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

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@IrishMike -I was reading through some of my earlier posts and responses and I saw your word "niggles". I love it. I am not sure why but it makes me smile. I plan on adding it to my list of things I think about during therapy that help me find humor and laughter when all I want to do it cuss and cry!
 
@Betsy-Knees-7-2014 -Thank you for the words of encouragement. They mean the world to me. I have started printing out posts or passages from posts that life me up and putting them where I can see them during therapy. When I hit a wall or think I can't do one more leg life or heel slide I just read these positive messages and dig down deep. It has make a world of difference the past few therapy sessions.
@Caloparker -My family is the best gift I have ever or will ever get. Sometimes I am amazed at how compassionate they are. I didn't expect a whole lot from my boys this time because they like their father have been through so much with me and my knee. They are 20 and 16 so I know they have other things they would rather do in the summer than hang around taking care of their mom. The boys worked out a schedule amongst themselves that while my husband was at work they would take turns keeping me company. My youngest and I love watching Top Gear so when he sits with me he pulls up episodes of Top Gear on Netflix for us to watch together. The oldest is in college and taking a few English Comp and Literature classes this summer so when he sits with me we discuss his assignments and I edit some of his papers-I majored in English the first time I went to college. They feel like they are taking care of me and I get to spend some priceless time with my boys. This has helped my recovery more than ice or meds.
@Texan -what a thoughtful move from your husband. Family helps recovery immensely. My daughter came to visit me today. She only lives 45 minutes away but I miss her tremendously-she moved out in March. She climbed in bed beside me and popped in a DVD of the muppets. This was our favorite show to watch when she was itty bitty. I felt all the anxiety of the past few weeks life right off of my shoulders even if it only last for a few hours. My knee felt better when I got up to walk her to the door when she left. There is a mind body connection when it comes to healing and recovery. I hope you have a great week.
 
@DanaDelight I am pleased that "niggles" makes you smile - take the smiles where you can.
I am into my 6th month and I am only left with small niggles and irritations, thankfully little/no pain. Life is so much better now. I am doing those chores/tasks that 12 months ago I would not even consider, I now have the confidence to attempt them and also complete them!

Hopefully, when I have my left knee done in September, I can look forward a great new life with my new knees - I try very hard to be optimistic, it generally works!

Take care

Mike
 
Well yesterday was the beginning of week #2 for me. I had my staples removed which felt wonderful afterwards. I was a bit surprised how much the first few staples hurt when they were removed. My incision is tender and I know it didn't help that I was tensing up but all in all it worked out. It is a great feeling to have all thirty of those prickly staples out of my knee. I had a small set back with physical therapy today. I lost a few degrees with my ROM and was feeling quite a bit of pain through some of my exercises. I have a tight/tender spot on the inside of my knee right next to the kneecap. I tried to push my knee through the discomfort but when the searing pain hit I said no. My OS said in the hospital that the area I was pointing to that was sore was a line of internal sutures. I do worry about adhesions even though I know it is so early in my recovery. I have achieved 0 extension early on and have had no discomfort flattening my leg out. It feels so good to stretch all those muscles and ligaments out. I just want to be able to do that when I bend my knee. I am using my CPM but not the three times that is recommended. I guess this is where the patience comes in. I saw my primary doctor today for my PT INR blood work and he was amazed at how little swelling I had. He said as he saw me walking down the hall that I looked great. I told him about my frustration with my knee bend and he told me not to worry about it. I am young and motivated so all of that will come back. It will take time. Sometimes I wish I could let my physical therapy go and just focus on my recovery without all the talk of ROM and other **** they feel the need to discuss at every visit. I want to get in my pool and float around bending my leg and relaxing my muscles. I want a beer and a big plate of green veggies. Oh well. All of these things I want will be wonderful when I am finally able to enjoy them again. So yesterday was a little bit of my down day but hopefully today will be an up day. So until then I hope everyone is finding a peaceful place somewhere during their day with this recovery process.
 
@DanaDelight, I am envious of you 0 degree extension. At my first outpatient p/t last Thursday, I was at 20. I remember crying at therapy after the first one because I didn't feel like I was making progress. He measured and I was 4 degrees better than the previous time he measured. Hang in there! It will get better!
 
@DanaDelight try to relax and let the first month work its course - your knee needs to heal some more and everything will start to fall int place. ROM's etc. doesn't matter too much at this stage because your knee is adjusting to its new situation, we all have different issues in months 1 & 2.

I set up a similar diary to yourself and you will see that I had a few set backs in the early days but I tried to be patient (I didn't know about this site then) and it seems to have worked out alright. Progress can appear to be slow but it can them improve very quickly - I am 5 months down the line and "almost" like a young boy again!

Use this time to heal, catch up on favourite movies/books whilst doing your exercises if possible.

Take care

Mike
 
@tiredwife , @IrishMike , @Texan -Thank you all for your words of encouragement. Today my ROM was 10 degrees better than yesterday. My quad muscle is waking up nicely and I was able to do quad lifts and straight leg lifts with very little discomfort. I realized early this morning that I was under medicating myself and had very few moments of pain less than a 4/5 on the pain scale. I am back to taking my meds as directed and have added a sleeping pill so that I can get some much needed rest. I enjoyed therapy today and am back on an upswing emotionally. Thank you again guys for taking the time to respond. A few words mean a whole lot to me during this process. Have a great day!:yay:
 
@DanaDelight, It sounds like you had a good day at p/t. You are making great progress. Hope you get a good night's sleep tonight!
 
