Surgical bandage was removed 10/30 and steri-strips applied - those are very similar to butterfly bandages. The steri-strips fall off when they are ready, and I’d say I’m down to about half of them now. The lovely 9” incision is healing well. It’s covered by the knee sleeve in this pic.
PT is serious hard work, y’all! My therapists have determined the natural makeup of my knees are just a little crooked, and my surgical knee still has quite a bit of scar tissue left over from my 2012 surgery on that same knee. So at therapy this past Monday, Dom decided he was going to tackle that scar tissue. He took a metal tool that resembled a butter knife and then with full strength of his very strong arms, pushed the metal along the side of my knee where he felt the most scar tissue .. and did that for about 15 minutes. This is called the Graston Technique. Holy hell!!! I have not cried at PT and the only thing that kept me from crying then was Lori squeezing my hand and acting like a Lamaze coach telling me to breathe! I think that might have been just as painful as those first couple days when the nerve block wore off!
Anywho, back to PT tomorrow. I go twice a week and have quite a few exercises I do at home three to five times a day, and then ice and elevate after each session. I’m back to working half days (obvi from home since I can’t drive yet), basically alternating working for an hour with my exercises, icing, and elevating for an hour until Benny gets home from work. Then once he’s home and I have adult supervision so I don’t fall, I get on our stationary bike for a bit. I’m getting about a 50% rotation on the bike and a 90 degree bend on my knee at this point. The goal by end of therapy is 115-120 degree bend by 12-15 weeks.
Things I’ve learned in the event you have a total knee replacement in your future: So, the pain pills … while they are super important in the first week or so, and definitely get ahead of the pain you will feel when the surgical nerve block wears off anywhere from 24-36 hours post surgery, I stopped taking them after the first week because I much preferred to drop the kids off at the pool, shall we say. One of the side effects of the pain pills is severe constipation, so hindsight 20/20, I’d recommend taking a laxative every time you take a pain pill! And back to the nerve block: those first 24-36 hours you will feel like “Heck! This isn’t bad at all!” … and then that nerve block wears off quite suddenly and you are now regretting your life’s choices. Get ahead of that pain! Unfortunately my pharmacy did not have the pain pills in immediately, so my nerve block wore off before my pain pills hit. It was not pretty. There were definitely tears. The second thing I'd make you aware of is the fatigue. I literally need to rest after taking a shower! Doc said that fatigue lasts a good 12-16 weeks. It’s getting better, but I still tire pretty easily. I’d also recommend some mental health therapy. My therapist Dom has a background in sports psychology so we talked about this a bit. As someone who is used to being constantly on the go - and likes being constantly on the go - the clipping of my wings has been really hard on me. Not being able to drive has been challenging; I’ve had great help from friends and Benny getting me to PT, but simply not being able to jump in the car and run out for an errand has been really mentally hard on me. I thought I’d be able to enjoy some downtime in my art studio but that hasn’t worked out because I can’t be on my feet for long due to trying to keep the swelling down. I have my next appt with the surgeon 11/25, so I’m gonna recommend to him that he consider adding a little mental health therapy to the physical therapy for future patients.
All in all, my PTs tell me I’m progressing well. I will say it has been pretty humbling. I was in pretty good shape going into this - I’ve been athletic all my life and work out regularly. And while I’m sure that helped me some, this is still a very difficult recovery. I remember my primary care doc (whom I love!) kinda chuckling and saying “Well, you realize this is kinda like an amputation, right? They basically take your leg apart, saw some bone off, and put it back together with new pieces…” and me saying “Thanks, Dr Allen, that’s exactly what I needed to hear!” When I told that story to the PA removing my surgical bandage, he too kinda chuckled and said “He’s not wrong!”
In addition to being four weeks post surgery, I’m also four weeks until I go to NYC for a Christmas trip! Realistically I won’t be 100% by then, but prayers up I’ll be strong enough to make it work with some icing and elevating breaks worked in!
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