TKR Ten weeks later . . .<<'

[little red canoe]

Remember the song "Getting to Know You"? This strange new thing is foe and friend and sometimes changes faces.. It is trying to figure out its role too. It's nice side will show up again soon.. Trust that your surgeon did what he/she was supposed to. And I suspect that your other knee is being bad enough to make the overall experience just miserable.

We are always here..

though I can't offer you an ice cream..

 

[Josephine]

How would l know if something had happened to the implant, if it had slipped or something, or loosened?

Because it's so unlikely it's not worth wasting breath talking about it! But what you have is nothing more complex than Post op blues. So try not to let your imagination run away with you like this. You'll be fine in the end.

 

[Cratchit]

@little red canoe Thanks so much for your kind reply I was fortunate to be recommended a good orthopaedic surgeon and to be attended to in theatre by the person who recommended the surgeon. I was spoilt. I know he`s done a very good job and that time will prove exactly how good a surgeon he is. It`s just the little bit in between times to get through! Thank you, though, for being so kind and thoughtful when I was feeling so very low and despondent. As for ice-cream, we have a fabulous ice-cream parlour very close by (dangerous!) which, if you ever happen to find yourself in this country and area, I will happily take you to!

@Josephine Thank you for your reply. I remember my very first ward sister when I started my training, decades ago. Sr Ward she was called, quite aptly. Never did know her first name; you didn`t in those days. I can see her now. No, my malaise was nothing more complex than post op blues but when I was down there, it was quite simply horrid. Today is better.

 

[Trayguy]

Hi
Glad to hear your feeling a bit better. We will get there in the end.

I managed to walk quite a bit tonight with no pain (well not in my operated knee) so that was a bonus. Obviously had the swelling afterwards but that's one of those things I have learnt to put up with.

Did you have your op done locally? It took me ages to find someone who would consider mine because I kept getting told I was too young.

 

[Aquafool]

Another nurse here! My last job was home health nursing, seeing mostly post op knees. Even with that background, I had NO CLUE what recovery really was. I've never regretted it, but patience is not one of my virtues. I've had both knees done since August. I was so lucky to have no major complications except on my second knee, I had tourniquet pain that really beat me down. Time has really healed me. I spent some time crying which is not me at all. You had complications going in. I feel for you. Hope you feel better soon!


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[Cratchit]

@Trayguy Hi there - are you still in Thailand? I`m feeling a lot better today, thanks. I think the weather helped as it`s been such a beautiful day. Even managed to take the dog out and yes, had the swelling afterwards but I`d rather deal with that than stay cooped up all day. The pain I was experiencing through my knee has subsided and rarely bothers me now so that`s a bonus too.

Yes, I had my knee done locally. I`m lucky to have a friend who`s an ODA so she recommended my surgeon to me and told me where to book. I couldn`t have asked for better. I didn`t have any argument from the surgeon re the need for a TKR but then the xrays were pretty grim.

How are you getting on in your recovery? We`ll definitely get there in the end, though I`m not sure where that is yet!

@Aquafool Hello fellow nurse! Like you I had absolutely no idea of what to expect post-op and was totally taken aback by the experience. I also felt that, being a nurse, I should have known better but I really didn`t. I also had that tourniquet pain though I didn`t know what it was at first. Apparently it`s quite common. Didn`t last for very long, fortunately. I had that ITB pain too, a kind of unearthly searing down the outside of my leg, especially at night. Wasn`t keen on that either! Fortunately, most of my earlier symptoms have gone now though I still have the swelling and pain in the knee when I rise. I`m still on one crutch when I`m walking outside though I can walk around the house unaided.

How on earth do you cope with having two knees done so close together? I`m in absolute awe of those who have BTKR or TKRs so close together!

 

[Spex10]

Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better Cratchit. Onwards and upwards! (I'm saying that to cheer myself up as much as you!!)

 

[Aquafool]

I had the right set of circumstances to do the second knee 80 days later. I was motivated by pain and the desire to get it done and over with so I could proceed with my life. I wasn't going to waste another minute crying over my rotten knees! So I went for it! No regrets. My first new knee got really grouchy with the second new knee but now at almost two months out, they are playing nicely together. I've had bouts of restless legs and insomnia but now I know this recovery is all one pain in the butt phase after another and everything passes. I think the restless legs are gone and with it the insomnia. It's really worth it in the end. I'm working on endurance now. I can be out and about running errands for about 4 hours now and then I hit the wall and I'm done. But I couldn't run errands before surgery. New lease on life. Not perfect yet but way better than before! Hang in there!


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[Cratchit]

Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better Cratchit. Onwards and upwards! (I'm saying that to cheer myself up as much as you!!)

Aw, are you not feeling too good today @Spex10 ? It`s a miserable journey at times, for sure.

 

[Cratchit]

Thanks @Aquafool I guess the prospect of being free from pain is a great incentive to undergo the second op. I do like the way you describe your knees` relationship with each other!

My left knee was the one I damaged and was in a pretty poor state but it`s my right knee that gives. It had got to the point at work where I could be sat down feeding a baby and either be unable to get up or at risk of both knees giving way as I rose. That was the point at which I consented to surgery.

