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TKR Trying to stay positive

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Great report! Slow and steady for the win. Your flexion is fine for your early recovery, and extension (for those of us who have to work on it) tends to come more slowly. As long as it improves, right? You are so fortunate to have such a perceptive and forward-thinking therapist, one who understands that ROM comes with time and gentle rehabilitation.
 
I do feel fortunate to have an understanding therapist. And he always asks me how I felt after the last session. He seems to be well in tune with where I am at and what I can do. I feel I am making good progress at a good rate, and still able to get the rest and icing I need.
 
I went to PT yesterday and tried a few new exercises. Then went to a friend's for dinner, where I was waited on. I was surprised when I went to bed that I had walked 3000 steps. Previous record was 2100. Woke this am with very tight calves. Felt nauseous, stopped up, tired, and cranky. Took my meds, drank some miralax, and iced my knee. Started feeling weepy eyed, and remembered that others had said this would come- right on time! Took a nap, and am now doing very slow foot pumps to stretch out the calves. Looking forward to feeling better soon.
 
Yep, and I told myself I was not going to do that. I also am reminded of the inconsistent healing time frame. Good days followed by bad days followed by good days. Eventually, the good days will win. I keep telling myself that I am through with the worst, better days are coming.
 
Hang on to that last thought because it's true! Many here, slow-healing self included, have experienced a "Turn in the Corner of Recovery," at around 6 weeks. It's not a miracle milestone, but many experience less pain, perhaps a few more hours of sleep (not hard to do, right?) and better mobility. I was able to wean off Rx pain meds at 5 weeks because of these improvements, and oh...also because I wanted to drive again! That is a really BIG milestone and one you'll enjoy immensely! But, until you hit that big one, take note of every small advance you make and celebrate them! They all matter.:console2:
 
Also, I find my body temp to be all off. I normally stayed on the warm side. Since surgery, I have been cold. I spend my days snuggled up in a blanket, and I have to pull the bed cover over me at night. Any one getting that symptom?
 
@OJ2 - I usually am hot all of the time and have frequent hot flashes but after surgery I was asking DH for a blanket even during the day. I think the drugs are part of the cause and the icing probably didn't help as well as the body trauma! Now at 4 months out, I am back to being hot again! I seem to have extremes with no middle ground!
 
FInding a balance of actvity vs rest/elevation/ice is tricky, but necessary. For me one actvity or outing a day was about all I could handle in month 2, but you may be different. Also a key to visiting friends or even going out to a restaurant was finding a way to elevate or just prop my leg up. As long as my leg was up, it was happy.
 
Drugs, blood thinners and icing equal cold!


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Thanks for the help. On my dinner outing last night, I was able to elevate my leg on a recliner. PT was tough but doable. I do no exercises on my own on PT days. I had planned on getting on the treadmill after PT yesterday, but never got around to it ( too busy napping.) and boy am I glad I didn't do it. so I was very surprised at how horrible I felt today. I have been stretching the calves all day. I could not get my legs comfortable. I got my rolling pin out to roll my calves and found my good calf hurt more than the tkr calf. I am also drinking miralax today, in case the nausea is being caused by being stopped up. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better, but I will definitely tell the therapist that Tuesday was just too much. The lousy feeling was probably a mixture of doing too much and cutting down on oxy and Tramadol. And I have nothing planned for several days to come.
 
For the first couple months, icing made me cold. Freezing. Shivering. Teeth-chattering. Pile on the blankets! I figured it was because my ginormous ice packs chilled the blood going through my legs, which then returned to the rest of my body. I have no idea if this is medically supported. I haven't felt chilled that way while icing in the last few weeks, so who knows.

Outings of all kinds will be tiring for a bit yet. You'll have more energy one day, then less on the next, for no apparent reason. Same with pain or soreness with activity. It gradually gets better, though, from here on in.
 
Glad to get to stay home today, and I have nothing else planned for a while but PT on Thursday and church on Sunday. Fortunate to have a hubby who does not mind shopping so I don't have to do much.
 
