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TKR Vickie's Knee Recovery

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6 month update: Hi Everyone! Today is the 6th month anniversary of my LTKR. I went to the ortho doctor today for an x-ray and everything looked good. I don't have to go back until the one year mark. I've got around 120 degrees or so ROM (depending on the day) and zero extension. The swelling has all gone, but every so often you can see some fluid build up above the knee. It did that before the surgery, so I don't even notice it much. I can now go for "fast walks" and my knee does good. About the only time that it bothers me is after sitting for long lengths of time or if we have a weather change! I told my doctor this morning that I actually really disliked him at the three month mark, was pretty happy at 4 months and at six months, I feel lots of love for him! He smiled like he had heard all of that before. I'm sure he has! He told me not to worry about my knee feeling warm at times. Also, there wasn't really too much that I could do to dislodge it and basically to stop worrying! I don't think that I could of done this without all of you Bone Smarties. It always helps to have someone that is going thru it with you!
Vickie
 
[Bonesmart.org] Vickie's Knee Recovery
Poof!!!!! Great update---6 months is a turn around time for most of us. We realize that it was all worth it and that life is going to be soooooo much better. Happy you have reached this milestone. And a bit of stiffness after sitting for a long time tends to stay with us--I still have that at almost 2 years post op.

Take care and keep us updated. We care.
 
Nice update. I am almost at the six month mark, and I feel like I've turned the corner. It still swells but I;ve been ddoing much more and I think it;s just muscles tha haven't been used for awhile. I see my dr. in 2 months and I think I can finally tell him I like him. He told me up front that he doesn't get a hug for 6 months.

Like you, I know that Bonesmart has been instrumental in getting me through this recovery,

Dorothy
 
So happy for you Poof! I am at my 6 month mark and things just keep getting better :). Not up to fast walks yet but I am getting there.
 
SadKnee said:
So happy for you Poof! I am at my 6 month mark and things just keep getting better :). Not up to fast walks yet but I am getting there.
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So good to hear from you! I'm glad that you are doing better too. I would have never imagined that 6 Mths later we would all finally be on the road to recovery. I spent most of that time in denial thinking that I would be better very quickly - not 6 Mths later! :) Is your knee still stiff too?
 
Hi Poof, yes it has been a long and tough recovery but WE MADE IT :)!! Woo hoo to us :)! Yes my knee still gets stiff ... sometimes it will be great ... and then at other times it stiffens up so I ice and elevate it and it gets better. Each day it seems to get stronger too.
 
I'm at around 6-1/2 months past the knee replacement now. A couple of days ago I noticed that I suddenly had more ROM, so I measured it 3 times! It was bending at 132-135 degrees. So of course, I went wild and did a lot of stuff. Yesterday it was stiff and the ROM went down to 117 degrees. I don't measure it very often, but I was really surprised at the new bend that it is getting. I'm not doing anything special to get that ROM, just my everyday life. I still try to keep up with this thread and post because I still remember how very hard the first three months were for me.
Vickie
 
Hi old friends and new! It has been 8 Mths since the TKR. It looks like everything is going well. We went on a 16 day trip to Europe and I made it all the way to day 14 before my knee did any swelling. We went up and down so many stairs to get on the "tube" in London. My knee still doesn't enjoy going down the stairs. I believe it's something to do with the IT band. I think that one of my biggest challenges is having my brain believe that the knee is really ok, if that makes any sense at all. Seeing that I could actually go up and down all of those stairs was really good for me. The weather changes here in Oklahoma still bother my knee, but it did before the surgery too so I can live with that.

For all of you that are new to this site or just had your TKR, please keep in mind that recovery takes a while and measure it week to week and not day to day. It is hard to not compare your recovery to someone else, but we all heal at our own pace. Wishing everyone successful outcomes and hope to hear from some of my old friends if they still check in.

Vickie :flwrysmile:
 
That's awesome! I'm so glad to hear you're doing well!!! I'm getting ready for my second one in January.
 
Hi Laura,
I had no idea that you were going to have the other knee done. At least this time, you will know what to expect and be patient with yourself during recovery. How is your other knee doing? I'm hoping that it is great and you are otherwise well. Hope to hear from you. You were a big help to me when we were going through the first TKR. Do you have a surgery date in January?

Vickie
 
My TKR is doing pretty good although i don't forget about it yet. It's still ever so slightly swollen but I don't think anyone but me would notice. It's changed my life for the better though! I can now walk around like a normal human being and take pictures which is what I love to do. So yay for that!

I'm so glad I helped you during your recovery!! That made my day! :D I'll have a date when I see the doctor on November 4. It can't come soon enough! It's getting colder and my knee is starting to give me problems.

