Yet another knee surgery thread

[Moemg]

You are doing great !

 

[W2R]

Thank you, Omni550 and Moemg!

It's nice to be on the "up side" of the Recovery Rollercoaster today.

 

[Chuckanut]

You're doing much better that I was at two weeks. That's great.

 

[W2R]

You're doing much better that I was at two weeks. That's great.

Thanks!!! I am sure you were doing better, though. I couldn't even get on a bed until a few days ago, and still haven't dared to do that while alone, yet. And I am pretty sure I can't walk as far as you could.

Oh well, its not a competition and honestly I think we are both doing the best we can with what we are working with. Different knees, different surgical teams, different situations. What's great is that we are both making progress and regaining our lives.

P.S.- - tonight it's not going to be 12 hours sleep after one opioid pill, that's for sure. I took one an hour ago. I'll give it a little longer to kick in, but, well, ow. My guess is 6 hours on two pills this time, due to overdoing. Two steps forward, one step back...

 

[aaronc879]

Bonesmart.org is more of a support group with crowd sourced success and failure stories - wrt THR, i found all advice well structured. Hips can recover with zero PT! As long as the core need is mobility. Hip 1 for me was 20 years ago, hip to three months ago. I did nothing more that stretch and walk in both cases.

TKRs are a different bird, requiring significant effort and painful PT to be truly successful - or, at least that is my observation.

This is my belief as well. I think I would have recoverd far better from my THR if I had not been sent back to work walking on cement 10 hours day and doing continuous lifting. All a hip needs is walking as much as you can tolerate. A knee is different. You need to do range of motion exercises frequently right from the start as well as walking up to your tolerance without over doing it. Strength building exercises are not needed in the first few months. They are more likely to cause a setback than a quicker recovery in most cases. Just focus on range of motion and walking.

 

[Chuckanut]

A knee is different. You need to do range of motion exercises frequently right from the start as well as walking up to your tolerance without over doing it. Strength building exercises are not needed in the first few months. They are more likely to cause a setback than a quicker recovery in most cases. Just focus on range of motion and walking.

I think you have it correct. When I overdo the PT, the knee gets sore, swollen and cranky which makes doing things like walking, riding my stationary bike and other PT hard to do.

I have developed my own triage list which has a few simple easy warm up exercises, ROM exercises and then a few strength exercises if the knee feels ok. Since adding the stationary bike, I have been doing fewer strength exercises. The knee just can't take it all.

 

[bclover]

yep this is what my p/t gave me

 

[Chuckanut]

I recommend asking the therapist to prioritize the exercises in the event your knee gets excessively painful and swollen. I often find that vigorous pt causes excessive pain and swelling which can cause me to cut down the pt I am doing.

Last week I kept a very aggressive pt schedule. The knee is not happy. So today, I will do only two ROM exercises, then elevate, ice and rest. I will also do some walking. Limited walking seems beneficial.

 

[omni550]

W2R,

Wondering how your recovery is coming along after the long Labor Day weekend?

omni

 

[W2R]

Three Weeks

W2R,

Wondering how your recovery is coming along after the long Labor Day weekend?

omni

Thanks for asking! It is still coming along. Today is the "three week anniversary" of my surgery. As you know this surgery has a long recovery period but so far so good.

Today the physical therapy "boss guy" was my PT person. He said that my ROM is now up to 101 degrees! Of course ROM isn't everything, although he also said I was recovering very nicely overall. There are always some things to work on, that he pointed out. This was my last home PT appointment, thank goodness. I might go to outpatient PT but at least I don't have to have people coming to my home any more.

After PT, Frank and I went out to lunch again at our favorite restaurant.

Tomorrow I have my first post-operative appointment with my surgeon. I have several questions to ask him, such as (1) when I can drive, (2) can he give me his clearance for my dentist to treat some dental problems that just developed, and (3) what is his suggestion for a milder pain med that I could slowly transition to. I love the hydrocodone+acetaminophen pain meds that I am on, but perhaps too much and I would rather not be taking addictive drugs any longer than I need them.

