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Revision TKR Turtle's Revision scheduled for July 19, 2016

Saw the OS yesterday regarding tightness and swelling and around the knee. After a thorough examination, he said the knee was fine, and it seems the hamstring and thigh muscles are sore and that it will eventually go away. We talked about the extreme nerve pain which had kept me awake the night before, discussed the side effects of the drugs that would treat it, i.e. neurontin, and I elected not to start on it. Interestingly enough, I had little nerve pain last night. I guess those nerves were just too busy generating that they had to sleep too. The visit really put my mind at ease.
 
Mutley said: ` I am now 5.5 months post op. thankfully the emotions are now pretty much under control :) I've found this recovery very challenging & frustrating to say the least! Being a slightly " younger" patient & also very active, it came as a HUGE shock`

Hi Mutley, its the length of time it takes to recover that is so bloody awful. This whole experience has put years on me. I thought I was a pretty active 65 yr old, now I move at a snail's pace. How fast are you able to walk? Has your speed increased over the 5.5 months? Somewhere I read (I think it was Turtle) that a glass of wine helps. I find it works better than the paracetamol (chuckle). If I'm not careful I could find 12mths down the line that my knee is perfectly recovered, but that I am an alcoholic! Life's a complain. xx Pat 99
 
Hi Turtle, we have not met, but I had my left knee replaced Feb. 11 this year. I am glad to see that you went to the MD about the tightness around the knee and that you were tole that all is well. I have been thinking that I should go see my doctor. I will wait a little while longer and see what happens. That word 'patience' keeps coming to my mind.

@ Patient 99. I like the wine idea. Maybe being an alcoholic would make this year go faster, or, at least we won't be thinking about it and the knee! :happydance: <-------That's the alcoholic me!
 
@Patient99 and @ Mutley - Just got back from lunch out and a little shmoosing around with a friend. It is so good to get out. Patient 99 My friend, Julie, picked me up - she is from the U.K. has red hair, and when I looked at her she reminded me of your picture. She is from one of the Shires, and I always hesitate to pronounce the names of those places in England, but I do learn a few English phrases, which I love, by the way.

Re the wine, I think it may be the answer. I had one glass last weekend with friends over, and really enjoyed it. Maybe since we no longer have that drug haze, we could replace it. Really , I'm just kidding. We are going out to a really nice restaurant for dinner tonight, and I'm all worried about holding up for two outings in one day. I will let you know how knackered out I am tomorrow. Have a good weekend, and I am so glad to be able to talk to both of you.
 
Turtle said: ` Have a good weekend, and I am so glad to be able to talk to both of you.'

Ditto.

Hi Nunee, Turtle, Mutley please help. I am in a muddle. I want to reply to each of you in your own threads, but don't know how to. I scrolled down the list of members looking for Nunee thread (and her orange flower avatar), but couldn't find you. There are over 5,000 members so there must be another way to do it.

I am working on the basis that when you message me you go into my thread and that if I message you I need to go into your thread. So far I have been communicating in a rather hit and miss way.I get messages that are in my thread, but don't know how to go directly to another person's thread.
 
patient 99 I have been using the search bottun at the top of the home page. I just type in the user name and hit return. I may not be doing it the "right" way but so far so good.

Dorothy
 
Hi Roy, could you tell me what `adhesions` are? Also re. ROM, when I warm up and sit on my favorite chair I can reach 100 and some. But later on in the day I can't manage anything like this. Do you think its fair to assume that little by little I will sustain the ROM I get earlier on in the day. Pat 99
 
Thanks bottomshollow for the info on adhesions. The advice on Bonesmart seems to be that if you have them you should get them sorted asap. As you know the system here in the UK is that you don't get to see your surgeon post op (except once to sign you off his books). Any physio is left to the patient. So how would I know if I had adhesions? There is a bit of skin over my knee that is forming a crease. It doesn't move when I massage it. Could this be an adhesion or am I getting paranoid. Pat99

Let's tag Josephine, as she knows and understands UK protocol and how to in this area.
 
patient 99 said:
please help. I am in a muddle. I want to reply to each of you in your own threads, but don't know how to. I scrolled down the list of members looking for Nunee thread (and her orange flower avatar), but couldn't find you. There are over 5,000 members so there must be another way to do it. I am working on the basis that when you message me you go into my thread and that if I message you I need to go into your thread. So far I have been communicating in a rather hit and miss way.I get messages that are in my thread, but don't know how to go directly to another person's thread.
Click to expand...
You've asked a number of questions here which will take a bit of explaining so are you sitting comfortably?

We (I) like members to have their own recovery thread where they talk about how they are doing and ask any questions. However, this does not mean you can't wander around the forum, chipping on other people's threads nor they your thread, so long as your don't derail someone else's thread by asking questions about your own case. Okay thus far?

So, this thread is turtle's recovery thread. Therefore, please feel free to chat but go to you your own thread to ask questions like those regarding adhesions.

