Hi, Just wondering what people are finding comfortable. I seem to be living in PJs. I wore a dress to the doctors that didn't touch my scar, someone asked me if I had survived a shark attack!
Well i live in Scotland and it's very wet windy and cold so i have no option but to wear some type of loose trousers.. or jogging trousers... lounge pants in grey black or navy... pass as trouserrs..... i hope you don't mind ... but i did laugh about the shark comment.... take care.
Hi for the the first month I didn't get dressed really .. Wore nightdresses so that nothing constricted the scar and it was easy to put on the ice cuff and ice packs.
if I went out for a tiny walk I wore the loosest track suit bottoms .... Still don't like anything actually on the scar but I am dressing every day now as it helps mentally.
I lived in cropped trousers and t shirts all Summer. They were short enough to pull up when icing my knee and soft against the scar which was so sensitive.
Felt I had to get dressed properly to feel a little more normal.
I wore just the same as Lynn. Agree that getting dressed is important. Bit of a ritual each day but gives you some routine. At 14 weeks I now wear loose trousers. My scar is still a bit unsightly so don't want to put people off😄
luckily, wearing tracksuit bottoms is all the rage over here at the moment! so i found a whole bunch of trendy ones in h&m and wore them with biker boots ... nobody really noticed and i felt comfy.
scar maintenance is very important. are you massaging the scar daily with some cream? not out of vanity - though i am sure the shark attack comment stuck! - but also to break down the scar tissue. you need to be quite brave and forceful, making little circles with your thumbs over the scar. sometimes i hear the scar tissue going "plop" under my thumb and i think "yeah!!" doing this will also ensure you have more elasticity in your knee to bend it.
in rehab they told me olive oil is the best but i was given a scar cream by my doc. bio oil (not sure you can get this in oz) is also excellent, or simply almond oil. anything lubricating.
well a shark attact is some thng to live up to lol , like every one else joggers all the time
I use bio oil twice a day but my scar is taking a long time to turn into that nice, neat line. It's still a bit red/purple and lumpy in places. I'll take your advice and massage a bit harder. Haven't heard any "plops" 😄
Mine, too, and I'm ahead of you. Mine is beginning to fade from the bottom up (a bit like me!). Hope by next Summer the purple/bump will have faded considerably.
But, by then, I'll have knee number two to contend with.
Wow, just as well they didn't see it BEFORE the staples were out! Now that is scary.
Lynn 18 weeks
That's reassuring, Lynn. I thought I was a bit odd as others in my knee class have lovely neat scars. Mine is neat up to the knee cap then bumpy above. There are some gaps developing between the bumps and I try to measure if these are getting longer 😄
You should have said nearly as bad! I wear loose joggers (would love to be able to jog). I find them comfy and easy to pull the leg up for examination, ice, massage etc.
Hi Mary, well, I do live in Western Australia, so shark attacks are not uncommon. Thanks everyone, after reading your posts I got dressed. I think you are right and maybe it will make me more positive.
I am about to cut my jeans off just above my scar. Thanks again
I wasn't told to massage at all. I have had a lot of success with massage in the past and so I just started with baby oil. I got some success so I moved to sweet almond oil and Rosemary essence which helped the swelling, but made the scar sore, not red, sore.
I have gone back to baby oil and today I rubbed Dettol cream into the scar and it's working, not so sore.
Bepanthen have just brought out a roll on scar treatment which I have ordered from the chemist. I don't remember Bepanthen in U K but I have lived here over 20 years now.
I will try the rubbing in circles with my thumbs Britta, thank you.
wow! Isn't this site great?
I've been massaging with E45 and at 6 weeks my scar is fading quickly, a very thin line.
Bepanthen is used for babies bottoms in the UK. Very effective, too
i was useing ,bio oil , found it was making my scar very dry ,how i dont know ,but i remember from last time ,so have been useing baby bum cream or royal jelly ,they both seem to work x
I might give the baby bum cream a try - I'll look out for Bepanthen that Lyn refers to. Thanks, both.
Been for physio today and she's given me lots of exercises to strengthen my hamstrings and gluteus. (Sounds very sporty doesn't it? I wish lol! ) I'm hoping they'll help with this pain in the back of my leg. She's also going to ask about acupuncture to see if that will help. I go back to her again next week. I'll let you all know how I get on. X
this pain at the back of your leg , is it one that gets to you when you try to bend , if so i had it with the first knee and was told to ptu my foot on a step and turn my foot inwards slightly and push in to the step , you can feel it as soon as you start ouch but it did work very quickly .x
It hurts a little when I bend (and I do that exercise on the step) but it's worse when I walk. I can also feel it when coming downstairs. It's at the back/outside of the thigh and at the back/outside of the calf. It's worse some days than others but it seems hard to get rid of. I think it's because my leg was bent for so long before the op and now it's straight so the hamstring muscle had weakened. Hope these strengthening exercises will help though, like everything else, don't think they'll be a quick fix! Thanks for your concern. X