My knee scar looks absolutely amazing - - the healthiest looking one I have ever seen, especially this soon after surgery. It is healing up beautifully with no pink or redness or swelling or other various signs of infection. It is healing so fast that I can almost see the difference from one day to the next. My stamina is still limited but at this stage I don't need much. Before surgery my right knee wouldn't even bear 5 pounds of weight; now, it can bear over 100 pounds. So I am making progress but still have a ways to go.

 

[omni550]

Thanks for asking! It is still coming along. Today is the "three week anniversary" of my surgery. As you know this surgery has a long recovery period but so far so good.

Today the physical therapy "boss guy" was my PT person. He said that my ROM is now up to 101 degrees! Of course ROM isn't everything, although he also said I was recovering very nicely overall. There are always some things to work on, that he pointed out. This was my last home PT appointment, thank goodness. I might go to outpatient PT but at least I don't have to have people coming to my home any more.

After PT, Frank and I went out to lunch again at our favorite restaurant.

Tomorrow I have my first post-operative appointment with my surgeon. I have several questions to ask him, such as (1) when I can drive, (2) can he give me his clearance for my dentist to treat some dental problems that just developed, and (3) what is his suggestion for a milder pain med that I could slowly transition to. I love the hydrocodone+acetaminophen pain meds that I am on, but perhaps too much and I would rather not be taking addictive drugs any longer than I need them.

My knee scar looks absolutely amazing - - the healthiest looking one I have ever seen, especially this soon after surgery. It is healing up beautifully with no pink or redness or swelling or other various signs of infection. It is healing so fast that I can almost see the difference from one day to the next. My stamina is still limited but at this stage I don't need much. Before surgery my right knee wouldn't even bear 5 pounds of weight; now, it can bear over 100 pounds. So I am making progress but still have a ways to go.

That sounds absolutely fabulous!..the quick healing scar, the range of motion, the increased weight-bearing...it's all good news.

I'm very impressed especially as it's only been 3 weeks. Your recovery is amazing. Keep it up!

omni

 

[W2R]

That sounds absolutely fabulous!..the quick healing scar, the range of motion, the increased weight-bearing...it's all good news.

I'm very impressed especially as it's only been 3 weeks. Your recovery is amazing. Keep it up!

omni

Thank you!!!

Well, typical of the TKR recovery rollercoaster.... more concerns today! Here's part of what I said about it in Chuckanut's thread:

I have had symptoms of an abscessed tooth for a few days, and mentioned it to my surgeon at our first post-op meeting today. He immediately put me on amoxycillin and told me to see my dentist ASAP because we don't want infection to spread to the new knee.

I called my dentist, who, as luck would have it, was headed out for a two week vacation in the morning. He graciously consented to see me at 8:30 tomorrow morning on his way out of town. I'll have to set an alarm for this one.

 

[omni550]

W2R,

Oh, sorry to hear that, especially your recovery seemed to be going so well. Abscessed teeth can become very painful...and add the potential risk of infection for someone who has a brand-new knee.

Glad you were able to catch your dentist on his way out of town. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's not a big deal.

omni

 

[W2R]

W2R,

Oh, sorry to hear that, especially your recovery seemed to be going so well. Abscessed teeth can become very painful...and add the potential risk of infection for someone who has a brand-new knee.

Glad you were able to catch your dentist on his way out of town. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's not a big deal.

omni

Turns out that although it FELT like an abscessed tooth to me, actually it wasn't. One of my wisdom teeth erupted. Yeah, I'm 71 and it's not fair. Anyway, my dentist doesn't pull teeth so he referred me to an oral surgeon (the excellent one that did my dental implants). The oral surgeon will talk to the orthopedic surgeon about the timing of this tooth extraction and when that time arrives, I'll have it done.

 

[omni550]

Turns out that although it FELT like an abscessed tooth to me, actually it wasn't. One of my wisdom teeth erupted. Yeah, I'm 71 and it's not fair. Anyway, my dentist doesn't pull teeth so he referred me to an oral surgeon (the excellent one that did my dental implants). The oral surgeon will talk to the orthopedic surgeon about the timing of this tooth extraction and when that time arrives, I'll have it done.

