2013 December SuperNovas - Are you having knee surgery in December?

[Jozilla]

Hi Kathy - I am almost afraid to ask what kind of anesthesia complications? Good luck with your second knee! You sound like you are doing very well.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®

 

[GeekGoddess]

Hi Jozilla
Very unique difficulty with anesthesia because I shave had a morphine pump implanted in my abdomen since 2008.
It connects into my spinal cord to reduce EXTREME CONSTANT pain from several inoperable herniated diss.
The anesthesiologist didn't realize one builds up narcotic tolerance over time. So I began waking up during surgery. They gave me more meds AND anesthesia..then I stopped breathing..so they needed to use a breathing machine.this happened twice.
So I was off to a slow start..lots of anesthesia in me ...BUT recovery has been terrific!

How is your shiny new knee?

Kathy


Happy healing!
Kathy

Left TKR Oct 15, 2013
Right TKR Scheduled for Dec 17, 2013

Background:
Diagnosed bilateral bone on bone and OA knees Oct, 2012
Implanted intrathecal pain pump. 2008
4-6 additional herniated disks (lumbar and thoracic), 2004-now
Replacement damaged neck disks (c3-c5) 2004

 

[GeekGoddess]

amackness...

He may be using surgical glue and steri-strips. That's what I had. Pretty miraculous and my scar almost ten months later is nearly invisible. Best wishes to you on Monday!!

Elaine

I agree. My OS used this same system... It healed quickly and thoroughly. The dissolvable stitches are in the lower layers of the incision..then glue to seal it up. The steri strips are specialized little band aids that act like butterfly stitches sort of..but in about 2-3 weeks they are no longer needed and they start letting lose and FELL OFF...very cool compared to pictures where people have tons of holes on either side of incision from having staples removed.

YOU ARE FORYUNATE!
Also, keep asking your dr and Bonesmart questions....you deserve answers and support!

 

[Jozilla]

Hi Kathy - my surgery for my first knee is dec 9th. I have such anxiety with the anesthesia even after talking to him I do not feel comfortable. I have sleep apnea so from what he told me I will be having just a spinal which is the normal for joint replacement at my hospital. More than likely he thought I would be aware enough to know what is going on as they can not give me too much good medication. He is prepared to give me general if the spinal doesn't work. I have woken up with a General anesthesia during surgery before I knew I had sleep apnea but I did not remember anything thankfully. I also have severe spinal issues in both the lumbar and cervical areas with Ddd and spinal stenosis. However so far no spine surgery. Several doctors feel it would make me worse. That is another reason I am a little panicky about the spinal working. Does your pain pump work well? Thanks for your advice!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®

 

[Minna-min]

Having left PKR on December 16th. Had right PKR last December 17th. All went well last year but I didn't have time to plan. This year I have had time to plan and also to worry. I'm not worried about the surgery itself; I'm worried about something happening to complicate it. As a result my BP is high and I'm afraid I won't get it down in time for surgery. Sorry for the long post. I'm hoping by putting it out there I might stop obsessing over it. . Best of luck to all having surgery! This site was a godsend for me last year.

 

[bottomshollow]

I have brought forward this month's list so that you can easily see who your surgical buddies are.​

​

Welcome to our latest and all December SuperNovas!​

​

Feel free post your surgery date in this thread, and I will add you to the list. However, please start a thread of your own in the Pre-Op Knee Section to post comments and share your journey toward knee replacement. Here's the link that gives you the instructions you need to do this: Starting a new thread and posting​

​

02 December 13 @MNDeb, @amackness, @mariaw0121, @Kprune, @MNDeb​

03 December 13 @denpucc, @javillgrl, @wifiwildflower​

04 December 13 @carolyn1941#​

05 December 13 @marmrf​

06 December 13 onthego​

09 December 13 @I'm so ready, @Lmalm53 (father's bilateral), @Jozilla, @Wildcatmo, @I'm so ready (her second)​

10 December 13 @Ph$enix (her first), @Chihuahuan​

13 December 13 @Ogbournestandrew​

16 December 13 @Bassman, @B's Knees (bilateral), @bobbiek, Minna-min (her second)​

17 December 13 @pdx, @Lovedogs, GeekGoddess (her second), Ziggysmom​

18 December 13 @irish, @ema8447 (her second), @Kathysbeautybiz (her second), @fiftydollarbill​

20 December 13 @czak57​

30 December 13 @justmerobin (her second)​

 

[bottomshollow]

Minna-min and GeekGoddess, you have both been officially added to the December surgery list!

