Waiting the other shoe to drop

[edk]

Yesterday I took naproxen, went to the gym and spent 5 uncomfortable minutes on an elipitical trainer. It seemed no sustained damage. Last night I walked up 14 stairs the way
you are supposed to. Slept well and woke up pretty pain free. Of course now I'm waiting for the stiffness and pain to roll in.

I've always been an optimist

 

[beachcomber]

Sounds like all is well if it was good last night AND this AM. When I overdo it I hurt the same night (which my PT says is ok--- easy for *them* to say! Ha!) but know I have gone too far when it still hurts the next day. Then I back down a bit for my next workout.

Come to think of it, I haven't been looking for my voodoo doll after my PT sessions lately.... I must be making progress indeed!

Keep up the good work!

 

[JenniferG]

My swelling is up again in my left leg. More the thigh above the knee than the knee itself. Mall walk yesterday was ok, but half mile in the neighborhood the day before was too much. And it doesn't really hurt, but I get tired and whiny and want to just cry at everything. That is how I know I've over done it and need to take a pill and put my feet up.
Glad to hear you are at the gym I'm thinking that way. How do you know what you acn do with out damaging your somewhat comprimised state?

 

[beachcomber]

Jen,
I am following a prescribed workout from my physical therapist. I see him once a week for a workout in their therapy pool and then go to the community pool once or twice a week and do the same workout.
Walking and "jogging"(with a "noodle) in the water is very easy on your joints because the effects of gravity are greatly reduced. The water also provides some resistance which is good for strengthening.

I am not always wise, however, and the exercise feels so good (after so long of not being able to exercise) that I decide to do more than the prescribed amount and then I have more pain.

If there is a pool you can access I highly recommend this form of exercise. I would be glad to share the specifics of what I do if you are interested. It takes about 1/2 hour at the most. (then I treat myself to a tanning session to warm up and pretend like I've been to a warm beach! lol)

 

[edk]

I'm actually winging it and working with my PT. When I was in for my 4 week check I asked the surgeon I asked him about stair machines (my cardio machine of choice) and he was against it says every step puts 4x your body weight on your knee. I hate treadmills and stationary bikes so I asked him about elliptical trainers and he said they werer fine cause they are more like controlled drag walking. So I figured I'd give it a try for 5 minutes.
(His PT Rx by the way according to the PT guy was no restrictions on motion or weights).
I've been doing limited stairs with my surgical leg and I get this particular pain whenever I do a step and the PT guy was OK with that. Anyway, when I did the elliptical trainer it felt just like the step pain only not as bad so I figured I couldn't do too much damage in 5 minutes and when the soreness went away I figured I was home free.

Long story eh?

 

[Doug]

Edk,
I hated the bike too but I feel it was instrumental in getting my ROM to 130+. If you don't do it but 10-15 mins., you'll benefit from it.
Funny how different people are though.
Prior to surgery, the elliptical was my favorite cardio workout. I hit it particularly hard starting two months prior to surgery.
I tried to get back on it a couple of weeks ago and my knee clunks so much, it drove me crazy..It is the only machine I get the "clunk" noise on.
I now use bike, treadmill on high angle, and a arc trainer.. The arc trainer pretty much wipes me out.
Hang in there and keep your shoulder to it.

 

[edk]

I know I need to stay with it. I have crappy HDL so doing lots of exercise is one of the few things which will raise good cholesterol. I just need to find out what I can do comfortably and raise a sweat

 

[Doug]

I have the same issue..Take the pills, etc.
I find that when I do interval work on the bike it will raise the heart rate in some ways better than the elliptical.
I really like the challenge on the treadmill of staying at a high grade and doing intervals.

 

[edk]

Yeah my other big issue was the last year when my knee was going downhill fast I just couldn't exercise every day as long as I was used to. I had to take knee days. So I'm hoping that the replacement will actually be heart healthy in the long run.

 

[JenniferG]

Carolyn, thank you. As nice as a pool sounds i don't realistically see it in my world right now. But speaking with my PT about how to translate things to a gym environment is a good idea. You boys try fish oil?

 

[edk]

I do a ton of fish oil (2x1200mg/day) primarily for the cardio benefits, but
I know it is also an antioxidant. Taking that might also be why I feel a bit better
I had to stop taking it when I was coumadin'ing

 

[Doug]

I take fish oil and flax seed oil.

 

[JenniferG]

My husband hates the fish oil. He says it makes him burp and it tastes like fish!

 

[edk]

I'll take the burping fish breath to stay alive

 

[beachcomber]

Jen--
I love my pool therapy at my PTs office where i have the entire (small and warm) pool to myself. The community pool has its drawbacks--- dodging the little kids and their parents can be a little irritating when I am in a "zone".

But the biggest drawback is occupational.... I teach at the local high school and high school students are usually the lifeguards at the pool. Sure enough--- my first time there I looked up at the lifeguard tower and there was a bright-eyed young man from my 2nd period class..... I am not sure which of us was more uncomfortable.... I did say hello to him but both of us have refrained from mentioning it again...

BUT I am committed to this program and keep on going back!

 

[1jt@atime]

I never liked stationary bikes prior to tkr as I found them soooo boring. But now, I use my ipod, close my eyes and just get lost in the music. It makes time go by so fast. I use an eliptical too but find it a little harder. I can easily do 1/2 hour on a bike but I'm only up to about 18 minutes on the eliptical. I'm hoping that will pick up once my second knee gets replaced.

Ref, I'd mentioned my concerns about riding my real bike because of limited flex. My hubby put my bike on his stationary thingy in the garage. (what you call those things?)
I was able to pedal all the way around though my new knee is just a tiny bit tight. I was happy with how well I could pedal. I am going to get on there every day when I get home from work before I get out on the road and hopefully get a few weekends of REAL bike riding in before June when I have my next surgery. It will be nice to get outside.

 

[Jamie]

My husband hates the fish oil. He says it makes him burp and it tastes like fish!

Jen, you can eliminate that problem by putting the gel capsules in the freezer. Take them out and swallow them while still frozen. By the time they thaw, they are past the "burp" point.

 

[Doug]

That is a great idea...

 

[edk]

Jen, you can eliminate that problem by putting the gel capsules in the freezer. Take them out and swallow them while still frozen. By the time they thaw, they are past the "burp" point.

Real men don't freeze their fish oil

 

[Doug]

I'll try it once then..don't want to loose manly points or anything.
I want to see what a frozen pill feels like sliding down.

I don't have the burp taste with my pills anyway.