So, I Got A New Knee...

Good luck and good recovery! I'm 9 1/2 weeks out from my getting my right knee replaced and all is going well here. Remember heel slides are your friend - no matter how much it hurts. I spent the money on an ice therapy machine and it was worth it. I hope you get a good PT team - I think that was crucial to my progress.
 

Congratulations on the upgrade, Dave, and good to see that you are moving around already. I have a friend in her early 70's that just had a knee replacement. Her blood pressure dropped precipitously during the operation and she had to stay in the hospital for several days afterwards. She is coming around but not nearly as nicely as you. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
 
Wow! Thanks for all the well wishes. I wasn't expecting that.

It's only been a couple of days, but the pain medication has helped immensely. I know this because my prescription didn't get filled until Saturday morning (the pharmacy was closed Friday because of the holiday), and once all the surgery drugs wore off, I spent a good 6 hours in white knuckle pain until I got the meds. I could only take two Tylenol, but that didn't touch it. LOL.

Since then, though, the pain has been minimal. I'm not crazy about taking Oxycontin, though. I don't drink or take drugs, so it makes me a little loopy. The prescription says I can take two every six hours, but I've been getting by with just one every 7-8 hours. Even with the smaller dosage...still loopy.

The craziest part, is looking down and seeing two straight legs. I put my feet together, and my knees are straight. It used to be my right leg was straight, and my left leg bowed way out, to the point that the doctor said it was, in essence, almost an inch shorter than the other one. Truly weird and wonderful to see two straight legs.

The worst part, though is my poor dogs. I get up every hour on the hour to stretch and walk laps around the house, and they follow me, carrying the frisbee. And they haven't been able to jump up in my lap for two days. They crowd up beside me while I'm in my recliner (been living there since Friday), and I scratch and scrub their ears and whatnot.

All you pet owners out there know how it is. You're apologizing to your pets. LOL.
 

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Dave03 said:
The worst part, though is my poor dogs. I get up every hour on the hour to stretch and walk laps around the house, and they follow me, carrying the frisbee. And they haven't been able to jump up in my lap for two days. They crowd up beside me while I'm in my recliner (been living there since Friday), and I scratch and scrub their ears and whatnot.

All you pet owners out there know how it is. You're apologizing to your pets. LOL.
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That's hilarious, Dave! I can just picture them.

You're doing so great already, up walking every hour! You'll be outside with the dogs in no time.
 
Dave03 said:
The craziest part, is looking down and seeing two straight legs. I put my feet together, and my knees are straight. It used to be my right leg was straight, and my left leg bowed way out, to the point that the doctor said it was, in essence, almost an inch shorter than the other one. Truly weird and wonderful to see two straight legs.
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I'm kind of the opposite. Both my legs were bowed outward so now the right is straight, but the left is still bowed so it's shorter than the right. Probably gonna have it done about this time next year. In the meantime, the PT gave me some heel lifts for the left shoe that makes a difference, evens me up, and eliminated a whole set of pains that the imbalance was inducing.
 
I came here to look for updates from you so I'm glad you posted them.
Thanks!😄

That's very interesting about the 2 straight legs. Gosh. I was not aware that would occur.

I understood well about your dogs...
Even though I have a cat. Therefore I have to apologize for different issues. 😁

Not a Frisbee, but for the manufacturer changing very slightly, the recipe of a cat food. 😀

Pretty soon, begin explaining why p.t. does not start on Frisbee. 🤩
 
Dave03 said:
The craziest part, is looking down and seeing two straight legs. I put my feet together, and my knees are straight. It used to be my right leg was straight, and my left leg bowed way out, to the point that the doctor said it was, in essence, almost an inch shorter than the other one. Truly weird and wonderful to see two straight legs.
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3d-isometric-flat-vector-conceptual-illustration-of-valgus-deformity.jpg

There we have Dave on the left with his two perfect legs and where he started in the middle with his left leg bowed out. I am on the right with my left leg bowed in.

When I broke my leg 15 years ago the bones healed but my MCL up the inside of my knee didn't heal so ever since, every step I take bows it inward slightly more. So I have one straight leg and one bent leg and I look like a K. I would like to look like Dave!

However, it only hurts if I do too much walking around the stores. It never hurts when I'm sitting down and when I tell this to the doctors they no longer want to talk surgery. They seem to think only extreme pain justifies the risk. I sort of agree, but I'm following Dave closely to see how it all goes, sort of like Goober is doing.
 
Ok, time for another update.

