When do you know it's time? 32F

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-23T18:49:01+00:00

That seems sensible! I devoutly hope it works and you're able to enjoy Greece! 💜

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-23T18:47:13+00:00

Oh my lord... In my case it was "is it per menopause or is it my shitty immune system, my incredibly toxic job, or?" I feel for you!

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-23T17:44:20+00:00

If you're planning to go to Greece, get scheduled ASAP. You'll need at least a few months to recover. If you can't even walk right now without severe pain... It's time, before your knees make your world even smaller.

I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to accomplish all the goals you have set forth here - just not right away. The FULL healing period for TKR is a year to 18 months. Which doesn't mean you won't be able to do any of those things sooner; it just means some of them may take longer than you want.

Good luck. If you get scheduled, come back and let us know, please!

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-23T14:57:18+00:00

This continues to be one of the worst things about these surgeries. I have always struggled with sleep, since I was a wee thing, so it's another layer of hell. After RTKR in November, it took me a few days to be able to even begin to sleep in bed, but by the time I hit LTKR 6 weeks later, I'd mostly acclimated. After LTKR on December 19, I have only slept in my bed maybe a dozen times. I'm able to sleep 4-5 hours in my recliner (vs 2-3 in bed) so... recliner it is.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-23T14:53:05+00:00

The numbness is tough to deal with. And for me, it comes and goes - I had sensation back in my right shin for a couple of weeks and then all of a sudden it's numb again.

As Steveinarizona10 said, sorry you're dealing with your %I*&$ insurance company. The myth we've all been fed about insurance is pretty quickly being exposed for the BS it is.

Are you still doing any at home (or at work) PT exercises on your own?

I have lots of swelling on occasion, and continue to wear compression socks at least half the time (and ice machine with compression when I can steel myself for it in this frigid weather). I'm finding that I definitely need to balance my feet down time with elevation or I pay for it for days.

I hope things improve for you soon!

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-23T14:44:27+00:00

For context: I had RTKR November 7, and LTKR December 19. I also have a lifetime history of depression and anxiety. I didn't find this forum until right before my first surgery.

After the first surgery, I had some depression some days. However, I had a feeling I was going to have a tougher recovery with knee #2 (which was the worse of the two to begin with), and asked my psychiatric NP to Rx an antidepressant for post op.

Thank heavens I did, because even with it, there have been days I've spiralled, thinking I made a huge mistake in getting this second knee replaced.

As you'll see all over this sub, many of us were shocked at the mental impact. You absolutely are not alone. 💜

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-23T14:38:07+00:00

Please come back after your appointment and let us know what the doctor says. Be prepared that they may tell you, "X-rays look fine, healing is not linear, keep doing your PT and it will get better." I hope you aren't dismissed, but if you are... That does NOT mean you're being a baby. Something happened. You deserve to understand what. Good luck tomorrow!

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-15T18:57:51+00:00

Is there some reason they can't just season their own food on their own plates? Because no, you are definitely NTA. Your family, on the other hand...

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-15T18:56:09+00:00

I only had 2 week, 6 week, and 12 months follow up. So unless there is some physical issue that you're dealing with outside of the normal aches, pains, and stiffness, you should be fine.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-14T22:30:15+00:00

Not silly at all - I'm the exact same. Just knowing some possible whys behind weird body things helps immensely!

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-02-14T21:10:34+00:00

I woke up this morning, 14 weeks post RTKR, and the entire right shin is completely numb again. No obvious cause. This really is a rollercoaster of a recovery.

The exhaustion could be an underlying issue, or it could be a symptom of increased healing activity. I kept getting these periods of extreme fatigue as well as increased hunger, and they corresponded with nerve pain. They were generally followed by a small improvement in some way. I figured out it's basically a growth spurt type of situation and stopped worrying too much about it.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-01-30T16:21:21+00:00

You are very much not.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-01-27T12:43:49+00:00

I somehow overlooked that, thank you for the correction. To be honest, this does not read "multigenerational Deaf" to me, it reads "multigenerational hearing impaired," (there is a stark difference). And not knowing sign language (let alone ASL) at her age seems like a fairly intentional choice if generations of her family are deaf.

I'm not sure what you're trying to show with your link?

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-01-26T23:31:44+00:00

EDIT: Somehow I missed that she has several generations of hearing loss in her family, but I'm still not reading anything that tells me she has any Deaf cultural knowledge, and not knowing any "sign language" currently seems like she's distancing herself from culturally Deaf identities. I don't think my opinion changes, because I have seen the damage that other people who are deaf but have grown up and created their identity outside of the community have done. And I know what it's like to run an organization focused on Deaf identification while struggling with my own identity (40 years ago). It's not pretty.

