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TKR Suz's Recovery Journey

Suz said:
Tomorrow my staples come out.
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Most people find that the staple removal is much like the surgery---anticlimactic.

As William Shakespeare wrote in one of his comedies, Much Ado About Nothing.

The staple removal, does though represent a step that you take toward attaining the normalcy that you crave so much!
 
Thank You for your encouragement and wisdom Tim! You can trust I absorb every word our TKR Veterans share. And you being a BTKR 9yrs ago really causes me to pause & pay attention! I'm so very thankful for the support and wisdom you continue to share with us newbies here-!

:console2:
 
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I bet you feel much better without those staples pulling every time you moved. My OS said I'd not have the staples, but it didn't say whether is was glue of stitches. I think the glue would be easier.
 
Hi @Suz - just found your thread. Congrats on the staples removal. It sounds like you are a full believer in the BoneSmart approach to recovery ... it SO works. Finding this site, its information, and most importantly the support & wisdom from others who had literally walked in my shoes was instrumental in my successful recovery from both TKRs. As the swelling decreases, so too will the pain and then the movement/ROM will increase.

I look forward to your continued progress!
 
Today marks 3wks into my recovery. Because of the support from this forum I feel super wonderful with how things are going. I still have challenges however and a few I thought I would share tonight in hopes of helping others avoid them.

1st and most important in my opinion is that I have been my own worst enemy in recovery! I follow the bonesmart mantra's as closely as possible and because of that my pain level averages about 3 which is a HUGE and most positive accomplishment! What do I do? Because the pain is down, I get up and get busy doing things around the house- with no regard as to how long I've been up on my knee. Later, major pain sets in because I did way too much. Pain that takes quite a bit of ice, elevation, rest and medication to get back on top of. I'm now trying to learn how much is too much activity in my current recovery place. This has been tough for me and I'm still not there yet as I continue to find myself overdoing it more than I like admitting.

:bolt: :bignono:

Another concern; I'm feeling good and up on my cane moving around. I've come way too close to a possible accident. For example, I'll be walking along not paying enough attention to my feet and almost stumbling.
Over things like, my cane, the corner of a piece of furniture, etc.
:bricks: :holysheep:.. that was close.

Now when I get up I'm doing my best to slow my thoughts down and giving 100% attention to my feet and being 'in the moment' as I'm walking. I've been very fortunate not to have stumbled. And my hope is that I will continue to remember that with my new knee, comes the responsibility to carry myself safely from here on out!

I hope these confessions at 3wks post-surgery will be of benefit to others in their recovery!

Now I'm off to reading more bonesmart recovery posts that are great mental therapy for me!
 
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I definitely understand about when to stop doing things and take a break. After my revision I was feeling so good after only a week I kept overdoing it. I seem to do too much one day and then I'm down for the the count for a couple of days. I haven't try to trip myself but my three small dogs are always doing their best at running between my feet when I least expect them. Keep up the good work. I'm glad it's going well for you.
 
Thanks Marian! I have a german shepherd who knows I've been through 'something' yet she still thinks I should go outside and play with her. She pouts and gives me the cold shoulder several times a day b/c I don't.. lol! I really enjoy reading your posts here daily!
 
Suz, there are few on here who have had "good" recoveries and not realized the same thing! We are so excited to be doing well that we think that is the new normal, when it isn't. I kept humming to myself that "groovy" oldie, but goodie: "Slow down, you move too fast ... You gotta make the [knee] last....!" I have/had two cats who wanted to race me down the stairs and around corners ... tough to dodge them all the time! :catbutterfly::catdance:
 
That's funny Lynn! Sitting still is not something I'm very good at. That's not to say I enjoy work either- but my line of work consists of being outdoors with our farm animals & bee hives! (I have protective 'garb' that keeps me from getting bee stings- but on the occasion that I do.. they are actually good for arthritis), LOL!

I'm trying to learn that sitting in this recliner can actually be fun as long as I keep the pain under wraps. But if anyone around here wonders why I tend to 'ramble' in my posts- now you know why- I'm bored & lonely- LOL!

After I read your post Lynn, of course your 'feeling groovy', (slow down you move to fast), song started playing in my head! And I suspect every time I get up out of this chair to do anything I'll hear it from now on, haha!

I do know after reading the many recovery stories, I have so much to be thankful for at this stage in my recovery.

And as I keep saying, I'm really thankful for the support and knowledge of the wonderful members of this forum! I enjoy the emoticons allot too!

:giggle:
 
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@Suz I can so relate to what you're saying. You can't tell enough is enough until it's already too much, at which point the pain price must be paid.

