Posts

Update on knee replacement recovery

 My knee replacement recovery has been a journey. To be honest....I want to be done with it! However...I am far from this! I am 7 weeks postop. I still have pain, tightness and swelling. The swelling is worse when sitting for longer periods of time. I am nervous about this as I am returning to work on Monday. My plan is to bring an ice pack and to take walk breaks. I will also elevate my leg when possible.  The tightness is real. It is there when I wake up. It does decrease when I start moving; however I continue to feel it through the day. The pain is not terrible. I know that it will go away; just not fast enough for me! I am working on flexion and extension. I am trying to get some flexion exercises in before my knee begins to swell. I get on my indoor bike for 5-10 minutes and then go to work on the bend. I hope to get this routine in each morning before I go to work.  I have decided that 125 bend is the goal. This is due to the measurement of my left leg at 120. My left leg has ne
Post a Comment
Read more

Knee VS Hip Replacement

 Don't get me wrong - surgery is surgery. Nothing to minimize. There will always be risks; but most often the benefits outweigh these risks. There are a few important things to remember prior to surgery: Pick the surgeon that you TRUST. The one that you have a decent rapport with. Now; not all surgeon's have a "great" bedside manner - this is different that the trust and rapport. You should feel confident in asking questions and understanding the answers.  Tell the surgeon you fears - be honest.  Tell you surgeon your goals. A great surgeon will tell you the realities. I remember my first knee replacement in 2015. A friend was getting the same surgery from a different surgeon/practice. This person stated that that he/she could be back on an indoor cycle within 3 weeks; perhaps teaching. The surgeon I was talking to stated that his recommended recovery for "teaching" would be 8 - 12 weeks. He then stated, "I could tell you what you want to hear, but who
Post a Comment
Read more

The Struggle is REAL!

 As most of you know it takes a lot to get me "down". And, as most of you know I am the "one" that always wants to be "very far ahead of the curve". Well...this knee replacement recovery is truly a challenge for me!  Here is why.... First, my incision is taking a lot of time to heal. This is affecting the type of work that I am able to do in PT. Tim, my PT guru, will not allow any assisted movement for the flexion as he does not want any more areas of the incisions opening. This is frustrating to me as I do not feel that I am where I could be in my range of motion. I am truly testing my patience. Next, I am still having a lot of pain. It is hard to decipher if the pain is related to nerve awakening or slow recovery. I did look through my blogs for my left knee replacement in 2015 and I had written about having pain well into week 5 and 6 postop. Again, my patience is being tested. I realize that I am still in a recovery phase for my right hip replacement t
Post a Comment
Read more

Staples out and first outpatient PT

 Fifteen days after surgery I went to see Ryan, Dr. Sherman's PA for the first postop appointment to  have the staples removed! There were quite a few staples (I did not count)! Ryan checked the incision and explained how they close the surgical area with stitches internally and then make a flap with staples. He stated that the flap will flatten in time and once the area is fully healed it can be massaged. He also reported that my incision may take a bit longer to heal as it continues to have some open areas.  I was able to ask questions related to the surgery and my recovery to date. The one question I had was related to the significant pain in my quadricep. I asked if a tourniquet was used during surgery and he report "no". He then explained the position of the leg during surgery - bent with foot on table which causes a lot of pressure on the quad. Makes sense. He reported that this pain and the nerve zingers would calm in time. Can't come soon enough for me! We tal
Post a Comment
Read more

Memory loss - previous knee replacement!

I guess time does have some memories fade. I am not a "Mom", but some have told me that you forget the pain of childbirth and then decide to have another child; only to say WTH! LOL! Well...I know the same happened to me with my right knee replacement. I did not remember a thing from my left replacement which was done March 2015. When I was in the hospital and the nerve block was wearing off I had the most intense burning around my knee and pretty strong pain in my quadricep. I laid there thinking WTH! The nurse and PT explained that the net few days would most likely be the worst for pain. I was hoping to feel better at home. Well....not much better. I knew I needed to manage swelling and I laid with my leg elevated and the colpac placed on the knee. I stayed ahead of the pain by alternating between Oxycodone and Tylenol. There were moments that this worked and others that I was reminded that I had major surgery. I kept trying to remember the previous replacement. I did reme
Post a Comment
Read more

Surgery day

 As promised, here is my recap and thoughts about my knee replacement surgery day. As noted in previous blog, contracting Covid changed my surgery date from September 8th to September 28th. Although only 20 additional days it felt like a very long time. My "head" and my knee was ready for the 8th. My knee was not happy! I continued to work full-time as a case manager for formerly homeless individuals and also taught my cycle and dynamic strength classes. Teaching the classes truly made me happy and also reinforced the need for this surgery. Bike was great; however, my exercise form in dynamic strength illustrated how bad was knee was. It also showed that I am still recovering from my hip replacement (same side) that was done in April. I wondered how this might affect my knee recovery but put this out of  my mind....for now. Surgery day was finally here! I was scheduled for "Swift" (one day surgery). My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 7AM and there was no lo
Post a Comment
Read more

Lots of random information

Well..so much for my intent to being this new blog series prior to my knee replacement surgery.  No real excuses; just so much "life" going on. So let's catch up.. I was scheduled for right knee replacement on September 8th. I was going about, getting everything in place: client cheat sheets for my full-time job, coverage for my cycle and other exercise classes, cleaning, swapping out summer/winter clothes and on and on. And then..... Covid-19 had other plans. I was infected on August 7th. Not horrific. Not too sick but this meant that my surgery had to be postponed (hospital policy due to increased risk of blood clots). Yup.....at least 7 weeks from date positive. I was given choices. To be scheduled to stay overnight at Upstate Community (my choice hospital) I would have to wait until December 14th (yes, you read correctly)! I could be scheduled overnight at the Auburn hospital on October 3rd or be scheduled for "Swift" (one day surgery) on September 28th. I c
Post a Comment
Read more