Knee Replacement, Nine Months Out - What NOT To Do

[ultrarunner]

I've seen similar at the hospital and very extreme with pain meds..

We had a contractor that could barely make his way in... Doc told him he is not young and his joints have had a lot of hard usage... lots of pain.

Doc gave him pain meds and two days later he came in nice and straight and looked 20 years younger... said the Doc worked a miracle and his wife was overjoyed...

Last thing the Doc said is plenty of rest so the body can heal now that the pain has been addressed.

A few days later the guy comes in a wheel chair unable to walk... he put off a concrete job and was feeling so good decided to knock it out.

The body is amazing but often cannot be rushed.

 

[spitter]

Had both knees replaced 6 years ago in the winter I was climbing into work truck and slipped on ice on running board and fell and hyper extended knee . I knew I was in trouble cause when I landed I heard a loud crack and coulden't bend knee for a month or so. Tried to hide it the best I could {no body wants a crippled carpenter] eventually it got better but swells up under to much climbing of ladders and scaffolds. Finally went to knee doctor had xrays and said you kneed a revision . I said what is that .He said knee is louse in bone and has to be redone . He said if you do your kind of work your knees ain't gona last.So much for replacement knees being as good as knew.

 

[Turbys_1700]

A friend of mine that I bowl with has had both knees replaced. The first one he did not do very well. The second one much better. He is doing fine now but with his first knee replacement he didn't follow the therapy regimen as he should for fear of Oxy addiction per prescription. He realizes now that was a mistake. His advise to me was to take the meds and follow the rehab regimen to a T. Don't deviate one bit.

I have a hip replacement scheduled for August and then following that recovery a knee in 2-3 months. I know lots of folks my age and older that have had successful knee and hip replacements but they all followed the therapy guidelines. The ones that had more issues deviated from those guidelines. I guess it is just human nature to "overdo it" when we feel better. I hope I don't succumb to that temptation after the replacements.

I don't know how I will get along but all I can do is follow what I am told and try not to overdo it. That's the plan anyway.

 

[RSKY]

The doctor that did my replacement requires you to go to a "Boot Camp" or he will not perform the surgery. At the boot camp you are told some commonsense things, make sure you can get in your bathroom using a walker, and a lot of other information you would not think about. They stressed taking a walker and getting out of your car and going into your house to the bedroom you will be sleeping in, then to the bathroom. Said that one thing had cut the falls when first going home to nearly zero.

He does not allow the therapist to start intensive rehab right after surgery. He says to 'heal first, rehab later'.

My old knee was bone on bone and I was taking two Naproxen Sodium when I got up every morning. If not I couldn't function. Even though I gripe about it I WAS not taking any pain meds for a couple months or so before I screwed up. In other words the new knee is working. I just need to use my head and not overdo things and LET IT HEAL.

Take care.

RSKY

 

[dmccarty]

....
Sometimes you wonder if life isn't sometimes one big cosmic joke. Oh well we deal with it and move on.

Yep, one just has to deal with it but it sure gets tiresome sometimes....

Later,
dan

 

[Teachu2]

My knee doctor knows me well - he's been taking care of my knees for 35 years now. He gave me a strongly-worded piece of advice regarding the unicompartmental replacement he had one of the kid doctors do on my right knee 18 months ago: Avoid impacts to the knee (running and jumping) and NO SHOVELING - EVER. I've modified my approach to many tasks, and still make accommodations by using creative methods instead of brute force. I also have a shoulder that has no cartilage left - I can pull with it, but pushing is a no-no.

The unicompartmental replacement heals quicker than the total knee replacement does, but it was still a full year before it healed and I completely adjusted to it. I did lots of range-of-motion exercises to prevent adhesions, starting on day two, but with minimal resistance.

This was my fifth surgery on the right knee, not my first rodeo. I developed an intolerance to Aleve, and had lots of fluid retention in both legs until we discontinued it. If I overdo it, a cold pack and a couple TylenolPM will give me a restful night. I was bone on bone and six degrees bowlegged on my right leg due to the inside half being worn while the outside half was perfect - hence the unicompartmental replacement. It's doing great now, and I added a step on the tractor to make getting on easier. This getting older stuff sucks - but it beats dying young.

 

[dmccarty]

It seems to me that the good news in all of this is that you FELT like you could do this work and you were ABLE to do that work. :thumbsup:

That one should NOT have done the work is a different story. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Pretty danged amazing that one could do that much work after having the leg cut in half and a metal knee installed. :shocked:

I have been using a Fitbit for a few years now. Work gives us a nickel for every 5,000 steps up to a maximum of 15,000 steps a day. Woo HOO! I am getting rich! :laughing::laughing::laughing: The nickel might not sound like much but the first year it added up to around $100. Last year I had a bit more than $100, which I did not spend, and I figure by the end of the year I will have $200-300.

My goal is 10,000 steps a day which is about 5 miles. I get that many steps almost all of the time and only infrequently go below 10,000 steps. Every day I do at least 5,000 steps and most weeks I have a 20,000+ day. I am trying to get a 15,000 step day in once or twice a week along with the 20,000 step day but that is really hard to do time wise.

I have lost weight since doing this and the walking really helps one's fitness. We have an exercise bike that I don't use much anymore because of the Fitbit but every once in awhile I will ride the bike. What surprised me is that I was able to ride the bike as if I had been using it regularly. :shocked: My expectation was that my leg muscles would have not been able to handle the exercise bike but the walking kept me in shape for the bike. Running and biking are just BORING. Can't stand it. At least with the exercise bike I can watch TV or read. Walking I like to do and I am pretty consistent. :thumbsup:

One of my jobs has me wearing 30ish pounds of gear, standing and walking in the sun for 6-8 hours in the heat and humidity with no sit down breaks on some days. This used to wear me out even when I was going to the gym where I would do weights and cardio. Walking has kept me in better shape than the gym and I think it is because I walk 10,000+ steps a day, every day, vs going to the gym once or twice a week....

Later,
Dan

 

[RSKY]

Ice is my friend!!

RSKY

 

[Thomas]

Were not as young as we use to be gotta take it easy.

 

[hawkeye08]

My Dad had knee replacement a few years ago, he was in great shape before surgery and was doing well after... for some reason they gave him some muscle relaxer pills at some point (perhaps to help sleep?) and then he had troubles peeing. He was ready to go home right away, but was transferred to nursing home until he could pee normally again. I don't recall how long they kept giving him muscle relaxers but he finally figured it out.. it still took a few days after stopping them before he was back to normal.

He is 87 this year and has had some health scares, but keeps in great shape. He walks and works out.