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TKR Yorkimom is ready to go...LTKR

@Yorkimom, I had surgery on the 10th. If I did everything you did at PT, I'd be crying my eyes out. I don't know a lot about this surgery, but it seems way too much.
 
Yes, I would be in misery if I did that much PT, even at 8 weeks post op. I think 90 minutes is just too too much especially so early on. I only do 30 minutes twice a week and I'm good with that because I'm like you. I push myself to do everything they ask. I can't imagine doing 90 minutes of that. Is there any way you can back down to 30 or 45 minutes per session? If you are causing yourself so much pain you end up in tears later you are doing too much. But, I know you know that. I look forward to PT days because it gets me out of the house and around other people but I also dread it because I know for the next day or so I will hurt more. The next time you go in be sure and tell them how much you suffered after leaving and that you just aren't ready for such an intense workout just yet. There is no point in doing any of it if it sets us back in recovery. The whole idea is to increase motion and strength, right? Easy does it my friend :) (((hugs))) I'm glad you got the pain back down with the meds. You're in my thoughts and prayers, Anne.
 
@Yorkimom I'm sorry it took me so long to catch up with you. My brain is still fuzzy and reading is sometimes difficult.

I agree with the other gals- tell PT they need to tone it down. With my hip I didn't always know I was overdoing it at the time- but I definitely knew that night or the next day. I plan to be wiser and bolder with my knees. I had a PT eval but haven't started in-home PT yet. It sounds like you're in some kind of athletic training facility that wants you to tough it out. You need to be tough with them and politely refuse!

I wouldn't try to stretch time or cut back meds yet. You don't need to add any stress to your life right now. Please try to rest and relax and keep that pain level down. :flwrysmile:
 
@Jozilla, @gr82cu2,@Jane B.,@PuppyLove thanks for the encouragement and kind words. Once I took the oxycodone and the extra strength Tylenol it wasn't long until the pain subside and I began to feel better. This is the first time I had such a horrible bout with pain like that. I have decided that I will go to PT tomorrow but. Will only do gentle stretches and exerciss. Nothing extreme like today and I will not let them measure me this time. I will have to have a talk with them and tell them that at this point (only a week out of surgery) that this PT is too aggressive. Hopefully they will agree or I'm not sure what I will do. I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. Thanks again, Anne
 
Yikes, Yorkimom!!! Your surgery was not even a week ago!!! That is way, way too much PT.

It's crazy to ask if it hurts when you're doing it. Most of the time the swelling and pain comes later. I'm betting you are going to have some pain from all you did in that hour and a half.

Some suggestions.....cut it back to an hour. And at least 20 minutes of that time should be something non-active like massage or icing.

They had me sit on a recumbent cross trainer and I worked on that for about 9 minutes. Change that to 5 minutes and no resistance

They hooked me up to a harness that was hanging from the ceiling on pulleys. I had to walk with my walker all around the perimeter of the facility continuously for six minutes. I ended up walking 693 or so feet. I would decline this exercise for a while. You are walking adequate amounts just getting to and from therapy and around the house.

They had me do leg raises, side leg raises, etc. Hopefully no more than 5 of each of these.

They brought me over to the parallel bars and asked me to walk sideways the length of the bar and to do the same coming back. No walking sideways for a while. It's too soon.

Then they had me stand putting all my weight on the operated leg and could hold on for support. I said I didn't need to hold on. They made me stand on the one leg unsupported for 30 seconds three times.This is also a more advaced exercise and it's too early for it.

The one thing they wanted me to do that I could not do was get up from a seated position without using my arms for support and then sit back down. I tried, but just couldn't do it. So I used my arms. There is no problem with using your arms to stand from a chair. Just do the exercise that way.

There were a few other exercises that I can't remember right now. Anyway, I have a feeling this is just too much. I am one to push myself, but I don't want to kill myself Your perception is right on target. This is too much too soon. If you were home, we'd be telling you to do gentle bends and stretches one or two times a day and just walk around the house as you need to for bathroom and kitchen runs. It's also okay to sit on a recumbent bike and slowly rock the pedals back and forth until you can go all the way around. Keep the seat fairly high.
 
