Awriterafoot
member
Sounds like the session went very well, Teresa. Are you tired today--or energized?
PKR TexasTee finally has a new knee!
- Thread starter TexasTee
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TexasTee
post-grad
Hi guys! I slept for over 9 hours last night - brief wake up for bathroom/meds but went right back to sleep. I feel really good!! Knee seems a bit looser than before the PT and the pain stayed controlled at the new med level of 20 mg oxy/ 150 mg tramadol per day. I did indulge in one glass of red wine last night - it was terrific!
Today is sunny and 70s so going to plan a gentle walk outside, PT on the patio and possibly a trip to the grocery - either this evening, when hopefully everyone else is out having fun, or else tomorrow morning when most people are in church.
Today is sunny and 70s so going to plan a gentle walk outside, PT on the patio and possibly a trip to the grocery - either this evening, when hopefully everyone else is out having fun, or else tomorrow morning when most people are in church.
Blendab1
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Hi Teresa! I have not been on the boards most of this week and I am excited to hear all about your progress. Very happy that your PT was great and going at your pace. I was amazed that vacuuming was a no-no so I am going to have to let my Son know it's going to be another requirement of his. I generally vacuum my living room daily as I have two Silver Persian cats who shed at least a kittens worth of fur daily!
Glad you are doing wonderfully, enjoy your weekend!
Glad you are doing wonderfully, enjoy your weekend!
OP
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TexasTee
post-grad
Ha - @vinny is correct but in this case @Legin I think it would have been good, regardless - a really nice Bodega Norton reserve Malbec....
Just now icing after doing a 10 minute walk followed by my PT exercises - much easier than yesterday, at the end of my session the underside of my knee was touching the floor just like my non-op leg so go team extension! Flex is still really tight but I'll keep at it and am hoping that the staple removal helps...the pain I"m feeling when I stop is not from the staples though so it's a wee bit of a concern but I'm doing everything I can and I know it will come in time.
Hope everyone is having/has had - a terrific Saturday!
Just now icing after doing a 10 minute walk followed by my PT exercises - much easier than yesterday, at the end of my session the underside of my knee was touching the floor just like my non-op leg so go team extension! Flex is still really tight but I'll keep at it and am hoping that the staple removal helps...the pain I"m feeling when I stop is not from the staples though so it's a wee bit of a concern but I'm doing everything I can and I know it will come in time.
Hope everyone is having/has had - a terrific Saturday!
Girl, it's not yet 2 weeks since you had major surgery! Of course your knee is still tight.
It's probably swollen both inside and outside. Of course you are going to have pain, too, and it's from the bones that were cut, the large foreign bodies that were hammered in, the tissues that were cut, pulled aside and stitched together again. That pain won't all go away like magic when the staples are removed, nor will you suddenly get an increase in ROM.
You're younger than a lot of us and you went into this as a fit person. I know it's hard for you to be patient, but you must. At the moment, you're expecting too much, too soon, from yourself and from your knee. Your recovery is going well - there's no need to be concerned.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can work hard to make your knee bend better. This is a case where less is more. You really need to do very little. Just let Mother Nature get on with doing her job of healing.
Maggie94
post-grad
Cheers Teresa - hope you enjoy
I love a good red - In Australia we are blessed to have some great vine growing areas and top vineyards. Since K-day I have not felt like a wine - must me the morphine - I guess in the circumstances I will forego wine for little or no pain.
I am sure my wine taste buds will start screaming when my whole body is ready... until then I am besties with Sister Morphine.
BTW please stop with the obsession over ROM... just do what you can each day - worrying and pushing are not going to get results - patience will. Staple removal may give you a sense of more freedom but my experience to date is two steps forward one step back - it is a slow process with small "wins" on all sorts of fronts each day - I was able to lift Laverne onto the bed unassisted for the first time today - WIN. End of rant / sermon
Monday here tomorrow so another day of hydro - yey - take care - Maggie x
I love a good red - In Australia we are blessed to have some great vine growing areas and top vineyards. Since K-day I have not felt like a wine - must me the morphine - I guess in the circumstances I will forego wine for little or no pain.
I am sure my wine taste buds will start screaming when my whole body is ready... until then I am besties with Sister Morphine.
BTW please stop with the obsession over ROM... just do what you can each day - worrying and pushing are not going to get results - patience will. Staple removal may give you a sense of more freedom but my experience to date is two steps forward one step back - it is a slow process with small "wins" on all sorts of fronts each day - I was able to lift Laverne onto the bed unassisted for the first time today - WIN. End of rant / sermon
Monday here tomorrow so another day of hydro - yey - take care - Maggie x
OP
OP
TexasTee
post-grad
Hi @Legin - a wine guy, good to know!! At the moment I'm treading lightly - 20mg of Perc is not nothing so just the small glass thus far, I'm lucky to have good friends to share with whenever I have the urge to open a bottle though so nothing goes to waste. We're very "green" in Austin (no unlike orges?)
@Celle @Maggie94 - if I came across as obsessed or planning to do something stupid to increase my ROM then it did not read correctly.
Yes, at nearly 2 weeks out and doing everything I should be, I am disappointed that it's not better than 72 but I don't intend to do anything other than what I have been doing, rest, ice, elevate and do my exercises once a day. The comment about the staples came from Marcus, my PT - I was simply saying that i do not see that causing a huge change. Not really sure what I am defending here but I have to say I do feel like I'm being chastised for being honest in my own journal...I thought that was the point of them?
@Celle @Maggie94 - if I came across as obsessed or planning to do something stupid to increase my ROM then it did not read correctly.
