TKR YYZ Back To YYC!

2chains

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Surgery went well on friday woke up after surgery in operating room feeling like I had the best sleep ever. That was the last significant stretch of sleep I've had since.

Made it back on flight here on sunday. Very tiring trip unaccompanied 4.5hrs. Significant pain typically in evening 45 mins around 11pm and then again 6am for about 45min.

Got my Game Ready home and using it 30 mins on and 60 min off. Definitely easier than managing individual bags of ice also it is 1 degree f so not too cold.

Going for short stretch of walks ie 30 steps or so with walker after icing and doing ankle pumps etc.

Very tired at the moment.
 
Welcome to the healing side @2chains! I will leave the recovery guidelines below. You might want to think about your icing schedule, we recommend icing for 45-60 minutes. Personally I ran my ice machine 24/7 other than trips to the bathroom for about the first 6 weeks.

As you begin healing, please keep in mind that each recovery is unique. While the BoneSmart philosophy successfully works for many, there will be exceptions. Between the recommendations found here, your surgeon's recovery protocol and any physical therapy you may engage in, the key is to find what works best for you.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
the BoneSmart view on exercise
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for TKRs
6. Access these pages on the website
Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Care In Hospital


The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds


We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Welcome to this side of the recovery. I have much respect for your trip @2chains. My 15 minute drive from the hospital was tough and anxiety producing. I'm glad you're home and safe and close to your ice machine. Stay on your meds schedule, ice often, accept help if offered and take it easy these first few weeks. Be kind to yourself.
 
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Thanks for the well wishes folks!

@DJL1967 How is your recovery going?

One my end I'm having a few issues with hip pain while elevating/icing. Pain in my hips/SI joints is almost at the same level as my knee! Don't have any history of hip pain so is a mystery I don't need!
Testing out different leg elevations but to no avail at the moment. Getting pretty frustrated as I'm just early on in recovery.

I'm in fair amount of knee pain typically occurring a few times a day...using hydromorphine/tylenol/Celebrex/Lyrica and Tramacet. Sleeping is deep but not as long as I need but getting longer sleep stretches every day.
 
I had a few days of right hip pain that I attributed to the IM nail they removed from my femur at the same time as the TKR. I do have arthritis in that hip and will eventually require a replacement in the next few years but after a few days the discomfort subsided without any intervention.

As far as my R knee goes, I had a cortisone injection 2 weeks ago and so far have not had much change with the pain. I will reach out to my surgeon and have him request xrays. I had stopped all physio now for quite sometime so I am way behind in my recovery. I am however back working full time modified duties (10-12 hr shifts) which is very tiring and not easy on the knees.

Glad you are home and hope each day is better than the last.
 
I had stopped all physio now for quite sometime so I am way behind in my recovery. I am however back working full time modified duties (10-12 hr shifts) which is very tiring and not easy on the knees.
I don't think you are behind in your recovery because you stopped physio, many of us did no formal PT at all. The workout your knees are getting working is more than enough PT for your knees.
 
Good for you, @2chains. I also had back and hip pain after my knee replacement. It makes sense -- our bodies are suddenly aligned differently and it takes time to adjust. I'm sure all that travel right after surgery didn't help. Glad the glute tightening is helping.

Remember not to push yourself; you are still very early days! Your body will be working hard to heal from the trauma of the intense surgery. At this stage of recovery, your best friends are icing, elevating and your pain meds.
 
Woke up early this morning lol! Surgeon is going to call at some point for the 7 day follow up and the surgical unit physio is going to call as well.

I think I finally recovered from my return trip as I felt way better emotionally yesterday.

Focusing on icing elevating moving a bit farther every day. Drinking more water so that prompts the increase of moving.:loll:

Using the game ready usually 4 hour stretch, ice 30mins off 60mins..after ice 30 mins I walk around do exercises eat snack then ready for next icing. It's tough to keep it cold however and doing this routine am and bed time and in between using blue gel ice packs to supplement.

Might try and do three stairs today. I have a two story home and did make it up 22 stairs the evening I got home (not sure how in retrospect).

More to come...
 
