TKR The Recovery Journey Begins: Second TKR

[rubyyarn]

It sounds like you are doing well with the walking! I'm still doing laps around the yard. Not ready yet to attempt our steep gravel driveway.

And the stiffness...gee! Will that ever end? I'm OK during the day, but nights are the pits!

And there are days when you want to knock those chipper, positive attitude folks into the middle of next week...but which feels better, being down or up? We can choose to some extent. Sometimes it helps to fully experience the 'down' (i.e., wallow in it). Then being 'up' feels like a good choice.

Hopefully things start looking better for you soon.

 

[Iloved3]

Thanks for your support, @rubyyarn ! So nice to know others go through this too!

I have not attempted any steep ups or downs yet. Much too afraid of falling!

It sounds like you are doing great. How is your bend? My first knee was quick but this one is taking its time!!!

Does your first knee still feel stiff? I have 130 degrees flexion in it but still that weird tight band feeling.

My knees feel equally stiff at this point. I thought the first one would be feeling less of the stiffness, but it is not! Very disappointing!

I have also developed some aching in my hip that I did not have with the first knee. I don't quite understand that. When I bend my knee to the point of discomfort, my hip aches.

I know what you mean about wallowing in it, but I feel like such a whiner. It is so much better when I can stay positive!

Hang in there. We will both get through this and be so much better for it!

 

[rubyyarn]

I do think we will get through it Last time anyone checked, my ROM was 122/? They had me doing exercises for extension, but didn't always tell me what it was. I think it is a bit shy of 0.

It is really odd that the first knee thinks it necessary to ache as much as the second. It is 5 months out! I guess it will all work out in the end.

Hey! We have Christmas emojis :candle:

 

[Jockette]

Iloved3 and ruby yarn, I think you are both being too hard on your first replacements. They were only 3 months old when you had the second knee done. Nowhere near complete recovery, yet it seems you expect it to be, since moving on to another knee replacement. It had to become the better/stronger knee way before it was ready to. Not to mention you were probably still feeling an energy drain from the first surgery and now a second energy drain on top of the first.

I think you should cut yourselves some slack and baby both of those knees. They deserve it.

I’m sure you feel like this is going to go on forever, you were probably just starting to feel much better then had to go back to square one with a new replacement.

I only had one done and I can’t imagine it being ready to be the better/stronger one, even at the 8.5 months post op that I am. Complete recovery for me still feels a very long way away.

 

[kneeper]

That tight band feeling will take a few more months to go away, but it should gradually diminish. It sounds like you're doing really well. I know you're impatient to "get your life back"--who isn't? But a little bit of pacing yourself now will pay off later.

 

[rubyyarn]

@Jockette, I think you've got something there. Knee #1 was just beginning to feel decent. Guess I expected that to continue regardless of what else happened. The energy drain is certainly there, 'cause there isn't that much left to drain

I feel like I've been doing a whooole lot of sitting. Guess I'll be doing a whooole lot more

@Iloved3, it's like my DH says, we're just Doing Time. That's all we can do until this recovery is complete.

 

[SusieShoes]

Doing time is all right, especially when you can do it under house arrest. Your knees are still babies, so might fuss a little here and there, but they’re still learning all the important new things, like how to work well together and with the rest of your body. I remember how on my first walks, my back started acting up! It made sense that the parts all fit together a little differently, so needed to get used to working with each other, but it was really annoying for my back to to start yammering right when I was having a nice walk. I could have walked more and longer, but no... my back. So there’s always something, it seems.
One big plus is you can enjoy the holidays! :dancing: Aren’t you glad to be at this point in recovery and not some earlier point? I know I am. Just standing at the table to wrap gifts is such a joy!

 

[Iloved3]

You are absolutely right, @SusieShoes . I am so glad to not be at an earlier stage, and even better, not looking forward to another surgery! At this point before I was just starting to feel better and starting to dread knee #2! Thank God I only have two knees!!!!!


Thanksgiving was lovely and I am looking forward to Christmas! I joined Amazon Prime for free shipping and I have gone hog-wild Christmas shopping online! Not letting that "whole lot of sitting" go to waste, @rubyyarn !
:tree lights:

I know the tight ace bandage feeling is going to be around for months yet @kneeper ! I was having a really down day yesterday and posting about it and hearing from @rubyyarn really helped raise my spirits!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Iloved3]

Well I am 10 weeks out now from knee #2 (and almost 6 months out on #1). I am at 120/0 degrees. Still lots of the ace bandage tightness in both knees but very little actual pain.

I have developed pain in the hip of my second TKR. It has been a recurrent problem off and on for years. Doing heel slides seems to make it worse. My PT and I finally figured out if I do my heel slides lying down flat instead of sitting, it irritates my hip less and I can bend further.

All in all, I am progressing and trying to be patient.

 

[SusieShoes]

Your ROM is excellent! Your recovery is going really well, sounds like. I hope you find a way to get relief from your hip pain.

 

[Iloved3]

I talked to my surgeon's nurse and she said the hip x-ray they did before my RTKR showed no arthritis (thank God!) so my pain is either bursitis or soft tissue injury, probably due to it having to adjust to the new knee. If it is the latter, it should clear up as I heal more.

