TKR Trying to stay positive

[Fire wolf]

I tried a whole bunch of things, but nothing helped until one day, probably around week 14 or so? my body found it's old sleep routine. Now I am sleeping through the night mostly. If I do wake up for the potty or something, I fall back to sleep rather easily.

 

[OJ2]

Went to PT. Since I did 2 full rotations on the bike on Tuesday, I decided I was going to do 3 today. When I hit 3, I was pretty happy. Then the therapist said he wanted 17 more. I will say each one got a little easier. Although I think I come home from therapy physically exhausted, I do feel mentally uplifted.

 

[OJ2]

I asked my therapist about my IT band today because it hurt when he massaged that area. He said that the hamstrings and quads have fibers that reach under the IT band and their tightness can cause the IT band to hurt. He said it is very hard to get to those muscle parts, and that it why it seemed he was digging into my leg. He also dug into my calves, and I can definitely say that my walking after all that digging was definitely with a better gait, felt more relaxed and without a single pain. I will continue to use my rolling pin on my quads, hamstrings, and calves, but I am hoping he continues to dig.

 

[Jennszoo]

As I was reading your post, I was kneading the outer edge of my calf in an effort to loosen up the it band and muscles and get more bend. Those areas are tricky.

 

[OJ2]

I have a spot on the outer edge of my knee that I say is tight, painful, and numb all at the same time! How can that be?

 

[Fire wolf]

Kneerah!! Congrats on the revolutions! I hope the mental lift stays around awhile!

 

[OJ2]

I was thrilled to feel the mental uplift. I felt weepy eyed as I drove to therapy, and prayed I wouldn't break down and embarrass myself there. I drove him home calm and mellow, and was so thrilled at feeling that way.
I did go to our mature peoples class at the gym this afternoon. The trainer had us getting down and up off the floor several times. I did it but it was not pretty. The last time, I told him I was just staying down, so he brought me a slider so I could do heel slides while the rest of the class did something standing. Movement is movement and we should all do what we can. Sometimes it is very little, but that is ok.

 

[SusieShoes]

Good plan. Recovery your way. I'm in deep admiration of you getting down on the floor and then back up again. Haven't tried that yet. Pretty or not, you can do it!

 

[OJ2]

So, I was laying in bed this am around 4 am, not sleeping of course. I am a thinker and I was thinking of my journey and how difficult it has seemed in my eyes.
Then I thought of all of you bilaterals. WOW! I cannot even imagine not having a good leg to stand on. Your strength and resilience amaze me. You have been through more than any single person ought to ever have to go through.
And those who have had staged tkrs or multiple ones at any time. I am here with my one, thinking I am not sure I would ever have the strength to do this again. The mental ability to get past the one and go one to another is beyond comprehension.
I feel I was strong and healthy before my tkr. But there are many of you who were basically crippled by arthritis, or who have multiple other diseases you had to deal with at the same time as recovery. My hat is off to you! You have had a double whammy in recovery, and your bodies have to relearn how to act.
I am retired, so I have the luxury of plenty of time for my rehab. But many of you have had the stress of having to get back to work. Then you have to balance work with taking time for exercises, icing, and elevating. Some of you have families you need to care for, while still trying to care for yourself. There are not enough hours in the days for all you need to do. And still you somehow manage to get it all done.
If tkr recovery were an Olympic sport, we would all deserve a Gold Medal! In case your dr, therapist, family, or friends don't tell you, you are all amazing people! You have done, or are doing, one of the hardest things in life, and you are making it through. I have a virtual hug for each one of you. And I hope I can provide support to any of my friends and family who start this journey in the future. I can honestly say I never knew how strong, persevering, and heroic tkr recipients really are, but I do now.

 

[Josephine]

@OJ2 I've moved two of your posts from this thread to your own recovery thread as the content was totally personal and derailed TKRPAIN's thread.

 

[OJ2]

@Josephine thank you. Sometimes I forget where I am when I am posting.

 

[kmak81230]

Well said @OJ2 - I've had those same thoughts many times over the past 4 months! Glad to hear you are doing so well.

 

[Josephine]

Well you can tell easily enough - when you're in your own thread, your posts are coloured grey. If you're in somebody else's thread, your posts are white!

 

[OJ2]

@Josephine never knew that. Thanks.

Just got back from Dr visit. I told her I needed a plan for sleep, for pain control, and for muscle relaxation. I came home with all 3. She feels that sleep is SO important to the healing process and she thinks I can deal with weaning off the ambien once my knee is further along.

Also, interesting at least to me, she said there is some thought that the sleeplessness is related to the after effects of the opioids on the brain. And the brain just needs time to adjust itself back to pre-opioid time. I had just assumed that since I was no longer taking the oxy, it was totally out of my system.

Much of what she said was familiar- time, ice, and gentle stretching are my best friends right now.

 

[SusieShoes]

I think she's right about the opioids. My sleep disruption got really bad after I stopped the oxy and it stayed ragged until a few more weeks had passed. I'm pretty sure it was the lingering effect of the oxy that created the brain loops I experienced, one thought playing over and over again. Nasty stuff!

That might be another reason many TKR patients feel significant improvement after three months: they've gotten rid of all the drug effects.

 

[Polkadot]

I have a spot on the outer edge of my knee that I say is tight, painful, and numb all at the same time! How can that be

I have the same thing. Mysterious, eh? Probably this is due to internal(?) swelling, as the outside of my knee has never looked swollen; plus nerves regenerating and knitting back together. The human body is an amazing thing! I had lymph nodes removed from my left armpit many years ago, and that area has always been numb. I don't know if it's the forced inactivity, the extra doses of gabapentin and flexeril I have taken the past few months, or just dumb luck, but yesterday I noticed that area is "waking up." It doesn't feel nearly as "dead" any more.

 

[Polkadot]

That's great that your doctor took your concerns seriously. I've been putting off visiting my doc because I'm afraid he won't understand. I took opioids quite far into my recovery, so that information is valuable to me. Thank you for sharing!

 

[amymhere]

You are doing great! Keep up the good work. Easy does it is the name of the game. Don't push yourself, rest alot, ice alot and this recovery is not a race.

 

[KarriB]

I had the same experience with oxycodone. Even when I wasn't taking it for a few weeks sleep was nonexistent. It really wasn't until I went back to teaching at 12 weeks that I slept and I had probably been off the oxycodone for a month. Plus, I was just plain exhausted!

 

[OJ2]

@Polkadot my doctor may be more understand of the need to sleep because she has a baby at home! Lol.