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TKR The Odyssey of My Newfangled Knee

momweb said:
head to New Hampshire next week
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How long's your drive? I vote for spreading out in the backseat, pillows available, if there's space! That's how I traveled the three hours to the beach. Hubby was prepared to stop, but I did some occasional bending, and stretching, raising the leg, and icing with an ice pack (had to refill from the ice chest we brought along and throw the water out the window LOL) and we didn't have to stop, and I was fine when I got out. I would recommend stopping though. :)
 
I took a 2-day drive from Wichita to Phoenix with my husband at about 5 or 6 weeks out. I alternated between the backseat with pillows and the front seat and I iced a lot. I did stop at least every couple hours and walk around a bit to loosen my leg up and avoid blood clots. It worked but I was still stiff and sore when we got there. My car has a converter in it so i actually was able to plug in my ice machine and run it when we were traveling. It really helped.

Roxie
 
Today marks 8 weeks since surgery. Last night my knee was throbbing like crazy, of course keeping me awake. The pain pill didn't work, ice didn't work, walking didn't work. It was so frustrating. So, at one point, I decided to just take the cryo cuff, velcro it on my knee without the ice and believe it or not, the throbbing eventually stopped and I went back to sleep. I think it was the compression that made the difference. So, I may try it again tonight.

Today I had therapy and did real well. 125/0 almost back to where I was before I popped that stupid stitch. I can walk up and down the stairs like a normal person, of course I'm holding onto the railings for dear life. :heehee: And after 4 steps in both directions, I was proud and said, that was enough for one day. We finished up our stretches knowing that PT would be coming to an end most likely next week. It felt great!

I've been so down since I popped that stitch, and today was the first time that I actually saw hope at the end of the rainbow. I had to remember that I had a new injury on top of the old injury and that was hard to reconcile. So, anyway, like everyone else, I'm in it for the long haul. But, it sure is good to have good news to share!!:egypdance::giggle::wowspring:
 
HI @tigz it's a 3 1/2 hour ride to New Hampshire. My brother-in-law will be doing the driving in my car. I'll be in the back seat with the dog. We'll still need to stop at least twice, potty breaks are critical! But, on the way home, they will be flying home from Manchester, NH which is 2 1/2 hours from my home. I will have drive myself and the dog home on that day. I drove today for the first time since I popped the stitch. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't only 10 minutes. Coming home we will have to make several stops so I can get out and stretch and even ice if need be. It's just do whatever I need to do so I'm comfortable and safe. We'll be ok.
 
Hope your trip goes well. Make sure you take plenty of stops on the way home. Maybe take a cooler with ice packs in it . Most of all have fun and enjoy!
 
That's not too bad of a ride, but definitely take breaks as you need them! Especially on the way home since you have no one else to complain. ;-)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
@Kssii unfortunately my sister will be sitting in the front seat, so Sammy and I will have to share the back seat. He'll be fine. He'll be tethered but he's so silly he rarely lays down and tends to stand almost the entire time looking out the front window. So,he'll most likely straddle my likely and every so often sit in between my stretched out legs. We'll be fine. A little out of the ordinary, but it will work. :loll:
 
When I was driving back and forth from work to PT I would ice while I drove. You can use press n seal to keep a smaller ice pack on or I just hiked up my yoga pants, put the pack on my knee, pulled the pants over the ice and it stayed in place.
 
Be sure to have enough pillows to support your leg adequately. I sat in the back seat the first time I did a longer (40 min) trip and I found it worked pretty well. Just hope the dog doesn't sit ON your knee; my cat has managed to give me a few uncomfortable moments. :wink:
 
I am glad to hear things are going pretty well for you! Long car rides are hard, I agree with the potty stops.... I still get the pains at night sometimes too. Last night my ankle throbbed. Must be putting a lot of pressure on it during the day I guess. Ups and downs to this knee thing for sure.
 
Just saw your post on raffs thread about wearing a sleeve for support, a lot of physics and OS over here don't really tell you that it's ok, in fact l was told by one Physio they its not recommended but, l must admit, when l was recovering from my ltkr and did too much, a support was really great. I will have to dig one out.
 