You are still very early in recovery, and can easily join ODIC if not careful. Please be gentle with yourself and your baby knee. It still needs lots of rest and ice. :ice:
 
i agree with all the posts. i was also cold all the time for a few weeks after surgery, especially in bed with the ice packs. do try to take it easy and don't feel you have to accept invitations to visit friends or go out to dinner so early in your recovery. you're more comfortable at home and can excuse yourself if it gets to be too much. i had friends visiting me in the first month, which was great, until i suddenly had to run to the bathroom with diarrhea ~ i was sure glad i was in my own home. your main job right now is to work on taking it easy lol, resting, icing and elevating and balancing it with some walking around the house or outside for a few minutes to keep mobile. soon enough you'll have more energy and motivation to gradually work up to exercises that will help. i'm glad you have a good hubby to help get you through this.:hi:
 
Calf muscles are a little better this am, but still tight. I slept well, which is a blessing. But I think I have hit the spot everyone talks about where you want to get out and do more but your knee is not ready. I need to realign my brain to the reality of this rehab. It really helps to have this forum to talk about all the issues involved in rehab, my friends and family are getting tired of Knee talk. They won't say anything but I can see it in their faces. :yawn:
Today is another day. 4 weeks for me. I know I am well on the way and that the worst is behind me. I will keep telling myself that, as I sit and ice my leg. I think I woul go stir crazy without the games on my iPad.
 
Just got back from PT. Told the therapist about my calf pain and he spent most of the time massaging my legs. Came home and took half an oxy. Will save the second half for bedtime. My flexion decreased a little, but extension continues to increase very slowly. I told the therapist I had hit a bump in the road, and I am working (and by working I mean icing, elevating and napping ) to get beyond the bump.
Had a talk with hubby who is afraid that I will be "crippled for life" if I don't get my extension to 0. I explained that I didn't have 0 before the operation ( he didn't realize it) and I made do quite nicely. I am currently at 2, and I am willing to bet That 2 degrees are very small.
 
Yes, 2 degrees are very small. You can function with this extension. What's better still is that it will improve just by your daily activities and walking. My left knee was at 2 degrees almost the whole time I was doing outpatient PT. After I quit PT (not because I quit PT, but after), my extension gradually improved and is now at 0.

You can help extension along by some simple exercises such as pressing the back of your knee down against your bed or ottoman. Or by stretching your left leg out so the heel rests on something (an ottoman is perfect, but I've used a cooler or another chair) and just letting gravity pull the knee down. Such exercises are uncomfortable at first. A few minutes is fine to start, and work up to longer. There's no hurry, and doing exercise to the point of pain isn't going to get extension to come faster. It's a matter of stretching out those strong, big tendons at the back of the knee. It takes time.
 
It sounds as though you are managing your discomfort by judiciously using narcotics very occasionally when you need them. Reading between the lines, you are still experiencing achiness and other discomforts that you and I would not classify as "pain" but that I have discovered are important to monitor and take care of in order to continue to reach milestones and move forward. So I'm going to share some thoughts with you about that time where you are dropping narcotics and turning to OTC drugs. (Everyone is different, but maybe this will help you?)

I am quite a bit farther along in my journey than you are, but I am still very occasionally using the narcotics I have left when I have done some ODIC thing, especially at bedtime, when the reality I overdid it shows up loud and strong. Otherwise, I am not taking anything during the day most days, but if I do have tightness (discomfort, pain), I take 2 Extra-Strength Tylenol (1000 mg total). Personally, I find that I can go all day without discomfort, and then mid-evening, when we are relaxing and watching TV or something like that, suddenly I am very uncomfortable. I've learned to pay close attention to how I'm feeling around dinner time (6:00-7:00ish), because if I need a Tylenol boost for evening, I want to take it early enough that I can take another dose at bedtime--almost always necessary if I've been uncomfortable or in pain earlier. I've also learned that when in doubt, take the meds. Toughing out "discomfort" for me often turns to pain later.

I was using Tylenol Extended Relief, an 8-hour product, as I thought it would get me through longer periods of time while taking less medicine. (625 mg each pill, 1250 mg per dose). It didn't seem to work great, though, and I found out through reading various threads on this forum that the Tylenol Extra Strength, taken every 4-6 hours, seems to work better (500 mg each, 1000 mg total every 4-6 hours)! It may be because it's a higher dose that goes into your system right away. According to this forum, you can take up to 4000 mg of Tylenol per day safely.

@Josephine often says that the various 'discomforts' we all mention are really pain. I've come to embrace that idea and to attend to rather than ignore these discomforts because my recovery and milestones seem to come more quickly when I do.
 
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