Progress of sorts

JuliaHod12

Morning all :-)

well, day 13 post TKR ....just a little update;

I can now do the following;
Get in and out of bed (no "hoist" for leg)
Get in and out of the Shower
Get in and out of the car
Walk for about 5 minutes with 2 sticks

I reckon i have about 90 degree bend, but have a bit of difficulty straightening the knee.
Still not sleeping very much and its frustrating trying to get comfy :-(
Sleeping with it bent on either side is kind of comfy, but makes it quite sore when i wake :-( am guessing that is common!

I know its still early days and I should be patient........ :roll:

Hope everyone else (Steve, Marianne, Pegleg, Helen) is doing ok xx

elnafinn

You are doing really well, Julia.

Have you tried this one for straightening the knee. Sit in a chair, place a foot-rest (preferably the same height) far enough away so that just the foot is on the footrest. Place something soft on your knee then gently add some weights on it and sit with the weights on the knee for as long as you can. You can watch tv whilst doing this or read. Give yourself time, it will improve.

If you are having physio he/she may put pressure via their hands on your knee and gently press down to straighten your knee.

Elna x

caroldeeg

Hi

Stick with it. I know its painful as I have had one done myself and will be having the second one done shortly.
The exercises help a lot as does walking. Slowly at first but your strength and speed will build up and after a few weeks u will wonder what all the fuss was about! and hopefully u will be painfree.
I hope it goes well

carol

diamond

Well done Julia you seem to be progressing well.It is quite normal to have broken sleep at your stage but you will get there.Just keep on with exercises,icing and rest up plenty to help your body recover.Regarding straightening leg it is still early days yet.I am 13 weeks post op on second knee and still trying to get 0 degrees.I had setback when a bruise and lump appeared behind knee which held me back it was annoying as i was almost there but at least it was not serious which is more important.It is certainly true that every knee is different.My first knee took an almighty effort to get to 90 degree bend but straightened easier.Second knee bent to 105 quickly but straightening is difficult.Keep up the good work you will get there.xxx

kathbee

JuliaHod12 wrote:

Morning all :-)

well, day 13 post TKR ....just a little update;

I can now do the following;
Get in and out of bed (no "hoist" for leg)
Get in and out of the Shower
Get in and out of the car
Walk for about 5 minutes with 2 sticks

I reckon i have about 90 degree bend, but have a bit of difficulty straightening the knee.
Still not sleeping very much and its frustrating trying to get comfy :-(
Sleeping with it bent on either side is kind of comfy, but makes it quite sore when i wake :-( am guessing that is common!

I know its still early days and I should be patient........ :roll:

Hope everyone else (Steve, Marianne, Pegleg, Helen) is doing ok xx

I think you are doing ok Julia.
I am 23 days post op with TKR and was at the same level at around 2 weeks post op. ( I was scheduled for my op the day before you but then got 'done' earlier than expected due to a cancellation).

The knee straightening will come, I am almost there but yesterday the physio who came said I was doing ok and healing well and actually signed me off, so no more physio visits, just need to keep doing the exercises.

I understand totally about the sleeping and waking feelings.
It sometimes still feels like a lump of concrete and some pain when I first try to move in a morning. Although not sleeping that well due to a bit of discomfort, but nothing to worry about I dont feel.

Walking outside felt like quite a lot different from walking around the house, havent needed sticks in house for a while now but dont feel confident outside without. I have RA and OA so feel a bit vulnerable when outdoors in case someone manages to 'shove me over'

Hope all keeps going well for you and everyone who is recovering from these replacement ops.
Kath

marrianne

Hi Julia ,All new knees and everyone,Julia your doing so well ,never under estimate the power of a good nights sleep ,I am a little ahead of you at 16 days ,and lack of sleep stockings in bed during the hot weather ,was almost worse than the actual operation ,had 2 weepy fed up days after clips came out ................now after first good nights sleep I feel I really am on course .........2nd trip out today and really lookinig forward to it ,so trust me once you sleep through you will feel much much better ,hoe is your appitite ? mine was terrible but this morning first good breakfast so I guess what I am trying to say is once you get really comfy in bed get your 8/10 hours your really on the mend ,oh and not forgetting just read about Steve ,Very well done Steve , and every one .Marrianne

dreamdaisy

You are doing fine Julia, I remember that progress can feel so slow in coming so keep looking back to the first couple of days post-surgery and then you may be able to better gauge how far you have come. TKRs are major surgery and as such they take some while to get over (something I think the surgeons fail to tell us). From their point of view you're 'sorted' as soon as you leave their theatre, after all they've done their bit with the Black & Decker, cordless screwdrivers and superglue. They don't have to think about the physio, the exercises and the healing. :roll: Keep up the good, steady work and all will be well. DD

stickywicket

I think you're doing OK, Julia - and Marrianne, kathbee, diamond, SteveBurns, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all! I don't thing we've ever had such a lot of new TKRs about. Well done, everyone! Progress is progress, even though we all get impatient. As long as surgeons and physios are happy you must all be doing stuff right.

Helenbothknees

Julia, I know how you feel. I've only been able to sleep the past week or so (now four weeks and one day post TKR), and that's probably partly because I've sorted out the pain relief intervals so I get more at night when I need it. Now I can't stop sleeping; about 12 hours a night! My body seems to need it and it makes me feel so much better in myself. The physical improvement varies with different people, but it sounds like you're on the mend and that's what counts.

I haven't posted an update myself for a while for various reasons, but I might do so fairly soon....

JuliaHod12

Hi guys :-)

well, the staples (all 40 of them!) are out and only 8 neat little steri strips have taken their place.
It wasnt as bad as i had feared, just pinched a little really!

Physio is very pleased with my progress and said the knee looks like a 4 week recovery rather than 2 :-)
100 degree bend, which is excellent, but a minus 5 degreee extension.....so i need to work on the straightening to avoid a permanent limp!
Next step is reducing to 1 stick indoors and increase the walking to twice a day for about 5 minutes at first, increasing to ten minutes over the next fortnight!

All in all a very good day, aside from my GP refusing to prescribe more Dicolfenac as it could make my occasional asthma worse!

stickywicket

Well done, Julia! It looks like you passed the latest exam Keep at it then. You seem to have got it sorted.

Re the dicolenac. He might have a point. I had childhood asthma then nothing for years - including all the smoking years :roll: - until I was prescribed ibuprofen. It set mine off again and, although I came off it straightaway, I still, now, have mild asthma.

mig

Carry on the good work.mig