Yes, at nearly 2 weeks out and doing everything I should be, I am disappointed that it's not better than 72 but I don't intend to do anything other than what I have been doing, rest, ice, elevate and do my exercises once a day. The comment about the staples came from Marcus, my PT - I was simply saying that i do not see that causing a huge change. Not really sure what I am defending here but I have to say I do feel like I'm being chastised for being honest in my own journal...I thought that was the point of them?
Nana moon 27
alpha
Hi @TexasTee no disrespect or offence but I think you've set alarm bells ringing about up your planned grocery trip. No one wants to see all your hard work and effort ruined by not waiting a little longer. That's all I think was meant by @Maggie94 and @Celle. They are your friends.
If you go back to your post #262 and reread it. You might see why they made the worried posts that they did x
Take care Teresa
Love Ann x x x
If you go back to your post #262 and reread it. You might see why they made the worried posts that they did x
Take care Teresa
Love Ann x x x
OP
OP
TexasTee
post-grad
Hi Maggie - no worries, we're all a bit drugged up and sometimes things do not come across clearly in these forums.
Hi Ann - I do not doubt Maggie or Celle's friendship and support, they have both been extremely supportive of me. I merely thought that they were misreading what I had written or at least the intention behind it.
As to the trip to the grocery - I do recognize that it would not be right for everyone at this stage of the game but feel this is something within my capabilities. I might be wrong and face consequences - and if so, hopefully I will learn from it but I do reserve my right to try.
Hi Ann - I do not doubt Maggie or Celle's friendship and support, they have both been extremely supportive of me. I merely thought that they were misreading what I had written or at least the intention behind it.
As to the trip to the grocery - I do recognize that it would not be right for everyone at this stage of the game but feel this is something within my capabilities. I might be wrong and face consequences - and if so, hopefully I will learn from it but I do reserve my right to try.
Hi Teresa, @TexasTee
I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't intend to.
But yes, you are doing and planning to do more than we suggest for your early weeks.
Do look again at this:
Activity progression for TKRs
If you read again what is advised for the first 6 weeks, you will see
"Weeks 4 and 5
Additionally activity:
Gather a little bit of laundry, or put it in the machine, or take it out but not all of it
Now you can do a little dusting and tidying; do a little meal prep (for yourself not the family!)
Weeks 6 and onward
Start taking car trips to the shops but keep them short and sweet at the start, no longer than 15-20 minutes
Take at least one 5 minute rest while you are out."
Your main job right now is still to rest as much as possible, and give your wounded tissues time to heal.
I'm not warning you just to chastise you or be cranky. It's just that I've read too many times of people who do too much in the early days and pay for it later by having chronic pain or inflamed tendons. I don't want that to happen to you and that's why I'm always going to be the voice of caution.
I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't intend to.
But yes, you are doing and planning to do more than we suggest for your early weeks.
Do look again at this:
Activity progression for TKRs
If you read again what is advised for the first 6 weeks, you will see
"Weeks 4 and 5
Additionally activity:
Gather a little bit of laundry, or put it in the machine, or take it out but not all of it
Now you can do a little dusting and tidying; do a little meal prep (for yourself not the family!)
Weeks 6 and onward
Start taking car trips to the shops but keep them short and sweet at the start, no longer than 15-20 minutes
Take at least one 5 minute rest while you are out."
Your main job right now is still to rest as much as possible, and give your wounded tissues time to heal.
I'm not warning you just to chastise you or be cranky. It's just that I've read too many times of people who do too much in the early days and pay for it later by having chronic pain or inflamed tendons. I don't want that to happen to you and that's why I'm always going to be the voice of caution.
The good thing about a trip out when you feel up to it is that grocery stores have those wonderful carts to zip around in. So don't rule that out if you start feeling tired. For your first big trip it's probably good that you only do that. I wouldn't plan any other stops. Even something like a sitting down lunch can really take a toll.
You'll know within 24 hours if you're overdoing it. I think you'll be careful. You do seem to be really listening to how your body feels. Keep doing that and you'll be fine!!
You'll know within 24 hours if you're overdoing it. I think you'll be careful. You do seem to be really listening to how your body feels. Keep doing that and you'll be fine!!
OP
OP
TexasTee
post-grad
Thanks Celle - I appreciate you looking out for me. Thank you, Jamie - good advice and I am trying to monitor - will be careful to only try one thing at a time so I better understand where my limits are.
We ended up going out for lunch - it's nearly 80 and sunny in Austin today so the perfect day for a patio - I brought ice and was able to elevate the whole time and am feeling fine so far...back home in my recliner with the windows and patio doors open where I intend to stay for the rest of the day. It was much easier to get in and out of the car today - most of that was probably the practice of doing it but some of it seems to be an easier bend today.
Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!
We ended up going out for lunch - it's nearly 80 and sunny in Austin today so the perfect day for a patio - I brought ice and was able to elevate the whole time and am feeling fine so far...back home in my recliner with the windows and patio doors open where I intend to stay for the rest of the day. It was much easier to get in and out of the car today - most of that was probably the practice of doing it but some of it seems to be an easier bend today.
Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!
Awriterafoot
member
I dunno--I went to the grocery store and the doctor and saw my PT all last Tuesday, 13 days after surgery. I was tired but suffered no ill effects and in fact, I think it was good for me. We all have different levels of capacity and energy. If I'd waited until six weeks to go to the shops, I would have been going crazy. I really hope to be driving within a couple of weeks.
I wonder if this might be a little gap between UK & American going to the shops. My husband is English and goign to the shops there means many more smaller stops, often a lot more walking. Here, especially in the West, we drive everywhere and it's one stop shopping.
I wonder if this might be a little gap between UK & American going to the shops. My husband is English and goign to the shops there means many more smaller stops, often a lot more walking. Here, especially in the West, we drive everywhere and it's one stop shopping.
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