2nd Physio and back 10 steps
Posted , 16 users are following.
After fantastic support on here and my most positive morning so far, I attended my second physio appointment. I have been doing my physio religiously but have not felt much improvement (3 weeks today since op), I have been elevating and using ice cuff, I have been taking my medication despite some nausea and I felt so positive today.
My knee bend bend has gone from 80(Hospital) to 60 last week to 50 this week. My physio is only one year into her career and called for a second opinion who said I was not presenting like someone three weeks. She said I should see my consultant asap and may need a manipulation. I was overcome with anxiety. The first physio said to give it another week before I ring consultant and massage knee as very swollen. Due to the knee length stocking all my fluid starts at my knee. In my area apparently you cannot get thigh length stockings.
I am shattered and she also suggested physio every two hours. What do I do? I thought it was early days but they felt I should be doing so much better. I am also still not lifting my leg which I am really worrried about. I feel back to square one again. Should I ring consultant or give it another week?
0 likes, 82 replies
Oldfatguy1 susiemah
Posted
Maybe to slow down and rest a little more would be a good start. A lot you are doing is correct....worrying at this point anyone of them. Givecthecleg a chance...give it a couple of days off. Then start slowly with the therapy. Hydrate (lots of water), elevate and let the swelling go down. Just a guess, the reason it won't bend is because its been over worked and swollen. You didn't mention the test of your schedule but my guess is you are trying yo eat the elephant in one bite. Stop cleaning house, doing the laundry, cooking meals and practicing futeball or soccer or whatever you call it.
Remember the golden rule of tkr recovery: it's a marathon, NOT a sprint. No gold stars are given to those who punish themselves the most.
Neither be discouraged nor dismayed at this point. When you consider the fact you have almost had your let cut off and a 3 pound hunk of foreign material cemented in place and then crudely put backs in place with needles, thread and little pieces of steel, no wonder it isn't working right. Eitgervtge 2nd or 3rd time I had a new appliance stuck in there I yelled at the nurse in recovery room and told them my damn foot was put on backwards. I never knew recovery room nurses were so lacking in humor. At least 15 or 20 of the other patients around me laughed.
Hang in there and be kind to yourself. Work but don't let others or yourself put you in pain. Just make sure the leg isn't hot (yes it will be warm) or has any unusual drainage. If that happens don't bother call your Dr just heat for the emergency room.
chris00938 Oldfatguy1
Posted
This is such a good point! At three weeks I was still resting ALL day, apart from the odd time of doing my exercises (and believe me that wasn't a big proportion of the day LOL!) and using the aircuff all the time, rotating it round the knee. I was on one or two sticks by then and only just starting to THINK about making a cup of tea! I'm wondering if my easy recovery is hugely thanks to my husband who was literally like my slave for weeks! Bless him - he even spread my clothes out on the bed, in the order for me to put them on LOL! He waited in the bathroom in the early days while I had a shower, in case I felt faint (had a problem with blood pressure dropping) and did absolutely everything for me. While I rested with leg elevated and played games on the laptop.
Just another thought. When I asked my surgeon how high the leg should be elevated he said 'heart height'. Well that clearly wasn't going to happen unless I was in bed, but during the day I was on a recliner and have noticed that recliners vary. Mine happens to raise the whole leg a bit higher than the hip, and I'm guessing this is better than one that just raises the leg a bit but not as high as that, so maybe if people have a recliner that doesn't raise SO high, a pillow under the knee and lower leg might help? Only a thought.
susiemah Oldfatguy1
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cynthia89958 chris00938
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Bless your lovely hubby for being there!
?I too had the BP dropping thing and it makes it difficult to get on with things in case you pass out! I'm still unsteady at times from an old head injury and concussion after a fall 2 years ago.
?Recliners do help but you are right, a pillow can help get the right elevation
?toes above nose, as they say. I found it a bit tricky as I have to sit quite upright due to a hiatal hernia or that can cause acid reflux (yes, I do seem a bit of a wreck)! Bought a leg support pillow then put cushions on that and just about does it.