I went for my second PT session yesterday. Did a lot of flexibility exercises to start (that's going to be every session), getting measurements.

As far as bending, I'm just under 90%, which they said is ahead of the curve.

When I did my pre operation therapy, I was right around 100%. So, just 6 days out of surgery, I can already bend my knee further than I could in the last 20 years.

As far as straightening, laying flat, I can actually get the back of my knee to touch the table. Not by myself, of course, but with my therapist pressing down on my knee. It really hurts, but it's not blinding pain. And, we only do 5 reps at a time.

I've been doing these simple exercises designed to 'wake up' my thigh muscles, where I just flex my thigh 50 times, 8 times a day. I can feel my new kneecap moving up and down every time. That's something that also hasn't happened in decades.

So, they took the 'waking up' process a step further. They put these pads on my thigh, turned on the electric current, which flexes my thigh, and turned it up until I couldn't take it. That's the set point.

Then, I got 10 of those shocks, each one lasting 12 seconds, with a 50 second rest in between. Brutal, but necessary.

The big news is, I have enough flexibility and strength, that I can take normal steps with the walker. I can't put my full weight on my left left leg, of course. But, I don't limp along. I walk. Slowly, and without any grace. But, I walk.

So, I pulled down my stocking (woo woo), and took a photo of my leg. You probably can't tell, but the swelling has really been coming down the last few days.

IMG_1720.jpeg
 
Dave03 said:
Ok, time for another update.

I went for my second PT session yesterday. Did a lot of flexibility exercises to start (that's going to be every session), getting measurements.

As far as bending, I'm just under 90%, which they said is ahead of the curve.

When I did my pre operation therapy, I was right around 100%. So, just 6 days out of surgery, I can already bend my knee further than I could in the last 20 years.

As far as straightening, laying flat, I can actually get the back of my knee to touch the table. Not by myself, of course, but with my therapist pressing down on my knee. It really hurts, but it's not blinding pain. And, we only do 5 reps at a time.

I've been doing these simple exercises designed to 'wake up' my thigh muscles, where I just flex my thigh 50 times, 8 times a day. I can feel my new kneecap moving up and down every time. That's something that also hasn't happened in decades.

So, they took the 'waking up' process a step further. They put these pads on my thigh, turned on the electric current, which flexes my thigh, and turned it up until I couldn't take it. That's the set point.

Then, I got 10 of those shocks, each one lasting 12 seconds, with a 50 second rest in between. Brutal, but necessary.

The big news is, I have enough flexibility and strength, that I can take normal steps with the walker. I can't put my full weight on my left left leg, of course. But, I don't limp along. I walk. Slowly, and without any grace. But, I walk.

So, I pulled down my stocking (woo woo), and took a photo of my leg. You probably can't tell, but the swelling has really been coming down the last few days.

View attachment 418492
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Oh you can tell the swelling has gone down...well done you, You're doing brilliantly, and it's great to follow this for people like me who will be getting knee surgery in the future

Out of interest how much does that bruising hurt now.?
 
hollydolly said:
Oh you can tell the swelling has gone down...well done you, You're doing brilliantly, and it's great to follow this for people like me who will be getting knee surgery in the future

Out of interest how much does that bruising hurt now.?
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Honestly, I didn't even realize there was that much bruising until I pulled the stocking down. It doesn't hurt at all.

It's neat to look at, though.
 
Ok, time for another update.

It's been 12 days since my surgery. I no longer take the pain meds, even though there is some occasional pain. It's not enough to justify the meds, though, at least not in my mind. If it gets to the point it becomes a distraction, I just take a Tylenol.

The swelling is almost gone, just a little way to go.

I haven't had to use the ice bath since Sunday, which is great. That thing was a pain to keep refilling and lugging around.

The only real pain is about a 4-5 inch ache right in my shin bone. It's where they drilled down into my tibia and inserted the stem that holds my new knee cap. It's only occasional, and I have some deep heating ointment that usually takes care of it. But for all of you that have had bone aches, you know what I'm talking about.

One of the challenges has been sleeping. I'm supposed to sleep with it elevated to help prevent clotting, but I've never been a back sleeper, so it's tough.

I abandoned the walker on Sunday, and have graduated to a cane, which has been great. I don't even really use it inside the house.

It's kinda weird, though, having to be mindful that I flex my thigh, keep my toe pointed straight, and step heel first. You don't think twice about walking, until you've been doing it wrong for 20 years and have to learn it all over again.

