TKR 2nd tkr; end of my OA!!

@Doodlebug sorry to get you in trouble ! I have just heard stories of people not being adequately medicated going home and having horrible pain. If I understand it, my nerve block won’t run out until I am at home. Knowledge is power. It helps me to be able to properly ask questions before I leave the surgery center instead of having to call them in the middle of the night. All this is completely new territory for me. Your info was very helpful. Thank you for sharing !
 
@Doodlebug sorry to get you in trouble ! I have just heard stories of people not being adequately medicated going home and having horrible pain. If I understand it, my nerve block won’t run out until I am at home. Knowledge is power. It helps me to be able to properly ask questions before I leave the surgery center instead of having to call them in the middle of the night. All this is completely new territory for me. Your info was very helpful. Thank you for sharing !
Moriah; That's okay; like Celle said no harm done. Neither one of us knew. She was just making us all aware that each one's medication needs are different. You didn't get me in trouble. All is good. Hope you are doing well with your recovery. Have a blessed day; Doodlebug
 
A little update; Am at 17 days post-OP. Swelling is starting to go down a little. Icing and elevating every chance I get. Walking around the house every now and then. Can do heel slides to 95 degrees with slight discomfort but no pain. Extension is good at 0. Sometimes when I'm lying in bed with my leg on Lounge Dr., I'll take my leg and hold it in the air at about a 70 degree angle for a couple of minutes to reduce swelling in ankle and lower leg. Sometimes I'll do a few ankle pumps and quad stretches while I have it in the air. It seems to work well for me. That's about all for now. Oh I forgot; my steri-strips are starting to come off and incision is looking good. No redness and no hot spots. Thank goodness! Don't want no separation and infection like I got with last tkr. That's what's good about the 2nd one; you know what to do and what not to do. Hope everyone is having a great recovery; Doodlebug
 
A little update; Am at 17 days post-OP. Swelling is starting to go down a little. Icing and elevating every chance I get. Walking around the house every now and then. Can do heel slides to 95 degrees with slight discomfort but no pain. Extension is good at 0. Sometimes when I'm lying in bed with my leg on Lounge Dr., I'll take my leg and hold it in the air at about a 70 degree angle for a couple of minutes to reduce swelling in ankle and lower leg. Sometimes I'll do a few ankle pumps and quad stretches while I have it in the air. It seems to work well for me. That's about all for now. Oh I forgot; my steri-strips are starting to come off and incision is looking good. No redness and no hot spots. Thank goodness! Don't want no separation and infection like I got with last tkr. That's what's good about the 2nd one; you know what to do and what not to do. Hope everyone is having a great recovery; Doodlebug
Hi doodlebug60, wow you are way ahead of the game in knowledge and attitude in so many ways. I am finally learning to appreciate that my knee needs gentle encouragement and stretches instead of a drill sergeant.
I am getting ready for some heel slides the Bonesmart way. My lounge dr gets here next week. Do you use an ice machine? Forgive me but I read all 4 pages and couldn’t focus too well. Isn’t it great to have people you don’t even know follow your recovery!
 
Murphy2013; hi. and thanks for the kind words. In answer to your question; yes I do use a Breg polar cube machine when I go to bed at night. During the day I have 3 velcro wraps that I use around my knee. I wrap my knee and elevate on the Lounge Dr. Rest,ice,and elevation plus patience works wonders. Hope you have a great recovery. Doodlebug
 
update; it's been 22 days since my rtkr. Had staples taken out on the 12th. Incision looks good. OS said everything looks good and made me an appointment for 6wks. follow up on the 23rd of September. The problem I'm having is that my knee is really swollen and feels mushy like I have a lot of fluid buildup. I have good Rom at 95 to 100; and good straightening at 0. I ice and elevate constantly. I have a little blister next to the incision on the outside that I think came from the steri-strips. Do I need to worry about the swelling and mushy feeling at only 3weeks out. I've been having to drive my nephews to work every day and I know that's a lot on my recovery at this point. Just wanting some advice about all the swelling and mushy feelings; Doodlebug
 
I forgot to mention that my OS did have to do a lot more work than he did for my 1st tkr in February. He said arthritis was a lot worse. Maybe that's why I'm having so much more trouble with this one. Each knee is different as you all say; even on the same body
 
Just wanting some advice about all the swelling and mushy feelings
Still very early days! This is totally normal. Just keep icing and elevating.
He said arthritis was a lot worse. Maybe that's why I'm having so much more trouble with this one.
Yes, this is why your recovery seems more complex this time. Patience prescribed in larges doses!
 