?The hosptial team do have recovery targets to achieve I think but everyone recovers differently and that throws things out.
chris00938 cynthia89958
Posted
Hi Cynthia, I nearly passed out in hospital and they took my blood pressure and it had gone down to 60 something over 40 something so out came the oxygen, but once I got home it was the showering that had me most worried, but after a couple of weeks or so it all settled. I'm sorry to hear about your head injury though! It has to make things more difficult for you with the reflux too! My goodness, these things are sent to try us, and they do LOL!
cynthia89958 chris00938
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Not good! The shower has worried me too as it is a huge step up for ours and a metal ledge to get over that has tripped me a few times before op. I feared slipping or fainting and the water on my leg made it hyper sensitive! But if someone is around it helps - it must be difficult for those living alone if anythng goes wrong in recovery. Yes, things do seem to be sent to try us, but we must be tough cookies
chris00938 cynthia89958
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We had a shower like that before and I struggled SO much with it - getting out was worse than getting in. We ended up having the bathroom redone so it was virtually a walk in shower, and the wall mounted loo so it could be much higher. It was only after it was done someone told us we could claim all the VAT back - so there's a tip if anyone's got problems with their bathroom and it needs to be redone. But going back to showering if you've got a tendency for blood pressure to drop - yes, I'd have seriously worried if I'd been on my own! I was the same after a hysterectomy - it just took me a couple of weeks or so to not get that faint feeling. I do feel for those living alone after something like a TKR - it can't be easy! I'll ask my husband if I can hire him out as a slave LOL! I've a feeling I might know the answer:-)))
Dawnsusan susiemah
Posted
Hi. I had my third TKR 10 months ago and it is only recently the swelling had decreased. Excuse the pun but don't run before you can walk!!!
Shortly after the last op the surgical stockings were so tight they were cutting in. The surgeon told me not to wear them as they were doing more harm than good. That was 2-3 weeks post op.
Good luck
chris00938 Dawnsusan
Posted
I had that problem after a different op. The stockings didn't fit properly and the top kept rolling down, forming a really tight band which I thought was more likely to give me a DVT! It was only on here that someone suggested if stockings don't fit correctly then ask your local GP's nurse to provide you with some that do fit! This is important because it does save a DVT, so if the same thing happened to me again then I'd do just that! Watching a tv programme last night I saw they come in a nice denim blue colour! Would SO prefer those to white ones!:-)))))
susiemah chris00938
Posted
I have the stockings are a pain but consultant insists I keep them on for 6 weeks day and night with a 30 min break every other day. You can't even buy a second pair where I live you have to get them from the hospital. I forgot to do this and the hospital is an hour away. The PT said they fit just stop below the knee and so swelling starts at the knee! Just where I need to bend. Massage helping today and elevation and ice. Thanks for suggestions Chris.
chris00938 susiemah
Posted
My hospital issued me with two pairs, instructions to wash them every three days, and a tube of aqueous cream to lather on under them so save the skin from drying too much. So I had no excuse really! Yes, I could very clearly see where the swelling started where the stockings ended. But I'd expected the whole leg to swell, to be honest, and was pleasantly surprised it was just the knee! I'm 9 weeks post op now and thinking about seeing if my old jeans will fit around the knee. I tried them on a few weeks ago and could get them on but they were a fraction tight round the knee:-)))) I do notice even now when I do the extreme bend thing in the evenings while watching tv that the skin around the knee looks shiny with stretching. Joked to my husband that I'll need 'knee lifts' after this:-))))
martinarvelo susiemah
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chris00938 martinarvelo
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Why would you think they were painful - the stockings?:-) They weren't uncomfortable, although I'd think in the hot weather they would be a a bit of a nuisance, but not that big a deal really. I had stockings to wear for six weeks after the hysterectomy and had an injection every day too. But with the knee it's tablets to help prevent blood clots, as well as the stockings.