I agree - way too much PT! I am only going 45 minutes twice a week. I do three things after having a tens unit on my knee. I ride recumbent bike, walk on treadmill ten minutes each. I then go up and down one stair twenty times. Then come home and ice! At home the rest if the time during the day I do simple pumps, slides and give minute walks!

Please take care and feel better!
 
Honey, you are only one week out from surgery and should be doing anything like that yet. Nothing but gentle heel slides a few times a day. I strongly suggest you tell them you will be taking a week off and will see them the week after that. It's your call, you know. They did say you are in charge!

Also, try and time your pain meds so you take a dose about 10 mins before the PT session.
 
I haven't been on in a couple of days and I thought I would give you an update. Right after the surgery It looked like this recovery was going to go easier than the first, but it Isn't working out that way. After being in so much pain Thursday night I decided I would tell them at PT that they had to take it easy on me. I had an appointment at 4 on Friday. To start off with I had a different PT. The last two visits I had the same PT and she had two students working with her so I thought I would have one of them again. Well she wasn't there so I had a completely different PT and student. I proceeded to tell Cody what had happened and that I wasn't going to be angry and take it out on him since he had nothing to do with what happened. He said he would take it easy on me. Well they still wanted to do measurements. He said that he would push down gently and would stop when I told him too. He stood by his word, but it still hurt. Both my flex and extension were worse than the day before. Hello....I'm more swollen than before and it's because of them. He made me do leg raises, but no side raises like before and no walking. So even though it was easier than the day before it was still a workout. And the it thing that I don't understand is their theory on icing. At the last facility once we were done they would ice. They would wrap my knee in a casing of ice, get a big wedge pillow to put my leg on and would get me a blanket because I would get cold. Here they put the top part of the table up vertically and I rest my heel on it with my leg sticking practically straight up in the air (think of lying on the floor with your leg in the air with your foot on the wall). They place a plastic bag of ice on top of my knee and wrap a thick bank around it to keep it in place. I lay like that for 15 minutes. And they also put the tens unit on my thigh while in this position. Last night I was using my walker more like a crutch than a walker. The big problem is that my calf muscle is so sore that I can hardly flex my foot to walk. I'm still trying to decide if I should stay there or go to the other facility where I went last time.
Now my other dilemma. I went to take my pain meds last night and I saw that I only had 10 pills left!! I have been so wrapped up with my PT that I didn't pay attention. So here it is the weekend and I can't get pain meds until Monday. I have been taking 2 pills every 5-6 hours. Even taking 1 pill every 5-6 hours won't be enough. When I woke up at 2:30 this mornng I remembered that my primary doctor had given me pain pills for my back last year. I went looking and found them. I had 8 left. They are called Nucynta. I looked it up online and found that they are an opiate and in the same family as oxycodone, which is what I'm taking. So I started taking them at 2 this morning and with taking 1 every four hours and the 10 of the oxycodone I have left, I have enough until 10a.m. on Monday. I am in a little more pain than before, but it is manageable. I know it's not the best idea to mix the pills, but there is no way I can go without any pain meds a week after surgery. You can bet I'll never let this happen again. Now to just decide about PT!
 
Anne, I am so sorry for your PT experience. I discovered a long time ago that the "biggest and brightest and newest" wasn't always a good fit for me. I'm not saying that the university program isn't good, but maybe a smaller, more personable place would be a better fit for you? :console2:
Things WILL be better next week!
 
Yorkimom I'm really sorry you are being pushed so hard in PT. I hope wisdom comes to you for pt decision.

Thank goodness you had the other med to help you get through to Monday.
 
Oh dear, hopefully you can get your OS office on the phone first thing Monday morning. Unfortunately they can't call in oxycodone as you probably know. Have you tried taking one oxy and 1 Tylenol to see how that does for the pain? Or you could even take one oxy and 2 Tylenol as long as you don't go over 4,000 mg Tylenol per day.