I can't wait to go to the doctor's on Monday and have this bandage removed. I know the sutures have all healed and the incision is healing, because it's itching like crazy. It's maddening!!!
 
Congratulations. My knee replacement is by far my favorite medical procedure ever! I didn't get ice cream like when my tonsils were removed but can't beat mobility without pain.

Only do as much as advised and reduce meds only as told. Set backs aren't worth it.
 
Dave03 said:
Ok, time for another update.

It's been 12 days since my surgery. I no longer take the pain meds, even though there is some occasional pain. It's not enough to justify the meds, though, at least not in my mind. If it gets to the point it becomes a distraction, I just take a Tylenol.

The swelling is almost gone, just a little way to go.

I haven't had to use the ice bath since Sunday, which is great. That thing was a pain to keep refilling and lugging around.

The only real pain is about a 4-5 inch ache right in my shin bone. It's where they drilled down into my tibia and inserted the stem that holds my new knee cap. It's only occasional, and I have some deep heating ointment that usually takes care of it. But for all of you that have had bone aches, you know what I'm talking about.

One of the challenges has been sleeping. I'm supposed to sleep with it elevated to help prevent clotting, but I've never been a back sleeper, so it's tough.

I abandoned the walker on Sunday, and have graduated to a cane, which has been great. I don't even really use it inside the house.

It's kinda weird, though, having to be mindful that I flex my thigh, keep my toe pointed straight, and step heel first. You don't think twice about walking, until you've been doing it wrong for 20 years and have to learn it all over again.

I can't wait to go to the doctor's on Monday and have this bandage removed. I know the sutures have all healed and the incision is healing, because it's itching like crazy. It's maddening!!!
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Sounds like a great recovery!
 
Dave03 said:
Ok, time for another update.

It's been 12 days since my surgery. I no longer take the pain meds, even though there is some occasional pain. It's not enough to justify the meds, though, at least not in my mind. If it gets to the point it becomes a distraction, I just take a Tylenol.

The swelling is almost gone, just a little way to go.

I haven't had to use the ice bath since Sunday, which is great. That thing was a pain to keep refilling and lugging around.

The only real pain is about a 4-5 inch ache right in my shin bone. It's where they drilled down into my tibia and inserted the stem that holds my new knee cap. It's only occasional, and I have some deep heating ointment that usually takes care of it. But for all of you that have had bone aches, you know what I'm talking about.

One of the challenges has been sleeping. I'm supposed to sleep with it elevated to help prevent clotting, but I've never been a back sleeper, so it's tough.

I abandoned the walker on Sunday, and have graduated to a cane, which has been great. I don't even really use it inside the house.

It's kinda weird, though, having to be mindful that I flex my thigh, keep my toe pointed straight, and step heel first. You don't think twice about walking, until you've been doing it wrong for 20 years and have to learn it all over again.
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I had to learn the art of walking too. Sometimes the walker, lightly grasped is better than the cane when you are concentrating on walking. I found I walked with a more even gait than when I had the cane. The walker handles should be set at a height that promotes a straight back.

Are you practising walking up stairs?

When you are up to it a bit of time on an exercise bike is great therapy.
Dave03 said:
I can't wait to go to the doctor's on Monday and have this bandage removed. I know the sutures have all healed and the incision is healing, because it's itching like crazy. It's maddening!!!
Click to expand...
 
Pay attention to pt and ask why the exercises and stretches are being done because you might be able to use them to troubleshoot future problems. I'm using using pt stretches and exercises over a decade later but I had to figure out why therapist had me do them/what they affected. But they work a decade later.

It's all about the pt now.

Speedy recovery
 
Checking in. Tomorrow will be three weeks since surgery.

Still some swelling, but not much. The pain is just about completely gone, with occasional sharp jolts right around my kneecap. But, the therapist says that's normal and will go away.

There's also some crackling and grumbling going on when I walk, which the therapist says is also normal. All the ligaments and tendons and whatnot were loosened up and rearranged, so there's going to be a 'tightening up' period, and I needn't worry about it. But I worry about it anyway.

Yesterday's therapy session was the first time I actually got my leg completely straight. Hurt like the devil, but I did it. Still can't bend it all the way yet, though.

Have progressed to ankle weights and resistance bands, so I know I'm getting there. I've been driving for a week now.

The hardest part is just how slow it's going. I know I'm going to get where I want to be eventually. I just wish it was happening faster.

Anyway, here are the before and after photos.
IMG_1632.jpegIMG_1723.jpeg
 
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