TKR 4 weeks and 3 days

[rayinpenn]

Just got back from a 20 minute walk outside to stretch the new knee
1) it still feels different, kinda 'stiff' perhaps but I am walking without a limp. I hear it can take up to 3 months for that odd sensation to fade.
2) will do my stationary recumbent bike next for 15 minutes to further loosen it up further.
3) the knee does give a hitching sedation occasionally when I walk. I am careful to heel toe my walk as directed by the physical therapist. I think the more you try to walk normal the worse you actually get.
4) sleeping is far from what it was but is better each day
5) no pills in a week
6) lost weight! I'm swimming in my clothes..

Before the operation I would hobble out of bed each morning with the first few steps being pretty precarious. Now I roll out of bed like I did ten or more years ago.

So happy to be past that first month!

Just for fun the bills starting coming in:
Hospital 2 days $ 30,000
Surgeon. $. 9,000
Anesthesiologist $. 2,800
Physical Therapy. $ ??
Walker. $. 65

Looks like I'll be out of pocket $2,300 so far...




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[W2R]

Wow, your results are a lot better than I would have assumed, this soon after Total Knee Replacement surgery. I'd sure put up with stiffness and a hitching sensation in order to be walking without a limp and apparently with less pain. You are doing wonderfully. Sounds like your time and effort with PT and on the stationary bike and walking are really paying off.

One of these days, I might see a doctor about my knees. But not quite yet.

 

[MBAustin]

Glad to hear you are doing well with it, rayinpenn. Keep up the good work!

 

[Walt34]

Thanks for posting about this. There is probably a TKR in my future and it's good to hear that in the long run things do turn out well. My mother had three done (one knee twice, the first wore out) and things have definitely gotten better.

 

[aja8888]

Glad to here you are up and about Ray! My BIL had both knees replaced a couple of years ago and he did well and is back on the golf course now!

 

[ohyes]

Ray,

This sounds like great progress.

I remember wondering if the surgeon had put my artificial knee in backwards.

About 10 weeks out, you may 1.) wonder why you waited so long to go for a TKR, 2.) wonder how you can ever get your nerve up for the other knee.

 

[rayinpenn]

2.) wonder how you can ever get your nerve up for the other knee.

Thanks for a belly laugh this morning! Yeah getting that second one done will separate the men from the boys...

Hopefully that is years in the future..

 

[heeyy_joe]

I am three weeks along after TKR. My experience is similar, range of motion is 15 degrees to 105 degrees. Every morning it is very stiff and I have to do lots of calf and hamstring stretches, along with other PT exercises to get it to loosen up. But each day is a little bit better. Straightening the leg is more difficult than bending it. My PPACA total out of pocket was $1500 so getting it done this year was a no-brainer.

 

[rayinpenn]

I am three weeks along after TKR. My experience is similar, range of motion is 15 degrees to 105 degrees. Every morning it is very stiff and I have to do lots of calf and hamstring stretches, along with other PT exercises to get it to loosen up. But each day is a little bit better. Straightening the leg is more difficult than bending it. My PPACA total out of pocket was $1500 so getting it done this year was a no-brainer.

First happy to hear it is going well...

So I should have mentioned that I tried, for the second time those lubricating series of shots earlier in the year which helped with the deductible. Hoping that my all in cost will be $3000


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[Callitaday2022]

I am three weeks along after TKR. My experience is similar, range of motion is 15 degrees to 105 degrees. Every morning it is very stiff and I have to do lots of calf and hamstring stretches, along with other PT exercises to get it to loosen up. But each day is a little bit better. Straightening the leg is more difficult than bending it. My PPACA total out of pocket was $1500 so getting it done this year was a no-brainer.

Lacking 15 from fully straight 3 weeks out is a little behind schedule. Are you sleeping or resting with something behind your knee? Don't. Getting full extension is critical. Could you fully straighten it before your surgery?

 

[heeyy_joe]

Lacking 15 from fully straight 3 weeks out is a little behind schedule. Are you sleeping or resting with something behind your knee? Don't. Getting full extension is critical. Could you fully straighten it before your surgery?

No, I was at 10 degrees. Many hamstring pulls over the years finds me with strong legs but not very limber. Getting the leg straight will be my greatest challenge.

Unfortunately, my PPACA insurer is leaving the Florida marketplace (Aetna) and I can't begin PT at a facility until sometime in January through my new provider. Getting adequate sleep has been very difficult!

 

[rayinpenn]

Yesterday at PT I was struggling to get to 110 degree bend, (picture the PT standing over me with her measuring device while I'm lying on a table with my knee bent and I'm pulling the foot with cord to bend the knee. she said "come on, you can do it" just then my knee moved a bit and I hit some kind of pain threshold and bam I yelled "yow". Heads turned - unofficial protocol appears to be 'suffer in silence'. Not my finest moment to be sure... Afterwards they ice the knee for the usual 15 minutes and I go home...

Then about 9 last night the knee is letting me know it isn't happy about that incident - ice then Tylenol and I finally fell asleep. Thankfully it feels better this morning. It's 5 weeks to the day since I had the surgery.

I have been sleeping with a very flat pillow under my knees; it is the only way I've been able to fall asleep. I'll try and nix that too.

 

[heeyy_joe]

Update: At six weeks my leg is straight (0) and the bend is 125 of a possible 130. No pain, cleared for easing into athletic activities. I have had 5 PT visits, walking stairs up and down like a champ. Yea!!

 

[MBAustin]

Good for you, heeyy_joe!

 

[rayinpenn]

Update: At six weeks my leg is straight (0) and the bend is 125 of a possible 130. No pain, cleared for easing into athletic activities. I have had 5 PT visits, walking stairs up and down like a champ. Yea!!

Great job! Get out and walk. Suggestion get off the drugs asap - use Tylenol


It's been 8 weeks (two months) and While i am not nearly as flexible as you. - I must say I feel great. I've been for at least 25 PT sessions. I can't quite get my leg straight - so surgeon threatened me with needing a revision (don't ask terrible) I said "that's not happening" and he called the pt and said be more aggressive. They started using electric stimulation while the pt forced my leg straight. It has improved!

I took a 30 minute walk (left the pooch home- way too cold) late this afternoon and my knee felt less stiff then it ever has. I must say even though I wore a heavy coat with a hoody underneath these old bones don't like the breezy twenties. I have a need for a hot tub.


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[braumeister]

OK, you guys sound like you're ready for this:

Training To Walk A Marathon - Walking Connection

Seriously, great job, both of you!

 

[heeyy_joe]

Great job! Get out and walk. Suggestion get off the drugs asap - use Tylenol


It's been 8 weeks (two months) and While i am not nearly as flexible as you. - I must say I feel great. I've been for at least 25 PT sessions. I can't quite get my leg straight - so surgeon threatened me with needing a revision (don't ask terrible) I said "that's not happening" and he called the pt and said be more aggressive. They started using electric stimulation while the pt forced my leg straight. It has improved!

I took a 30 minute walk (left the pooch home- way too cold) late this afternoon and my knee felt less stiff then it ever has. I must say even though I wore a heavy coat with a hoody underneath these old bones don't like the breezy twenties. I have a need for a hot tub.


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I stopped taking oxycotin/oxycodone 2 weeks after surgery. All I have been using is Aleve. I hated the way I felt taking those heavier painkillers.

Ray, when I was having trouble straightening my leg, I cam across this web page. I did these long load stretches every day and the results were amazing.
Keep up the work & don't give up!

 

[heeyy_joe]

Ooops, here is the webpage:

Assessing and Treating Loss of Knee Extension Range of Motion - Mike Reinold