TKR Susie-Q's 2nd TKR Recovery Thread

Have a relaxing day! That stiffness usually persists for many months! You’ll get through it.
 
I also wanted to confirm what I've read in other's stories about the peeing at night? I go regularly and often during the day, drink lots of water, tea, coffee, etc. For whatever reason, I end up having to go at least 3 times between bedtime (10:30-11) and 2am. I'm stretching out my meds and would love to be able to sleep until I have to wake to take them but my bladder just won't let me! It's always very full even though I'm not drinking a lot prior to bedtime. It must be the body's elimination of fluids from elevating during the day. Anyway, just wanted to say that it's a real thing!
 
As we all know, our knees are very good at telling us how they feel and my knee told me last night and this morning that the walk to the mailbox was a little too much.....

Just curious: How far was your walk to the mailbox? Since you're about two weeks ahead of me, I'm reading your posts with great interest!
 
Just curious: How far was your walk to the mailbox? Since you're about two weeks ahead of me, I'm reading your posts with great interest!

Two houses up and across the street. Really not that far. When I say my knee is telling me it was too much, I'm not in agony at all, just a little more sore in my quad, a little more aching last night while watching tv and extra stiffness this morning. Nothing major. I was able to sleep fine except for my bladder waking me to pee and to take pills around 2:30am. Very glad I didn't give in to my impulse to cross the street and go talk to my neighbor who lives 3 houses up. I listened to my instincts that said quit while you're ahead and go home.

I had no pain at all while doing it, in fact I was walking better than I would have prior to surgery. Just had those minor things happen after. I don't think I'll walk to the mail box today, I'll wait for another day.
 
Two friends came and brought lunch yesterday and we visited on the patio for a couple of hours. The weather was beautiful and it was a nice visit. Boy did it wear me out! I took 2 cat naps on the couch the rest of the day and did nothing but my exercises. Last night my knee felt so good that I didn't do the ice machine, I thought I'd see how it went without it (plus hubby was fast asleep, he did wake up and ask if he should get the ice machine going and I told him I was going to try without it tonight). I slept fairly well but still had to get up at least 3 times with a full bladder. I ended up getting a blue ice pack out of the freezer around 3ish and wrapped that around my sort of stiff, aching knee. (it wasn't too bad though) I'm sure it felt great last night because I didn't do anything all day except for two sets of exercises and rest, ice and elevate. I realized I have Apple + so I started watching The Morning Show, it's pretty good.

Today is PT and possibly going with hubby to a retirement meeting with our financial advisor (if I feel up to it) later in the afternoon. Today I am at 1 oxy every 5 hours again, tomorrow I will stretch it to 6. Still alternating Advil and Tylenol every 3 hours.
 
I too have had pee issues since day 1. I had a uti and was treated for it at week 2. Im at week 5 now and still having to go 2-3 times a night. Cut back on fluids, no change. I have a call into my naturopath. I hope she has ideas!
 
I'm sure it's from fluid/swelling still trapped in the body and it's releasing at night. Just annoying to be roused from a sound sleep for nothing more than a bursting bladder! Prior to surgery I would get up once at night but definitely not 3 times!!

I wouldn't cut back on fluids, your body needs them. It's just one of those things that has to be endured until it passes.......literally! :heehee:
 
Same here. I used to seldom go to the bathroom at night and now I do it at least twice every night. Also-love The Morning Show. New season just started last Friday.
 
I went to PT today and she measured my flexion at 87. A week and two days ago I was at 72 so I'm making progress! I forgot to ask her what my extension is again but it's got to be pretty close to 0. I was fairly sore afterwards so I opted not to go to hubby's financial/retirement meeting and just stayed home, iced and elevated.

I have a question..... I still have quite a bit of bruising on my lower leg, calf and even down at my ankle. Is this from the doctors manhandling my leg during surgery? Moving the joint around by grabbing my leg and ankle? I'm just curious. I have a tendency to bruise easily so I wouldn't be surprised. My bruises are still very colorful, yellow/green/purple. The ones on the back of my leg have faded but I still have the ones on my lower leg/ankle. I'm 3 weeks and 2 days post-op.
 
Your gains are impressive! Be careful not to overdo it though.
I was bruised until week 3-4 as well, especially on the outer calf. That's where I recall my leg was hanging in the OR (operating room) . I was taken into the OR and given my epidural after my nerve block and was awake when they "hung" up my leg for surgery. Your calf was most likely in a sling the whole time, causing bruising like mine. Just my observation.
 
I am 12 days post surgery and major bruising has gone. With my left tkr in 2019 my whole leg was purple/blue for ages!! This time I had odd blue dots about 1cm across which I thought may be from clamps or something.
 
