OJ2
senior
Sometimes our inner child just needs to come out! Congratulations on the jogging and the weight loss. Both are monumental.
Bilateral TKR SusieShoes' New Knees
- Thread starter SusieShoes
- Start date
OP
OP
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
OP
OP
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
@pheebs, Mr. Shoes is even happier with my new knees than I am, if that's possible. They've changed his life, too, all in good ways. If he could, he'd give them bodyguards. 
cnm1
junior member
This is so funny. Last year (after only one knee replacement) I thought I would try that. I think I made with 4 steps with one bad knee and I was done. I will put on my list of things for the spring!!! (one driveway to the next - when no one is around to see me)
OP
OP
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
It's important no one see you. That first jog can look a bit lurchy and your neighbors might mistake you for a zombie. 
Polkadot
graduate
Congrats on the great doctor visit! I've had similar health benefits--about 30 lbs down from surgery day; lower and more consistent blood sugar; thyroid medication needs to be adjusted down; and I too ignored my mammogram. Too much to deal with on top of the new knee, I guess! I'm seeing my GP soon and am hopeful that he will notice and comment on my improvements. He may just tell me I need to lose another 30. Oh, well. We can celebrate. 
Still working to get up nerve to try that jog, though the other night on a neighborhood walk, my husband and I got caught in the rain. ("No, honey," he said. "We do NOT need umbrellas. I just checked the weather."). He ran to get the car, and I picked up my ambling pace. I was SO surprised to find out that I could go twice as fast as I had been, with much longer strides--uphill, no less! I had almost made it back home by the time he got the key to the car and drove out of the garage. So even jogging--at least to get away from threats--is now in my sights. Your experimentation is inspiring.
Still working to get up nerve to try that jog, though the other night on a neighborhood walk, my husband and I got caught in the rain. ("No, honey," he said. "We do NOT need umbrellas. I just checked the weather."). He ran to get the car, and I picked up my ambling pace. I was SO surprised to find out that I could go twice as fast as I had been, with much longer strides--uphill, no less! I had almost made it back home by the time he got the key to the car and drove out of the garage. So even jogging--at least to get away from threats--is now in my sights. Your experimentation is inspiring.
Susie you are such an inspiration to us all. Sometimes when I think I can't or shouldn't you prove that I can and I should! Way to go on your medical breakthroughs as well as that hot body you are developing. Mr Shoes will be excited in more ways than one!
jboles
graduate
Susie you continue to amaze and inspire me. Congratulations on all your improvements!
1delapisa
junior member
What about exhaustion, still no energy! Im getting worried
OP
OP
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
The exhaustion gets better, really it does @1delapisa. It just seems that it won't. 
And even when you really, truly think you have all your energy back, the day comes when you just don't have it. A trip to a museum knocks you out. Or a family event drains you so much you spend the next day in bed. This recovery isn't a straight line, and although it gets better, it can double back on occasion.
And even when you really, truly think you have all your energy back, the day comes when you just don't have it. A trip to a museum knocks you out. Or a family event drains you so much you spend the next day in bed. This recovery isn't a straight line, and although it gets better, it can double back on occasion.
OP
OP
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
Four Months: Knee-sy Peasy
My knees aren't giving me much to talk about anymore. Let's see...
* Lefty got positionally stiff in bed last night and stretching him out hurt like crazy, but this morning when I woke up again, there' wasn't any pain to speak of. The usual stiffness, gone after a few steps, just like RIghty's (except Righty doesn't complain at night).
* I now spend a whole day, which goes into the night, with the Big Italian Family on weekends, and don't have to elevate or ice. I ice in the morning and I ice when I get home late at night, before bed (hoping that will keep Lefty from complaining... sometimes it actually works). So twelve hours of moderate activity or sitting at the table without issue.
* Walking is good. Always good. No use talking about that anymore.
* I ice. I elevate. It's mostly a comfortable habit now and I think my knees like it.
* I can go several hours without mentioning my knees even once!
Yes, the day does come when the knees cease to be interesting even to those who must listen to them yammer. The yammering becomes so infrequent and so low in volume that sporadic complaints can be ignored. You know how every once in a while you get an odd sensation in your stomach, or a twinge in your shoulder? You assess it in a heartbeat and move on. So with the knees. Just Lefty yammering again... move on.
So this is just me yammering again. Not much to report. Moving on.
P.S. Moving on in recovery. I'm not leaving BoneSmart anytime soon. I just might have less knee-worthy things to say in my own recovery thread.
My knees aren't giving me much to talk about anymore. Let's see...
* Lefty got positionally stiff in bed last night and stretching him out hurt like crazy, but this morning when I woke up again, there' wasn't any pain to speak of. The usual stiffness, gone after a few steps, just like RIghty's (except Righty doesn't complain at night).
* I now spend a whole day, which goes into the night, with the Big Italian Family on weekends, and don't have to elevate or ice. I ice in the morning and I ice when I get home late at night, before bed (hoping that will keep Lefty from complaining... sometimes it actually works). So twelve hours of moderate activity or sitting at the table without issue.
* Walking is good. Always good. No use talking about that anymore.
* I ice. I elevate. It's mostly a comfortable habit now and I think my knees like it.
* I can go several hours without mentioning my knees even once!
Yes, the day does come when the knees cease to be interesting even to those who must listen to them yammer. The yammering becomes so infrequent and so low in volume that sporadic complaints can be ignored. You know how every once in a while you get an odd sensation in your stomach, or a twinge in your shoulder? You assess it in a heartbeat and move on. So with the knees. Just Lefty yammering again... move on.