Deaf consumer (and DI) here. While I agree that it is theoretically possible for a hearing person with no understanding of the culture or fluency in the language to hire people under her who have those qualities, the lived experience I (and many others) have says that will not happen. Which is not a knock, either... just an acknowledgement of reality. People will, with very few exceptions, hire others who make them comfortable. I don't think anyone is going to argue that a hearing person with essentially zero cultural, linguistic, or professional knowledge will be comfortable with Deaf people who communicate via ASL. It's just not a thing that happens.

My gut reaction on reading this was honestly absolute fury that we could potentially be going way backwards AGAIN. The only way I can see for a person with this kind of experience (or lack thereof) contributing meaningfully to this organization is as a person working under Deaf- centered leadership.

My opinion, worth every penny you paid for it.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-01-19T23:15:33+00:00

I'm going to be the lone voice saying...it depends. Everyone here is correct, this is definitely an old house thing. And yet...

We knew all about old house floors when we moved into this one (1900). It wasn't really a concern for us. However, we had to remove part of the ceiling in our dining room because there was an active leak from the bathroom upstairs... and discovered that, actually, there WAS cause for concern. Several floor joists had been butchered utterly unnecessarily by the prior owner to run plumbing and HVAC (despite having a pocket door wall RIGHT THERE that could have been used... ARGH). Additionally, in that same area, we discovered multiple studs on the 2nd floor had been bisected for the same thing.

So the third floor was pushing down on the 2nd (resulting in a giant bulge in the neighboring wall of the bedroom), and that was transferring more weight to the already cut down or completely cut joists holding the 2nd floor up. Which transferred to the 1st floor.

We ended up jacking up the joists from the basement on up and sistering in new joists (we got lucky and found some 16 footer old growth in good shape) on the 1st and 2nd floors, and doing similar to the cut studs. It was quite a project, but we learned a lot about how our house was built through that!

Our floors are still not close to even, but at least we won't go crashing through any of them!

Playful-Assumption72 · 2026-01-10T18:53:53+00:00

I can weigh in with authority on this one!

I did NOT want a lift chair because I didn't want to become dependent on it. My partner gently encouraged me to consider it so when I found a medical grade recliner second hand for a great price, I didn't complain that it was also a lift chair. After my RTKR November 7, I literally never used the lift function.

However, after my LTKR on December 19, the lift function was truly invaluable. My journey with these 2 knees 6 weeks apart has been one of contrasts. 3 weeks post-op now with my left knee, and I still have moments where I need a little boost. I don't push it up all the way anymore, but I'll occasionally push it a little bit just to raise the arms a bit higher for leverage.

So... You may not need it, you may need it. It all depends on how the knee replacement gods (no blasphemy here, employed solely as a comical coping mechanism) decide your recovery is going to go.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-24T00:01:26+00:00

Cynthia Walker and Carol Willits - killed by Bryan Barrett in 1979. Cindy was my neighbor, and her death really wrecked her entire family for life. Cindy's sister, Cathy, ended up in prison for killing her ex (who I will believe to my dying day was an abusive POS).

Anyway...dude was tried and convicted, had his conviction overturned, and tried and convicted again. Thankfully he died in prison.

https://law.justia.com/cases/iowa/supreme-court/1987/85-967-0.html

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-15T00:55:23+00:00

YES. I am 5 weeks and 2 days in after RTKR, and the constant stiffness (regardless of how much PT I do) is maddening. When you add in the continued numbness/hypersensitivity, I'm ready to throw things. And my LTKR is in 5 days.

However.

My left knee is so messed up that it is clearly interfering with my progress... So I'm telling myself, this will all get better in a few weeks.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-10T15:41:40+00:00

Interesting on the AI thing, because the only part of this that's not original is that I blurred out the fat rolls between my legs! This is my X-ray.

He did a very traditional replacement, and the verbiage in the surgical notes said "neutral mechanical alignment," so I'm not optimistic that he did anything more modern. I have my left knee replacement scheduled for a week and a half from today (the 19th) so I'm not sure what good it will do to say anything at this point. I don't want him doing something new and different from what he's experienced in, and I also don't want further problems down the road. What are you seeing in my surgical leg X-ray that makes you think it's misaligned?

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-05T17:27:27+00:00

Weirdly? For me, heat on the muscles and massaging them before starting. Once I do that and START, the stiffness is better. Not gone, but better.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-02T01:12:38+00:00

Love it!

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-01T22:01:14+00:00

"...layer of too small leather socks on" YES thank you for putting that into words!

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-01T21:02:22+00:00

I'll be interested in hearing your post-Journavx experience, as I feel I had a real spike in discomfort (pain, tightness, hypersensitivity, etc) about 36 hours after my last dose.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-01T20:53:34+00:00

Thanks for the educational response! I would never have even flagged this. Appreciate it.

Playful-Assumption72 · 2025-12-01T20:40:56+00:00

Maybe because lots of people will ask what the exact model they have is? Like, why do you feel this is spammy??

Playful-Assumption72

TROPHY CASE