TKR lmb my knee replacement

Status
Not open for further replies.
Remember not everyone has sleep disturbances. I have slept quite well with both surgeries. Good pain control is critical.
That is great. I am jealous. My knee has to be moved around often or I feel horrible uncomfortable then the pain will start. So sleeping is difficult due not being able to get comfortable. Then of course for me is the side effects from the pain medication I NEED to take. We knew it would be difficult balancing pain control with out damaging my colon.

Vomiting was so bad during the time I was heavily medicated. I have been to the ER twice in this 6 weeks for fluids and medication by IV. It's been a nightmare that I don't ever want to experience again.

Ending this post on a good note. I went to the ER for fluids again today, I was dehydrated and vomiting. I got fluids and a few medications, one was Ativan. That was awesome. I felt so calm. I had not felt that way for a while. I came home feeling so much better.

I needed to sleep. I ended up wrapping my leg up with a soft light blanket. Top to bottom. I thought that would protect my leg from having direct pressure laying my side. Also it would help keep my leg mostly straight. I slept 5 hours in my bed on my side for the first time in 6 weeks. I am going try that again tonight to see if it works again. :santaclap:
 
I'm sorry and surprised that you have been vomiting so much. Your last post is the first time you've mentioned it.
You do need to eat something with your medications, because taking them on an empty stomach will cause nausea. A couple of crackers will do.
Are you taking an anti-emetic medication routinely? If not, you should be. I know that the heavy-duty narcotics always make me vomit, so I insist on having Zofran prescribed as well.

What do your doctors say about the continued vomiting? If your surgeon isn't helpful, would your own doctor (PCP/GP) prescribe something?
 
Yes been on Zofran the whole time. I do eat with my meds. As you said a couple of crackers at the least. I have a permanent form of Gastritis from all the years of Advil and Aleve. It is like having the stomach bug over and over. My anxiety is through the ceiling. Not helping my stomach problems at all. Today is 6 weeks for me. Christmas was tough but I got through it. Today the pain in my knee is so much better. I was able to cut down even more on the pain pills. I could not sleep in bed last night. But I did sleep about 5 hours in my recliner.
 
I'm glad you are finding some things that work for you. It sounds like you do need something to keep the stress levels minimized at least temporarily. This is one of those times that a person must just go with what works. If it's sleeping in short spurts, do it. If a recliner is where you are more comfortable all the time time, use that as your "recovery nest." It's all about listening to your body and doing what works. It's a time to put yourself first and pamper, pamper, pamper. Things will get better with some more time. Hang in there!!
 
Hang in there. Everyone here is pulling for you. Hugs.


Laura
LTKR 21 November 2016
 
Saw my surgeon today. He was already taking manipulation to give me more ROM. Told him I had been reading about it and as of right now I am not ready. I want to do as others have suggested here and give it a full year before they touch my knee again. My depression and anxiety is so bad that it is affecting my recovery. I am certain the lack of sleep is causing seizures. I have PTSD which actually causes my brain to have seizures. Mayo Clinic in Rochester diagnosed me. I was told by Mayo Dr's that having my knee replaced would set me back in my recovery from the PTSD. Boy were they right. My anxiety is so high that my pulse will race at 120 and shoot my blood pressure up. Been putting off EMDR treatment to deal with my knee. Big mistake. My psychiatrists here locally in Iowa encouraged me to do it saying how much better I would feel. So I did it when I should have postponed.
 
I am so sorry! Are you able to treat both at the same time ? Wishing you the best.


Laura
LTKR 21 November 2016
 
My revision surgery was November 15 after a failed MUA. OS replaced the femoral component with a longer stemmed one, put in a new spacer and reshaped the knee. I don't have PTSD, but do suffer from severe anxiety and depression so I have a feel for where you're at. Also have gastritis and Barrett's Esophagus so have similar issues with pain meds. Fortunately, my nausea and pain didn't escalate to vomiting. I'm a native Iowan now living in Oklahoma. Best of luck with your recovery.


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
For the sake of those (like me) who didn't know what EMDR treatment is, I found this on Google:
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories.

So, hopefully, it works for PTSD.
 
Just got released to drive yesterday. However when I have to take narcotics for pain I will choose not to drive. So probably not yet. Drs hesitate to prescribe meds for anxiety as everyone of them is addictive. I had a really bad night until I took my last anti anxiety pill. Got 4 hours of sleep after that kicked in. Also had to take a pain pill in the middle of the night after a week of not taking a middle of the night pain pill. Was a busy day yesterday and I just plain over did it. Thanks for explaining what EMDR means. Feeling totally defeated today.
 