I'll be posting here yet again when I have it done. I'm also going to blog about it like I did the last one. Thanks for your interest!
 
1st year check-up done!
Hi Everyone,
I went back in for the one year check-up. Everything is looking good and the doctor said that I only need to come in now on an "as needed" basis. ROM is about 132 and I'm very happy with that. I still tend to "lurch" down the stairs sometimes until my knee warms up. Also, still having some back problems due to tight quad muscles and IT band. I don't think about my knee anymore when I first wake up. About the only time it makes itself known is when a storm is about to blow through. The doctor said that I had a built in barometric pressure sensor. LOL. Here in Oklahoma, a front blows through about 3 times a week! Don't know if anyone from my group of Feb. 2013 is still out there, but if so, I would really enjoy hearing from you.

Vickie
 
I'm glad you're doing well Vickie! Your ROM is great! I also have some IT band issues at times but as long as I keep up my exercises, I seem to be ok. I must also have that barometric pressure sensor, haha. Even though I'm in the group of December 2012, we're still kind of in the same arena. My knee kind of swells daily but I'm learning to live with it. I wonder if we continue to get better after one year? Glad to hear from you!!!
 
HI Vickie
Wow that is awesome news! My doc just put me on knee checks only now so I don't go back until August for xrays of knees. Feels good huh? I am jealous of your 132 but I am just now going to focus on it in PT since focus has been the ankle. I am double jealous that you don't think about your knee when you get up in the morning! That is so fabulous!
You have really been having the weather. Are you able to do anything in the snow at all? How are your fur babies? Do they go out in the snow? Oh I would sure love to see a pic of them out in the snow!
xoxox M
 
Congratulations, Vicki! So glad to hear that you are doing well. I know a little bit of what you mean about issues related to other body parts. For me, it's a tight right hip flexor. But my knee is fantastic! I too never think about my knee when I get out of bed, go down stairs, or any other physical activity. Well, to be truthful, I still think about how it used to be so painful to stand from sitting because of stiffness, and I become overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude that I no longer have that pain. It really does keep getting better!
 
It is so good to hear from all of you. I still think about all of you and wonder how you are doing.

Laura, my impression from the doctor was that we will still continue to improve. I told him that I didn't like kneeling on my knee and he responded that it was because the plastic in our new kneecap moves around. Makes sense to me. My knee is still numb and I'm guessing that it probably will remain that way. I'm used to it now. My knee does get sore also, but nothing like we used to experience. I've got a little fluid above the knee that stays about the same all the time. Btw.....I've figured out that a glass of wine calms my back down. :)

Marianne, I think that your knee is going to be ok. You've just had the much bigger issue to deal with and got set back a little. I will bet that by summer your knee is going to feel so much better! My three stooges are doing fine. We have all been going a little "cabin crazy" with the cold weather that we had for about 6 weeks. Would you believe that today it is 67 and we are supposed to stay warm for the next 10 days. We had a tornado shelter installed yesterday getting ready for the spring weather. The last two years, tornados came within 2 miles of our house and I just couldn't stand thinking about hiding in the bathroom again this year! I will look at pics and see if I have any of the dogs in the snow. They didn't seem to enjoy it very much.

Terry, it's good to hear that things keep getting better. It took me a while to convince my brain that the knee was ok. I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone else or not? Now, I just need to get over the back thing and I will be ok. We are going to do some traveling this year and I've been out taking advantage of the warm weather to get some walking in. The Heart Walk is coming up in April and I want to show them what a TKR can do!

Cathy, we shared this thread for almost a year. Please post when you get a chance and let everyone know how you are doing. The amount of exercise that you do is so impressive and has gotten me up and out of my chair quite a few times when I was a couch potato.

I took a "Happy AnKNEEversary" cake to my ortho doc for the check-up. He got a big kick out of it. You know....I'm actually going to miss seeing him, but not bad enough to have another knee surgery.

Vickie
 
HI Vickie
I tried kneeling the other day and YOW it feels awful. Kind of creepy and almost like an electrocution feeling. Kneeling on a pillow or the bed is fine but I have hard wood floors and it never did feel very good kneeling on them. I guess mostly everyone is talking about carpet when they mention kneeling!
I bet your little dogs don't like the snow! My Sophie won't go out if its even sprinkling, she'll just stick her head out the dog door or door and come back in. ha!
Cathy is absolutely amazing! And it has really paid off for her. I wish we lived closer and I would try to get some of her gym enthusiasm to rub off on me!
What's the tornado shelter like? A small basement? I think the tornados are so frightening so I'm glad you have a better place to hide than a bathroom.
That's great about the Kneeanniversary cake! I swear I would only take my doctor one that explodes!
Take care!
Marianne
 
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