K +5

 

Back in the gym today! Started with my normal movement regiment, flailing my arms about. It was immediately noticeable how good it felt to be doing something. Even sitting on my gym bench was great.  My workout consisted of some dumbbell work for my shoulders, back and chest. It wasn’t a lot, but it was something and I can feel it. I’ll be curious to see how this works for my mental health.

Got a couple of rounds of PT in today also.  It feels like I am being proactive in my recovery which is facilitated by the fact that I can do it this time.  Funny how one person can have such different experiences with the same surgery, same surgeon, etc.  PT movements feel like I am retraining muscles to fire in the right order to make a movement. 

Showered pretty much on my own today, needing very little assistance. Still hard to get my socks on but getting better. 

Also got a little bit of Redline work in which felt good.  I’m grateful it’s my slow period right now as concentrating for long periods is a lil challenging when I don’t feel well.  Helped a little with prepping dinner which was nice.  That’s my normal happy place so I have been looking forward to getting back to it.  As I write this, I can see I have done a lot today which explains a little extra soreness tonight. The trade-off is a better brain…..I’ll take it. Hopefully that leads to good sleep. 

Sleep is a thing. If you have one of these surgeries coming up, figure out your sleep routine, focus on your sleep hygiene so you can get consistent rest. In addition to sleep, rest is key.  For me, it is hard to slow down and let healing happen so I have identified things I can do to keep me on the couch. I also vary my rest locations to be couch, top of the bed, armchair, etc.  

K +3 and +4

 

Never got to an update last night as I was tired.  THAT is a thing.  I don’t do much during the day, but by the end of the day, I am exhausted.  The Physical Therapist told me to consider that I am healing 3 broken bones; femur, tibia and patella (as they resurfaced mine).  Healing that many broken bones makes you tired.  Oh yeah, I’m also 63 now so there is that I guess.  

Narcotics at night last night, likely tonight, just for sleep…and only one dose.  During the day, Tylenol only so I feel good about that.  After 2-3 days of narcotics, I have trouble sleeping so they are no bueno. And while we are on the topic of sleep, let’s touch on that.  I am normally a “fishy” sleeper meaning I flop around in the bed; side to side, on my back, partial stomach.  With this, I am forced to sleep mostly on my back but can get to my right side if I can get my good leg situated correctly.  I can’t lay my good leg on top of the fresh one as the pressure sideways on the new knee is excruciating.  Sleeping on the left side doesn’t work as there isn’t enough support under the new joint and it causes pain.

My amazing care provider and I had some honest conversation prior to surgery.  I am not always the best patient and emotionally, the last couple of years have been rough on us both during these recoveries.  If you have an upcoming surgery, I would consider having honest conversations with your caregiver about how you want/need to ask for help, how you let them know what you need, or how you can ask them for space.  Also, give your caregiver the space and words to say “Hey, I’m doing my best” or “don’t be a dick” because being the provider is hard, and it’s easy to forget to be grateful when we don’t feel well. Let them give you support the way they would do it, and when they make a mistake, give grace.  Perhaps they have no idea what you are going through.  

Tomorrow, I am going to try to get in the gym just to get the rest of my body a little movement.  I am sore from not doing enough!

K +2

2 days post surgery is usually my worst.  The day started pretty rough but I worked on staying up on my meds.  Oxy, 2 hours later-Tylenol, 2 hours later, oxy, etc.  It has been working pretty well, allowing me to drop the amount of oxy I take each time.  Tonight, I stretched my oxy to 6 hours, with only mild discomfort which feels pretty good.  As the day wound down, I recognized that all in all, I feel better than last time, at this point.  

Started PT today which was really just intake, taking off some bloody bandages, a light look at range of motion and that’s about it.  Learning about icing as I have never been much of a one for ice.  But, using the “cryo cuff” machine is easy and doesn’t feel as miserable.  Will keep it up as maybe an old dog, new trick, etc.  

Another thing that became very apparent today, and you that are due for your surgery soon should pay attention to, is your mobility device.  Having a walker is way better than doing crutches.  It is changing the way I walk in recovery so I think it will help speed things up.  

Today was one of the days I wasn’t looking forward to, based on my previous surgical experiences.  I knew emotionally this day (2) would be hard.  But, it has turned out pretty decent all facts considered. I have a couple more benchmark days I am waiting for but I won’t put the cart before the horse.  One day, one step at a time.