When you've joined the ODIC the knee tends to let you know during the night first. Take it easy today and rest that knee.
 
I'm sorry you had a bad night. Spend today resting, icing and elevating and perhaps tonight will be better.

You're wise not to drive when you've taken a narcotic - don't want to be driving "under the influence".
 
Congratulations on being released to drive. :driver:And yes, you're right to not drive when you've taken pain meds. We all learn by trial and error when we've overdone it. There's a reason we call it the ODIC! We've all been in that club. :wink:

You're about at the point in recovery I was when I felt cranky and frustrated at times. "Why did I do this?" :tantrum: Even when you know there was really no choice.
You expect the first couple of weeks to be hard, but let's face it, this recovery thing gets old! But it gets better slowly but surely.
 
Been away from the forum for a few days. Went with my Grand Daughter to see her Dr yesterday. The nurse that took us back had a pronounced limp. I asked about her Knee. She said she had it replaced first part of September 2016. Been back to work since early December. She is on her feet all day. She still has quite a bit of bad pain due to her job. I had a good cry when she said her ROM was 130. She wanted to cry because I can walk better than her. LOL It was a cry fest. MY PT will be over by on the 20th of this month. Husband is having heart surgery on the 23rd and then it becomes all about his recovery. Still at 105 ROM at times I can get to 107. My understanding is the MUA has to done by week 12 to be successful. I am going to live with what I got as far as ROM. Pain medication is still Hydrocondone 5-325. I take 4 or 5 a day. None through the night but fidget all night as my knee can not stay in one position to long. I still wish I had not done this surgery. I am very unhappy with my new knee because of the continued pain. At times the pain is still as high as a 7-8. Monday will be my 8 week mark. Been reading this morning on recent posts. I found myself at a loss for words until I got here on my thread. Thanks for being here for all of us that are going through replacement surgeries.
 
You're just at 2 months, I'm not surprised you're not able to say you're glad you had TKR. It was month 3-4 for me. Please be careful as you're helping your husband, be sure you take time to ice, elevate and rest your knee otherwise the swelling will continue. I was icing/elevating well into 4 months.
 
Still at 105 ROM at times I can get to 107. My understanding is the MUA has to done by week 12 to be successful. I am going to live with what I got as far as ROM.
Once you're past 90 degrees, very few surgeons will contemplate doing an MUA. It isn't true that an MUA has to be done withing a certain time frame and those done too early are usually ineffective in the long term.
MUA: the ineffectiveness of early MUA (JBJS)

YOu don't have to live with 105 or 107 degrees. You're not yet 2 months from your TKR and there's no deadline for achieving ROM. It can continue to improve for a year, or even longer, after a TKR. Chances are, your ROM will continue to improve slowly for ages yet.
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
[URL='http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/rom-its-worth-the-wait-for-rom.10703/']ROM: it's worth the wait for ROM

ROM: it's never too late to get more ROM!
ROM (range of motion) information[/URL]
[URL='http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/rom-range-of-motion-information.3730/'][/URL]
Best wishes for your husband's heart surgery. As KarriB said, remember to look after yourself and your knee as well. Try to elevate your leg every time you sit down, even if it's only putting your foot up on another chair.
 
Checking in after reading other threads this morning. 9 weeks ago today I made the BAD choice of having my left knee replaced. My ROM has increased to 110. Been doing PT 2 or 3 times per week. Its my last week of PT as my husbands heart surgery is a week from today. I am thankful I have had a PT person who pushed me just enough to see improvement each week. I can do about 10 mins on the recumbent bike. Both forward and backwards. I know this takes a full year but I am sick to death of feeling like this. The other day I looked at a bottle of anxiety med and thought about ending it all. I have Grand Daughters that need me so I dismissed the notion of ending my pain.
 
@lmb I'm sorry you're feeling so down. What time frame did your surgeon give you for recovery? I think some of us go into this surgery without knowing how long and trying the recovery can be. Even at 4 months I wasn't feeling 100%, but I was able to do more than I could before the TKR.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

  • Jaycey
    ADMINISTRATOR Staff member since February 2011

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,167
Messages
1,596,864
BoneSmarties
39,356
Latest member
JanieMarie
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom