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TKR The adventure begins

I have surgery Aug.31 with a Conformis knee and I hope my recovery is that good.

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Sounds like you are really doing well. It's so nice to just have a normal day and not be totally focused on the knee!
 
It does. And the best thing is so far I'm not swollen or sore. I'm camped out on the couch elevating and icing and watching Netflix. We will see how I sleep tonight. Last few nights have been one wakeup about 3 or 4 am when I can't get comfortable, rustle around for 20 minutes or so, sometimes get up for more tylenol or ice, try to sleep on my side for 5 minutes, give it up and finally fall back to sleep until 7 or 8 am. Better than being up 3 or 4 times a night like I was. I have to say, so far my surgeon has been dead on about my healing timetable. He says 12 weeks before I'm on a pretty well normal activity level.

I think overall I'm healing quickly and well. Is it the custom Conformis knee, a good surgeon, or the hot tub exercises regimen before Surgery, or just luck of the draw? Who Knows? I think the knee may have something to do with it. I know many people says it's like cars and every manufacturer has its own ad hype. Maybe that's true. But the last 5 cars we have bought are Toyotas because of all the cars we have owned, we find them the most reliable. I know others may have very different preferences though. It's harder to find objective studies on knees (believe me, I've looked and done a lot of research before I committed to surgery and I couldn't find enough definitive studies to prove anything). But I am going with another custom Conformis with the same surgeon when I do my second knee. I know the surgeon, your general health, other orthopedic problems , and fitness and a lot of other things come into it too. But I'm glad I went the route I did. Your mileage may vary.
 
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It's eclipse morning and I'm a little over 6 weeks along since surgery. This is going to be a balancing act with new knee today. As usual I'm up fairly early. Knee doesn't like to sleep late and by 6 or 7 I can't find a comfortable spot in bed. Both husband and son are off today (can you believe schools are out for the eclipse?) and are sleeping in for a little while. My other kids should be here by 11-12. The eclipse is like 1:20 or something. Im drinking coffee and trying to plan the day out so I don't overdo. I'm going to clean up and wipe down the kitchen and mop floors while it is still quiet then sit down and assemble trays. I did a minor amount yesterday but not much. I'm going to try to elevate and ice before kids get here for at least a half hour. Otherwise, I have ingredients and they are going to grill burgers and Italian sausage. I have some sides already made and we are just going to do icecream sundaes for dessert. I'm usually a compulsive cook and I have definitely scaled back for this. 7 kids in total (that includes their others) plus me and hubby. Two vegitarians so I'm going to mix up black bean burgers before I straighten up. . The knee feels pretty good so far and I'm just going to wipe down and pick up a little not go crazy. The boy is going to clean his bathroom (the hall bath) when he gets up. I need to remember to slow up and not overdo. CAN I DO IT?
 
You're doing quite a lot for about 6 weeks post op. Remember you should be elevating longer than you're up/about at this point in recovery, so I'm not sure a half hour is quite enough. Be careful...
 
Woah! That sounds like a LOT for 6 weeks! Maybe let your husband and son do a little of that, as they are off today? I bet mopping would go really fast for either of them. Or...my kids always loved helping mix up stuff or put things on trays. I hope it all goes great for you today. Happy eclipse!
 
Well, you probably CAN do it. The question is more if you should. At 6 weeks, you need to pace the amount of time you spend standing (do one thing, sit and ice for a bit, do another thing, repeat...) and see what you can do about getting in some nice elevation and icing time. My advice: delegate! Give your tasks to other people. Sounds like you have a nice crew of healthy younger types. Put them to good use. :eyebrows: Be a Queen Bee for a day.

You have a great location for the eclipse! Enjoy!
 
A good day. Eclipse was awesome. Husband helped mop kitchen and pick up a little. I got 40 minutes to ice before the kids showed up. I was up and down for a bit but we sat on deck with drinks for a good 45 minutes while things progressed. Kids grilled and fetched things and the sky put on its show. I am doing better every day and learning my balance. Everyone is gone and I took a nap and iced and I'm feeling good. In a normal day, I rest and elevate maybe 3 times for an hour to an hour and a half at a time. For the last week or so I have definitely been up more than down if you count computer time. I can sit 2 maybe 3 hours on computer before it gets uncomfortable. At 4 weeks I couldn't work at the computer desk more than a half hour. I'm not up to normal activity yet but I'm getting there. Pain is manageable. While I'm still taking tylenol, 90% of the day, pain is a background noise I can work around . At night I've been waking up once (occasionally twice) with pain or can't find a comfortable spot but I usually get back to sleep in 15 minutes if I ice and/ or take a tylenol. I'm still a bit stiff but riding recumbent bike often loosens it up a little. I don't know exactly what ROM is. It was 100 at 4 weeks and it seems to have improved in the last couple of weeks but not as good as other leg yet.

I'm not going back to work full time until the second week in September but I think it will be manageable. I may still book a little light and allow time for one or more naps and icing. I work at home except for a few inspections I can schedule so I am more flexible than some.
 
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You are really doing wonderfully with that new knee of yours! It sounds like you have learned what you need to do to keep your pain level controlled. Keep up that good work!
 
Thank you, @sistersinhim , I'm learning. I have truly appreciate hearing everyone's stories here. It has helped me realize recovery isn't always straightforward. I'm sure I'll have more rough days even though today was a good one.
 
