TKR Trish's Recovery

Trish4801

new member
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Jan 27, 2023
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In my hospital room. Had a spinal so waiting for my legs to wake up. Right now no real pain. Have my spot in the house set up. The wood stand is open on the bottom where the berg ice machine will fit perfectly.
 

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Welcome to recovery, Trish and congrats on your new knee!
Your recovery nest looks comfy and ready for your return. Safe travels home! I will leave our Recovery Guidelines and look forward to following your journey back to all that you love!
Lots of comfort to you as you begin healing.

KNEE RECOVERY GUIDELINES

As you begin healing, please keep in mind that each recovery is unique. While the BoneSmart philosophy successfully works for many, there will be exceptions. Between the recommendations found here, your surgeon's recovery protocol and any physical therapy you may engage in, the key is to find what works best for you.

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
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

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

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 a 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 history before providing advice.
@Trish4801
 
Dogs do indeed help with your recovery. This is Tango. He's a big gentle 80 lb, mixed breed (hound-golden retriever) rescue dog, who is soon to celebrate his 11th birthday. In the winter he loves to lay on my lap. At the end of October I had my 2nd knee replacement. Tango is very polite. He would stand in front of my recliner, waiting for me to invite him up. It killed me that for the first 2 months I was afraid to have him on my lap. At 9 weeks, I said to him, "Want to come up boy?" He slowly and carefully climbed onto my lap, and moved into position. When he laid down, he put his big head next to my surgical knee, not across it.

It was such a comfort to have the big warm furry body close to me again, not to mention the warmth he shared with me on those cold winter nights.
 

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Incision feels tight like it's pulling icing top. Bit of whizzing, they gave me a breathing treatment. Going home tomorrow.

Yesterday numbers were 0-95 after surgery. Today it was 0-115 in the AM. 0-105 this PM.

So far so good.
 
Wow, those numbers are quite good! Don't be disappointed when they get worse after going home. Just the trip in the car and getting in and out of the car will make you swell and then you can't bend or straighten as well. You're experienced in this recovery and will do fine.
 
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Sounds like you came through with flying colors! Hope you are settled at home and comfortable now, @Trish4801.

I want to echo what SIH said about ROM: don't be surprised if the numbers go "backwards" for a bit. It takes a few days after surgery for the swelling in your leg to reach its peak and while it's swollen, it won't bend much. That's completely normal. As the swelling gradually goes down, your bend will improve.

In the meantime, be sure to ice and elevate! And let us know how we can help.
 
Today has been bad swelling is up,pain is up. I am settled at home. Not sure what happened, I seem to be having trouble eating and my oxygenation dropped. They have put me on albuteral.
 
Sorry to read this, @Trish4801. I hope the albuterol helps with the breathing.

Many of us find that we have little to no appetite during that first week after surgery. I opted for little snacks through out the day -- pudding, crackers with some peanut butter or cheese -- to make sure I wasn't taking meds on an empty stomach. I also sipped on shakes (like Ensure or Boost) since protein is so important for healing.

Eat what you can to be sure to keep up with your pain meds. The next few days are the hardest; after that things will improve.

Sending hugs :console2:
 
How are you doing today, Trish? I hope you're feeling better.
Take good care and know that we're here if you need us.
@Trish4801
 
Doing good today. Feel like I got a few more hours sleep last night.

The pain is much better, so is the breathing. Still feel tired. PT came in today, but we didn't do much.
 
What a good report for someone who is just a few days out of surgery! Feeling tired is completely normal, especially since you've had two surgeries in less than 4 months. Don't be surprised if your old left knee will start to hurt some. This is also normal, it'll be taking on most of the work for several months. Mine did. Once my new knee took over some of the 'work' my old knee calmed down.
 
PT came in again. They say I'm ahead of where I need to be. 0/92. Not as good as in the hospital but I think the block was still in play. I don't feel the need for the walker so asked if I could quit using it. She had me stand on my surgical leg lifting my other leg. With the walker in front of me. I was wobbly, she said my balance needs to be better before I give up walker, so a bit longer.

I go back tomorrow to see surgeon, be the first time I'll get to see my incision. Hate the white hose things. Think I'll ask if they can go yet.
 
When you can walk without a wobble or a limb it is then safe for you to give up a walking assistance device.
 
I'm working on balance. Still using walker except inside house.

PT was in yesterday, worked with the Cane. I kept getting confused on which foot comes out with cane.

Got new exercises to help increase my ROM. Was 0/110. It was a painful 110 however.

I hope everyone has a painless day and good exercise today.
 
I'm now getting close to one month. I fell off the back steps 2 days ago. Scared me landed on hands and knees. Thankfully, as far as I can tell, I did no damage.

At pt I'm breaking records. They said I'm at 0-140. I was giving permission to take a bath after I proved I could get down and back up. Not pretty but doable.

Still only 2 lb weights. The way she talks I may only have 3 weeks of pt.

I still have pain getting up and walking, but it's pain I can handle. However, I'm tired of hurting. I figure it will get better as well.

Hope everyone has a good day I'm getting a bit done in the house cleaning department.

Picture of what may become no scar.
 

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Hey Trish, Thanks for the update. I am sorry you fell, how frightening that must have been. Thankfully you’re okay! Consider icing any residual swelling, if you’re not already.

Please go easy on the house cleaning today, it’s still pretty early into the healing process for you and if you’re anything like me, when you‘re feeling good, you may tend to push it. :wink: Then….pay later. It is so easy to overdo it when you’re feeling good. Best Wishes for a nice relaxing weekend!
@Trish4801
 

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