TKR Winner winner, chicken dinner! Bionic Liz's new RTKA

[Red's Mom]

Awe he is cute. Survival of the fittest! I agree that there is a conspiracy! My 12 week old knee is very today!

 

[L.I.T]

Just looked at hubby's MRI of his back... Completely collapsed disk at L2-3. He's going to have to have surgery sometime in the next month. We are an orthopedic mess!  Since we have no good spine surgeons, we will need to travel for this one. Poor hubby.

Hoping I can live up to what will need to be done with regards to taking care of him post surgery - come on Mr I. M. Plant, can we speed up this friendship thing? For the sake of hubby?

 

[Spex10]

Oh gosh. Your poor household. Back and knee surgery patients! Well 'dinna fash yersels'. 'Whits fur ye'll no pass ye by' as we say over here!

 

[Mireille]

@L.I.T It is a conspiracy of the worst kind. I think enough is enough. These knees are like children, why can't they listen and do what they're told! Heal! Now!

Sorry to hear about your hubby, spine problems are no picnic Hope things go well for both of you. You will both need to take it easy and take care of each other. You may both need outside help for a little while. I'm sure it's not going to be easy but if anyone can do it, I'm sure it's you. You just have that kind of vibe.

If you have to travel, maybe you should both go someplace tropical Sunshine is good for the soul!

Keeping both of you in my thoughts and prayers! Hugs!!! lol

 

[Mireille]

@Spex10 You have me looking up Scottish phrases on google! Not only do we learn about TKR's but we also learn new languages. What a bonus!! Ane leid is nivver eneuch!

 

[L.I.T]

Yes, I think I'm going to tell my knee to go to the corner and think about what he did!

(of course, he's probably thinking the same of me!)

Parenting - Gah!

 

[Cratchit]

Aw, that little critter is so sweet! We moved into this house about a year ago and have recently discovered that in the months in which we were unable to live in the house (total renovation job), the mouses were more than happy to! This backend, once the weather got cold again, we started to hear scratching in the eaves behind our bed and sure enough, the mice were back. One, a rather cute little fellow, even sat and stared back at me when I opened the door to the eaves. It got away!

Ha, perhaps we all need to determine a time when we get together and give our knees a collective talking to then feed back the results! Hugs to everyone who`s hurting

 

[Spex10]

Only one thing for it @Cratchit - time to get a cat. A good big one!

 

[Cratchit]

@Spex10 It`d have to be a very selective cat, one which would sort the mice out and leave the birds and not frighten the dog too much! Well, maybe just a little fright . . .

 

[L.I.T]

Feeling down tonight - no particular reason. Not weepy/sad, but just a round of depression settling in.

PT went well, we skipped all the things that would exacerbate my flutter kicking fiasco from yesterday and just did tens, ultrasound, and quad flexes. Although even the ultrasound couldn't make the swelling go down today. Wah! PT is happy with how my extension is coming, but I don't think it's necessarily improved. Still, I'm fine where I am - I know it's all there underneath the swelling, and I'm not worried.

A bit of a setback, my brilliant pool excursion yesterday. Had no idea 15 min of gently fluttering would make things so angry. My 'tight band' had just started going away, but was back with a vengeance, as a result. Add to the mix a quick grocery stop that led to a 20min standing in line, and then a stop right after to pick up some dinner that led to another 30 min standing in line, and my knee is pretty darn angry. Have been icing it nearly nonstop (except for my excursion to town) since 10pm last night. Tomorrow should be a little easier on the wee one - only selected house duties. I will make sure to relegate myself to a day of RICE.

Hubby isn't sure what he wants to do about his back. Since he is a neurologist, and my specialty is brain and spine surgery (neurophysiology) we were able to pretty much read his MRI (as well as understand the report) ... And it really looks like at least one level (the one that is giving him his symptoms) will likely need some sort of surgery. He can't stay on steroids forever, even if they do help for the moment. I really hate to see him in pain.

With depression blowing in, I was thinking today how blessed I *truly* am, in spite of how I feel - especially with regards to my knee. My huge ache is mostly gone (weather?), I am more mobile, I can actually sit with my knee bent for 20 min or more... And I'm not needing pain pills during the day - only occasionally at night. These are all very appreciated steps from where I was 2 weeks ago.

That being said, I seem to have just lost a bit of spunk (ha! Autocorrect changed that to 'spank'! No comments from the peanut gallery, please - L.I.T will adhere to a strict PG rating!)

None-the-less, things really aren' t bad in casa de L.I.T

Appreciate ALL of you very very much

(code for my light would be flashing 'hug' green so you reds might need to duck and run)

 

[KarriB]

I think I cried every day for a month. I'm here to tell you it will get better. The sun will come out and tomorrow is a new day. Go out for breakfast or lunch, something normal (but keep the knee propped up).

Definitely too early to flutter kick. It's early to do much besides walk in the pool. I'm not sure when in Dec you had your TKR, but the resistance of the water is causes more pressure and now you're feeling the effects. I imagine it would be like riding a bike with tension. So the next few days you should baby that knee as much as possible.

 

[L.I.T]

Definitely too early to flutter kick. It's early to do much besides walk in the pool. I'm not sure when in Dec you had your TKR, but the resistance of the water is causes more pressure and now you're feeling the effects. I imagine it would be like riding a bike with tension. So the next few days you should baby that knee as much as possible.