At 8 weeks today I saw the surgeon this surgeon. It also has been 2 weeks since I popped the lateral stitch and tore some scar tissue. I am almost, just not all the way, back to where I was before this happened. I still have some residual pain as a result and the swelling is there, just no where near as bad. The company that provided Home Physical Therapy provided 9 weeks (I know it seems like a lot, but it was great) and I will be discharged from them on Tuesday. I will start out-patient PT when we get back from vacation in the beginning of September. I'm hoping it will be a combination of aquatic and land therapy. He said the tightness in the back of my knee was normal and was due to the swelling. He checked the knee cap and everything seems tracking normally. He did prescribe long-acting oxi-contin to help with nighttime pain and sleep. We'll see how that works. We're also going to try Celebrex instead of the Diclofenac I currently take for inflammation. He also said I could take Tramadol during the day if I needed it for pain during the day. He was pleased although he knows I am disappointed that I feel I should be further along. I will see him in 4 weeks. Moving ahead.
 
After your setback you're doing very well, so please don't feel disappointed. That's the problem when you have setbacks, although you might be 8 weeks out, your knee is only at the 6 week stage. My OS told me when l saw him at 8 weeks the my knee (after my fall) was more like a 5 week knee, so although I'm 11 weeks today, I'm more like I was at 8 weeks now. It is frustrating, but l guess we need to have patience!
 
That's a good update from your OS even though you feel you should be further along. I think you've done really well keeping positive during this difficult time :thumb:
 
Nothing easy about this trek and certainly some of us experience bumps along the way. But it sounds like you're back on track. :yay:
 
For the longest time I was thinking of my knee after the MUA as X # of weeks from TKR, and Y # of weeks from the MUA, because I knew I was still recuperating from the MUA (soft tissues, etc), too. It's just been this past week that I've merged them together in my mind since I've started counting in months for the TKR, and I've lost count of the weeks since the MUA. Bottom line... remember we're all a work in progress with these new knees... and it takes time. (Makes me think of my mother when I asked her if my son was ever going to be potty trained, and her reply have you ever seen a 16 year old in diapers :) )
 
Well, my company has left and I'm exhausted! Just the change of routine makes it hard. I had one day where I really overdid the walking and I was so sore and swollen that night. I knew the next day I'd have to take it easy. Well, Mother Nature helped a bit; the weather was lousy, I had a major headache, and none of us really felt like doing anything. So, I basically sat around with my knee up until we went out to dinner later that night.

Today my sister and her husband flew back to South Carolina. He drove the the first hour to the airport. We said our good-byes and I drove the rest of the way home. I drove about an hour and half before I stopped. I could barely walk after struggling to get out of the car. Once the knee started to move I was ok, but wow, was I ever stiff. I walked around for a few minutes before getting back in the car for the next 2 hour ride home. To my surprise when I finally reached home, I wasn't as stiff as the first time. Cruise control was my savior, don't think I could have made it without it. I also had my seat pushed almost all the way back (Thank goodness for my long legs). I was pleased driving wasn't that bad.

I am tired though. So, now that it is around 8:00 PM my knee is killing me as usual around this time. So, I'm learning that if I take a Tramodol now and my Oxycontin Extended Release around 11, I can actually get a fairly decent night's sleep. Life is almost returning to normal. :loveshwr:
 
Saw my home therapist for the last time this morning. He really is a sweetheart. I was actually discharged last week, but he wanted to see me one last time and get an update since I had seen the OS last Thursday. We did one last measurement and wow, it was a surprise as well...132/0. Not too shabby! :egypdance:

The surgeon wants me to continue with out-patient PT for another 12 visits to try and rid the knee of some of the edema and pain and to build up more strength. So, I made my initial evaluation appointment for September 11th because my husband and I will be back in New Hampshire for a quiet, relaxing vacation next week. No company, no touristy things to do, just us. What will be funny is if by Sept. 11th I get so much better, the new PT refuses to treat me. We shall see. :yes!:

Until then... walk, stretch, ice, elevate. Same old, same old.
 
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