TML
senior
- Joined
- May 21, 2016
- Messages
- 370
- Age
- 73
- Country
United States
- Gender
- Female
Months/weeks of obsessive research (especially Bonesmart) and preparation in the house finally allowed me to mentally 'let-go' and give up all my worries as I was wheeled into the OR. My biggest fear was rejection to the implant due to my allergies: OS addressed my allergy to nickel with a 100% titanium knee and my allergy to adhesive by closing with glue and a mesh sleeve that covered the bandage. When my perfectionist no-nonsense OS came out to tell my husband that surgery went 'perfectly', we felt total relief.
Allergies are really scary and my reactions are immediate and intense! My second-biggest worry had been that my non-surgical knee, which is also in dire need of replacement, would not support the new knee. The opposite was true as I stood and walked on a strong and sturdy knee that first night. However, it did feel weird - like I was dragging a log - very stiff.
It's also now significantly longer (OS corrected bowing). That will, hopefully, be corrected when I get the other bowed knee replaced. Days 1-3 in hospital went quickly as I adjusted to my cocktail of meds: Xarelto, Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, OxyContin, and finally Methocarbamal, which is a muscle-relaxant. Methocarbamal seemed to make everything work.
Days 4-8, I think of as 'Adjusting': The challenges of getting home; learning how to use oxygen; setting up functional separate areas on the first and second floor (my poor husband moved things up and down so many times); installing handrails on upstairs and downstairs toilets; navigating stairs; showering; eating nutritionally without an appetite; dealing with intermittent sleep and/or no sleep at all; and finally, accepting that each day brings a new challenge and what worked before may need to change today. Tired now, closing with a toast, 'To my new life!' Next, I'll share what I see as some developing 'Routines' in my recovery.
Allergies are really scary and my reactions are immediate and intense! My second-biggest worry had been that my non-surgical knee, which is also in dire need of replacement, would not support the new knee. The opposite was true as I stood and walked on a strong and sturdy knee that first night. However, it did feel weird - like I was dragging a log - very stiff.
It's also now significantly longer (OS corrected bowing). That will, hopefully, be corrected when I get the other bowed knee replaced. Days 1-3 in hospital went quickly as I adjusted to my cocktail of meds: Xarelto, Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, OxyContin, and finally Methocarbamal, which is a muscle-relaxant. Methocarbamal seemed to make everything work.
Days 4-8, I think of as 'Adjusting': The challenges of getting home; learning how to use oxygen; setting up functional separate areas on the first and second floor (my poor husband moved things up and down so many times); installing handrails on upstairs and downstairs toilets; navigating stairs; showering; eating nutritionally without an appetite; dealing with intermittent sleep and/or no sleep at all; and finally, accepting that each day brings a new challenge and what worked before may need to change today. Tired now, closing with a toast, 'To my new life!' Next, I'll share what I see as some developing 'Routines' in my recovery.
It seems like all of us on BoneSmart are the same in that we go into this with our eyes open, we prepare as well as we know how, we make decisions based on what we know about our bodies, our health, and our psyches, and then we just plan for the worst and hope for the best. May you find that you're better and better with each passing week.
I hope 
