2 Week Update
Wow, what a difference a week makes! As I reported in previous posts, the first week or so was pretty tough for me. The pain meds didn't quite hack it especially the first few days and almost any movement of the knee was associated with some degree of pain.
Yesterday I went for my post op follow-up visit with the doctor. All good news! the implant looks good and when the wound dressing was removed the incision was healing very nicely.
The last few days I have transitioned to using a cane and feel very comfortable with it. I almost feel I don't even need it, but for safety reasons I will probably use it for several weeks.
I can flex my knee with no external force to about 94 degrees; with external force ( but not the excruciating pain I felt before ) I can flex it to 113 degrees. A normal target is 120, but I should be able to get to 130 eventually which is my goal. Although less so, the knee is still swollen which inhibits range of motion. It just takes time for the swelling to go down. I ice it after exercising and additional 2 or 3 times a day.
I can walk essentially with no pain whatsoever because my knee is comfortably bending more naturally now.
I think my biggest mistake in hindsight, was to try and wean myself of the oxycodone when I really needed it the most. I actually still use it before my physically therapy sessions so I can max out the benefit of the exercise. I do plan to phase it out totally in the coming days.
I've been given additional exercises to begin to strengthen my leg as well as achieve higher levels of range of motion.
As people have commented in this thread, its up to me now to put in the work to get back into full strength and flexure.
The doc said I could go swimming next week; Unfortunately, my love of pickleball will have to be on hold for awhile!
I have some neat X-rays of my implant and would be happy to email them privately if anyone is interested.
TBear
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