I did/do have an extra couple of small incisions a good two inches below the main incision that @Sisterpat says were from an array that was put in having to do with the robot that did most of the surgery. There's a part of me that's interested in finding out how the robot does this surgery and another part of me that is scared to watch. I guess I could always go searching for it online if I was curious enough.

Boy am I stiff this morning! It's either from PT or from ending up in a weird position after I disengaged myself from the ice machine wrap at 5 something this morning. I'm always trying to lie on my side with the body pillow in between my legs but I just can't get comfortable. The new knee just doesn't like it yet. Nothing going on today except getting two sets of exercises in. Thankfully my PT didn't add anymore and I'm still doing the same ones. I have another appointment on Friday. I'm going to stretch my oxy out to every 6 hours today and tomorrow, see what happens. Yesterday and Tuesday it was every 5.
 
Just read this by @Stuckinbed in @RubyWhitesocks 's recovery thread:

"My surgeon told me that a lot of manipulation of the leg takes place at the foot and ankle. My foot and ankle hurt for a good month before it went away."

This explains why I have such vibrant bruising around my calf and ankle that is still tender at 3.5 weeks post-op. Good to know..... No swelling other than at my knee though....

Another vigorous day at PT. She didn't officially measure me but she said I'm right around 90 and 1-2 extension so I am making progress. I told her we got a recumbent bike and will probably set it up this weekend so she had me go to the bike and do a little back and forth. Just for a few min. I had to go to the walk-in clinic this morning (hubby took me) before PT so I could get someone to flush the extra wax out of my ear. I couldn't hear out of it last night. My doc's office couldn't see me until Monday. A friend took me to PT and I bought her lunch. We came back and ate on my patio. I'm wiped out now and ready for a nap. Catch you all on the flip side....... I've got my nurse in my lap and she's ready to nap too. :kitty::zzz::zzz::zzz:
 
Well I woke up at 3:38am and was about half an hour early to take my once every 6 hours oxy. I took some Tylenol after I had an apple sauce squeeze and put my oxy on the nightstand to take when my alarm went off at 4:15. Alarm went off but I thought I had already taken the oxy so I went back to sleep. There it was on the night stand this morning when I woke up! I guess this is an example of forgetting to take a dose as you are weaning off. Today I'm going to stretch them to every 8 hours. I'm also going to walk to the mailbox again since I've got nothing else major today. I need to start walking more in small short walks.
 
I always think that when you start forgetting to take something it is because you are ready to do so, so that is good news. Enjoy your walk to the mailbox, I found that walking was the best exercise. Just remember to make the operated leg mirror the other leg in terms of movement (that's what my physio told me in 2019).☺
 
I took my (every 8 hour now) oxy at 11:15pm-ish, woke up around 1 something and took 3 Advil with some pudding. I slept until 5 when I took off the ice machine wrap (I call it the CPAP for my leg) and fell back asleep until after 8 so all my meds have worn off. There's some pain but not as much as I would have thought and definitely not as much as 3-4 weeks ago. It's probably a 3-4. I'm sure if I'd remembered to take Tylenol or Advil at 3am and 6am it wouldn't be as bad but I'd rather sleep. I was SO STIFF at 5am I could barely walk to the bathroom. After trying different positions I finally found one that isn't on my back and isn't painful. On my stomach facing to the left with my (good) right leg under me and my left leg lying flat next to the right. I think the 3 inch memory foam topper we have on the bed helps cushion the leg. Everything else I tried, with pillows in between the legs, eventually hurts after a few minutes. It's like I can feel the hardware in there plus I'm sure the tissues are still annoyed.

I did my walk to the mailbox and back. I also went with my daughter and a friend the half block up the street to the fenced in grass field so our doggies could romp. She drove me in her car and I brought a chair. It was nice to get out of the house, the weather was so nice. No repercussions last night or today. I think I'll plan a walk up to the corner and back (one more house than to the mailbox) today. I need to slowly get more stamina so eventually I'll be able to walk the dog again. With cutting down my oxy to every 8 hours I'm hoping to be driving myself to PT this next week.
 
Another question: I realize we are strapping an ice pack to our knee(s) all day but are any of you frequently colder than you would be normally? I normally run fairly warm but even when we've had nice days in the 70s lately, I'm wearing socks and using a blanket on the couch, two blankets at night. My feet are often cold and sometimes my finger tips too. Anyway, just curious.....
 
Many of us were colder than usual for a while after surgery. I don’t think it’s just the ice, I think it could be a body’s response to surgery. Just my opinion.
 

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