TKR Thank You - hubby has had both knees done

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tiredwife

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Hi, I just wanted to thank you all for all your advice and experiences. My husband had his LTKR on May 28th, 2014. I was able to get him prepared for it with the help of this forum. He is doing really good, and we lucked out that the pt that comes to our home is very gentle. I wish everyone on here a speedy recovery.
 
@tiredwife ,
Welcome to Bonesmart, glad you found the informations helpful, and that Bonesmart made your life easier.
Keep us posted on how your husband is doing, and maybe a bit about his experience. It is wonderful to have great recovery experiences here on Bonesmart.
All the best going forward,
 
My husband stayed in the hospital until Saturday at noon. He was so happy to find out he didn't have staples (hates staples). Only bad spot was a different pt came in Saturday, wasn't pleased with his bend and shoved his leg back. I did let the hospital know about it. After that the Norco didn't cut the pain but Percocet works good, he also gets flexeril. Besides having to get up and pee all the time he sleeps pretty well. With icing and a wedge pillow under the mattress we are able to keep the swelling under controll. Today he switched from crutches to a cane.

His lips swelled up yesterday and had to go to the ER. Guess BP meds can suddenly do that even if you've been on them for years.
 
I hope his reaction to the BP meds has resolved. As for the PT, do not allow that PT in your home again. Stick with the gentle PT you had before. You both are early in his recovery, gentle is the way to go for an smooth recovery.
Thanks for the update. :welome:
 
Welcome to B.S. Your hubby is fortunate to have you. There are usually members on the forum 24/7 so if you have any questions please ask! By the way I love your name - tiredwife. It cannot be easy putting up with us recovering from TKR. I wish him all the best for an uneventful recovery.
 
Pumpkin the pt that hurt him was one that showed up at the hospital the day he was to come home. The ones that come to our house are gentle. He is on different bp meds now.

Jozilla I am 56 and babysit my 3 year old grandson, put that with my husband recovering and I am tired. Today my husband is getting around really well so I don't have to do much for him. On the other hand I think I am having my grandson for 10 hours today.

Kneeper yes it does :heehee:.

My husband's ROM improved a lot today. 92 on his own and 102 with the pt. Still isn't straight yet, but that will come.
 
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Glad to hear that PT is out of the picture. ROM is right on schedule, slow and easy wins the race.
Here is some important reading for you and your husband.
TKR recovery article compilation

A 3 yr old can wear you out, hope you can get some rest once he goes home.
 
Thank you Pumpkin, I have been lurking on the site for over a month gobbling up any info I could. I have read almost everything on here. My husband wouldn't do it (afraid of what he might find out) so I would do it and tell him what I thought he needed to be prepared without frightening him too much. He still has his right knee to do as soon as the doctor thinks his left is healed enough. I think he overdid it today, so I told him to be prepared for swelling and pain tomorrow.
 
Let your husband know he is now a member of the #ODIC ( over did it club).
Start ice and elevation now to help the angry tissues from today.
All the best,
 
Thank you Pumpkin. He didn't swell as bad as we thought he would. We iced it really good before he went to bed, and it is always elevated in bed (wedge under the mattress). It is a little stiff today, but it usually is in the mornings.
He has his appointment today. We hope he can quit using seran wrap when he showers. We wrote down any questions we had for the doctor because we would forget some of them otherwise.
 
Doctor was very pleased with my husband's knee today, thinks he will do his other one around the end of August. The xray tech couldn't believe how well he was walking.
Desided to stop and get a few things at WalMart, at home now elevated and iced.
 
Day 16. My husband was able to walk up the stairs like a "big boy" today. Still isn't able to go down them that way. We went out to eat today, he was just glad to get out of the house. This is the first day his pain level was down to a 2.
Hope everyone is having a great day.
 
Your husband is so lucky to have you caring for him. I am glad you two were able to go out to eat. I enjoyed being able to get out to restaurants too. Just to get out of the house a little bit after my BTKR was a nice change. I wish your husband a pleasant recovery and I hope you can find some time to take care of yourself also. I hope you can nap, rest a bit, read a book, do something for yourself. Recovery will be a long road so please pace yourself. A big hug to you. And please tell your husband congratulations on going up the stairs today!!! That took a lot of strength!
 
@Wellness in Virginia Thank you for your kind words. My husband is mule-headed and hates anyone having to do things for him. Now that he is walking with a cane and getting around so well, I don't have to do much for him. We bought him crossword books, and model cars to work on. He gets bored so easily, it is hard to keep him from overdoing it. I am grateful for our friends that stop by a visit giving him someone else to talk to besides me. He can't wait to get the other knee done, heal and get back to work (not that he loves his job, but he works with a lot of friends). His doctor is very cautious and won't do the other knee until he can easily hold all his weight on his new knee. Take care of yourself.
 
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This might help some of you. My husband has had hardly any problem sleeping. What he does is we put a wedge pillow under the foot of the mattress, this prevents his leg from slipping off the pillow as it did on top of the mattress. Right before going to bed he takes 2 percocet and a flexeral. The flexeral is a muscle relaxer and makes you really sleepy. Also he sleeps on his side with a pillow between his knees. Hope this info can help someone.
 
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My husband is having muscle cramps in his thigh. He says the muscle just gets tight. Any hints on how to make it feel better?
 
I've used a heating pad to help settle the muscle cramps. I make sure it is away from the incision and on my quads.
 
@msmechanic58 Thanks for the advise. The muscle pain has easied up now, but it is almost as if he is having a set back with the knee pain. He says it is a feeling of pressure inside the joint, I guess this is normal. His doctor only gives him about 5 days of percoset at a time, which is a pain because he is in a different town. He was doing really good and wasn't needing much pain meds, but the last couple of days he has needed more.
 
Such is this recovery journey. Up and down like a roller coaster.
roller coaster.gif
 
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