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TKR TRKR 10/13/23 - Moving Forward with Many Detours

You are right. I'm concerned my new manager or anyone will notice how I'm walking. The office is on the second floor, and I'd need to hold the banister. Maybe it will be better by Tuesday. Is there a brace BoneSmart recommends?
 
We don’t have a specific brace that’s recommended. I would say your best bet is a simple compression sleeve, not one of the more complex (and expensive) braces that you might see. But your best bet is to contact your surgeon and ask what he might recommend for you before making any purchases.

Please try not to be self-conscious about the fact that you are recovering from major surgery. Your health is much more important than any job. If you must move a little slower, so what? This is temporary and you must put yourself first. Remember, if you do opt for a brace at work, it is not there to enable you to do more than your knee is ready for right now. That would be counterproductive to your recovery. It would be there just to make you more comfortable while at work. If you find the compression results in swelling above or below the sleeve, you need to stop wearing it and just take it easy on your knee.
 
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Thank you again @Jamie. I appreciate your knowledge about braces and compression as I've only worn one on my other leg after hip surgery to contain the swelling. You're right, I am self-conscious. Your input is very helpful, and your support is reassuring. (((((Hugs))))) I'll ask Dr. Oh about the knee sleeve. The original surgery is healed; the scar tissue recovery is more than I thought it would be. One day at a time.
 
Happy icy afternoon. After a good start this morning - little stiffness when I got up, maybe because I rubbed my knee with castor oil last night - my quad muscle got into the action, then promptly fell asleep. This is new to me as my quad fired early on in recovery so I stopped using the cane and walked unassisted. Maybe my quad hurts because I walked up and down the staircase several times yesterday checking the pain in my knee. I put Arnicare on my quad and will put a heating pad on it later. It's always something. No pain or stiffness sitting, and the minute I get up I feel a rock in my quad. Here is the xray from yesterday. I was surprised to see I'd lost so much muscle. The indentation on the right side of my op leg/thigh really the left side, where my surgeon took muscle (?). There seems to be a spec on the xray screen where the leg is thinner. I have a tiny bit of arthritis in my left knee (had meniscus repair nearly four years ago) and am praying it stays healthy. If it deteriorates, then maybe it can be a partial knee replacement and not a full one.
 

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Jockette said:
dubloosh said:
If it deteriorates, then maybe it can be a partial knee replacement and not a full one.
Click to expand...
I’m just wondering why you say this?
Click to expand...
This surgery has taken a toll on me and a times consumed my thoughts, even at 15 months. When I try to do something right it turns out wrong or causes a setback. My mom had a partial knee replacement in her 80s and was back to herself after a few months.
 
Dubloosh….your surgeon did not “take muscle” during the surgery. Everyone loses muscle strength in the months while suffering from an arthritic knee and after a knee replacement during recovery. It takes a year to recover from surgery. That includes time to rebuild the muscles in your leg. This will not happen overnight or even within weeks. It will be months from your November surgery date before you see muscle strength returning. Right now your focus is healing from the November procedure, not building muscle strength.

I’m going to be a bit blunt here, because this is important. You’re not helping by continually trying to “test” your knee. Please stop and (as your surgeon recommended) let your knee stabilize after your November procedure. You’re starting that recovery time clock all over again. Your body is in charge of your healing. Just live your life. Read. Watch television. Get together with friends. Go out for lunch. Take a drive. Putter around the house. Rest and take naps. Focus on other things besides your knee. When your knee gets uncomfortable, it’s sending you a signal to either walk around a little (if it’s stiff) or rest and elevate (if it hurts). There is nothing you can do to make healing go faster, but you definitely can slow things down if you keep pushing yourself. If you find yourself getting overly anxious about your knees, perhaps you need to discuss this level of anxiety with your primary doctor. It’s something that is important to address because it’s impacting your knee recovery.
 
Hi @Jamie, I'm going out to do errands and wanted to reply first. Thank you for caring. I read your note several times and understand now the recent procedure is another start. Tuesday I begin a part time job three days/week, and while I'm sure there's an elevator (I'll ask), most employees use the stairs from one floor to another. That's my real anxiety. I'll keep to the elevator at home. It's warm in the car, I only have a few things to do, and can continue elevating when I get back. You and others are right about so many aspects of this surgery, such as range of motion increases as swelling subsides. Mine did without heavy exercise or straining. No more PT and no more stairs or undue exertion. Thank you again.
 
I’m glad you realized I was only speaking out of concern for you. Thanks for letting me know you got the right message. Enjoy your time out in the world today.
 
Thank you @Jamie. I'm back and elevating with ice. Hopefully, it will resolve in a matter of weeks. May I ask, please, how to help a sore quad muscle heal? I'm using heat now and shall read back, too, so I'm not redundant. Thank you.
 
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You are far enough along in recovery that you can use either heat or ice (or alternate both) on your quad muscles to make them feel better. But the best way to get them to heal is to give them as much rest as possible and take Tylenol on a set schedule through the day and night to counter any pain you’re experiencing. You can take up to 4,000mg of Tylenol in any 24 hour period, so that would be 2 500mg tablets every 6 hours. When you are in pain, it’s because the soft tissue is inflamed. If you don’t keep pain levels down, it’s becomes a cycle where the inflammation creates more pain and the more pain, the more the body fights back with even more inflammation. This is why resting and reducing any swelling is critical.
 
Wow, I have this backwards and thank you again for this information. I've been taking more Advil and less Tylenol, thinking Advil was helping the inflammation. I'm saving what you wrote so I can refer to it. Advil was giving me a bit of heartburn, too, unless I took it with food. Tomorrow and Monday I'll rest and baby my knee and appreciate you sharing this with me.
 
NSAIDs like Advil do help with inflammation. You can take them along with the Tylenol, which is for pain primarily. But it's a good choice because it is less likely to cause stomach problems when taken for an extended period if taken properly. If the Advil is bothering your stomach, you should stop it for a couple of weeks to make sure that clears up. Then if you start it again along with the Tylenol, start with one or two doses of the Advil a day and take it with a cookie or couple of crackers.
 
Thank you @Jamie. I'm saving this note, too. At first I thought it was turmeric upsetting my stomach, then realized it was Advil. Today's the first day stopping it. I hadn't realized it can be taken with a snack instead of a meal and can have that on hand at work.
 
Two months to date since your procedure. Soon enough another month will fly by and you'll be feeling even stronger. :egypdance:

I wish you the best as you begin your job on Tuesday, please let us know how it's going after you have a few days under your belt. Take good care!
@dubloosh
 
Thank you @Layla. I appreciate your kind words and good wishes and shall check back Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. Feeling nervous and calm at the same time. This is a positive way to start the new year. :)
 
Hi, it's the evening, and though I'm embarrassed to share this, I shall: earlier I went to PT to see if a different person would be more gentle even though I made up my mind to cancel. He was gentle and massaged my knee with lotion, something I can do at home, and while I had warm moist heat prior and ice after a few gentle stretches, there's nothing there for me. I told this to the owner in an email and said I cancelled all sessions. The minute I did that I felt better. That's that. Day one of healing. On the way home I bought some ginger and am trying to make ginger tea. Hope everyone had a good day day.
 
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That’s a positive sign, @dubloosh, and shows you made the right decision. You’ll be just fine. There is always time for therapy later if needed. You’ll be getting plenty of “therapy” with your new job.
 
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