Thanks, @KarriB. I definitely won't be doing it again for a LONG while! That's a very good point about the resistance, and I really should have thought of that. And my baby will be swaddled, held high, and very gently cared for the next few days!

Thanks for the encouragement. I know the emotions with this are as much a roller coaster as the physical recovery. And I am prone to depression, so it's easy for me to slip right in. It took me 30 years to realize that even though I can't control it, depression is just a feeling, and if I just keep moving forward, eventually it will go away. That, and wellbutrin, of course!

Thanks for all the support throughout this ordeal. 5 weeks in and 47 to go before I'll be able to say I'm glad I did it! Fingers crossed, of course!

 

[Mireille]

@L.I.T Sending lots of hugs your way! Hey, your green light was flashing!

I know the feeling of depression , I just hang on to the thought that tomorrow is another day and remind myself of the good days. Even throughout this ordeal, I've found silver linings that help me put things in perspective. I've had good cries, bouts of self pity, frustration, you name it. At 6 weeks, it still happens.

Hang in there, this too shall pass! Sending positive thoughts your way!

 

[Cratchit]

@L.I.T. Lots and lots of big hugs winging your way (and remember, l'm very fussy about who l hug!). With so much on your plate just now and with your knee reacting to your trip to the pool it's not surprising you feel down - there's a lot going on. I doubt there are many who would feel differently in your circumstances.

It really is a roller coaster ride. In my job the babies and families often have a roller coaster ride too. When things seem to be on a downward turn l acknowledge this on the one hand and then suggest that on the other hand they hold on to the positives, otherwise the down can overwhelm the positive and hope is lost. It's horrible when hope is lost. Although entirely different, I sometimes have to hang on to the positives to stop the downs getting me too down, listing them much as you have in your post.

I hope we all have a knees up not a knees down day today!

 

[Spex10]

Ooh yes. Here's to a knees up day! (Suitably iced and toes to nose of course!)

 

[skigirl]

I also overdid in the pool. It is easy to do, the trick is not to kick for a while (how do I know this!!) and instead to do things like walk forward, backward, sideways for about 20 min in chest deep water, I used to put on a flotation belt and "run" in the deep water for at first, 5 min and eventually 30 min at a time. It is good to work in warm water, but take it slowly. Walk for 10 min., Swelling? walk for 5 min. no swelling, back to 10 min., no swelling--up to 15 min.

 

[Spex10]

I'm working up to trying that but not currently sure if I could manage the ladder into and out of the not very warm pool. Actually, even the thought of struggling into my swimsuit etc is a bit daunting. I'll get to it though. One day. Soon. Ish!

 

[L.I.T]

I also overdid in the pool. It is easy to do, the trick is not to kick for a while (how do I know this!!) and instead to do things like walk forward, backward, sideways for about 20 min in chest deep water, I used to put on a flotation belt and "run" in the deep water for at first, 5 min and eventually 30 min at a time. It is good to work in warm water, but take it slowly. Walk for 10 min., Swelling? walk for 5 min. no swelling, back to 10 min., no swelling--up to 15 min.

Words of wisdom! I will have to be VERY careful. I'm such a water baby that I would likely do something without thinking about it - for now I will stick with the tub where I'm restrained But thank you for the guidance b/c I definitely want to get back to swimming as soon as I can. Only with Mr. I. M. Plant's permission, though!

 

[L.I.T]

I'm working up to trying that but not currently sure if I could manage the ladder into and out of the not very warm pool. Actually, even the thought of struggling into my swimsuit etc is a bit daunting. I'll get to it though. One day. Soon. Ish!

Ooooohhhhhh, the thought of a not warm pool right now, chills me to the bone! As for the swimsuit, I know what you mean. The *only* good thing to come from this surgery so far is that I've lost 12lbs....although I think about 90% of that is muscle! Unfortunately, except for my quads, none of my clothes fit any differently!

 

[L.I.T]

Dear esteemed Bonesmarties,

At what point did your soft tissue swelling go down enough to walk like a normal human being? I am just at the end of week 6,and my soft tissues are practicing the art of stubbornness. This is not unlike them, but my fat pads and everything else seem to insist on remaining BIG and SWOLLEN no matter the number of anti-inflammatories or amount of time I am icing (which is pretty much all the times I am not standing). As a result, it feels like I am walking around with a water balloon in my knee.

I have reached all the ROM 'goals', so it's not a matter of flexion or extension. But I simply can't move my leg more than 1/3 the speed of normal - very similar to being in a pool. It's pretty much impossible to walk like a normal person...

I'm beginning to worry that if I can't get the inflammation under control, I will develop the dreaded athrofibrosis. I'm not doing a lot of extraneous activity - mostly just some household chores and I ice and elevate in between and even elevate all night (not a straight leg elevation). I will admit that every once in a while (about 5% of the time)
I wake up in the morning and it will be better - but 5 minutes after I go vertical, it's back with a vengeance. Everything around and under my kneecap feels hard. I don't even really know how much I could cut back on activity - I have to at least use it to go to the rest room, shower, etc. The only thing I can think of is maybe using crutches for a while?

If anyone has any insight, I would be greatly appreciative!

Sincerely, a very despondent L.I.T