PKR Worried about partial replacement recovery

[Kraagh]

I had PFJR on my right knee almost 8 weeks ago and my quads are still not responding. I expected them to be slow to respond, but not this slow. I had four surgeries prior to this one starting in Nov. 2008. Each one, even the scopes, caused my quads to shut down. But they slowly began to fire. So far this time, I have not gotten much of a response....if any at all.

My OS says lots of PT. I have a wonderful physical therapist that doesn't believe in pushing. He says this is not no pain no gain, if it hurts...stop. He is trying estim to get the quads going in addition to lite excersizes.

I am just worried that the quads are not going to wake up. Has anyone else had this happen for this long?
Everyone else that had TKRs around the same time as me are doing so much better. In the hospital the day after surgery the TKR patients were able to do straight leg raises, I still can't do them almost 8 weeks later!

 

[Josephine]

Oh some have had it happen for longer. Don't give up - they will respond eventually.

 

[tashia]

That would be scary but please give it more time. Do keep us informed on how you are doing because we care and do want to help you. Go slow, rest, ice and do take pain pills as needed. But do have a good laugh by watching a funny movie this weekend. Tashia

 

[Kraagh]

Josephine, is there anything I can do to speed the process?

tashia, thank you. My biggest problem is I am running out of time. I have to go back to work next month and I don't have a very understanding boss. I have been told I can't drive until the quads are working, so that makes everything more difficult.

 

[Josephine]

In my experience, attempting to speed anything concerned with healing of the human body invariably ends up actually delaying things.

 

[Jamie]

I know this is a difficult postion for you to be in, but try to resist the urge to "do something" to make things get better faster. Your body is in complete control of it's healing process and will do things on its own schedule.

Do you work in a place that has 50 employees or more? If so, you are entitled to 12 weeks of Family Medical Leave if you need extra time for recovery. If that's not an option for you, perhaps your surgeon could prepare a letter that details exactly what activity you are permitted to do at this stage. It's possible if your boss could see it in writing from a medical professional, he might be a bit more understanding. Is it possible to work from home for a while? Or can you do part days or just a few days a week to start? Any of these accommodations might make things easier for you.

I'm glad you have a good therapist to work with. The slow and steady approach is the right one. You'll get there eventually.....the hard part is the waiting.

 

[Kraagh]

Jamie, thank you. Yes, I am now on FMLA and only have about 4 more weeks. I have more vacation and sick leave time (approximately 16 weeks worth in addition to the 12 weeks), but apparently my boss doesn't see fit to allow me to use more than the 12 weeks. In 2009, I had a major knee surgery on the same knee and at 12 weeks my doctor told me he did not want me to go back to work, but they made me go back anyway...against his orders. I had to go back in a wheelchair and on my first day back both elevators in the building were out and I work on the second floor.

The sad thing is, I could do 90% of my job from home via our VPN. But, our director will not allow anyone to work from home.

The waiting is very depressing. I see everyone at PT doing so much better than I am and I continue to make no progress. I do realize my knee had had a lot of trauma over the last five years. I barely get over one surgery before I was having another. I knew my recovery would not be a smooth one, but I just didn't realize how bad it was going to be.

 

[Jamie]

I'm sorry for you, hon. That is a difficult position to be in with your lack-of-understanding management. We can only hope that one day THEY have issues and will gain some insight into what a person can go through when a medical problem happens. I guess you will just have to deal with what they dictate. But, just in case, you might try to make your case in writing and then document their responses. I don't know if you'd have any legal leverage against them or not, but you might. The unfortunate thing is, once a person starts pushing back through a legal avenue, it pretty much destroys any ability to have a good working relationship on the job. Sometimes being right doesn't mean you can really come out ahead.

 

[referee54]

In my experience, attempting to speed anything concerned with healing of the human body invariably ends up actually delaying things.

Very, very, true---the harder you work at this, the more frustrated and even more concerned you will become.

The waiting is very depressing. I see everyone at PT doing so much better than I am and I continue to make no progress.

I completely understand how you feel---please remember that we all recover at different speeds, different times, and in different ways. yhou will, indeed, get to your destination of being fully recovered.

 

[Dulcimer Diva]

No two knees are alike--not from patient to patient, from the same patient's first TKR to the next, or even in a BTKR. Don't compare yourself to other patients--how do you know that they aren't overdoing it and ultimately setting themselves up for more pain?

As to your job, can the social worker from the hospital, home health care service or insurance company (yes, many do have such ombudsmen) meet with your boss to tell him exactly what's involved with a total knee replacement, what you must not do for quite awhile, and which of your duties you can perform from home? Perhaps if there were some way for you to report back regularly and prove your virtual availability at all times during the workday, your boss might be more understanding. If all else fails, there's always the Americans With Disabilities Act, which requires that reasonable accommodations be made during your convalescence. After all, you won't be permanently disabled, and it's not like your boss would have to incur the expense of hiring a temp in the meantime.

 

[Campervan]

Hi, my inner range quads took months to fire. My physio used E-Stym and even that wouldn't make the thing twitch. Then all of sudden one day we got a tiny movement. So I bought a cheap E-Stym from an auction website similar to E-Bay and used that every day for 15 minutes and slowly the quads got stronger.

 

[skigirl]

I think that you could do quad sets whenever you are sitting in bed---best do them when the legs are up. I also agree that extra e stym might help. My pt has "loaners" that he gives to people like you to use at home. Check with your pt.