Jaycey; thanks for the advice. I'll keep icing and elevating as much as possible. Was mainly worried about all the fluid buildup. Have a great day; Doodlebug
 
@doodlebug60
My first TKR was 14 months ago.

one of the tricks I used to chase the “mushy feeling” was suggested by a member whose son is a professional athlete. He would place the ice bag on his knees and strap it in place, then scoot his backside to a wall. His legs would then go up the wall 90 degrees.

I tried it once I had 0 extension. It worked well for me. The swelling went down significantly. It was boring looking at the ceiling....I did it until I was too bored stick with it any longer. Fifteen minutes was about my limit.

Just an idea...
 
I think the advice above is not suitable for someone whose surgery was less than a month ago - too challenging to get into that position and I wouldn't like to read of anyone getting stuck on the floor.

The swelling will go down gradually, as long as you elevate your leg properly, toes above your nose if possible.
Elevation: Doing It the Right Way
 
Poctdb; Thanks for the advice. Yeah sometimes I like in bed and hold my thigh with my leg at 90deg. It does help at getting the swelling down. Especially in my ankle and lower leg
 
Just an update; haven't been on for awhile. Woke up about 2 weeks ago with a small hole at the bottom of my incision. Knee was really swollen and painful. Mushy feeling on top of my knee turned out to be blood buildup not fluid.. knee was really red and hot. Blood was spurting out of small hole. Went to emergency room and they took me right in. They called my OS and he had them transfer me to hospital where I had surgery. They did emergency surgery and washout. I was in hospital for 5 days on IV antibiotics. Luckily OS said infection didn't get into the joint. He was going to send me home with a pic line but decided not to. I am on Ciprofloxacin 2 times a day for 30 days. I have staples and stitches again. I have no pain and have appointment with OS on the 19th of October to remove staples. Will update again if things change
 
I am so sorry to read about your infection. Thank God you got it early. It's good to hear that you are in no pain. Please keep us updated.

Do you have an infectious disease doctor on board? It would be a good idea to do so.
 
Sistersinhim; glad to hear from you again. I have been trying to pull up forums with the app. For some reason the app. is not responding. I managed to find you all again through Google and figured out how to post. In answer to your question; I don't have an ID doctor at this time. I'm going to keep incision covered until the 19th when I see my OS again and we'll see how it looks then. At least now I don't have that mushy feeling on top of my knee no more from blood leaking. Knee is pretty swollen; but that is to be expected since I was opened back up again. Well I guess that's all for now. Hoping for a continuous infection free future. Prayers to all for a good recovery. Doodlebug
 
@doodlebug60 so sorry you are dealing with an infection. Let's just hope the procedure and medication do the trick! :fingersx:
 
Thanks Jaycey; yeah that's what I'm hoping for. I noticed my incision is open again near the bottom and leaking orange colored fluid. It's just a small opening. It soaked my bandage all the way through the ace wrap. I changed the bandage. I'm making sure my hands are good and disinfected. Don't want no bacteria getting into the incision. What's bothering me more than anything else is the swelling of my foot, ankle, and lower leg. The swelling won't go down no matter how much I ice and elevate above my heart. They checked me for blood clots in the hospital and said everything came back negative. I may have to make an appointment with a cardiologist to check my circulation situation. I don't have any pain just discomfort from the swelling. Well that's about all for now. Wishing all a good recovery. Doodlebug
 
@doodlebug60 What was the date of your washout? I think swelling is probably normal as you had a second surgery. But you might want to call your surgeon and let them know that you are having this discharge that is soaking your bandage.
 
Jaycey; thanks for the reply. Washout was on the 2nd. I changed my bandage this morning and it wasn't soaked like yesterday. Had to change the bandaid due to drainage but bandage itself didn't have any drainage on it. Is it normal for lower leg, ankle, and foot to swell this much after surgery? I don't remember my left leg swelling this much after my first tkr. I know each surgery is different and each one heals different; but all this lower leg swelling is very discouraging; especially when icing and elevating doesn't seem to be helping. Thanks for allowing me to vent a little. Have a great day. Doodlebug
 

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