However, to avoid confusion and for the sake of other members who, like me, didn't understand, please will you only use abbreviations that are listed in this article?
abbreviations and acronyms

Thank you both.

 

[sistersinhim]

Torque is still a no-no

What does this mean? We're lay people here and don't understand the lingo.

 

[Denny39]

Sorry. Torque is a twisting motion.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

At the risk of boring you, I'm going to repeat myself. You are not yet three weeks out, you are still at the stage where your body is reacting to the trauma of surgery and is not yet in the steady march forward of healing. But in another three weeks you will be. And you will already know that although getting to your feet can be a trial, once you are standing that horrible arthritis pain isn't there. It's not coming back, either

 

[Denny39]

2 weeks 2 days. Still using the walker at night, but rarely during the day; mostly as a safety during standing exercises. Actually, sometimes I walk away and leave my cane behind. “HEY”! “Where’s your cane???”, is my Wife’s way of bringing my attention to that minor oversite. It is interesting that standing and walking slowly really is now less painful than before my surgery. The worst pain generally comes at night when I wake up. I think that is because I turn over in my sleep (what little I get) and my leg winds up in an awkward position. The “Tooth-achy” feeling in the shin-bone is consistent, but slowly getting less.

I think maybe I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to the support, testimony and encouragement of you and others, I’m not too worried about that light being an approaching train.

One of the things that I was told multiple times (after the fact), was that the first two weeks are tough, but then it should slowly begin to get better; and for me that has proven true. To those “newbies” still in that time-frame, I can say hang in there, you are on your way, and this too shall pass.

 

[sistersinhim]

One of the things that I was told multiple times (after the fact), was that the first two weeks are tough, but then it should slowly begin to get better; and for me that has proven true. To those “newbies” still in that time-frame, I can say hang in there, you are on your way, and this too shall pass.

This is wonderful advice!

Actually, sometimes I walk away and leave my cane behind.

That's a good sign that your knee is getting stronger and you are feeling more confident in it. Just be sure that there are things around that you can grab or hold on to if that knee gives out. You don't want to fall! That is a definite no no!

 

[Denny39]

2 weeks and 3 days. Progress seems good for the most part. Except for the constant, dull “tooth-achy” feeling that has settled in around the surgical site, and occasional shooting pains through the leg, there seems to be less pain when walking than before surgery. However, my Calf muscles and the hollow area behind the knee has become very tender and sensitive to touch. Possibly because a lot of the original numbness has subsided. Because I have a very bad back (lifelong condition), some of my exercises now hurt my back more than my knee. I’m going to see my Chiropractor this Morning.

Now that I have reached “Upper Middle Age”, there are a number of things that are considerably more complicated than they used to be.

 

[Jockette]

I have had back issues for years that are now at a manageable level. I flat out refused to do any thing for my knee that would irritate my back. My therapist said, well we won’t rob Peter to pay Paul.

Yes, we have a new healing knee, but we also have other body parts that need to be taken care of.

And, the knee does not really need all the exercises we are told to do, anyway.

 

[grandma chris]

Actually @Denny39 when I started feeling pain in my knee after I ditched the walker for a day, Celle told me that it was my knee telling me I was not ready to be without my walker. I went back to the walker and the pain went away. Maybe just because I could manage without it it was not a good idea?

 

[Denny39]

I will discuss this with my therapist today. It has only really become a problem in the last 2 days. I was told at age 40 that I could have back surgery then, or 5 years from then, but “You ARE going to have it!”. That was 39 years ago. I have learned how to listen to my back and negotiate with it. Although there have been some very painful episodes, it has never kept me from doing anything I really wanted to. It did however, once save me from a Grand Jury subpoena. My Chiropractor wrote a letter explaining that I could not sit still that long. So, this will work out also. Just another minor wrinkle to be ironed out. Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . . .

 

[sistersinhim]

Just another minor wrinkle to be ironed out.

You have a wonderful attitude! You'll get through this just fine. Always remember that you are the boss at PT, not the other way around!

 

[Denny39]

I was somewhat relieved when my therapist told me today that NONE of her knee patients are having a good day. The barometer is dropping like crazy as a new storm front rolls in. I had never even thought of that, as I have never been affected by weather changes before. It is definitely going to take some adapting as I come to grips with this “Strange New World”.

 

[Jockette]

I never had weather issues, either, until after this surgery.

 

[grandma chris]

I have arthritis all over my body, in my hands, knees, hips, and feet. It's worse in my feet but I'm pretty sure I can't get a foot replacement! Weather always affects how I feel, cold and damp really both me. I feel quite jealous when I read about my fellow bonesmarties being able to walk long distances after they recover from their tkr. I won't ever be able to do that because of my poor feet. In time I can hope to walk painlessly for a couple of miles and that will be enough for me.

 

[sistersinhim]

The barometer is dropping like crazy as a new storm front rolls in. I had never even thought of that, as I have never been affected by weather changes before.

I have had weather predicting knees for over 30 years! I could always tell when a change was coming. Whether the barometer dropped of raised quickly, I could tell! My new knee isn't as bad as it was, but the old one still is!

 

[Denny39]

My Grandfathers knees were far more reliable than the weather “forecasts” we get now!