I wonder if some heat on your calf muscle would help? Speaking of calf pain you might want to mention that to your OS when you call on Monday in case they want to check you for a blood clot.

Hang in there! I hope you feel better tonight and tomorrow. (((hugs)))
 
I just saw your reply to me over on Jackie's thread and thought I'd bring it back here :)
Yorkimom said:
I expected my ROM to go down from the hospital. It Friday was the third visit and each visit it has gone down even more! I think Joe thinks I should try to stick this out with UofD because they get great results, it he isn't the one going through it. I just don't want to appear to be a quitter.
Click to expand...

Is Joe your husband? Don't feel like a quitter. You are the one having to go through all of this and you need to do what you feel is right for YOU!! Can you ask your OS for a recommendation for a PT to go to? It only makes sense that if you are continually regressing something is wrong with what they are doing to you or having you do at your sessions. Like I said, I went backwards 5 or 6 degrees between discharge from the hospital to my first PT session a week later. But then, I improved anywhere from 2-5 degrees per week for the next several weeks. I'm stuck now but not going backwards thank goodness.

Is the PT at the university where you are going more athletic training or rehab? I'm so happy that my OS's practice has their own PT department. They are all about rehab and not training. I think you should see about finding a place that is a better fit for your current needs.
 
Hi @Yorkimom My recovery buddy,

I'm only one day ahead of you and what your PTs are doing with you makes me really angry! Not with you - with them! :tantrum2::hairpulling:

They are expecting far too much of you. Please listen to Josephine and Jamie. If you go back there, it's time to flat-out refuse to do all those exercises. At our stage, all you need to do are ankle pumps and rotations, a little, gentle bending, and walking to and from the bathroom. (And REST, ICE, ELEVATE and MEDICATE!)

Of course, your ROM has gone backwards - your wounded knee is protesting at being overworked. Listen to it!

So, these PTs are fixated on the numbers game. Let them. They have to justify their work some way and that's the way they choose to do it. It's their problem, not yours. There's no need to rush to get ROM - it can continue to improve for a year, or even more. Even if they think it, your knee will not set like concrete if you don't do all those exercises.

Try reading these articles:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
It's never too late to get more ROM!
It's worth the wait for ROM

Personally, I'd refuse to be measured more often than once a month. Last time, my ROM was only measured once, the day they discharged me from PT. My surgeon doesn't measure. He just says "Show me what you can do." I have excellent ROM on my right knee and I am expecting something similar for my new, left knee.

My surgeon does not allow PT (apart from the few, simple exercises you are shown in hospital) for 4 weeks after surgery. His patients do well and he has to perform very few manipulations.

I'll be thinking of you! :flwrysmile::flwrysmile::flwrysmile:
 
@gr82cu2, @Jozilla, @Jamie, @Josephine, @Jane B., @PuppyLove, @Island Girl, @Celle. Well I finally made my mind up and I am changing PT's. I called them this morning, cancelled all my appointments and told them that it just wasn't a good fit for me. I wanted to tell them how I really felt, but realized that it wouldn't do any good so why get myself more upset than I already am. I called my previous PT which is part of our hospital system and even though I couldn't get an appointment with Christine, the therapist I had before, I got an appointment with another therapist for my evaluation and then I can switch over to Christine when she has an opening. I feel so relieved. I want to thank you all for your support and words of encouragement. I read all your responses this morning and they helped me make my decision. Again thank you. Anne
 
@Yorkimom I think you made a wise choice. Maybe it would be a good idea to explain to the new therapist why you switched :wink: Hopefully they will get you back on the right track very soon.
 
:swim:Best to you with your new PT. I've learned a lot from reading your thread I'm so sorry you struggled with these senseless people.
 
@Yorkimom - Anne, I am so glad you decided to change your PT. The right PT can be immensely helpful. The wrong one is a disaster.
 
I'm glad you made this decision. It truly wasn't a good fit. Here's to a fresh start that can go at YOUR pace.
 
Best of luck with the new (old) PT.
 
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