Lounge Doctor

Revision TKR ArmyVet's recovery thread<<

So... I am now 2 days pre-revision. I honestly don't think I could wait any longer. My knee hurts, my back hurts(pars defects of my L2, and my L3 is 'uncovered' by almost 3/4 inch), I can't take any pain meds, and my mind is going crazy with the "what ifs", as I call them!!

I just moved into a new apartment that's on the first floor, and I have NO stairs at all to worry about, so my plan for the next two days is to make sure everything is up off the floor, and I have clear access to everything. Hubby is off until Saturday, so he will be with me a couple days right after surgery to help. Hoping this recovery is as pain free as the last one!!!

See you on the other side!!!
 
well, I'm BAACK!!!! Surgery went well-- except what everyone thought was bone loss was actually a bone TUMOR... They took it out and sent it to be examined...
Lots more pain this time than the first time, but I guess that's because it's a revision, and they had to put the stem in. If I hadn't been diabetic, my surgeon would have let me go home that first day.
 
Wow, a tumor!

Best wishes for a great recovery.

Here’s a refresher for you:

Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access to these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?

Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key

Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly

Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
oh geez...I never had this problem with the original TKR... I have a hard time sleeping more than 4 hours at a time, but then I am AWAKE for a while, and then, I get what I call "crash and burn", where all of a sudden my body wants to just pass out!!! It's like a switch goes off, and I can't keep my eyes open for anything!!!
 
Day 2 post surgery

av.JPG
 
I have a question for all you TKR vets.... The staples in my leg on the inside of the leg where it bends are BLISTERING. I thought at first it was from the big ol bandaid they used to cover the scar at first, and figured my skin there didn't like the adhesive. Well... I'm getting more daily. Same area. Is this something I should worry about??? Or should I just deal with blisters? I don't have an appointment to remove the staples until July 9...
 
Here's the best pic I can get of the blisters. @Josephine can you look at these for me and give me some idea of what I can do to stop these??

armyvet.jpeg
 
You mean the blistering inside the red circle? Those are already healing. And they were caused by the surgery so there is nothing now you can do to 'stop' them. They will heal in due time. Don't worry.
 
Josephine said:
You mean the blistering inside the red circle? Those are already healing. And they were caused by the surgery so there is nothing now you can do to 'stop' them. They will heal in due time. Don't worry.
Click to expand...
YES!!! Thank you!!! They are driving me crazy!!!
 
@ArmyVet I wonder if these are fracture blisters like I suffered (?) though of my 13 blisters, half were blood-filled. They are more common after a traumatic bone break but CAN happen following knee replacement. My PT has only seen them after bone breaks in her 18 yrs, and my Home Health PT hadn't ever seen them in her 16 yrs of post-op care. Mine were from severe swelling after surgery----not lots of swelling (ha), but severe swelling where I was put on bedrest (bathroom breaks only) until Post-op Day 8 with no bending and no PT allowed. They were there when the home health nurse took the dressing off on Post-op Day 3 but kept forming through Day 5-6.

Was this your case, or is your swelling comparable to your previous TKR? I'm more curious than anything, as I was told I had a severe inflammatory response from my surgery, and fracture blisters are an obvious symptom. Plus, I am curious if/when others experience it because I know it may happen when I have the left knee done.

Another thought---I was also told it could be a reaction to whatever antiseptic (?) or skin prep "stuff" they use right before surgery, but due to my swelling issue, they ruled that out immediately.
 
@Rockgirl4 I finally heard back from my surgeon's office, and my blisters are also due to the swelling. This was after my revision, so more had to be done than after the first replacement. The nurse suggested to stay off it as much as possible, keep it raised and ice as much as possible. I wish I could cancel therapy today, but I will go and then wait to schedule more appointments until more of the swelling is gone. The office DID move my next appointment sooner to help with the blisters-- she said it was due to the staples, and the sooner the staples were out, the better. So staples will come out on July 5 instead of July 9... 4 days isn't much, but the sooner the better, imo!!

I have noticed my swelling has gone down, but there is still a large amount of swelling right at my kneecap, which is where the blisters are. I will keep doing what I am doing, and keep up with ADL instead of worrying about flex and extension. I stood at my kitchen sink today and washed my hair, and all I could think about was "why don't I have more time so I can nap before I go to therapy??" Little things are wearing me out, but I am learning to only do what I can do, and nap when my body tells me..
 
Ok.. for those of you that have had a revision, I have a question. I am 11 days out from my new parts. I am having pain where I can feel the end of the stem in my tibial component. Will this go away?? There is a "bump" just past the end of my staples line, and I believe that's where the end of the stem is, and where my pain is. Any suggestions to help me deal with this??
 
I'm not a doctor, so can't guarantee it's the same thing, but I have a similar issue. My OS told me it's called "Stem Tip Pain" and in almost every single person that it affects it goes away as the bone fills in. Some take a short time, some take longer, but in most people it goes away. Apparently, as I understand it, the rod is metal and doesn't bend, whereas our bones do bend and with movement sometimes the tip of the stem touches the bone and the nerves in the bone get shocked, thus the pain. As the bone fills in it stops. Again, I'm not a doctor, but that's basically what my doctor told me about mine. There's really nothing that you can do for it, it just has to resolve on it's own over time. But I'd mention it to my OS just to be sure.
 
I met with my surgeon today. They took out all 50 staples!!! I thought the nurse was NEVER gonna be done pulling them out!!! My OS is VERY happy with my extension/flexion, and did tell me what I have is "Stem Tip Pain". Yes, it will go away, probably later rather than sooner, but it will go away!!! Just dealing with this one day at a time. Now time for another nap/sleep/ rest, whatever you want to call it, since it will only be a few hours and then I will be up again...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antibacterial

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

The Best Total Knee Replacement Blogs of 2020

Staff online

Members online

Total: 133 (members: 13, guests: 120)

Forum statistics

Threads
65,490
Messages
1,601,302
BoneSmarties
39,549
Latest member
Extensions
Recent bookmarks
0

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom