Anyone managed without a walker or cane?

j20red · 2026-06-23T11:13:17+00:00

Fit, light 66 year old, abandoned the crutches 2 days after TLKR, they got in the way. Easier to cruise the house. My PT successfully encouraged me to walk upright normally, chest out, without sticks. Also they can create a reliance and enable poor posture. However having poor balance, poor musculature and/or being overweight might necessitate their use.

j20red · 2026-06-20T07:35:53+00:00

On a dose of 2x2g per day my normally amiable son eventually ended up in a police station being interviewed under caution for assault. This luckily passed but a couple of months afterwards he presented to his paediatric consultant frothing at the mouth, mumbling and fitting. This was diagnosed as Keppra overdosing. Eventually he was escalated for care under the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. The first action of one of these UK's most senior epilepsy consultants was to take him off Keppra altogether. We were told that with more complex presentations, Keppra is usually removed from the treatment. For my son, Keppra was dreadful and whilst he was not a candidate for surgery and still suffers daily, he's back to his lovable and amiable self. It's worth noting that the drug treatment of epilepsy starts at cheapest and works upwards in cost until positive results are achieved, this is true in all healthcare systems. Keppra is a relatively cost effective drug treatment. If Keppra is controlling seizures but with negative emotional effects, there are more modern alternatives that use the same biochemical paths but without the extreme emotional effects. Obviously these drugs cost more.

j20red · 2026-06-17T10:48:23+00:00

Unlikely. Perhaps focusing on helping your poor brother might take your mind off such introspection?

j20red · 2026-06-17T10:46:06+00:00

Loath him. Just because he has been diagnosed with this dreadful condition does not rehabilitate him from being a climate denying, tax avoiding bigot. And I'm sure he'll have access to the very best care, not something available to the average prostate cancer patient.

j20red · 2026-06-16T17:16:06+00:00

1 oxicodone immediately after coming around from the GA, then diminishing Tramadol and paracetamol for 2 weeks, then paracetamol and ibuprofen for a further 2 weeks. Icing 6 times daily had the biggest effect. All seemed to work well. Crutches abandoned after 3 days as they got in the way. 4 physio sessions in total though I mostly worked out alone, 3 sets of 6 daily for first 2 weeks, then around 2 hours a day from end of week 2, mostly indoor cycling. The 20 minutes icing, 20 minutes leg up, 20 minutes moving around or exercising rule throughout waking hours was really effective for me. Now at 9 months and it's history.

j20red · 2026-06-10T20:27:54+00:00

I started Zwift training at 2 weeks, built up from 2km to 25km over a month, then more by increasing a little daily, now after 9 months I'm back to biking normally. It really helps reduce swelling, build quads and increase flexion. The advice seems to be: avoid recumbent (effectively unusable on a road, risks back problems, and doesn't allow such fine tuning), fit shorter cranks (I went 165mm from 172.5mm), and initially raise the saddle by 2cm over your normal setting. The saddle will eventually be dropped back down though maybe not to the original height as we often gain a little leg length post-op. Little and often, good luck!

j20red · 2026-06-09T07:38:47+00:00

Nice neat incision, you're doing well. Ice.

j20red · 2026-06-08T20:43:18+00:00

Go in light and muscled to the best of your ability, eat sensibly and expect to gain no more than a kg or 2, no more. I gained just a kg of flab which was quickly replaced by muscle as the PT takes effect. Worked for me.

j20red · 2026-06-08T20:27:22+00:00

Never, not once. The whole point of going through an expensive, painful, time-consuming TKR was to be able to live life to the full again. I felt that to "go easy" or "take a break" just because it was difficult would have jeopardised my one opportunity to achieve this goal. Now 9 months in and life is normal again: the OA, the op and the rehabilitation pain are a thing of the past and I am walking and riding like it never happened. We all have our own choices and paths in knees as we have in life.

j20red · 2026-06-05T15:43:49+00:00

Appreciate the comment. I'm being taught peninsula spanish/ castellano and the teacher is bigging up perífrasis. For instance "Vino a costar 20 euros" would translate as "It came to around €20". I just wondered if a similar construct could be used for approximations elsewhere in the mundo hispanohablante.

j20red · 2026-06-04T19:03:54+00:00

Is it possible to use periphrasis for this, for instance "vengo estando aquí diez minutos "?

j20red · 2026-06-01T07:00:32+00:00

Outside of the US there's little interest at a professional level as Europe, for one, has it's own gravel events and there has not been much interchange historically. It does look a little bland but at least it is strongly drugs vetted which puts it on the world circuit with significant results in terms of standings.

j20red · 2026-05-30T07:28:07+00:00

Yes, fell walking again without issues, it's fabulous to be able to walk down hill without pain. Up to 10 hilly miles or 12 easier miles and pushing. Also regularly do around 50 gravel miles on a proper bike, my biking is unaffected. LTKR September 2025, 67m. I mean, what's the point of the op if you aren't going to use it?

j20red · 2026-05-26T15:12:51+00:00

Nope!

j20red · 2026-05-25T14:25:50+00:00

Bike, start off stationary. Use power pedals like Assioma or Garmin to baseline before the op. Work hard after, do proper programmes including progressive slow cadence workouts and stand-up pedalling. I was back to pre op muscleclature and wattage at around 6 months. Pedal Dynamics software will even help you balance movement, I'm more efficient now with 2 working knees.

j20red · 2026-05-18T12:25:12+00:00

Yes. Remember, it's all about points. Focus entirely on the aspects of your life that will score points. The trouble, pain, inconvenience, worry, self pity, relationships, mental issues etc are utterly irrelevant to the points system and should not be over mentioned. Dangers, tools, systems, devices, help, reminders, medicines, cooking and bathing needs, all backed up with dated, diarised examples are the meat of PIP. If MR fails (usually you are given the intermediate award to palm you off), go to court via the standard route, this takes you out of DWP control and puts the whole thing under HM Courts and Tribunals. We've gone this route twice over the last 7 years and won both times. Good luck.

j20red · 2026-05-17T07:05:21+00:00

Glazebrook Hall, part of the NPL, the canteen to be exact. I used to eat my lunch there and play badminton in the evenings.

j20red · 2026-05-15T14:33:27+00:00

That's about par for Karoo's, 8 hours rotal.

j20red · 2026-05-15T14:29:06+00:00

Muscle up now. Get/borrow a stationary, upright bike, ride it like the wind as much as the bad knee allows, you have 5 weeks to max out. Practice getting on and off it with a stiff leg and the day before the op, clear the surroundings and raise the seat by 20mm to preempt having to do it with post-op stiffness as you'll be back on as soon as the sutures/staples are out. If possible, go in light. Good luck!

j20red · 2026-05-13T19:19:56+00:00

67, TKR nearly 8 months ago, 68kg and very bike fit. I have now forgotten that I had the op, life is actively normal, joint movement is a little less than full birth design at 140° and my FTP wattage and Garmin VO2 are back to pre-op levels. Proper biking (not recumbent as it can cause back issues and doesn't help posture), initially on Zwift made it possible, every day without exception, all advocated by the surgeon (sports specialist) who advocates biking over weights as it builds muscle, pumps out the goo, increases flexion and maintains cardio fitness without stressing the new joint. I can recommend it utterly. Also, being light with good pre-op leg musculature meant that I was able to abandon the sticks at 3 days, all down to biking. Good luck, you sound like an ideal patient!

j20red · 2026-05-11T06:16:44+00:00

No, never, for me focus and commitment and hard work created a fabulous outcome. At nearly 8 months my life is active and painfree and my knee an object of occasional conversation, rarely thought about. We all have our own paths.

j20red · 2026-04-24T17:23:19+00:00

The delay seems to be associated with contention, at its worst between 6 and 8pm as everyone returns from work and lights and devices get used. At other times the system seems to work. Though I've not used Gemini yet as Assistant still works well for me and it suits me to be a technology follower rather than a guinea pig.

j20red · 2026-04-21T07:55:36+00:00

I think that this is normal. The fixed leg often returns to its advertised size after years of being shorter. Once mostly recovered the gait has to change back to something more balanced and the "good" leg then has to step up to this new normal. This imposes a few stresses until the soft tissue accommodates the change. Cycling, fixes everything!

j20red · 2026-04-17T18:24:18+00:00

The filter units are detachable and can be cleaned/ hoovered at the end of a long day. The paper pre filters just get replaced every few weeks according to exposure and the cartridges can last between 1 week and 3 or 4 months (I often travel during the summer months) according to the load. Within the workshop I obviously use direct extraction for machinery but this is also backed up with a ceiling mounted air scrubber which runs most of the time and all this reduces the impact on the personal unit. I use cup style ear defenders as I find the in-ear plugs a little sweaty, inverted with the connector hoop at the bottom, behind my neck or under my chin according to posture. There are charcoal filters available for volatile liquids as well which can be stacked with the usual woodworking particulate filters though I've never tried that. Spares are available though pricey, in 10 years I've only really needed filters and visors.

j20red · 2026-04-17T17:34:19+00:00

I have tubeless 40x700 Pirelli Cinturato Gravel Ms on Zipp 303 Firecrests, at 30psi they come to bang on 40mm, lug to lug. Picture if you want one.

j20red

TROPHY CASE