You're doing just fine. It could be that the day of extra activity with the staple removal just angered your knee a bit. Just a minor :tantrum:
 
@DanaDelight
Thinking about you and wishing you well. I guess recovery isn't a straight line glad to know you are on an upswing. I get my staples out today and look forward to massaging my knee.
When did your OS say you can bathe?
 
@sf-slim -I have been taking showers since I was in the hospital. I don't take baths so I have no idea when a bath would be allowed but I do know that when I inquired about getting into the pool I was told roughly six weeks after surgery. He wants all the scabs from the incision gone. You will love having the staples removed. I love running my hand over my incision and being able to massage the sides of the incision. It feels heavenly.
 
@DanaDelight I too have been showering since hospital. Probably if I could take baths and no showers, I would be wanting a shower.
How is your cane with lights coming?
 
Congrats @DanaDelight ... way to go , steady and cheerful. What do you like to do with your recovery time? I got new pages for my address book. You know how all the old names are crossed off? :yay:

And @sf-slim ... I bought some Burtts Bees lotion for healing the scar. It has Vit E, Aloe etc. Maybe to keep your scar soft. Bet ur glad to have the staples out. Way to go.:dancy:
 
@sf-slim The pimping cane is come along. My husband put it down for a few days because we had a water pipe break under the foundation in the living room. We had to have a plumber come dig up part of the foundation to access and fix the pipe. Then we had a disaster recovery company come and clean up the water damage. My living room is a huge concrete slab with chunks of dry wall missing. We are hoping to have everything put back together next week. I thought my cane could wait with this huge mess we have. Right now I have a black cane with neon orange tiger stripes. I only use it when I am downstairs. I am still using my walker 90% of the time.
 
Day #17 and I can say I have a front row seat to the biggest rollercoaster ever. Monday was a not so good day. I had a lot of pain and was weepy most of the day. I figured out that I needed to go back to taking my pain medications every four hours without fail. I was allowing myself to sleep through dosages or just plain forget to take the medicines and then the pain was out of control. It was affecting everything-my mood, appetite, physical therapy, etc. So I started on a regimented schedule and started feeling better fairly quickly. Physical therapy was good on Tuesday and Wednesday. I was making s..l..o..w progress but it was progress. I reached 73 on my ROM unassisted and my quad muscles started waking up and really doing some amazing things. I can do straight leg lifts with very little pain or discomfort along with a number of other quad exercises. My stinking ROM is the only thing that frustrates me. I allowed my therapist to assist me with a heal slide just to see if we could coax the knee to move and she said that there is a spot where my knee says stop. It is not a case of me tightening my leg up and preventing flexion. My knee just can't move past a certain point right now. I am using my CPM on a more consistent basis now because it does make the muscles feel better. I can get to 80 on the CPM so I know it is possible but still frustrating. I see so many people post they are 4 weeks out with a ROM of 115 and I just cry on the inside wondering if I will ever get there. I know I will but patience has never been one of my virtues.

Today I woke up at midnight with my stomach doing flip flops and before I knew it the dry heaves had started. I was dizzy and shaking and feeling like ****. My blood pressure has been running super low since surgery so I have to be so careful when I stand up and being sick to my stomach did not help the dizziness. I cancelled my PT session for the day and concentrated on pushing fluids and resting. This evening I feel much better and hopefully I have cleared this bump in the road. I should probably get out of my house to help with some of these post op blues but the temperature here in Florida is unbearable. The heat index was 100 today so there is no way I am going to sit outside and sweat through my unmentionables. I look forward to getting clearance to get in the pool. I really think it will help my ROM and my mood. So this is how my recovery from knee replacement surgery has gone so far. It is interesting to say the least and each day brings something completely different than the day before. I cannot complain about being bored!
 
@DanaDelight I saw you wanted a beer :cheers: I don't like beer but we can pretend, :heehee: I so hope you feel better sending :prayer:your way. I get nervous more and more each day as 15 more days until I can come to the other side. Then I wonder if I will want to go back to preop side :rotfl:
 
@madinana -I don't have any regrets about having the surgery done and I have yet to say I would rather go back to my pre surgery days. I have pain but it is not in my knee anymore. For the first time in years when I walk there is no crunching or grinding or popping. The pain I have right now is strictly from the muscles being cut and the trauma of sawing off bones and hammering in metal pieces. I just lack patience and when I have a few good days I mistakenly think that my bad days are behind me. I do feel so much stronger than I did last week and I am sleeping better and my pain is better and coming down in intensity. I have to remind myself that even when all these positive steps are taking place I cannot let m guard down and become complacent. I need to continue taking my pain meds on a consistent schedule, apply ice and elevate, do my exercises, eat right, and treat my knee like the newborn that it is. Try not to worry too much about your upcoming surgery because I have no doubts it will turn out fine and with no complications. My experience will be different than yours but it helps to know what you might go through. Good luck on your surgery. It will be life changing but in a good way!
 
@DanaDelight could you put your exact surgery date in your signature?
I know what you mean about getting frustrated. I think 4-6 weeks is the time when most of us start getting fed up if we're not moving along to where we think we should be and just a bit cranky in general with the whole thing.
You are so right to stick to your med schedule and to remember this can be a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
 
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