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TKR The beginning of my new life with a new knee!

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Today is my one week mark since surgery. I had my first in home Physical Therapy session today along with my home nurse visit. My therapists is a saint or should be one. She is gentle and supportive and funny-all these things that I like in other people especially when dealing with my grumpy butt during this recovery. My ROM is only at a 65 but I was thrilled with that number because I stopped therapy for two days in the hospital when the DVT was detected. My therapist talked to me today about the importance of taking my pain meds on time regardless of my pain score. She discussed safety around the house and asked about my support system. She discussed her philosophy on therapy and it did not require making a patient feel guilty or in pain or bullying them into getting to a certain magical number. I tried to push myself today to do one more of an exercise and she told me to stop because she could see how much pain I was in. She said that I do not earn any special awards for pushing my knee beyond certain limits. I will have therapy 5 times a week for the next three weeks. I will be looking forward to these sessions if they all go like this. I feel positive about my recovery and even though I have pain and discomfort it doesn't last for long because of great meds and a wonderful support system. Best of wishes to everyone that is going through this.
 
[Bonesmart.org] The beginning of my new life with a new knee!
@DanaDelight, and follow the BoneSmart mantras---they work and allow you the best possible recovery.

You are going through the roughest part of your recovery journey right now. In another 5 weeks, things should be so much better that you'll stop wishing secretly that you hadn't done this. This journey is going to take a lot of TIME and PATIENCE. You have to have (or find) the PATIENCE to give your knee TIME to heal at its own pace. Nothing else works like these two things and nothing can take their place. But it is a very hard truth to absorb in the beginning of our recoveries.

Recovery is what it is, and it's going to take as long as it's going to take. So be PATIENT and let TIME take care of things with some assistance from you. This means taking pain meds on a schedule, getting lots of rest while you elevate (toes above nose) and ice, ice, and ice some more.

You can do this, and you've got the whole BoneSmart family as cheerleaders
[Bonesmart.org] The beginning of my new life with a new knee!
rooting you on.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.
 
:thankyou:@bottomshollow -Thank you for all the kind and supportive words. Patience is something I strive for every day of life no matter what I am facing. I have a mentality that this TKR is a second chance that was difficult for me to get. I do not want to disappoint myself or others by not giving 100% to this recovery process. My husband said that the look on my face when I got out of bed for the first time after surgery and walked was something he expects to see on the face of young children Christmas morning. I had pain but could of cared less. I treasured each and every step I took and cried because I was so appreciative for my new knee. When the blood clot was diagnosed the next day I felt like my entire world crumbled around me. I was banned to my bed for the next 72 hours and therapy was cancelled. I was allowed to get up and go the bathroom but other than that I was stuck. When I did get up to do therapy three days later I was acutely aware of the pain and the smile on my face was gone. I felt crushed. Now I am trying to rebuild my positive spirit and get back on the horse. I feel good and overall I am happy with where I am at in my recovery. I look to my fellow BoneSmart friends to push me along when I get stuck and remind me to take it one hour at a time. Thank you again for the supportive words. :dancy:
 
Hope you make a speedy recovery! I had my left done June 2 and I'm starting to turn the corner on feeling a bit better!!!! Good luck to you.
 
Keep up the positive attitude, attitude is important and makes a difference. I keep comparing this experience to the kids book "The Little Engine that Could"....I think I can, I think I can....I know I can!
 
Day #11 and it has been full of ups and downs. I started experiencing intense pain and swelling about 4 in the morning. I decided to do some light stretches and aggressively ice my knee all morning. My nurse showed up at 11 to draw blood for my INR and she said I looked as white as a ghost. I told her my knee was hurting even after pain meds. My knee was hot to the touch and the staples were straining because of the swelling. She called my doctor to report my PT INR results and told them that I appeared under medicated so new orders were issued for my pain medication. It worked! My pain went down to a 3 and I was comfortable. Now it was time for the physical terrorist/therapist to arrive. I told her how the morning had gone so she decided it would be a light session with stretching and some manipulation of the knee cap and surrounding muscles. I pointed out something that others may find helpful or interesting. I have been so frustrated that when my ROM is measured during a heel slide that my numbers have been disappointing. The highest I have gotten is a 70. I am only 11 days out from surgery but I had this idea in my head that I needed to be at 90 or higher. I found that I get more flexion if I stand and do a ballet dance plié so I asked the therapist to measure my ROM like that. Well low and behold my measurement was 97 and it doesn't hurt as much. We went through the list of exercises and discovered that some of the more advanced standing exercises feel better for me to do now and I achieve greater results as far as numbers go-I know those numbers are not what I should be focused on. So my physical therapy protocol has been changed to serve my needs in a way that is much more comfortable for me and my knee. If you are struggling in physical therapy it might serve you well to take a look at your exercises and maybe change the position from sitting to standing. I think because I was trained as a ballet dancer in my younger years then my body has retained muscle memory from that training. A lot of the warm up exercises and ballet moves are things that can be super beneficial for my recovery from knee replacement surgery. I am very thankful that I have a physical therapist that is willing to work with me and allow adjustments to suite my needs. My session ended with a nice massage of my quad muscle and my ice machine running at full speed. No therapy until Monday but I will still do my exercises like a good patient. I wish all my fellow knee friends a great weekend.
 
