TKR 2nd knee, 2nd recovery

[Mrty2019]

So sorry to hear you hit a rough patch. Glad to hear that it is not an infection.

Disappointing to hear about your daughter. The pandemic has added a layer of difficulty to family relationship. My sister will be here for Christmas, but we will all do quick COVID tests before we get together to be sure although we are all vaccinated and boostered. Hoped to see our granddaughter, but she is unvaccinated college student and quick test or not it just wouldn’t be safe for us.

 

[Sara61]

@Mrty2019 I'll be fine, just one of those days we all hit in this recovery. This pandemic has turned the world upside down but god willing this too shall pass.
I think all I need is a good night's undisturbed sleep
How is your recovery coming along ?

 

[Mrty2019]

I hit my goal of a 1/2 mile walk this morning. Now I am beat. I am sleeping about 6 hours at night then wake up, sometimes take a tramadol and sleep longer. Sleep makes a big difference. You should be able to sleep soon.

The compression socks sound like a hassle. I had to wear mine two days and was done with them, but did have a compressor running on my lower legs for the first two weeks.

 

[Sks1997]

@Sara61 so glad you don’t have a knee or urinary infection! Sorry to hear about your Christmas. There is a surge of Covid in our area and they have called the National Guard in to help work in the local hospitals. Never have seen that happen around here in all my life.
Do you use an ice machine or just packs? My friend loaned me an “Ice Man” and we were putting in bags of ice in the beginning and then figured out we could use frozen bottles of water. We use 6 of them and it has saved a lot of money or having to constantly use the ice from freezer. They last a little over a day!
A good friend of mines husband had those blisters and his Dr said they weren’t to worry about and they would resolve and they did!
HAPPY HEALING!

 

[hawk2go]

@Sara61, I wish for you a solid night of sleep with sweet dreams.

 

[Sara61]

@Sks1997 just using regular ice packs, I placed a picnic camping cooler beside my bed at night we fill it with ice and gel pads and it does the trick and saves me making unnecessary trips to the kitchen.
Someone on here mentioned Rice bags - wow who would have thought, and they work brilliantly x

Mr. Sandyman found my house, In total including a mini break of one bathroom and medication I slept for 5 hours, I'm feeling more positive and ready to face the day.

My 84 year old MIL due to several family issues is coming to spend a few months with us, this was unexpectedly and she arrives tomorrow, fortunately she is sweet and over the years I've come to love her, although she drives me batty at times ( don't they all ??) It's always the way when you least expect someone the house is in disarray, although my husband tells me not to worry I know that most of today will be slowly preparing a room for her - that's my PT sorted today

Wishing you all a good day or a good night wherever you are located on this planet xx

 

[Mrty2019]

Sleeping 5 hours is a huge victory and you are on your way. I am just ahead of you in recovery and occasionally sleep all night including last night. Sleep makes everything better.

Would be hard to have someone visit/stay during recovery, but sounds like you’ve got this. Don’t overdo it today!!!

 

[SaraK]

This is your chance to let your MIL do some mothering! Plus you have a great excuse for anything in the house being in disarray. Let her do whatever puttering, cleaning and cooking she wants to do and accept it as a gift!

My mother tells a story about when she was pregnant with her first child. The landlady came over once and decided to start sending her maid over to clean to help my mother out. The landlady wasn't saying it wasn't meticulous (my mother's house always is) - she was just trying to be nice. My mom took umbrage, though, and insisted they move out immediately. It took a couple of weeks before everyone calmed down and she begrudgingly accepted the assistance.

