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Happy Birthday to my Prosthetic Knee.

Posted , 8 users are following.

pegs_girl
pegs_girl

Hi all.

It's been a while since I posted on here. I used to be a regular when I 1st had my operation and so appreciated all the support the "knee members" on this forum gave me. I thought I would update you as it's now a full year since mine and hope I will give any newbies inspiration.

The 1st few weeks post op was the worst, the pain both physical and emotional was houredous. I never believed I would walk or even sleep again, but I did. The advice I can give is not to be too hard on yourself, it's a major operation on the biggest joint in your whole body so don't expect miracles. Listen to your physio and push yourself to achieve your goals each day, if your feeling pain during /after excercise means your doing it right, plan your medication after your excercise and ice straight after. Complete 30 min walks twice a day building them up to an hour. The fresh air and seeing the outside world is great for you mentally. Give yourself goals to build too. I was lucky as I had a few family things going on so I would set a goal to be able to...."walk without my stick for the christening " "be able to drive to the cottage beak" etc etc etc. I was put under pressure by my manager to return to work but I listened to my body and thought about how my role in work would effect my knee so stayed of for 5 months with the support of my GP. I am now back full time! I still do my stretches and excercise and do walk a lot, I have just been discharged from the hospital after seeing my surgeon he explained I have a high flex prosthesis which has enabled be to get a brilliant bend, as an example I can bend my knee backwards and touch my buttocks with my heal. The Anniversary x rays showed no movement or misplaced areas in the joint. I informed my surgeon that I do hear a click when I walk, his answer was its a plastic spacer against a metal joint the depth of the spacer determines your bend so he obviously he got my spacer right. He also told me I have played a major part by doing all my excersices and building up my muscle power. The feeling I had when I was discharged was fantastic. Yes I have to continue stretching and keeping it moving but can live with that after all its my body so I will respect it. I have just returned from a hen party away with a bunch of energetic 30 year old and kept up with all the walking and dancing. . There is a light at what seems a very long tunnel so try and stay positive and you will all be fine.. I'm so very grateful to my surgeon and to a fantastic NHS who come under so much criticism , without each and everyone who supported me through the worst pain of my life I wouldn't be as positive as I am feeling now.

Best wishes to you all and stay positive and focused. X

7 likes, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • louise07185
    louise07185 pegs_girl

    Posted

    Hi Pegs what inspiration your blog is. I am 24 days post op. And can already see positives where there was negatives. It is still a very steep hill to climb but with people like you sharing your journey it helps. I am thinking that is going to be me! Got my board out and did another set of exercises. My chant when doing them is" I will I will I will get my leg to bend / straighten " lol 
    • pegs_girl
      pegs_girl louise07185

      Posted

      Ah you are welcome om happy I've inspired you. As I said in my blog focus on goals this got me through. My daughter gets married in 2 weeks and I was worried I'd not be fit for the wedding... I am!!

      Take care and carry on doing what your doing especially the chant j love that !!

  • moandrieu
    moandrieu pegs_girl

    Posted

    Woowho! Way to go! Happy Anniversary to your and your new knee!
    • pegs_girl
      pegs_girl moandrieu

      Posted

      Ha ha thank you. I might buy a cake to celebrate.

      Take care

  • tess94652
    tess94652 pegs_girl

    Posted

    Thank you pegs girl - that is so helpful and really informative! When I read everyone's messages its easy to see we all have down days doubts and fears so anything that gives you confidence in a better future is soooooo helpful!!! X
    • pegs_girl
      pegs_girl tess94652

      Posted

      Yes tess your right I found positive comments on here very helpful when I 1st registered on the forum.

      Glad to help take care

  • terri59470
    terri59470 pegs_girl

    Posted

    Hi, thank you for posting this, today is my 17th day post TKR, and Im really inspired by your tale. There IS light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel, I've just got to carry on aiming for it.

    Well done on your recovery.

     

    • pegs_girl
      pegs_girl terri59470

      Posted

      Oh I feel for you being so early on, the sleepless nights are a killer. It does get easier I promise. Pillows under your operated leg helps if you struggle to get comfy.

      Take care

    • moandrieu
      moandrieu pegs_girl

      Posted

      Pegs, I completely agree. I was told when I was in the hospital not to sleep with the pillow under my knees because it would make straightening my knee more challenging. In my mind I was screaming, "No, not sleeping is doing more damage than knees that won't straighten!" But I nodded and did what I needed to do to feel comfortable. Once I was home, I used the pillow and then just worked extra hard during the day to extend my knees and reverse any "damage" that the pillow did at night. I've also taken Tylenol PM to take the edge off at night so that I got as much good sleep as possible. Seriously, if you aren't sleeping well, the daytime is more of a nightmare than it's worth.
  • clarachuff
    clarachuff pegs_girl

    Posted

    what a great and positive post, than k you so much. I'm new to all this knee busisness and waiting for spinal surgery too so its good to hear such encouraging news, well done for all the hard work! 
    • pegs_girl
      pegs_girl clarachuff

      Posted

      Your welcome. I asked for a general aneasethtic so can't advise on spinal but they do say your recovery is better.

      good luck

  • jennifer86104
    jennifer86104 pegs_girl

    Posted

    Hi Pegsgirl, I remember you posting when I first started on this forum - I am 8 months post op now. It's so good to hear how well you're doing. I will take inspiration from you, especially regarding the walking and exercising. I need to walk more regularly (do quite a bit but looking after my grandchildren takes up quite a bit of my time). Also, I get quite fed up with exercising - still do it mind - but I'll remember your words and keep it up. Don't think my bend is quite as good as yours though - that's very impressive! 

    Thanks for your update.

    Jen 

    • pegs_girl
      pegs_girl jennifer86104

      Posted

      Hi Jen

      Yes I remember you also. I remember reading posts on here from people ahead of me and thinking "there's no way I will be able to do that EVER" 😭But after time you realise you can if you work at it. I also got encouragement from people ahead of me and I asked for so much advice, so forums like this one is absolutely fantastic because.... the surgeons and physiotherapist can tell you what should happen but unless they have experienced it they actually don't know what we go through.

      You keep up your hard work and I'm sure your grandchildren are helping you by keeping you active.

      Take care.

    • jennifer86104
      jennifer86104 pegs_girl

      Posted

      Thanks, Pegsgirl, yes, I've just done a day with my 2 grandsons, aged 4 & 1. 

      I still get lots of niggles linked to the knee but, you're right, when they're here  I just have to forget about them and get on with it! 

      Did my exercises after they left at 7pm and am now enjoying a glass of wine 😄 

      Although I'm not as "normal" as I'd like to be I still feel lucky that I can still look after them and take them for walks. So I'm going to keep at it and hope I'll be posting as positively as you on my anniversary in July.

      keep up the good work.

      Jen x

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