Knee Replacement

[Forrest747]

the outpatient physical therapy is going well. i can walk into the clinic and very slowly walk out. range of motion is from 0° to 120° as of today, and improving. the wound has closed nicely and the steri strips are gone. next monday is my first pool therapy session and looking forward to it. found a local pool that has walking lap lanes. still using a walker around the house. crutches outdoors. i am a little depressed to be honest stuck in a bed for over two months. the kids are back in school so i am home all day alone. going to work on small things on Charlie tomorrow, after the kids get home from school. we have a wheel chair and just going to start by plugging holes, filling in seams, sanding, and such. the doctor said my ball of my hip was soft, and placed me on fosamax which is to rebuild bone and does have some side effects but what doesn't. going to an osteoperosis specialist tomorrow, hope i get more answers. still in alot of pain. the physical therapist says my quads are getting stronger and the electronic stimulator is trippy. i did run into an old army buddy who is a therapist there, had not seen in 14 or so years. told stories for the hour, good moments and memories.

[godskid]

Sorry to hear about the low mood -- hope finding the arm buddy was a bit of help! Best wishes and prayers for your continued healing. And that includes feelings!

Deb

[Forrest747]

Finally got into the pool. very excited and it went well. slowly walked without crutches or a walker. new left knee felt good. did 100 meters of walking and some squats. i have an issue though my right knee and the same side the plywood hit hurt, and alot. i stopped taking the loratab last friday and have slowly tried to get off of them. now on tylenol, however feel a slight addiction which was possible, i mean been on them for almost three months now. new hip feeling good. after pool had normal physical therapy. so i finally get home and i am wiped out. i am hurting but i am afraid i will need a new right knee. quads have atrophied alot. i really dont want a third joint but may not have a choice. the biophosphates they hoped would help i dont feel are working. hopefully the bone scan will show something. did get to work on Charlie yesterday for an hour plugging holes and filling in cracks.

[Mightydog]

When you're done with the holes/cracks there, come over to my house to work on my trailer a bit.

It sounds like you're coming along well. Physical therapy always wiped me out. They always want you to bend/stretch in some way that you know your body never stretched/bent in the first place! I think they do it just to screw with your mind.

Keep at it!

[Forrest747]

several things going against me. my physical therapist she wears glasses, never hit someone that wears glasses. her assistant is 9 months pregnant. so swearing is out and thier coworker is an old army buddy, so no weakness. do some walking today and more pool therapy tomorrow. bring it on.

[sdakotadoug]

It can seem to be a long haul. I am over a year out from my second knee replacement on the same leg. At this point unless I do something really stupid, I don't even know there was a problem once. You too will get to that point. I went to PT cause I knew I wouldn't have done it myself at home. God Bless those in PT.

[Forrest747]

the second dip in the pool went well. did alot. still wore me out. the worse part is for an hour your moving twice as fast, limited pain then you climb the steps and gravity returns and back to sub turtle speed. then dry physical therapy. at least i could walk out to the car. my friday meds did not wipe me out but still slow. today went to REI to get new sandals easier than tying shoes. sat on a low bench with no arm rest. talked to a shopper asked what i had done and told him. he told me about his dad and after a year back hiking in Glacier NP. getting alot of that a guy at Dry PT, said it takes a while to get better but once it does get better it improves so much faster. same scar i had in fact he had both knees done. off the loratab for 7 days and had somewhat withdrawal symptoms yet the aleave is working. so symptoms gone away. also i drove home from rei, oh the joy!!! first time since june driving.

[Mightydog]

Keep at it, Forrest!

You're coming along, though you don't feel like it now.

[Forrest747]

just got back from doctors. having the other knee done first week in october. i now understand why people shoot horses.

[steve smoot]

I have a friend that did both knees at the same time. I'll give Larry a call and report back to you guys on his progress. I know that he went back to work around 8 weeks after surgery.

[Forrest747]

i worry about the kids and how they see all this going on. they have been great. look forward to hearing any sucess stories, its frustrating to be in so useless.

[steve smoot]

I just talked with my buddy. Larry had both knees replaced in January 2010. He was driving himself to therapy within two weeks after getting out of the hospital.

He went back to work in 8 weeks, but his angle of bend was only 102 degrees on one knee and 99 degrees on the other. He says he can climb a ladder, but his knees are still stiff, just pain free. Larry is a contractor, and work has been slow, so he never works more than a couple days a week.

My mother had her left knee replaced and she did not do that well. She had such a trough time at it, she decided not to get the other knee fixed. That was big mistake. I am glad you have decided to get the other one done soon.

[Forrest747]

thanks for the information. i am currently at a range of 15° to 115° cold; and then 0° to 125° at the end of the session. had a very cool experience at the pool. i met a very respected religious leader in the pool. both of us doing rehabilitation. got to rehab and chat for 20 minutes. had a very personal thelogical question i have pondered for years. might as well goto the leading authority. gave me a great answer. talked about his time in the navy and wives. Lisa would not have believed it. different view on a man you see from the podium vs. in the pool. will not forget it. nice to know he can lift the heart of a widower as well as widows.

[steve smoot]

Hi Forrest,

Glad to hear you are doing better.

I know we are not suppose to get into a religious thing here, but I can not help myself. I have always had those questions of doubt, even since I was a child. Well, 20 years ago my dad died and I felt lost. He and I had not been that close. Dad always told me what I should do, never accepting what I had accomplished.

I turned to my wife's church. I met with the pastor, and he used all his best stories to help get me through tough times. I wound up doing what so many others do, I joined the church and really became involved. It felt good for several years. The pastor and I became friends. Come to find out, he was a recovering alcoholic. He had gotten into the communion wine a bit much. I found out they are just like us.This fellow was a natural. You would believe he could walk on water.

20 years later I still have the problems of my past with respect to organized religion. I have read a lot about the origins of religion and it's not a pretty site. Most all blood shed in our history is directly related to one religious group or another.

Okay, I'll shut up, sorry I high jacked your thread.

[steve smoot]

sorry this posted twice...