 

[Rubyroo]

Wow Sara you’ve had a lot going on! Glad the blisters were nothing serious and you didn’t have a UTI. Don’t even think about what state your house is in regarding your MIL- your only job is to rest, ice, heal & try to sleep. I’m sorry about Gabriella not going to be able to come visit & also your niece not going to be able to come. That is very disappointing I’m sure. Well at least we made it to the other side Bone Sister

 

[Sara61]

@SaraK - I'm definitely going to let them ( son & mum) look after me... for as long as I'm able to get away with it

@Rubyroo ( bone sister) so pleased you are having a good recovery xx

I'm seeing the assistant doctor tomorrow for post surgery consultation, unfortunately my Surgeon has gone on holiday.. I'm not sure when the staples will be removed, last time I think was after 15 days.
On the whole my knee doesn't hurt, ( well maybe it would without the tramadol ) but what hurts the most is my upper thigh, especially to touch (very sensitive) and my shin, which is turning a shade of purple and black, both these areas are very sore and the compression stocking isn't helping, in fact I going to ask permission to just use them during the day ( ideally not at all)
As I cannot get a comfortable position at night and feel trapped as they are extremely tight.

 

[Rubyroo]

My surgery leg is tender vittles too Sara! ( Tender vittles used to be a name for some cat food back in the day). My thigh and inside medial are super sensitive. Also my leg has started to itch a bit so I broke down & took 2 Benadryl this evening. My bruises are starting to show up from surgery. Too bad there isn’t a fast forward button on all this! Oh well- one moment at a time.

 

[Sara61]

@Rubyroo - I was literally about to ask what do we use to remedy the itch, it's just started tonight, currently I have an ice bag on it silly little things we forget from our 1st surgery, I'm not sure I want to take any more medication but there is nothing worse than an itch that can't be scratched just as I'm ready to try and fall asleep

 

[hawk2go]

Thigh high compression hose are the worst! I realized that I received 2 different sizes, so 1 was uncomfortable and the other was excruciating.

 

[SaraK]

I read about your itch and suddenly had to scratch my forehead and leg and foot and . . . And I haven't even had surgery lately! Seriously, what you do for an itch depends on what's causing it. For me, surgery seemed to dry out my skin so lotion really helped. Be careful taking meds because they might have an interaction with the pain meds. With oral sedation for a procedure several years ago, one of the pills in the "cocktail" was an antihistamine - I was told it heightened the effect of the narcotic.

 

[Sara61]

@SaraK sometimes I should use my own head, I should be an expert on the itch funny how one forgets in the night but in the morning remembers ( old age creeping in here ) in 2016 I was in a gas explosion,I had 3rd degree burns on both legs, ( my kitchen blew up) I recovered well ( thankfully) but the worst part of the process was the itch. Looking back at my medical notes, I used wine coolers around my legs this is the best remedy for an itch that can't be scratched. ( duh me )

 

[Rick951]

I had a bad reaction to the dressing on both knees. The first one I thought it was just from overly aggressive PT on my part. By the second one I came to the conclusion it was a reaction to the surgical dressing. It was the LOW point of my recovery. Good news it did heal.

 

[Sara61]

@Rick951 that looks so painful, mine was a few blisters but nothing like yours. I'm relieved to hear it healed x They gave me some cream at the hospital and now the blisters are drying up.

So I had my dressing changed again today, it looks OK, a longer scar than my left one, it looks fairly neat, hopefully on my next visit next week the staples can be removed.
The surrounding area, thigh & shin this time are both very bruised, plus my bottom bone is sore making sitting down quite uncomfortable.
After leaving hospital. I was feeling very energetic, so I helped hubby cook lunch only to discover half way thru it that I was too exhausted to eat it, lol I'm now back in bed with Mr. Ice strapped to my knee with a fleece throw around me, despite the sun shining, I feel quite cold.

 

[Rubyroo]

@Rick951 All I can say to your picture of your leg is Owwwwwwwwwwie!!!! Glad it healed! Poor boo boo leg

@Sara61 Ok- I have a silly question- when folks post something I see where I can like what they’ve posted- but I don’t see how to insert friendly, or loved that. When I’m posting I know how to go to the smiley icon and choose a symbol to insert in the paragraph but don’t know how to comment on someone’s post.

 

[Rubyroo]

@SaraK I specifically asked my Dr. When I was in the hospital about whether it was ok to take the Benadryl for itching & he said it was fine. Good point though & I appreciate you bringing that up.

 

[Sara61]

@Rubyroo I'm not sure what you mean, right now you are commenting on my post. However if you want to notify someone else on my post you just put the @ before their name ie @Sara61 this will then bring it to the attention of that person.
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