TKR Total Left Knee Replacement

[Jockette]

PT is funny. If it weren't so painful, it would make for a great comedy routine.

Painful PT is not in your best interest. Don’t allow it.

 

[flacie1]

@tlfiore I was standing there looking at the bike like how the heck am I gonna get on that thing.....once I got on it and realized that the pedals were under control I got more comfortable being on it, and it felt good to have those muscles being used again.

The aspirin is prescribed to prevent blood clots. I do take mine regularly, hubby is on it daily so he reminds me to take it.

DH...what would I do without him? He has really stepped up to the plate and is doing a great job taking care of me, our son and our home. He’s been staying up on the laundry (ours is in the basement) hasn’t gotten upset that I’m not ready to cook dinner yet. It’s kinda nice that he sees everything I do around here. He hasn’t had a chance to rest all day. I order the groceries he goes and gets them and brings them home and puts them away. I offer to help and he says no. Now I don’t expect this to last as long as I would like it to, but it’s so nice right now. Of course it also helps that he doesn’t have to work 55 hrs a week at work either. I would feel extremely guilty. He’s been staying home to get our son off to school, he usually goes in to work at 4:00, so he’s getting a bit of a break. My boss is amazing. We work for the same company. I am working from home and DH brings things back and forth. I have not been able to do much work this past week but the beginning of the month is slower than the end.

 

[luvcats]

I'm glad your DH is being such an excellent support. Its still very early days to be thinking of your own meals, much less feeding your family. You should still be in full on couch-potato mode.

I'm surprised you can work at all. It was probably 4 weeks before I really felt able to do much work that required being smart, so you're doing very well.

 

[kneeper]

Just catching up here--congrats on successfully taking a shower!

 

[tlfiore]

@flacie1 sounds like you are doing so well! Your posts sound happy and upbeat! I am relieved your husband is taking such good care of you, your son and the home. You mentioned your son was feeling ill a day or so after your surgery. Is everything okay now?

You sound waaaaaay on track, if not ahead. I've been closely following you and @caredFL, along with a few other folks. We all had surgery within a few days apart. I think you mentioned you were "jelly" of my progress! I had to look up what jelly means-lolol...I am so not-hip!

I don't think anyone should be jealous of my progress...lololol...I am so fearful of my first post-op visit and this darn PT. I had another awful night, which I'm going to post about in a bit. I don't feel stalled but I feel my progression is quite slow.

Hey...I'm off to check in on @caredFL next. My progress is nothing spectacular. You are doing great. I enjoy reading your updates. Please keep posting!

 

[flacie1]

@luvcats my job is so easy I can do it my sleep. Although I have stuff that needs to be done from last week that I need to work up the energy to do. I just need to find that perfect sitting position.

@kneeper yes a shower is a huge accomplishment at this point.

@tlfiore Jacob (my son) is feeling much better. I think he just wanted to stay home to make sure I was ok. I thought it was going to turn into something but by Tuesday am he was good to go. I lol’d about the jelly comment. I think we all are our worst critics when it comes to how we are going. I am so very stiff and sore today. Last night was tough, could not get comfortable, then I was hot. I think I finally got up and came down to the couch around 6:00 am. I have done 1 set of my exercises today so far and I feel good. The weather is beautiful here today so I might go sit out in the back and snag of this sunshine we have here today.

 

[Macknit]

@flacie1 it definitely sounds like you are progressing, my first 5 weeks were all over the place! Some nights I was soooo cold, then I'd get very warm in a short period of time. I do think at that point it was the effects of the pain meds. Now I'm almost at 10 weeks and I still have the roller coaster affect going on, but it is just less intense.

We have beautiful sunshine today also and it has been up to the mid 60's F which isn't bad for mid-November in the Oregon Cascades...it does make me happy!

 

[flacie1]

Day 11 post op. I didn’t get much sleep last night. I’ve been taking my pain pill at bedtime and if I wake up during the night. I’m managing my pain ok during the day with ice and Tylenol. I do still have a lot of pain in the back of my leg. Feels very tight still. I’ve been up since 6:00 am, got some work done for my boss and now I’m icing before attempting my exercises. Will most likely just stretch. We are expecting snow this evening, and when it snows here people loose their minds and can’t drive, therapy is tonite when the snow is expected. Good thing DH loves to drive in the snow so I am confident in his abilities.

 

[Macknit]

We get snow frequently, though not yet for the winter...I actually have a rig that's great in the snow (and the right kind of tires.) So, I actually enjoy driving in the snow, too. Good luck with PT!

 

[sondrals]

I live in Alaska and snow's very common (complete understatement) and people STILL forget how to drive in it every year!

 

[flacie1]

I hate the snow. I don’t mind if I’m in my house and it’s snowing, but if I have to leave I’m not happy. Lol. I didn’t used to be this way, I would go out in anything, then I had my son and I’ve lost my nerve.

 

[flacie1]

Wide awake at 2:00 am. Yesterday was an ok day. I didn’t get thru all of my exercises and just felt plain lazy. Now I’m awake and unable to fall back to sleep. No real big pain in my knee just an ache. I’m physically and mentally exhausted from this recovery, and I’m just 12 days post op. I still have a long way to go. Cabin fever is real, and hitting hard. Just having a mini pity party for myself right now. Once I can get some sleep I’ll feel better.

 

[Jockette]

 

[tlfiore]

@flacie1 I've been thinking about you. The roller-coaster description about recovery aptly fits, doesn't it? I'm so sorry you had a bad night. I've had several awful nights recently, followed by what I thought was a pretty good & hopeful day on Tuesday...not so great of a start so far today, Wednesday November 13th.

Good news is you are keeping your pain at bay. Pain makes EVERYTHING seem worse for me, it really does. I have pretty low frustration tolerance when I have pain and pain makes everything seem worse.

Hang in there, my friend.

 

[Macknit]

Yes, recovery can be frustrating, overwhelming, and taxing. Then we add the sleep deprivation and that is quite the recipe for a mess! The frequency of those nights has started to be less often now that I'm at 10 weeks, but I had my 1x per week PT last night and I woke to a new knee/leg pain that reminded me of the early days! It probably was just from extra activity, because nothing hurt during PT... So up at 3:30 doing the I & E. I plan to head into work a bit late, just to help my leg settle down. Overall I do see upward movement, but as posted before, this recovery drawing is a perfect depiction of the journey:

I understand your snow dislike! Mine came this past winter when I fell 3 different times on snow and ice!!! My worst fall was when I had my trekking poles and "yak traks"on my feet (shoe chains, for those of you from the milder climes) and it was the reason for my spinal surgery in July! Sometimes you just can't win!

Now, with a knee in recovery, I'm not planning to go walking/hiking in the snow, at least this year, even though it is such a lovely respite from cabin fever!! I might consider it next winter?? We get quite a bit of snow usually and I do have to embrace it ...but I now have a healthy fear of it and don't have to like it!

Hopefully, you get rest later today!

 

[flacie1]

@Macknit that illustration says it perfectly.

Mom and dad came over today and mom brought me some cabbage rolls for dinner. Oh it was the most delicious dinner I’ve had in weeks. I haven’t had the energy to cook so that was a welcome surprise. I wanted mom to look at my leg(she’s a nurse, and had her knee replaced last year) but she didn’t seem like she wanted to look. But she said I’ve been doing well and I shouldn’t beat myself up about my progress.

Had therapy this evening and I was not looking forward to going but I’m glad I did. As hard as it is I feel so much better for going. I hope I get a better nights sleep

 

[limpski]

Am having tkr on dec 3. thanks for the info.Hope you recover quickly

 

[flacie1]

Another restless night in the books. I was so tired I passed out by 10:00 pm but was awake at 12:00, then again at 4:00. Knee feels pretty good today, I was fully expecting to be stiff and sore after PT yesterday. My thigh muscle is being lazy and doesn’t want to work which is really frustrating. I have exercises to work on to try to wake it up.

I folded some laundry, sheets, I hate folding sheets. Went upstairs and filled 2 laundry baskets for DH to get started. I thought about trying to get it down to the basement and start it myself but I think that would be too much too soon. If it was already down there I would consider navigating the basement steps, but I’m perfectly content to sit here on the couch and ice my knee.

 

[sistersinhim]

Mom and dad came over today and mom brought me some cabbage rolls for dinner. Oh it was the most delicious dinner I’ve had in weeks. I haven’t had the energy to cook so that was a welcome surprise.

What a blessing that was!

Knee feels pretty good today, I was fully expecting to be stiff and sore after PT yesterday. My thigh muscle is being lazy and doesn’t want to work which is really frustrating. I have exercises to work on to try to wake it up.

Good news that your knee is doing OK. Don't worry about that quad muscle. It will wake up on its own. It is a common complaint after this surgery. Don't overdo those exercises trying to force it to wake up. You'll just make your knee angry.

 

[tlfiore]

@Macknit that illustration says it perfectly.

Mom and dad came over today and mom brought me some cabbage rolls for dinner. Oh it was the most delicious dinner I’ve had in weeks. I haven’t had the energy to cook so that was a welcome surprise. I wanted mom to look at my leg(she’s a nurse, and had her knee replaced last year) but she didn’t seem like she wanted to look. But she said I’ve been doing well and I shouldn’t beat myself up about my progress.

Sounding good @flacie1 How wonderful that your folks are alive, well, living nearby and obviously loving! That is such a plus. I hear you about PT...man, do I dread it!

Keep up the good work!