To reply to another member's post, just scoot on down to the bottom of the page and start writing in the message box. If you want to address your comment to an individual, just start your comment much like you would a letter by saying "RestAssured, that was very helpful, thank you". Then you can start another paragraph to someone else the same way. All in the same post.

And finally, you can find all sorts of educational articles with illustrations about how to do things, including how to find your own thread, in here How To Use This Forum. That's a link, you just click on the underlined bit and get taken to that forum.

Do let me know if there is any more help you need. Now I am going to answer your questions about adhesions in your recovery thread which is here Op 22 Feb 2013
 
Is anyone familiar with myofacial release massage therapy? I have found a neighbor who is a Licensed Massage Therapist and hhas been doing this method of theray, along with others for 31 years. Just curious.

Dorothy
 
Hi Dorothy, Good to hear your knee is repairing itself as it should. I know how encouraging it is to hear that sort of thing from those who know. I've been commenting that I find the roller coaster that is recovery hard to deal with. How about you? Pat99
 
@patient99

Yes, it is definitely a roller coaster with good days and bad days. I just returned home from a therapeutic massage where he did myofascial release, and some lymphedema treatment. He was mostly gentle so I'm hoping and praying that this will help with the tightness and swelling. I told him that I cry every day, which is true, because I wake up feeling so hopeless. Then I have a talk with myself, and it gets better as the day moves along. Resting right now, and we're having some friends and family over for a barbeque this afternoon.

Dorothy
 
patient 99 said:
I've been commenting that I find the roller coaster that is recovery hard to deal with.
Click to expand...
this roller coaster ride was particularly frustrating in the early days for me, as I did not realize that recovery had its ups and its downs. I expected a more linear-type of recovery.

Once I realized that these days of recovery were the "roller coaster type", I had to search for patience that I did not think that I had. It is amazing, though, that we all seem to fin more patience than we, at first, did not realize that we had.

Recovery can have its ups and its downs---some days are good and some days are, to put it bluntly, just plain lousy. I gave up (thankfully) trying to figure out what I did to make the knees get all cranky and fussy.
 
Josephine
I have some questions about this muscle "pull". It's so confusing for me to know what to do, as I worry all the time I am losing strength, and I guess I just need some assurance. I have been icing, elevating, and resting since I posted about the muscle pull in the groin and abductor muscles which happened instantly 5 weeks ago. Went to the OS a week ago last Friday, and he examined my knee pushing all around and confirmed the muscle pull diagnosis, and when I asked him about what my activity levels should be he said just "ignore it". I've been trying to do that but at the same time listen to what my body is telling me. When I ice during the day, it's fine - if I ice later in the day (when the nerve pain sets in) it is very uncomfortable to the pint of pain. Swelling is still there and I have been taking the tylenol you recommended I take and take 1-2 Norco at night.

What do you think?
 
Yes it can be confusing, can't it? Especially when you worry about things that really don't require worrying about! I know for instance, that people often want an exact schedule laid down "do this at .... and this at ...." but it's just not possible to be so explicit. The best we can do is lay down guidelines for you which both we and your surgeon have done.

Okay, so here are some specifics:
- your surgeon said "forget about it" but I think what he really meant was don't worry about it which you shouldn't do
- you've probably noticed us and others advocating the rest principle which is the only way to go with these painful situations. But that doesn't mean 'don't do anything'. it just means don't do too much. don't push yourself so it hurts more - as in the Mantra ...

- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!

Hope this helps some ....
 
RestAssured,

I was just rereading my thread and noticed you had asked what kind of exercise bike I had. I am still having a hard time walking from this groin and abductor muscle strain, which has also affected my hamstring. My bike is a newly purchased recumbent bike and I had been riding it for 10 minutes 2xday. I've tried riding it a couple of times since this strain but it has set me back. I had been riding bike at PT 2 weeks post op and loved the way it made my leg feel. (Recumbent also)

Also, do you know anything about myofascial release massage therapy? I had a massage last week. He was very gentle, and also did some lymphatic massage. It seems I read somewhere on this forum that someone had this type of massage. Any input from you would be greatly appreciated.

Dorothy
 
@Patient99,

I really appreciate all your kind words. I've always been an optimistic person, but I guess everything just caught up with me. It's been such a hell of a year. I spent the fall being in hospital twice with pneumonia, and in retrospect probably should have waited until fall to have surgery. But it's done now, and we can only go forward from here. You sound like you're doing better. Your walk sounds delightful. We woke up to rain this morning, so it's been a nice quiet, lazy day. I have been setting the timer and walking around the house for 5 minutes at a time. Have a good day, and I'll think of you as I chant my PATIENCE mantra.
 
turtle68 said:
Have a good day, and I'll think of you as I chant my PATIENCE mantra.
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Chuckle. There's nothing in my book `Knee Replacement and Rehabilitation' that says anything about needing to chant once we are in the post op stage. Josephine has a lot to answer for. If we could put Ice, Elevate, Rest to music we might have a hit single on our hands. See ya. Pat99
 
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