 

[amackness]

Thanks, Elaine! Sounds like we both have good surgeons.

 

[Giraffe]

Having a R TKR on December 3rd.........

 

[GeekGoddess]

Minna-min and GeekGoddess, you have both been officially added to the December surgery list!

Jamie, thanks for adding me to Dec list!

Kathy. Aka GG. GEEKGODDESS

 

[GeekGoddess]

Hi Kathy - my surgery for my first knee is dec 9th. I have such anxiety with the anesthesia even after talking to him I do not feel comfortable. I have sleep apnea so from what he told me I will be having just a spinal which is the normal for joint replacement at my hospital. More than likely he thought I would be aware enough to know what is going on as they can not give me too much good medication. He is prepared to give me general if the spinal doesn't work. I have woken up with a General anesthesia during surgery before I knew I had sleep apnea but I did not remember anything thankfully. I also have severe spinal issues in both the lumbar and cervical areas with Ddd and spinal stenosis. However so far no spine surgery. Several doctors feel it would make me worse. That is another reason I am a little panicky about the spinal working. Does your pain pump work well? Thanks for your advice!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®

Sorry Jozilla
I've been offline for a few days. Started some new meds..making me groggy!
Regarding my pain pump (intrathecal pain pump) it is fantastic. Everyone has to go through several clearings in order to be eligible, but it has changed my life! It does not work for everyone though. But after being housebound with uncontrollable pain for 2 years, and many alternative and traditional procedures, I had an immediate positive responsive to the trial pump on the first day. Once the permanent one was implanted I had even more positive responses and hangers. It takes months for the years of pain levels building up to come down again.

If you want to private message me I'd be lad to answer any questions.

Best

 

[mariaw0121]

Left TKR scheduled for 12/2, postponed from 10/28 after flareup of polymyalgia rheumatica :-((

Tomorrow's the day - left tkr. If it goes as well as the right, I'll be jumping (well, not literally) by Christmas. Feeling nervous though, fingers crossed.

 

[kneeper]

Congrats and best wishes to mariaw0121 and all the supernovas!

 

[Jozilla]

Prayers to those having surgery today and this week!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®

 

[onthego]

06 December onthego BPKR

 

[Ziggysmom]

Hello All...I'm having a right TKR on Dec. 17

 

[bottomshollow]

onthego and Ziggysmom, you have both been officially added to the December surgery list!

 

[Lovedogs]

HI....Welcome Ziggysmom to Bonesmart! This is a great site....all the aricles and the people here are so supportive and helpful! I've learned so much...and calmed down ALOT with the help of the people here. I have the same surgery date as you. RTKR.

 

[Lovedogs]

Hi onthego.....looks like we Novas are growing in numbers Just wanted to drop you a "HI there" I see you joined BS around the time I did, so you've probably read the articles with all the helpful information.

 

[Ziggysmom]

Thank you for your welcome, Lovedogs! By the way, I love your username..."Ziggy" is my fur-baby...

When I saw the surgeon on Monday, I knew we would probably be moving forward with knee replacement surgery, but I was shocked when he said he had a cancellation on the 17th, and he could schedule me for that date. Boy oh boy, this all suddenly became very real! I am going to "joint school" and doing my pre-op stuff on Monday, then the following week is surgery. My head is full of all the things I've got to do to prepare for this adventure.

At this point, I am not nervous. I'm actually looking forward to it, because I know the pain I will have to endure will result in a pain-free and normal life once again. Also, my husband had both his knees replaced last year, so I've been through the process twice with him.

Are you going to re-hab after your surgery, or will you be going home? My husband went to re-hab for a week, which was very beneficial for him with daily PT and long halls he could walk. The post-op nursing care was also helpful, and I didn't have to deal with it. I am undecided what to do. I am going there today to talk to them, and have been to the PT place and received information from them. The surgeon says it makes no difference in the final outcome, as long as I do the work.

I am glad this forum exists...it will be fun and helpful to go through this as a little group and support each other along the way. I used some information from this site when my husband started becoming discouraged after his first surgery. Josephine posted a chart that shows what happens during recovery. Seeing it helped my husband keep on pushing, and when week 4 came, he suddenly started feeling markedly better each day, just like the chart showed. From his perspective, he couldn't see the daily improvements I could see, and it helped keep him from getting depressed.

So, that's where I am at right now...I will sit down later and read your posts and the others who are having surgery the same day...and I will stay in touch!