susiemah martinarvelo
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chris00938 susiemah
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martinarvelo susiemah
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martinarvelo chris00938
Posted
Well when I first had varicose veins I tried those compression stockings. . they made my legs ache terribly and I gave them up after a couple of days. And in this case, most people say they end just below the knee, so they must dig in the flesh. perhaps I'm used to everything hurting. . .even taking my blood pressure is painful. . . one of the side effects of fibromyalgia I think. . .
chris00938 martinarvelo
Posted
No they don't dig in if they fit properly. When I had them after a hysterectomy they didn't fit properly and the band kept rolling down, causing a tight strip around the calf, so I ended up snipping the tops and doing all sorts to make them fit, but this time they did fit properly so didn't dig in at all. I also have fibromyalgia. When it flares up it is really painful but I only get it if I get really stressed generally, but most of the time I've got a high pain threshold. But the compression stockings really aren't a big deal! And if they save some people from having a dvt, they're well worth using!
We all have different pain thresholds. I saw a man on tv getting his staples taken out after a TKR the other day and he was screaming! The first one of mine that they took out, I said 'oh' quietly but then never felt the rest LOL! I don't worry about pain ahead of it, either. I think a fear of pain makes it all worse because people are tense so feel it more. But we are all what we are:-)))
martinarvelo chris00938
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Always difficult to judge other people's pain isn't it! I must say the staples, and the removal of the drain, were no problem at all. taking blood pressure definitely hurts a lot more!!!
chris00938 martinarvelo
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We've got one blood pressure machine at home that leaves me bruised LOL! But the one in the GP's isn't as bad:-)))) You'd have loved to have been me in hospital - they took bloods several times a day and they couldn't get it out of me, so in one session tried two places in one elbow, two places in another elbow, two places on the inside of a wrist, two places on the outside of a wrist and finally, with success, on the back of my hand LOL! The poor lady doing it was apologising profusely but I was trying to reassure her, telling her it was fine, and it wasn't her fault LOL! Of course the bruises soon came up all over everywhere LOL! It's a bundle of fun LOL! I could hear a man in the men's room wailing having his blood taken LOL!
marilyn10235 chris00938
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Properly measured & fitted, compression hosiery should never be too tight or loose, when the person doing the measuring, usually a student nurse, has been trained how to do it properly! That's where the problem lies!
I wear them all the time, due to leg ulcer (now healed!) & PTM, they are really quite comfy, but I wear the toeless ones as the others restrict my toes!! But mine were measured by the sister of the leg ulcer clinic, hence the good fit!
All part of the fun of getting older!
Marilyn
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chris00938 marilyn10235
Posted
That WAS the bit that did irritate me with the stockings Marilyn - I've got bunions and it felt as though the ends were pulling the bunions over more, but after about a week I realised I could fold them back so the tighter bit wasn't over the big toe:-)))
There was something about Fiona Bruce in the newspaper today and they were talking about stress and something she was told by a psychiatrist that I thought was BRILLIANT - instead of getting down with stress of a situation, turn it into excitement by thinking positively - so I immediately thought of our next knee ops - and that's what I did with the first one - thought past the actual op and recovery, on to having good knees! I can't wait and I know you're feeling the same there! Doing the extra exercise is fine on the operated knee but the other one kept me awake last night:-((( But I'm thinking positively - the pain just confirms that I need this op! So I can look forward to relief!:-)))))
marilyn10235 chris00938
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Yep me too Chris! I don't know when it'll be but looking forward to 2 good knees & enjoying long walks again!
Other knee really bad at the mo. I think it's the change in the weather, it's sooo cold!
Still the swifts are back...Yay!!
Summer nearly here!
