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TKR Swmrgirl Is Up For Air

swmrgirl said:
I'm mainly working on my extension, which is 7, and not very comfortable for walking. He does not buy into the "no pain, no gain" philosophy, and just does some gentle coaxing and encouragement.
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This article gives some suggestions for improving extension - you're probably doing some of them already. Just choose a couple that you like, and do them gently:
Extension: exercises for improvement

I'm glad your therapist follows the gentle approach.
 
Thanks for this, @Celle. I'm having the most success with the towel or foam roller under my heel. It seems like as my quad gets stronger, my ext. gets better. I'm realizing that the magic 3 month mark is relative. I certainly feel loads better than I did a couple of months ago, but this is definitely a process.
 
I had a good day today. I went to see my orthopedic NP to have her take a look at my very arthritic thumb. She took X-Rays and after looking at them, she said she thought I should see a hand surgeon, so I'm scheduled to see him on the 12 of Jan. Next, I saw my OS to discuss TKR of my left knee. I had new X-Rays and it has deteriorated quite a bit in the past year, which explains why it feels like it's going to collapse. Quite honestly, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the thought of two more surgeries, mostly because I'm not sure how I'm going to manage so much time off from work. If I weren't working, I think it would be a different story.

After my appts, my husband and I stopped for a cup of chai, and I ran into a friend of mine who I haven't see in weeks, so that cheered me up. We stopped at a couple of shops and dug through the sale items just to kill a little time. I walked up and down two long flights of stairs, and that felt great! My quads are still pretty puny, but they're starting to come back.

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with my boss to discuss my plan to transition back to work. Lots to think about and digest.
 
Oh my gosh - that's a lot of potential downtime! How long might you be out of work for the hand surgery?

Julie #2 (since you have a year on me!)
 
That is a lot to think about, Julie. I hope your transition back to work goes well.
 
The hand is only 2-3 weeks off work. Once the cast comes off at three weeks, I'll be in a splint for six weeks, but my fingers will be mobile and I'll be able to use my computer. My joints are in worse shape than my parents' at 82 and 89!
 
Is the time off manageable through your employer? I hope the knee holds up!
 
a comment on thumb replacement... I had mine done probably 5 years ago...my right hand and I am right handed. I had it done on a Thursday and returned to work teaching on Monday. Since the thumb is in a hard cast it really doesn't need as much protection or attention as a knee. I took ice packs in a cooler and kept them velcroed on all day. After the knee the thumb will feel like a whole bunch of nothing!
 
I'm meeting with my boss this afternoon and will talk to her about both knee and thumb. I still have three weeks of vacation left, so I can use some of that when I get my thumb done.

Glad to hear the thumb was easy for you, @Gottamove. No doubt TKR is a much bigger deal.
 
I had a nice meeting with my new boss. She's a dear person and I'm looking forward to working with her. I'lm going back to work on the 12th and work three half days, then go from there. She kind of left my schedule up to me. Amazing!

This afternoon, I went to a PT class that my hospital offers. There were just six of us, and the PT had us each working at our own pace on stretching and strengthening. It was very nice to get together with other TKRs and swap war stories. I'll probably only go to a few classes, but it was definitely worthwhile. Afterward, I came home and iced and had a little snooze. Nothing like some PT to knock me out for a bit.
 
@Celle, I've been experiencing pain and discomfort in my tkr foot and ankle since surgery. It's mostly a bad ache and soreness like I've been standing on it all day, even though haven't. Any ideas?
Thanks-Julie
 
No, Julie. I don't have any water-tight explanation, only a guess!

I'm wondering if your TKR has changed the dynamics of your walking, so that you ankle and foot are now being used at a slightly different angle. Consequently, your foot could be striking the floor at a slightly different angle as well.

If you had been walking with a posture that accommodated your bad knee before surgery, that posture and gait will be changing. Some people experience pain in their hips and back, for the same reason.

I do know that many people have to buy new shoes, because the shoes they wore pre-op have a pattern and angle of wear that is no longer appropriate, and that some people who wear orthotics have had to have them revised.

Meanwhile, to ease the aches, use heat or ice on your ankle and foot - whichever works best.
 
It might be worth checking if your calf muscle is very tight - mine was pre- and immediately post-operation and that affects the flexibility of the ankle and can cause very painful feet.
 
All of that makes complete sense. Any excuse for new shoes :) and I'll start stretching my calf and heel more to see if that helps. Thanks for the responses. J
 
Hi @swmrgirl, Happy New Year. Sorry to hear you are facing more downtime. I have arthritis in my fingers too and they are misshapen, very unattractive. Never thought arthritis would hurt that bad in the hand! Thumb replacement should help a lot, but I know you hate to face more surgery. I feel for you.
Wonderful that you have such a great boss too, that helps alleviate some of the stress.
Hang in there. ((Hugs))
 
Julie, I am so glad you have a great boss. I will keep you in my prayers as you schedule and think about your surgeries.
 
Thank you for the well wishes @Timetolive and @Glamg1979! Happy New Year!!!

We sure do have our challenges, don't we? The only thing to do is to keep moving forward one step at a time.
I have been thinking about going ahead and having my left TKR this spring instead of waiting until fall. The difference in pain and stability between my left and right is remarkable. Although the right is by no means healed, it feels amazing to have a good leg at last. When I had lunch with my boss, she asked me if I was going to wait an entire year to do the left leg, and that I should go ahead and take the time whenever I'm ready. I hired a temp to fill the gaps while I've been out. She's worked out wonderfully and offered to fill in for my next surgery, so I just might go ahead and do it.

On Friday, we went into San Francisco for the day. Our daughter is a marine biologist at the aquarium, and she was scuba diving in the large tanks. It was so much fun to watch her in action! I was on my feet off and on for more 5 hours, and I'm paying for it this weekend. It was worth it though, and I'm grateful to be able to get out of the house!

Feeling kind of down today. It could be the weather and my swollen knee... think I'll throw myself a pity party.


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
Baby yourself these next days before you go back to work, but how great to have an understanding boss. Mine was wonderful as well, doing everything they could to help me return two years ago.
What are you having done to your thumb? Mine has been really sore over the last few weeks, but I put it down to the damp weather.
Your daughter's job sounds like fun!
Happy New a Year!
 
I'm going have a trapeziectomy where they remove a small bone from the base of the thumb and fill the gap with a piece of tendon from the wrist. There's a video of it on YouTube ,if you can watch that sort of thing. Seeing the hand surgeon on the 12th.

I'm going back to work on Wednesday. That might help me get my head straight. I need to get my routine back. I've been feeling a bit marooned since all my friends work during the day.
 
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