Well, in my book, that erupting tooth sounds like a pain, but WAY better than an abscessed tooth and possible secondary infection!

Hope it doesn't hurt too much now (maybe your pain pills can ameliorate the discomfort)...or when it eventually gets yanked.

omni

 

[W2R]

Well, in my book, that erupting tooth sounds like a pain, but WAY better than an abscessed tooth and possible secondary infection!

Hope it doesn't hurt too much now (maybe your pain pills can ameliorate the discomfort)...or when it eventually gets yanked.

omni

Luckily the pain pills eliminate any pain I feel from it.

 

[Moemg]

Glad you didn't have an abscess to deal with !

 

[W2R]

Glad you didn't have an abscess to deal with !

Thanks, me too!!

 

[W2R]

Today I had my first "real PT" session at the PT facility (as opposed to the in home PT where they come to my house).

Whew, I'm worn out!

They had a lot of neat ideas and equipment. I think the intensity of my PT sessions just escalated quite a bit.

 

[omni550]

Thanks for the update,W2R.

Sounds like you're getting to the 'serious PT stuff' now.

omni

 

[aaronc879]

Today I had my first "real PT" session at the PT facility (as opposed to the in home PT where they come to my house).

Whew, I'm worn out!

They had a lot of neat ideas and equipment. I think the intensity of my PT sessions just escalated quite a bit.

Remember, you have the right to say no to any exercise they want you to do. They can't force you to do it. If you have a significant increase in pain that lingers then say no next time. If you say stop and they keep pushing, that is assault. It happens far too frequently. Don't let it happen to you.

 

[W2R]

Thanks for the update,W2R.

Sounds like you're getting to the 'serious PT stuff' now.

omni

Thank you, Omni550! I think yesterday's PT session was really constructive. I felt like I had actually done some physical exercise which is a great feeling.

Remember, you have the right to say no to any exercise they want you to do. They can't force you to do it. If you have a significant increase in pain that lingers then say no next time. If you say stop and they keep pushing, that is assault. It happens far too frequently. Don't let it happen to you.

Thank you. I will take your warnings to heart, and definitely will remember that and keep an eye on things.

Yesterday I told my new PT lady about how bad my knees had gotten and how little I could do before surgery. I told her I probably had the lowest initial capability of any knee surgery patient they had ever had, because my knee had so many different things wrong with it for so long. I told her how very successful my home PT has been, and told her that was because they encouraged me and realized that it wasn't necessary to push me.

So, much to my glee, the PT lady did not push me at all. In fact she never touched me and let me have complete control over everything, even the straps and other devices used to bend my knee in any exercise. All she did was explain what to do, and then watched and simply encouraged me. I think that worked really well for me, because I got just the right amount of exercise without too much. Yesterday I just slept and iced after PT, but today I feel better and stronger.

This morning my surgical knee, which could only bear 5 pounds or so before surgery, was almost able to bear my entire weight! Soon I will be standing on that one leg only, like a flamingo, with a huge smile on my face. The more weight it can bear, the better my gait will get and soon I may not even be limping.

 

[omni550]

This morning my surgical knee, which could only bear 5 pounds or so before surgery, was almost able to bear my entire weight! Soon I will be standing on that one leg only, like a flamingo, with a huge smile on my face. The more weight it can bear, the better my gait will get and soon I may not even be limping.

WooHoo...I can just picture you standing like a flamingo!

And, hopefully, soon thereafter you'll get to dancin' the next time you hear one of those New Orleans street bands go by...

omni

 

[W2R]

WooHoo...I can just picture you standing like a flamingo!

And, hopefully, soon thereafter you'll get to dancin' the next time you hear one of those New Orleans street bands go by...

omni

WooHoo!!!

 

[Chuckanut]

This morning my surgical knee, which could only bear 5 pounds or so before surgery, was almost able to bear my entire weight! Soon I will be standing on that one leg only, like a flamingo, with a huge smile on my face. The more weight it can bear, the better my gait will get and soon I may not even be limping.

Just do that once! Preferably standing near your bed so you can fall on that if you have to. One fall on the ground and you are back to negative space.