Restless legs sounds hideous. I`ve been fortunate not to experience that though I do get some spasms. They`re quite interesting! It certainly is one pain in the butt phase after another!

 

[Spex10]

No I'm OK Cratchet. I'm just resigned to a MUA and am dreading it. But hey ho needs must!

 

[Cratchit]

@Spex10 I've just read through your recovery thread and oh wow, you are having a rough old time of it. My experience is very different to yours yet still l landed in the ditch, face down. All credit to you for not giving up even though you must surely feel like it. Not really an option though.

I was fortunate, too, that l had a LTKR. The month before my op l changed to an automatic car because l knew that being stuck out in the woods and unable to get out would drive me crazy. I'm aware that you have a right TKR but l wonder if there is anything out there, perhaps via motability, that would at least enable you to get out and about, pro temp?

I know you can't bend your leg very much yet. Neither could l when l first broke it. The bones were shattered and the ligaments, tendons, whole of the knee was knackered. I was incarcerated and non weight-bearing for three months. So l swapped to an automatic. I had to slide the seat right back then park the leg up on the passenger seat but that wasn't difficult.

Incidentally and hopefully by way of encouragement, my leg was potted up for three whole months. I couldn't weight-bear, exercise - nothing. I couldn't even live at home during that time because it was an old-fashioned 3 storey terrace, bedrooms on floor 3, bathroom on ground floor. Nightmare! When the cast finally came off my leg was wizened (and horrendously hairy!). Point being that despite being totally immobile (and wizened!) l was able to regain mobility and bend in not too long a time.

I truly hope this will be the same for you whether with MUA or without.

 

[Pontoon]

@crachit and@trayguy

Are you both suffering from the stiff rubber clamp syndrome that actually feels like the clamp is strangulating your knee. Is so bad you feel like you can't walk or you have a cement leg.. I'm 11 weeks post op ,59 year old female that lives in Florida USA

 

[Trayguy]

@crachit and@trayguy

Are you both suffering from the stiff rubber clamp syndrome that actually feels like the clamp is strangulating your knee. Is so bad you feel like you can't walk or you have a cement leg.. I'm 11 weeks post op ,59 year old female that lives in Florida USA

Yes I am suffering from it. It seems to ease when I have moved about for a while but is awful first thing in a morning. I am sure it will get easier.

 

[Spex10]

Hi Cratchit. I do feel very trapped at home and having to be taken out by others does make one feel like a parcel. However, after my last appt with OS when he told me I couldn't drive, I secretly went to my car (in private car park) got in, moving seat as far back as possible then forward once in, started up and reversed out then back in. I had no problem doing this. My leg is strong and ankle is fine. Only problem is knee with 50* bend. I think I could drive but obviously don't because if anything happened and it came out that I had been told not to...!
So I do think that eventually I'll get some independence back. Roll on that day!

 

[Cratchit]

@crachit and@trayguy

Are you both suffering from the stiff rubber clamp syndrome that actually feels like the clamp is strangulating your knee. Is so bad you feel like you can't walk or you have a cement leg.. I'm 11 weeks post op ,59 year old female that lives in Florida USA

Hi there, yesterday I might have said that my leg didn`t feel too bad and that the cement had been tipped out. Today, however, the cement is back in situ and I have a tight strip down the outer side of my calf.. I can walk on it but I have to use my crutch today and take an extra dose of pain meds.

How is your leg? Is it as you describe above?

 

[Cratchit]

Hi Cratchit. I do feel very trapped at home and having to be taken out by others does make one feel like a parcel. However, after my last appt with OS when he told me I couldn't drive, I secretly went to my car (in private car park) got in, moving seat as far back as possible then forward once in, started up and reversed out then back in. I had no problem doing this. My leg is strong and ankle is fine. Only problem is knee with 50* bend. I think I could drive but obviously don't because if anything happened and it came out that I had been told not to...!
So I do think that eventually I'll get some independence back. Roll on that day!

I rang my insurers (NFU) and explained that I was having a (L) TKR but had changed to an automatic and therefore didn`t need to use my (L) leg at all. Their reply was that so long as I was able to do an emergency stop, I was ok to drive and I would still be covered by insurance. In the event I still didn`t drive until W4 but it was an amazing feeling just to have that bit of independence. I don`t go far, the furthest has been an hour`s drive. I find the concussion from the bumpy roads can aggravate the knee but that`s a small price to pay for the psychological benefits of just being out.

Would it be worth a check with your insurers, maybe for the time after your MUA? Aw, I hope you have some good progress after that but especially that you are able to get out and about under your own steam.

 

[Pontoon]

My Dr told me to go out on a back road where no cars are and pretend a child just ran out in the road and slam on your brakes. If you do that successfully, IE hard enough that you did not hit the child then your good to drive. You could even have your passenger yell stop, so your caught off guard.

 

[little red canoe]

In the UK are you penalized for driving after a TKR; do you have to get permission? In the USA the insurers do not have to know..

 

[Spex10]

I will definitely be checking with my insurance company once OS says I'm OK to drive. My car isn't an automatic and its a RTKR so its my new knee that will have to do the work. However, in a ghastly new development, my left knee is playing up! Oh no. Can't stand the thought of another TKR.