So this is just me yammering again. Not much to report. Moving on.
P.S. Moving on in recovery. I'm not leaving BoneSmart anytime soon. I just might have less knee-worthy things to say in my own recovery thread.
kmak81230
post-grad
I love "I can go several hours without mentioning my knees even once" -- that made me laugh. I am trying to be less kneecentric - mostly to spare those around me and also because I don't think I need to be. It's always nice to go through a day without anyone asking me about my knee and will look forward to a day when I don't think about my knee (how is it?, should I be doing this?, or not doing that?, am I up for this activity?, when will it quit swelling?, boy, I'm stiff this morning, etc.)
Fire wolf
graduate
Great report, @SusieShoes! So wonderful that life is moving on so well and that soom this whole recovery thing will be long done and over with! Definitely time to enjoy life and all the things you couldn't do before Lefty and Righty!
gertie
post-grad
How wonderful! And I'm glad you'll still be around the forum in your advisor role.
bill 3/20
junior member
Just checked in. Congrats on your successful jog. I'm happy for you.
sandi4213
graduate
Susie, I am so glad you became an advisor because I would miss your engaging comments and stories. You are so positive and encouraging to everyone. Thank you for all the times you have made me smile. 
OP
OP
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
Four Months: New Normal
In the fourth month, I have reached a surprising and welcome new normal. My left knee has fully caught up with my right. Both knees are now completely pain free when walking, standing, or doing things like mounting steps or getting in and out of cars. I get out of chairs with ease and the stiffness is minimal. There's still stiffness, but it's so much less. Half of what it was last month.
For much of the day, I forget I have implants. Even the little bit of stiffness feels completely natural. I spent several years with painful knees, so am a pro at ignoring sensations from that part of my body. I can and do ignore this stiffness. I shrug off the occasional twinge, the nightly tightness of knees bent for hours on end and that grumble when I unfold them. That few seconds of pain vanishes the moment my legs are straight. That few seconds of pain doesn't happen every morning. A morning free of pain is coming.
Yesterday Mr. Shoes and I went to the eye doctor. It's a thirty minute drive. I got out of the car and walked across the parking lot and, as I did, a memory hit me. A year ago I made this very same walk, past the very same flowers and shrubs, but then I had been slow and in pain. Limping. I vividly remember how long that walk was and how so much pain was in every step. I had been putting off a needed cortisone shot for an upcoming conference.
A year later and my whole world had changed. I walked without pain. None at all. No stiffness. No tightness. My knees moved freely. I easily mounted a curb and some steps instead of walking to the ramp. It didn't matter that we had parked at the far end of the lot.
After driving home, we hosted the Big Italian Family for a cookout. In and out, up and down the steps between the deck and the screen porch, the screen porch and the kitchen. Carrying plates of food. Table settings. Cleaning the kitchen after. I was on my feet for long periods without any trouble at all.
This is my new normal. These are my knees. They feel completely mine, a part of my body.
They are not completely healed. They're just mostly healed. We're in a good place, Lefty and Righty and me. Everything after this point is icing on the cake.
In the fourth month, I have reached a surprising and welcome new normal. My left knee has fully caught up with my right. Both knees are now completely pain free when walking, standing, or doing things like mounting steps or getting in and out of cars. I get out of chairs with ease and the stiffness is minimal. There's still stiffness, but it's so much less. Half of what it was last month.
For much of the day, I forget I have implants. Even the little bit of stiffness feels completely natural. I spent several years with painful knees, so am a pro at ignoring sensations from that part of my body. I can and do ignore this stiffness. I shrug off the occasional twinge, the nightly tightness of knees bent for hours on end and that grumble when I unfold them. That few seconds of pain vanishes the moment my legs are straight. That few seconds of pain doesn't happen every morning. A morning free of pain is coming.
Yesterday Mr. Shoes and I went to the eye doctor. It's a thirty minute drive. I got out of the car and walked across the parking lot and, as I did, a memory hit me. A year ago I made this very same walk, past the very same flowers and shrubs, but then I had been slow and in pain. Limping. I vividly remember how long that walk was and how so much pain was in every step. I had been putting off a needed cortisone shot for an upcoming conference.
A year later and my whole world had changed. I walked without pain. None at all. No stiffness. No tightness. My knees moved freely. I easily mounted a curb and some steps instead of walking to the ramp. It didn't matter that we had parked at the far end of the lot.
After driving home, we hosted the Big Italian Family for a cookout. In and out, up and down the steps between the deck and the screen porch, the screen porch and the kitchen. Carrying plates of food. Table settings. Cleaning the kitchen after. I was on my feet for long periods without any trouble at all.
This is my new normal. These are my knees. They feel completely mine, a part of my body.
They are not completely healed. They're just mostly healed. We're in a good place, Lefty and Righty and me. Everything after this point is icing on the cake.
newlybionic
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2015
- Messages
- 7,095
- Age
- 71
- Location
- The Poconos, PA
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
That's great that you're doing so well! Everyone is on the same road and will eventually get where you are too! Thanks for the great report.
sandi4213
graduate
just. I am so very happy for you and grateful that so many coming up behind you will be encouraged by your story. Rock on!
Staff online
-
benne68Staff member since February 4, 2022 -
sistersinhimStaff member since March 20, 2017 -
Roy GardinerStaff member since February, 23, 2013 -
JocketteStaff member since March 18, 2018