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ok so the surgeon is not happy I didn't make it to PT within the first 6 days after surgery...like what! I can just make it around the house with the walker for 3-4 mins let alone trek through the snow in my 4x4 walker..and then go do a bunch of exercises.. / end rant.

On the other hand I made it down 7 stairs and back up today! :banana-santa:Goal is to attempt the next 15 steps on sunday lol! We'll see how it goes.

I was also able to lift my left foot off the ground from a sitting position for the first time since surgery...never thought a week ago these things would be considered accomplishments.:loll:
 
ok so the surgeon is not happy I didn't make it to PT within the first 6 days after surgery.
I'm not sure why surgeons get so hung up about this. Everyday living is plenty of PT for a new knee. You are not in training, you are healing. Go at your own pace and listen to that knee.
 
2chains
Not been on the site for a week or two as I feel I have nothing to add which won't be seen as unusual, but I think just getting on a 90 min [?] flight on your own is to be looked upon as totally amazing, or daft [ :heehee: ] depending how you look at it.

I have done remarkably well but didn't try the stairs for well over six weeks [we have an through floor elevator which became my saviour] and as for lifting the leg off the floor, that was also a later development than the hospital guidelines suggested, mainly because I didn't try as it hurt so much.

Admittedly, I have spent a lot of time in the gym with my physio but although I wouldn't say I can bound up the stairs, I can get up them and more important, come down 'properly' when I want [and that for me is only a recent development], but I can lift my leg as good as anyone now.

Four and a half months, I'm still seeing little improvements week by week so when folk tell 'you' it can take well over a year to where 'you'd' like to be, I now believe every word.

I am lucky as 'my' gym has an indoor athletics track which I walked around when the pavements were wet or slippery but if no access to anything similar, leave the snow trudging, march around the house and wait for the decent weather for your future yomps.

You will get there. :)
 
the surgeon is not happy I didn't make it to PT
I'm one of those who never took formal PT. I've had 12 knee surgeries, 2 of them kneecap removals, and 1 tkr. Even after those I never took formal PT. But, I didn't just sit around and do nothing, I was alone and had to do things for myself. I used my knee as it was intended to be used by walking around to take care of my daily needs along with the necessary house and yard work. As I healed I was able to do more. Icing and elevation were a huge part of my recovery.

Listen to your knee. It will tell you if you're doing too much by increased pain and swelling. When that happened to me, I found that resting, icing, and elevating helped. Your knee knows how to rehab itself without being told what to do. Doing what it isn't ready to do just slows down your healing by increasing inflammation.
 
Thanks for the pick me up folks! I am definitely getting up and about every hour at a minimum so not like I'm immobile or the like. Things are definitely getting a little bit better every day.

@Scaredycat10 Glad things are continuing to go well for you and you are making progress!
@sistersinhim Thanks for sharing your insight on the recovery without PT. I am icing and elevating every few hours for 45min despite my surgeon indicating 15 mins on and 1.5hrs off with the ice.

Getting psyched for another go with the seven steps today!
 
My surgeon wanted me to get in to PT in the first 7-10 days but I waited until 2 weeks post-op. There's no hurry and you need those first couple of weeks to learn how to just navigate in your own home, let along try and go out in a car and in bad weather!!! I did not suffer any negative effects by waiting a week or so.

Stairs have only just become something I can do without thinking about it. Going up with each leg was the first accomplishment and going down with each leg took time. Even when I was able to do it without using both handrails, the next couple of times it would hurt. So 2 steps forward, 1 step back, that sort of thing........for a month or two. It will happen, it will just take time.

I wanted to mention when I see the title of your thread, it makes me think of the Canadian band, Rush, and their song YYZ. :)
 
Started doing some glute tightening last night..10sec tightening and 30sec release. Seems to have helped a bit....each day is getting better than the last!
Ah, the dreaded glutes. Pesky muscles.
Pain in the butt and all that.

I still do my glute exercises, nearly five months on. Keep at it and then eventually, with your quad and hamstring strengthening routines added in a while, you'll get there.
 
We love Rush! We went to their Clockwork Angels tour a few years ago when they were in Seattle....
 

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