First time since surgery I managed to sleep through the night! Major breakthrough since even before surgery I often woke up in the middle of the night with knee pain.

I still can't sleep on my side. I will roll over to my side with pillow between my knees, but I can't last more than 5 minutes. I've tried surgical side to the top and to the bottom and surprisingly, I last a little longer with surgical side down. Either way not comfortable for long and if it isn't the knee hurting, it's the hip. My hips didn't hurt when I lay on my side before the surgery, so I'm assuming it will pass. Maybe it's the pillow. I use a little squishy one, but maybe that's still too much. It is the hip resting on the mattress so maybe not? Looking forward to sleeping on my side again someday. I'm a few days short of 7 weeks and it's only been a week or a bit more that I can rest on my side for more than 30 seconds so I guess I just need to be patient.
 
Yes, be patient. I had the same problem, though with two operated knees, so I didn't have a non-surgical side. Still I would try one side, then the other. I was most comfortable with my left knee down, but it never lasted long whichever side I used. However, in the last week I CAN sleep on my side. All night. The knees hardly complain at all... but my right hip/lower back does, sometimes. It's aggravated now by something I did over the weekend. :groan: Once my hip settles back down, the side-sleeping will be fine.

Just wait it out. You'll get there!
 
I also am a side sleeper and sleep with a pillow between my legs. I have tried a number of different pillow sizes and thickness but have finally settled on a not too thick regular pillow put lengthwise from thigh to ankle. This seems to give my knee the protection it wants whichever side I sleep on but certainly does not prevent the rotisserie roll!
 
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I found it best to turn onto my right TKR side and put my left leg over the RTKR. While I did sleep, it didn't last for more than a few hours.
 
Congratulations on sleeping through the night! That's such a wonderful milestone and so desperately needed after weeks of broken sleep. Let's hope this trend will continue for you![emoji16]


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So here I am at 7 week mark today. I feel like I turned a corner about the 6 week mark. Feeling better, more energy, less pain. I'm still resting and icing
Once or twice during the day plus an hour or two in the evening. I'm working about 1/2 time. Doing cooking, a little light housework, chickens, and garden. Exercise bike about 10 minutes a day. Only taking tylenol and took some last night before bed but forgot until nearly 2 pm today. Still some stiffness in knee and not quite as much range of motion as other leg. My back hurts a lot today.

I'm so glad my sister-in-law and family decided not to come for eclipse though. They live in California and my husband had not seen his sister in a couple of years. She's bossy and demanding and she decided to come when i expected an earlier May date for my surgery. At 6 weeks out I really wasn't ready for houseguests. At least not her.. She finally decided a few weeks ago that it might be cloudy here and she was going somewhere out west instead. Yay! I had been trying to be cooperative for my husbands sake, but she's a handful at the best of times. She's picky, complains about the food and never offers to cook. She's always telling me how to manage my house, kids, etc. She's the only one of husbands 5 siblings I'm not crazy about. Plus even my husband dislikes her husband. So we dodged a bullet and I didn't even have to say no.
 
well that worked out good that your s.i.l. decided to take a "rain check" lol. sounds like you are doing great in your recovery being able to ride your exercise bike for 10 minutes at 7 weeks. sorry about your hurting back ~ gardening maybe? pamper yourself and feel better.:flwrysmile:
 
Hah, she sounds like several of my brother's ex-wives. At this point in time, I've assigned them all numbers instead of names; much easier!

Sorry to hear about your back; ugh! Hopefully, it's something that will resolve quickly, though it seems as if a lot of us here do have back problems that manifest themselves strongly post-tkr. I'm certain (as is my PT) it's gait and posture related. You might also be spending a bit too much time on your feet?
 
I'm 7 weeks and one day out. My back is feeling better today. It acTed up every now and then even before surgery. Ive had a lovely day so far. I suddenly noticed today that I am much improved in many ways from my presurgery self. I got up early and the weather was cool in the high 60s and husband and I took a walk around the neighborhood for 20 minutes or so. I noticed I do not limp at all anymore. Maybe not as gracefully gliding as I hope to be but even weight on both feet. Then we went off together to do one appraisal job and stopped at the farm store on the way back for chicken feed. I'm still not comfortable hoisting 50 pound sacks so it was nice husband was along. We came home and I made brunch/lunch. I iced and elevated for half an hour or so while making a grocery list then took off for grocery in early afternoon. I shopped and felt pretty good. I let the boys unload groceries for me and put things away. I rested and napped on the couch for about an hour or a little more, icing again. It is now 4 pm and I'm getting up now and ready to go. Maybe wipe up the kitchen lightly and start a load of laundry.

I am honestly so much better than i was. The knee isnt swollen yet and by end of shopping trip it was barely uncomfortable. Presurgery, a trip to Walmart was an ordeal and I was hurting enough to cut it short some days. Last night I even slept on my side briefly a couple of times. Woke up once last night and fell back to sleep within 20 minutes. I'm forgetting tylenol sometimes during the day but I still need tylenol pm at bedtime. I'm working 15 hours a week or a bit more. I will probably do 20 hours next week. Life is good. I'm not normal yet but my doctor told he thought I could be at normal activity level by 12 weeks and it looks like he is going to be right. I am glad I had the surgery and am 95% sure I will heal fully with no long term issues.
 
I'm glad you've turned a corner and feeling some normalcy. My OS also said 12 weeks before I'd feel like myself and a year before 100% healed.
 
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