Joint replacement surgery

[carstanger 346]

Good luck with the surgery....Walk, exercise, and follow what the PT and doctor tell you to do. My husband was my "coach" and he really thought he would have to pressure me to do the exercises. Both my sister and brother had problems with scar tissue buildup so I was determined I wasn't having that. I did what they told me to do, Water aerobics as soon as I was able to go into the pool again, AND paid extra to go to the same place for an extra 3 months of exercising on their equipment as they would tell me my next step. I can ride a recumbent trike which I couldn't do before my knee replacement and....have walked 2 5 k's since my sleeve surgery.... Will be glad to follow up with your progress!!

[brad360west 29]

Hi all. In my room. Was told surgery went flawlessly. Knee is stiff, and a little sore. PT said they will have me up for a walk today.

Will update later.

[Chellemetime 299]

Please do! I'm very interested in your recovery and all that it entails.

[brad360west 29]

As promised, an update. PT came in and we did a serises of bed exercise. Ankle pumps, hamstring sets, quad sets, gluteal squeeze, and heel slides. Had some pain, but actually made the leg feel good. Stretched out kinks. Then he had me sit up on edge of he bed, for a few minutes, and put pressure on the knee. Felt good! Then I stood up, with a walker, and walked to the bathroom, and back. Was slow, but felt good. Told me to just rest, don't try to much more. Will see PT tomorrow, twice.

Surgeon stopped by, and said the sugery went very well. No problems, or complications. Told me what I had done with PT was a very good sign. Most people can"t even get out of bed the first day.

All in all, a very good first day! Will keep giving updates. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

P.S.: surgeon said my knee was loaded with arthritis.

[Chellemetime 299]

So happy to hear from you! I'm glad everything went well! I didn't know that you would be able to walk to the bathroom on your first day. That's great. Please keep us updated.

[brad360west 29]

Hi, peeps. Sorry for the delay in writting. Surgery went well. Surgeon said knee was full of artiritis. Lots of swelling, but hardly any pain? I have this achy, heavy feeling, but no pain. Only set back was a kidney issue that kept me in hospital 1 day longer.

I only have 1 kidney, and it does not function at 100%. My creatinine level shot up to over 2.0. Not good. They were thinking it was all the pain meds, stopped taking onr of my daily h/p meds, increased fluids i/v intake, etc. Oh, did I meation I had not peed for over 48 hours? In the meantime, we started p/t, walking up and down the hallways, and bed exercise, twice a day.

P/T comes to the house tomorrow to start working with me.

So all things being what they were, I think it turned out well. Weighed in today, up 16 lbs., and it's all swelling. Need more ice.

Will write next week, after a couple more p/t sessions.

[Chellemetime 299]

I'm glad everything went well and that you are home. Please keep us updated!

[brad360west 29]

Hi, everyone. My bad about updating!! Sorry. It has been going well. I had in home p/t 3 times last week, and very happy with my progress. Can already bend knee over 100 degrees in a sitting position. Very happy with that. I do my exercizes several times a day. I am feeling fatigued, just as I was after the VSG surgery. I have lost the 16 lbs. of swelling, and only swell a slight bit in the evening. My last in home p/t is tomorrow, see Doctor on Tuesday to have dressing removed, and Wednesday is first out patient p/t class.

I have backed of second knee till 9 January. Glad I did. I will be very mobile for Christmas, and will be able to enjoy the festivities. I will post a replay of p/t on Wednesday.

[Chellemetime 299]

I'm glad you're doing so good! It sounds like you're progressing better that expected!

[carstanger 346]

Keep up on the pt!! It sounds so encouraging that you have the angles you do so soon! You must be working hard!! I actually ran down a set of stairs today at the Pistons's game....Not fast, but I did it. Mine was 2 years in April. No anti inflammatory meds. either. Keep it up!

[brad360west 29]

Thanks for all the replies. My p/tist was amazed at my range of motion. When he checked, it was at 120 degrees. Not bad. Told my to ditch the walker, except in crowds or bad weather. He worked me over more than I thought he would for the first visit, but not too bad, until he pressed my knee down. Wow, that hurt!

I have been anal about the p/t, and he said it shows. If the right knee turns out this well, I will be very happy.

[carstanger 346]

Hope you are doing well and looking forward to your next knee replacement. I actually ran down a flight of stairs a few days ago. Amazing to me!!!

[brad360west 29]

Right knee was done yesterday. Little bit sore. Started p/t today. So far so good.

[Chellemetime 299]

Right knee was done yesterday. Little bit sore. Started p/t today. So far so good.

Thank you for continuing to post. How much time did you need to take off work for your surgeries? Do you need to take off extended time to fit in all of the p/t? Wishing you the best!

[brad360west 29]

Rehab going well. This knee is so different than the other. More muscle soreness, swelling. 4weeks out, and I have 114 degrees of movement. P/T guy said doing well, and ahead of the curve. For those who asked, I am retired. If you have anything other then a desk job, it would require, in my opinion, at least 4-6 weeks off work.

For anyone out there contemplating replacement surgery, good luck!