TKR Strange New World

Sorry, it helped me to share this. Where should I have done it.?
You need to use your own thread for sharing information about yourself. This way it's all in one place and you can go back and read it like your own personal journal.
 
Hello everyone,

I have not been active on the forum for the last few weeks, primarily due to a health crisis with my wife. While not life-threatening, it was serious, accounted for many sleeplessness nights, and placed high demands on time and resources. We are confident that all is under control now, but some maintenance will be required.

Meanwhile, I hope that everyone has progressed well in your recovery process. Now, at about 5 ½ months, my new knee is doing well. I still use my cane sometimes, but mostly because of my other bad knee and back. I often suddenly realize that I no longer have it with me, and have no idea where I left it. I actually had to buy a new one last week because I left it in a restaurant 50 miles from home, and didn’t even realize it until the following day.

For those still in the earlier stages, wondering if you will ever walk normally again, I remember those days well. I think it was about 8 weeks when I told my wife, “I don’t care how bad the other one is, I AIN’T doing this again!!!”. But, although I thought for a while I may have to cancel or at least postpone it, I am go for June 17, the day after Father’s Day. I can hardly wait . . . . Yeah, Right!!

But at least now, after those first few rather nasty weeks pass, and they will pass, I have something to look forward to; strong and pain-free legs after about 10 years. I now consider it well worth it.
 
Great progress @grandma chris. I can relate to everything you said. Over the last 4 weeks or so, I noticed increasingly rapid improvement in all areas, including stamina. That is very encouraging after weeks of not being really sure you will ever be able to move normally again. I remember one time not too long ago I was having trouble getting out of the car, and I said to my wife, “I don’t think I will EVER be able to just get out of the car and get going again”. A couple of days ago, I suddenly realized I had done just that, without even realizing it.

The day after Father’s Day, I start all over again. While not exactly looking forward to it, I do look forward to getting beyond it and being able to once again move around normally. For all of you still in those early stages of doubt and uncertainty, take heart. These days will pass, and I find it amazing how much faster time travels looking backward than looking forward. It really doesn’t seem possible that my first surgery was 6 months ago.
 
@Denny39 Good to see you back here. I do hope all is well with your wife!

Sounds like that new knee is behaving. Well done on getting #2 scheduled. We will be with you through that recovery as well.
 
Good to hear from you Denny, great that the knee is doing so well. I'm sorry to hear about your wife's health problems and hope she is, or will be, ok. Wishing you a successful second surgery and recovery. I'm still holding fire on mine, although it is feeling worse now the new knee is faring well and I'm doing more. I'll know when the time is right.
 
Hi @Lindylee and thanks for your good wishes. My wife is doing fine, and we are fairly sure we have found a permanent solution.

Very happy to hear that your new knee is doing well also. You are roughly 6 weeks behind me, and I can say that during the last 6 weeks,I have experienced greatly accelerated periods of improvement. In fact, it was fairly recently that I commented to my wife, that I wondered if I would ever again be able to get in, and especially out, of the car without struggling. Now, it’s almost like there was never a problem. I can go up and down stairs normally without using the handrail, and I no longer take my cane when walking my dog (or when she’s walking me is more accurate). None of that was true 3 or 4 weeks ago. I have exactly the same scenario with the old one getting worse while the new one is getting better. So, I either get the other one fixed or spend the rest of my life walking in circles because I have one good leg and one bad one. So, June 17 . . . . Which seemed like a long way off when I scheduled it, but all of a sudden it’s looming big.

I’m also wondering if possibly the second recovery might be a bit easier. For the first recovery, those of us with 2 bad knees had one recovering from major surgery, supported by the other one which was probably just as bad. I’ve also noticed that the extreme back pain I had for the first 4 months is almost gone (back to what it was before surgery, mostly constant but mild). Many have experienced back pain during recovery as well, but it will probably diminish with time. A back supported by two wobbly knees is bound to complain a bit.

All in all, while it remains EXTREMELY low on my bucket list, or on my list of fond memories, I’m glad one is done, and am going forward on #2 without (much) hesitation.

Hope you also see accelerated improvements in the immediate future, and yes, you will know when the time is right.
 
I have also found, now nearly 5 months since the initial TKR on my right knee, my left knee is screaming. The positive of this has been a reminder of why I did this knee. I now remember the pain I was in. Because until now, I have regretted doing this. I now feel so crippled and compromised ... but trust there is a light at the end of the tunnel.


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If your Left knee is also really bad, running bone-to-bone, the extra load placed on it by the right knee being temporarily useless will considerably exacerbate the problem. As the right one becomes stronger, that may diminish a bit, but you will still have one getting better and one getting worse. Exactly where I am now. How is the new Right Knee doing?
 
Thanks for the good wishes Denny. My back is still playing up, but it's reassuring to hear that your back pain has diminished. I'll be watching your second recovery with interest.
@Didot I agree, my right unoperated knee reinforces why I had the other done. I was out for lunch today and after 2 hours sitting I went to get up and my right knee didn't want to do anything in the way of supporting me or moving. I was very grateful for my new knee behaving beautifully or it would have been a very undignified heap on the restaurant floor. It was bad enough hobbling painfully to the loo!
 
@Denny39. Thanks for asking. My operated right knee is very very slowly starting to feel ok. I’m still aware of it all the time, as it feels foreign and my muscles are still so weak I sometimes feel like it’s going to give way. The positive part for me, unlike what others say, was the MUA I had at 13 weeks. That helped get my knee bending, because prior to that it was a stiff, hard ball.


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members pic.jpg
33rd Wedding Anniversary today.
 
Awww, many congratulations, what a lovely photo.
 
Congratulations! What a handsome couple you are!
 
@Denny39 Congratulations on your 33 wedding Anniversary!! Glad to hear your wife is also doing well! I like you am also in line for a second knee to be upgraded.....:chinstroke: I had a PKR on my right last October. It is doing very well. My OS said my left is also a candidate for a PKR when I am ready. Not sure I am ready yet.:yikes:
I wish you the best of luck on you upcoming surgery!!!
Rick
 
@Denny39 Congratulations of the Anniversary, and I'm so glad things have improved with your wife's health. Good luck with your upcoming surgery, as it will be here in no time. I'll be following along to see how things go. :)
 
Thank everyone for your warm responses and encouragement. While on the one hand, I have a definite lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming events of next Monday, I have a definite enthusiasm for the long-term results. My after-market replacement knee is doing very well, while the original equipment knee I still have is becoming a bigger and bigger and more painful nuisance. At about 8 weeks post-op, I said something like, “I don’t care how bad the other knee is, I ain’t doin’ this again; PERIOD!. But it is a quality of life issue, and it would really be a waste to go through that, only to wind up still crippled because of the other one. And, 6 months down the road I would no doubt be hating myself, knowing that it could be all behind me. So, next Monday morning, I will once again sign on the dotted line, put on the “One-size fits very few people” hospital gown, and let them do their thing.

I hope everyone is progressing well in recovery, and will soon realize that it was a good decision, well worth the “temporary inconveniences”.
 
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Somehow, I posted a couple of replies on the wrong thread. I have no idea how I did that or where they are. But I did reference the recipient, so hopefully they will show up. I probably shouldn’t try something that complicated until I have finished at least my first cup of coffee . . .
 
All of a sudden, that “far off” date of June 17 doesn’t sound so far off. I have to be at the hospital tomorrow morning, but not until 10:30, and I can’t even get a waiver on the “no morning coffee” thing. This is getting rotten already!
 
Thinking of you! Best wishes and watching for updates. Not that I know, but I think the upside of #2 is you know exactly what to expect.
 
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