Hi Dana, when do your staples come out? Mine come out on Thurs. the 26th, I look forward to massaging my knee and making friends with her again.
 
@sf-slim -My staples come out tomorrow! I am so excited because they itch and are irritating the heck out of me. I peeled some dried skin off of my knee today and I was so tempted to pluck a few staples out but I didn't. I have staple that is sitting sideways because it didn't go in all the way. It catches on everything which terrifies me that it is going to rip out. I just need to make it until tomorrow and then I too will be rubbing and massaging my knee and finally talking nice to it. Good to hear from you and have a nice Sunday evening.
 
@DanaDelight, You are lucky to have a good therapist. My therapist measures with a heel slide while I am laying on my back on a table (always terrible numbers) and then sitting in a chair. I can pull my foot back a lot further that way. It is wonderful that you are having your therapy tailored for you! I hated having staples on past surgeries and remember considering pulling a couple out myself. My surgeon does stitches and they aren't as irritating but I will be thrilled to get mine out on Tuesday!

Cindy
 
@Texan -my heel slide numbers SUCK but as long as I make some progress then I try not to pay attention to the numbers. I only progressed three degrees last week doing heel slides on my back but once they let me stand and try to squat my numbers jumped by 15 degrees. My therapist is always encouraging and never tells me I should be progressing faster. I have been truly fortunate during this entire process. I found the right doctor, had great nurses in the hospital, wonderful home health nurse and therapist and great pain control. I must not forget to give my husband and kids a big shout out as well. My husband has lost his care taker compassion after taking care of me through so many surgeries. He has had a change of heart with this surgery and is amazing. My boys are 20 and 16 and have been taking care of me like a princess while their dad is at work. My daughter doesn't live at home but she texts or calls me everyday and stopped by today with coffee. She crawled in the bed with me and watched TV while we chatted and laughed. I know that with care like this I will have a very successful recovery.
 
Dana, please elevate and ice as much as you can tolerate. Also meds around the clock, every 4-5 hours. Set a alarm to wake you in the late nights and early mornings. Thats all I did for about 5-6 weeks. It really made my recovery very tolerable. Im 4 months out and so happy with my results. Its miraculous. Best of luck , Iceman
 
My heel slides, flat on my back, have always been about 30-35 degrees LESS flexion than if I'm in a chair or standing. I did them cuz my therapist told me they were good for the motion of back & forth and that they help mobilize fluid. I just kinda do them but not for flexion numbers. I actually hate them!
 
:climb:@icep707 -Thank you for the advice. I live with ice on my knee and it is elevated unless I am walking around. I was taking my meds every 4 hours around the clock but over the past few days I have extended that to 5-6 only because I am finally sleeping. I have not had issues waking up in super bad pain so unless that happens I will allow my body the extra sleep time versus waking to take meds. I know this goes against Bonesmart's mantra of taking meds as prescribed no matter what. I needed the sleep more. I went almost two weeks with no more than 2 hours of sleep at a time and a total of 4 hours of sleep in 24 hours. I know my body and it was paying the price for lack of sleep. I have felt much better the past few days on this new schedule.
@dtmbf -I hate heel slides as well. I have a strap that my therapist gave me to help pull my foot up so I can get more flexion during my heel slides. It doesn't help and I think it causes me more pain. I do it because I too heard they were good for me and I am trying to be a good patient and show that I am trying. I won't do anything that flat out hurts me to the point of crying out in pain. My therapist has allowed me to modify many of exercises to dancer moves since I was a trained ballet dancer years ago and the modified exercises are easier for me while still working my muscles. I am noticing slow progress but at least it is progress. I am in no hurry to reach a certain number in someone's playbook. This is my recovery and as long as I am participating then I will take as much time as I need. Once my superhero theme song has been written and I can leap tall buildings in a single bound then I will change up my PT regiment.
 
An amazing story @DanaDelight. You have been through a great deal, and it seems you are on your way home! Your family is such a gift! I hope they continue their loving support for you. Blessings and healing mercies to you as you recover. It is a marathon, but one with many little victories along the way. You sound like you are a good advocate for yourself. Get that sleep!! Listen to your body! Find a bit of Joy in every day!




Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum caloparker4/21/14
 
@DanaDelight, Isn't it wonderful to be surrounded by family? I was having a pity party Friday morning but once my son and daughter-in-law got here, I felt much better. This recovery has been easier than the first. My husband was worried about me the first time, so he flew my oldest son home from San Diego as a surprise. He knew exactly what I needed! I hope the remainder of your recovery goes smoothly!
 
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