Marilyn
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chris00938 marilyn10235
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My other knee's really bad at the moment too! I thought perhaps I'd overdone it with the elliptical, but maybe it's the weather! But it makes me look forward to the pre-op appointment even more and I was counting days off today:-)))))) Is yours still looking to be October Marilyn? I'm going to get my flexiseq cream out for tonight. Although it takes a day or so of applications to get it really effective.
Enjoy the swifts!!!! We had a load of starlings in our back today. I don't like them very much!
marilyn10235 chris00938
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Ahh, we have 5 budgies! We found the 1st one just up the road flapping about in the gutter, just before Christmas 2015 & no one around here had lost one so we kept him, poor little thing he was in a mess, had obv been beaten up by the wild birds & couldn't fly. Then we bought him a friend, then my younger son's neighbour had 3 that had been foisted on them when they came back from holiday!! I can't say no to any poor unwanted creature, so we have 5!! Along with 3 cats!! Two of whom came via my daughter, a vet nurse & former RSPCA Animal Welfare Officer! The other one 'adopted' us. My husband calls me the mad cat woman!!
But I digress!! Yes at the moment it's still October, but my son's girlfriend who is pretty high up in the medical field in Europe is trying to call in some favours over here!! The head office of the company she works for is in London & although she works with Neo-nates (try typing that in quickly, it kept changing it to Neil Bates!!! Lol), she has friends in the NHS & Orthopaedics. She's hoping to bring the appt forward if she can. Which would be wonderful!! 😃
We're building an aviary in the garden at the mo (back to the birds!!) which is taking quite a lot of our time. My eldest son & my daughter are helping so it's fun!! But I haven't been looking at the forum so am on catch up now!!
Marilyn
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chris00938 marilyn10235
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Oh I LOVE budgies:-)))) I had a bird phobia, so we booked a visit to a bird handling place where you got to sit with an owl or hawk or something, and then go for a walk through a forest, with it on your wrist (this was quite a few years back). It was wonderful and got me over the bird phobia (probably something else that confirmed the 'I can do this' attitude for me). I can still remember my owl's name - Otto! We have a lot of ring necked doves nesting in our trees and bushes - they're fascinating to watch, but when we want to sit in the sun in the garden they object and fly close over our heads squawking telling us it's THEIR garden, not ours!
Laughing about your son's girlfriend working for Neil Bates LOL! Don't you just love the auto check LOL! Good luck with the appointment though. I just SO want my date. Once I've got that I feel I can cope with the pain because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think it will be about three months, but I can do that. It is the not knowing when it will be that does my head in, so to speak:-)))
marilyn10235 chris00938
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It's so frustrating! The thing is like you I was told that he was happy to do both knees, it was a case of pick a knee! I can't see why, when we are ready to go through it again, we are still having to wait! Still go at the back of the waiting list, when we've already gone through all this last year? Do you understand it as I don't.
Hey-ho, we had a lovely day in the sun today, building the aviary! I wouldn't mind but we neither of us wanted budgies, but now we have them they are sooo cute. They just brighten our day, although it will be good when they go outside for the summer, st least we'll be able to hear the tv again!!
Marilyn
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chris00938 marilyn10235
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What was a slight disappointment to me was that the physio in hospital said I could book for the pre-op to be the same day as when I was signed off after six weeks from the first op - so that would have saved time. But then the hospital said they couldn't do that, which I can understand in a way, because if it turned out someone couldn't be signed off because of a problem, it would waste the other appointments. But really I just feel lucky having the pre-op on Monday next week (not tomorrow) and then the op should be 8 - 12 weeks after that. I can live with that. Any pain between now and then will just make me appreciate the op more! But yes, that was EXACTLY what I said to the surgeon - pick a knee and he looked at the x-rays and told me to pick a knee LOL! So I picked the one that was bending out most:-))) But it was only December when I went to my GP and said 'the time had come', so I don't feel I can complain really.
Ah, the budgies sound gorgeous! Our ring necked doves often sit on the edge of the glass roof of the conservatory, looking in, and the cats invite them to come and visit:-)))