She told me to take Alieve for the hip inflammation. I am still taking Tylenol for my knees. It helps. I had hoped to not take any more NSAIDs. She said if it is not better for my February appointment they will re X-ray and reassess.

Other than my hip, the only thing bothering me is the stiffness I get from standing too long or walking too much. That tight ace bandage feeling is so annoying. Is it a form of pain? I read that somewhere. I still have it in my LTKR that is 6 months out. I have read it can last for many more months.

Live is improving daily! I have lost 16 pounds and my blood sugar is better than it has been in years! My bend is 126 degrees. Really doing great!

Thanks @SusieShoes for your concern!

 

[Celle]

Other than my hip, the only thing bothering me is the stiffness I get from standing too long or walking too much. That tight ace bandage feeling is so annoying. Is it a form of pain? I read that somewhere. I still have it in my LTKR that is 6 months out. I have read it can last for many more months.

Yes, it is a form of pain. Unfortunately, that tight feeling can linger for months, but it should fade gradually.

 

[Iloved3]

I have not posted in quite a while. I am now 7 months out on my LTKR and four months out on my RTKR. Both knees measure at 0/130 degrees. I am scheduled to see my surgeon February 1 and I am sure he will be pleased!

I am still experiencing that tight ace bandage feeling, pretty much equally in both knees. It is especially noticeable when I have to stand or if I sit too long with them bent, but not so much when walking. I continue to ice at least once a day for 45 minutes/1.5 hours. My knees do not feel or look swollen. I elevate any time I can.

I have increased riding my recumbent bike to 16 minutes each day. I am doing several leg lift exercises with two pound ankle weight, three set of 10 reps, and sit to stand 16 times. I can go up and down 5 inch steps with little pain.

I have also been dieting and have now lost 26 pounds. I have a long way to go, but I look and feel better!

I have never been a physically strong person and for six years I avoided causing knee pain. Building up my legs to be strong enough to stand up from a low seat and go up and down normal stairs is quite a challenge. Being 65 years old may add to this challenge.

So I am just looking for some support. Seems like recovery goes on forever. Sit to stand and walking up and down stairs is painful and I want to get past that. It does not seems to cause swelling or lingering pain, just while I am doing it.

Advice? Suggestion?

 

[gertie]

No advice but lots of empathy. I'm at about the same point you are with staged replacements and think we're in a funny place in the recovery arc. Your ROM is excellent (as is mine), sounds like walking is fine and you're getting exercise with the recumbent bike but then there are those stairs and the challenge of low seats. Improvement is slow at this point but I have to trust that we will continue to gain strength and endurance. I keep telling myself that recovery takes at least a year.

 

[Iloved3]

So glad to not be alone @gertie. Sounds like we are in the same boat and that is reassuring!

I guess we just need more patience. You would think we would be experts at being patient by now, wouldn't you?

Hang in there!!!!!!

 

[Celle]

So I am just looking for some support. Seems like recovery goes on forever. Sit to stand and walking up and down stairs is painful and I want to get past that. It does not seems to cause swelling or lingering pain, just while I am doing it.

I think it's just a matter of time. It's not quite 4 months since you had your TKR, so you're only a third of the way through this year-long recovery.
You're really doing very well, but your knee is still healing inside. It does take a long time for all your soft tissues to be completely healed.

Your knee is still a work in progress. Where it is now is not where it's going to end up.

 

[KarriB]

As I just posted on Gertie’s thread, it did take a whole year before I felt completely healed and longer before I worked on truly strengthening my legs with walking.

It does sound as though you’re doing well and moving along nicely. Patience with recovery can be difficult, but it’s what is needed.

 

[Iloved3]

I have not posted in a long time. I am now at 9 months on my LTKR and 6 months on my RTKR. My incisions are well healed, extension is zero degrees in both knees and flexion is 130 degrees in both knees.

I have no real pain, only occasional zingers. I am able to walk well and still working on stairs with right knee. I completed physical therapy and still ride my exercise bike at home.

I am still having the tight band feeling across my knees most of the time. It is worse after walking, but better after riding the exercise bike.

My question is about icing. Is there still advantage to using ice on my knees and elevating at this stage? I used to be able to see definite improvement after icing but now it seems minimal.

I am still using Tylenol 3 times a day and that seems to help some. There is no noticeable swelling in knees, ankles or feet. Just stretching out and resting seems to help the most. I understand it can take a long time for the tight band feeling to go away.

So my question is: does continuing to ice have any real advantage? I purchased a GameReady machine and keep the water bottles frozen, so it is not difficult, just time consuming.

Thanks for your views on this!

 

[SusieShoes]

Well, the goal to return to normal knees and a normal life, and most people don't ice their knees every day. That includes people with older TKRs. So I figure you can stop icing as soon as you don't get any benefit from it. For what it's worth, I stopped icing completely a couple months ago and don't miss it. My knees don't swell or hurt even after long walks or doing lots of stairs, or working out in the pool at the health club. I guess they don't need it.

Stop icing and see what happens. Your knees will tell you if they still need it or not.

 

[Jockette]

I stopped icing somewhere between 6-7 months post op, when the coldness of it started to hurt almost immediately. I wondered if it hurt because there wasn’t enough swelling to cushion the area. Probably not, but it crossed my mind.