Survived! Mobilisation of knee under anesthesia

Bones, joints and muscles
1

deal fellow TKR champions ... i just wanted to give you an update on how my much dreaded mobilisation went. first of all, thanks to all of you who where thinking and rooting for me. all the positive vibes reached me!  for anybody new joining, i had my TKR exactly 12 weeks ago and really, really struggled with the bend.  my physio said it was like a wall.  on a bad day we would get 90 degrees, on a good one, 100.  and this was with bendy machine at home, physio 3 times a week, acupuncture once a week and kinesiology once a week.  

i went in on tuesday morning, very nervous and worried so they gave me a calming pill which helped until i went into anesthesisa where they struggled to place the spinal catheter (similar to women going in for a long birthing process).  this was very,very unpleasant but the next i knew, they were putting me under and 10 minutes later it was all done.

once i got to my room - very swanky room which i had to myself for 2 days on my own, a complete bonus and a gift from the gods as i should have been up with the masses -  i was immediately put on the knee bendy machine which i quickly got a 125 degree bend on.  my doc came and told me that i could have been at the physio for a thousand years and i wouldn't have got the necessary bend, it took considerable forcing to get the scaring to give and promptly upped the machine to 130! this is where it stayed for 48 hours solid, minus pee breaks and sitting on the side of the bed to eat.  during these 48 hours i was on the pain catheter PLUS my usual meds so zero pain ... also zero sleep but hey ho!  they then turned the pain catheter off and i was really, really concerned the pain would kick in but no and so i stayed on the machine for another 12 hours, always at 130 degrees.

i came home yesterday, walking without sticks but with a limp.  my leg feels like it has run the marathon.  or gone under the steam roller.  very, very sore but not stabbing pain.  i came in, greeted the cats and collapsed in bed for 3 hours, dead to the world.

today i went and got some arnica c200 globuli, some homeopathic stuff recommended for sports injuries and healing of scars, and was told to take 10 globuli once a week as it is powerful stuff.  i took it and the effect was immediate.  amazing stuff if you can get your hands on it.  i continue to go on the bendy machine at home as well, but this model will "only" go to 120 degrees and because the knee is sore, i have to gradually get up there but get there i do.  remember, this is passive so i will be working on my active bend as well.  my leg feels like it has NO muscle strength at all.  am seeing my phsyio 4 times next week as my doc is determined it won't go back to my paltry 80.

so that is it.  time will tell if it was worth it but so far i am delighted.  and the way the pain got managed was fantastic.  so far, no regrets!

2

I'll support the homeopathic arnica - no idea HOW it works, I only know that when using it before and after knee surgery there was no bruising - much to the nurse's and physio's amazement!

Brilliant result - a lady in our village went through the same thing with her knee and the result was brilliant too. 

All the best.

3

Well done britta

it's lovely to hear from you and that you are  doing well...keep up the good work 

all the best 

Jean 

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eileen -- what i didn't know is that arnica comes in different potencies, or strengths.  this c200 is the super strength apparently and you are right, they encourage you to use it before an operation.  were you taking this super potion too?  

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Well done Britta! It's great that you've achieved that bend! What worries me, at 6 weeks, 3days is that my consultant was happy to sign me off for a year with a bend of 90' and no further physiotherapy sessions. (I'm paying for some more sessions myself). Is it a case that consultants all have different ideas of what degree of bend they are happy with? 

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Good to hear it went well Britta. Hopefully it can only get better now. It took me a while to realise that the scar underneath was more important than the visible one. Keep up the good work. x

 

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Glad to hear all went so well, Britta. After all your hard work you deserve good results. Hope you continue to go from strength to strength. Well done 👍😊Jen x

8

Sounds like you are just about ready to grab the lift and hit the slopes just in time for the good powder. Well done and here's to modern medicine and tough people.

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Great news.  Helps me a lot. Glad u are well. 

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Well done you. X   What is that arnica  c200 globuli?.. I have  Nelson arnica  what's the difference please ? 

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I have not bruised yet. Jus one spot look like a finger print lol. Must been where he was holding. And my back from spinal. I hope ky heald fast lol. Hate being laid up. 

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haha! well, maybe i will skip this year with the skiing and concentrate on the après ski instead!! though i do hear of many tkr champions who go on to ski. not quite there yet.

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hi mary ... i am guessing nelson arnica is the brand name of the arnica. if it is similar to the one i have taken in the past, it is a much weaker composition, hence having to take it 2-3 times a day. arnica c200 you only take once a week. it's the same difference whether you take an iboprufen 200 or 1000. 

how are you doing mary? how is your bend? what are you up to? are you getting out and about more?

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you are early days, sonnysgirl. but glad i could be of help :-)

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so true, carol!! nobody tells you about the hidden scar. even one of my physios had to be educated. i was worried that this scar would be really sore after the mobilisation but not at all. it is more muscular.

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really? 90 degrees. hmmm ... my surgeon did not force me to have it done but felt that 90 simply didn't give me the mobility worthy of a 51 year old. perhaps - and only perhaps - at 80 he felt 90 degrees was enough, but ... it is really up to you glenda. i found hobbling down stairs, doing a contortionists act to get out of the car and being given the evil eye by my fellow train travellers soul destroying. it constantly reminded me of my knee and the pain. 90, or even 100, was not going to work long term for me.  if it works for you, then don't worry. but if you are paying for physio then i am guessing it isn't. can you get on the bike and do a full rotation? that's my goal ... perhaps you need to work towards a goal and if not achievable, go back to your surgeon or better yet, consult with somebody with a grip on  day-to-day reality. sorry, but your surgeon sounds like a tool.

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thanks, jen! i was just saying to glenda that i want to be able to go on the bike and do full rotations. that's my goal. more discomfort and hard work but YES WE CAN! 

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I'm only 57 and I certainly intend to get a better bend than 90' even if I'm paying myself! I was a bit surprised to be sent away with only 90' I must say. Are you in the UK?

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No, just ordinary c30 I think it was - it was 20 years ago! I know homeopathic remedies come in various potencies and I was told to use a lower potency but take it every couple of hours. Your version sounds MUCH better! I was having a plate removed and apparently usually the bruising is worse than putting it in which is surprising when you think of all the damage there was around when it was put in! After they took it out and the physios appeared to get me up and show me how to walk I just walked for them - they hadn't come across anyone with so little pain either. I was given morphine once the epidural wore off and felt so ill I declined any more and just used paracetamol and that was fine. I was out in the garden the day after supervising my mother doing some gardening for me! Arnica cream is good too for ordinary bruising.

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I know a few tkr people who went back to skiing. One of them, bilateral tkr, had had each of the ops just before Christmas and was here before the end of the same season to ski, mid-March I think it was.