Knee Infection* Third time's the charm, I hope

[maryo52]

Six week follow up with surgeon today. He's leaving his practice having done 10,000 knees to go work for Zimmer. I have good bend, good movement, good strength, little pain. I'm told this is my forever knee. The amazing part is that the appointment was two states away, 6 hours' distance. We drove halfway yesterday, did the rest of the trip this morning by bus and subway, then all of that in reverse + many steps and escalators. I even drove the last two hours in my standard shift CRV, made dinner, ate it with the polar ice machine hooked up. VERY HAPPY, VERY RELIEVED, VERY THANKFUL

 

[Jockette]

All I can say is,

 

[Lindylee]

That's fantastic news. Well done you!

 

[sistersinhim]

Yay and yippee, what wonderful news!

 

[maryo52]

The day DID wear me out. Had to need some narcotic help at bedtime, and today am thinking about all the people who come on the forum doing a fair amount of exercises and why they feel that way. These new knees most definitely complain when we do too much. Plus I had a little fall when someone called my name and I turned to see while standing in snow. No damage, just a reminder to take it easy for a few days.

 

[sistersinhim]

Oh my, falls are so scary after this surgery. I hope you won't be too sore from it. You know what to do!

 

[maryo52]

Today I am at 10 weeks. I retired the "nest" where I'd ice and elevate, read, etc. The ice machine went into storage (I have gel packs in the freezer). I'm at 120 ROM. I still wear compression hose as I find it masks various unpleasant sensations. But I think about my knee less and less. I also called the oxygen company to come get the big tank by my bed, which is for cluster headaches. Two years ago I started a vitamin regimen to get my D levels up which some layperson (an ex fighter pilot!!) developed to suppress cluster headaches and it totally works. My recent birthday was the first time I've ever felt younger on a birthday. And in three days we head to Puerto Rico for two weeks of snorkeling and 80 degree weather, and as if all of this isn't fantastic enough, my son is coming for a couple of days to celebrate his birthday early.

 

[NavyGunns]

@maryo52, Happy Birthday! You have a great time in Puerto Rico! Beautiful and I leave in just over a week for a week long cruise to the Western Caribbean with 10 other family members. Have a challenge to three of my nieces (all 20 somethings) to see who can climb the Mayan ruin the fastest. I would love to see this 59 yr old put them to shame, but will be satisfied if I just make it to the top and down with no knee issues. LOL.

 

[maryo52]

Today is the eight year anniversary of my worst year vacation. I'm in the same destination (Puerto Rico!), with the same friends, but with a whole different story. For the first 2-3 days I noticed some PTSD, places and activities that reminded me of the 2010/11 nightmare. It was with some trepidation that I got in the water yesterday, then I was able to progress to snorkeling, and today I snorkeled without hesitation and kept up with four people 25+ years younger than me . . . without pain during or after other than the little areas that feel bruised, such as along the tibia, which of course is normal. My feet haven't touched the ground since Jan 9th!!

I got back on this forum leading up to my revision, having relied HEAVILY on Bonesmart the first time. It's still a great place to be, and I'm so grateful for all the support I've received and am also very much enjoying the connections that happen here which allow people to feel not so alone, and to find others with similar experiences.

 

[NavyGunns]

@maryo52, great to hear your vacation is not only restful but has been therapeutic also. Your input on this forum is amazing and extremely valued and appreciated.

 

[maryo52]

Today I took my knee out for a spin down the road. Just amazing! The last time I rode my bike is when the loosening became apparent. What I'm really loving is the straightness of my knee. It had a valgus of 8-9 degrees after my original TKR, and before that the valgus was 10. And so I was valgus for something like 20 years and I always felt that the strength in my leg was undermined because the knee would bend in. Mechanically, my leg is performing so much better. It's like going from a junk car to a Mercedes. No pain whatsoever after my bike ride. I have eight months until the one year mark and trust the mild effusion will subside, and the quad will become strong again.

 

[Celle]

Everything sounds great, Mary. I'm so glad for you that this TKR is working like a charm.

 

[Pumpkin]

Mary,
Great report, happy to hear how well you are doing with a knee that works!

 

[maryo52]

So I have been off the forum for five months because my recovery has been super smooth. But lately I'm having pain in that leg. I have what I think is stem end pain on my shin (I have a 5" stem). Today there is pain down my shin. My knee seems to feel stiff more. When I do straight leg raises with light ankle weights, it feels stiff for 2-3 days, more stiff than a couple of months ago. I recovered quickly to about the six month mark and plateaued. Probably this is all normal but I wanted to break out of my internal dialog about this and get people's thoughts.

I do have another condition affecting my lower legs which is small fiber peripheral neuropathy. I get muscle spams in the TKR leg almost nightly (not the other leg). Both of my lower legs are a bit wooden, making stairs and walking up hill a little harder.

BTW the forum makeover looks wonderful!

 

[maryo52]

I seem to be having a small problem after months of super recovery. I plateaued around six months and was doing fine. However, my knee get stiff doing straight leg raises and side step ups, which I've been doing to try to build up my quad. I have arthrogenic muscle inhibition of my quad on the TKA side. Anyhow, I'm wondering if at 9 almost 10 months this is normal. My first knee replacement was not very good and my knee was never not stiff from 2010 until I had my revision.

 

[Pumpkin]

Maryo52,
With your history of arthrogenic muscle inhibition, and being less than a year out from your revision, your stiffness is normal. Try less reps, or starting with less intense exercises.

Has anyone suggested a Bioness L300 Plus trial.
Bioness L300 Plus can stimulate your quad, timing the stimulation with your gait.

Find an outpatient clinic that has the units, usually they can arrange a free trial.

 

[maryo52]

Interesting! I will look into that.

Thanks for your reply Pumpkin. It seemed as if I was able to do some quad strengthening without so much stiffness. I have to confess I was starting to feel a little paranoid. My knee's reaction to these exercises, even mild, reminds me of what happened when I had loosening.

 

[Jockette]

I’m sure it’s very nerve wracking to think a previous problem is happening again.

 

[maryo52]

Fortunately I recognize that while loosening is a possibility, most likely I'm having temporary paranoid that I'll chuckle about later.

 

[Celle]

@maryo52
I agree with the advice that Pumpkln has given you.

I read a couple of your posts ago that you're doing straight leg raises with light ankle weights and after doing those your knee feels stiff for several days. Perhaps it would be a good idea to give up the weights until things settle down?

I know you want to increase quad strength, but your knee seems to want to take things very slowly, so go along with that.

Also, although loosening is a very slight possibility, if it does exist using weights might make it worse.