I haven't transitioned to a cane yet. Ordering one from Amazon is on my to do list for the day, and then I can try it out with the physical therapist on Friday (I've never used one before, and I'm not the most naturally coordinated person - lol).

Do you still use your walker when you go out, or are you ONLY using the cane now?
 
My history with the cane prior to this past week hasn't been very good either Gayna! When my knee was giving me a fit prior to surgery- my fiancé' tried his best to teach me how to use it. He'd say, you carry it in the opposite hand of your injured knee. I couldn't get that through my head for nothing. So a few days ago my PT introduced the thought that it was time to start using it occasionally in the house. She put the cane in my left hand and said- 'let's see how you do'. I was scared silly to take that first step but the craziest thing happened. I walked across the living room and everything fell into place. I would put pressure on the cane with my left hand which kept enough of the weight bearing off of my knee replacement to be comfortable. It was so natural I couldn't believe it.

She told me to continue to use the walker especially if I was having a painful day and during the night. But I haven't used the walker since! I like that the cane gives me a feeling of getting some of my independence back and altho I have caught myself not paying attention as I should, I'm doing much better at that now.

I'm still not getting out much- an occasional drive just to keep me from going stir-crazy. But bending my knee to get into our vehicle is still uncomfortable.

But yeah, I'm a 100% cane user now, even in the middle of the night and I like it! If I tried to use the walker again I'd probably fall all over it- haha!
 
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I should mention also Gayna that those days I let the pain get out of hand, I've had to take very small steps using the cane. And I've caught myself holding onto the furniture as I go!
 
SO- I recently used up my first 9 authorized PT visits and had to be reevaluated just now for 9 more visits. I was feeling so good about my recovery until the evaluator measured my ROM. I told her I didn't want her to manipulate my ROM- that I would bend my knee as far as possible and she gave me a strange look and said, 'well, ok'. I got it to 79 and her response wasn't at all what I had hoped for.

I'm going to go back and re-read the ROM information here to undo the discouragement she just left here. I am proud of myself however for not letting her manipulate my ROM.

It's just amazing how I wear my emotions on my sleeve these days. She left me feeling like I just received a C- on my PT test.. lol!

To show you how sensitive I am.. I didn't even want to share this here but then thought better of it. I would rather receive more accurate feedback from my bonesmart specialist's!

If I need to up my heel slides and other bending exercises- I'm happy to do so! :thud:
 
You were mentioning a couple posts ago about how you are over doing it. Over doing leads to swelling. Swelling reduces ROM.

Look at it this way, you shouldn't have any problem getting additional PT approved, right? We're too early in the recovery process for those ROM numbers to be meaningful. Let the PT worry about those. Look at how well you're doing functionally. I think that's a more relevant measure at this stage.

Rest and ice more to bring down the swelling, and work on your heel slides (personally I much prefer the sitting heel slides to the laying down ones, but YMMV). Your ROM will come.

*Hugs*
 
@Suz, I agree. You are doing fantastic! Don't let PT bring you down. They worry about numbers so the insurance company will pay them. Who needs PT. Day to day living rehabs the knee and does it the way it is supposed to be done! Why let PT keep you swollen and inflamed just so they can feel good?! You are the one who has the knee, not them! God bless you!
 
Everyone's points are well-taken. Josephine will be the first to tell you one does not need PT. So glad you did not let her push your ROM!! As I learned here, that is only likely to injure and inflame all the delicate repairs. The heel slides (I preferred them laying down in bed with a belt :heehee:, btw) are likely your best bet on increasing ROM right now, then use the belt for the straight leg lifts for extension. Later, I would put my foot up on the 3rd step (or on the edge of the tub) and gently lean into my knee to increase flexion - I was increasing ROM well into my 18th month, but can now sit on my heels.

Hated the walker! :snork: After I had my hips done, walked into the house with it, parked it next to my recliner chair and used it to hang magazines, books and knitting bag. If only there was space to pot a plant there ...! But it was simply because I found myself leaning into it rather than walking upright and using it only for balance. The one they gave me after the knees (and the back) only collected dust after the hospital as I refused to use them. Far more comfortable getting around on crutches and then a cane. But we all recover differently ad have different needs.
 
Suz said:
If I need to up my heel slides and other bending exercises- I'm happy to do so! :thud:
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No, you don't need to do that. Instead, concentrate more on rest, ice and elevation. it isn't the exercises that bring back your knee flexion. It's time, healing and the reduction of swelling.

It may help if you can look at resting not as "sitting or lying around, doing nothing" but rather as working hard at giving your knee the best chance of a good recovery. That way, maybe you will remember not to be more active than your knee wants you to be.
 
That's a great point Celle. Thank You~! Thank You Everyone~!!
 
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