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31 years old, bilateral TKR in August...how to do the bathroom?

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Hi Jamie, I've just begun my research.... the above information from a PubMed article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2267526/#__ffn_sectitle
Page 12-13

Thanks for your reply. I suppose my medical team will be very thorough in my pre-op preparation, explaining the ins and outs of everything.
But I like to weigh all my options and I am a teeny bit skeptical about having another person's blood in me.
Knowledge is power, so I think I'll keep sniffing around for a little bit! :)
I'm kind of one of those A personalities...
 
Hi Jesse, welcome to BoneSmart! I tried to view the picture you posted of you walker, but it wouldn't come up, it sounds very interesting!

I didn't have any problems getting up the first time except some tightness around the knee, and the quads being a little week and sore. I was aided to the bathroom by two attendant and a walker the next morning. The first day I had a catheter, which I was thankful for, because there was no way I was getting out of that bed. One nurse showed me a trick to make standing easier, and that was to sit on the edge of the bed, then raise the bed higher so you don't have to use so much quad muscle for lifting at first. It worked great for me and I used it when I went to rehab after leaving the hospital. I mentioned on my thread in response to your inquiry that doing quad exercises and leg lift before you go in for your BTKR would be beneficial for you, it real helped me in my recovery!

I applaud your decision to have BTKR, I know it's not an easy decision, however you will be happy you made it in the long run!

Stay well and try an stay positive! :friends:
 
Super Walker for arthritic hands!
[Bonesmart.org] 31 years old, bilateral TKR in August...how to do the bathroom?
 
When you have knee or hip surgery, using your upper body is important- these are the hands I'm working:

[Bonesmart.org] 31 years old, bilateral TKR in August...how to do the bathroom?
 
Perhaps I can add a different perspective on transfusion. I had to have four units transfused into me after surgery. Had you asked me beforehand I would have been worried at the risk. However, I can assure you if you need that blood all you will feel is pathetic gratitude that someone donated. I will never stop feeling so grateful to those four people. All the fears one has about transfusion vanish in the stark moment when you realize you need blood.

However, bilateral is the way to go. You will be one and done.
 
I need to stand up when I paint so after my hip surgery and waiting for my knee surgery ( August hopefully, September or October more probably) it has been a year now since I have been able to work. while I can't put force through my hands on a walker, my upper arms and elbows are very strong so I put arm-troughs commonly used for stroke victims on my walker - All the weight goes into my superduper shoulders! I fashioned wheels onto a standard Walker and made a tray from desktop supplies and chains used to hang plants. If you're like me and need arm supports for your walker, regular trays won't fit ... I'm pretty happy with my tray as it made me more independent.

Today I'm feeling very lucky to live in a world where joint replacement is a viable option for people with arthritis. In studying art history I saw many skeletal remains in which arthritis and joint problems were detected 800 even 3000 B.C.E. While risk factors, particularly for bilateral replacements are a concern, I can't imagine living from 30 to possibly 80 or beyond in this much pain.

I also can't believe I have been painting almost every day for 10 years with ruptured tendons, but that is another story.

I feel for all the people I have met with cancer, MS, lupus and more - I have met some pretty brilliant people who were made even more brilliant through their sometimes painful and strange relationships with their bodies.
 
Ingenuity and artistry, talented combination!

Do you sell your paintings? What is your favorite medium to paint in?

My mother was a painter and when she saw a sky with clouds or a certain light combination, she'd say, "That's an artist's sky!". Thank you for sharing your painting as it allowed me to remember that wonderful memory of my mother!

When you know the date of your surgery, I'll add you to the August Hot Shots list with a date. :)
 
Jesse for the Fight said:
While risk factors, particularly for bilateral replacements are a concern
Click to expand...
Hmm, yes the total risk of a bilateral comes up as very slightly more than double the risk of a single TKR. But don't forget that of course you have to have two of them! There's therefore very little overall difference AFAIK.
 
Jesse, YOU are one amazing young lady! I showed my hubby your walker design (he's an engineer by trade, now retired) and he said you should market your design, and I agree! That walker can help so many!

Your art is wonderful, and very thought provoking!

With all that upper body strength, I have no doubt that you'll BTKR just fine! I found upper body strength to be key in the recovery process, and as for your inner body and mind strength, well my dear you lack nothing there! You are one strong young lady all around my BoneSmartie friend! :friends:
 
Hi 1Elisa
If you are the type of painter who enjoys skies and I certainly do, then there are certainly "painters skies". I personally feel that painting has great distracting, fulfilling and recuperative properties. Glad I got to remind you of your mum. Mums and Grandmums are the greatest aren't they?
 
Hi Jesse
You clearly are a fighter!

Re: sun on scars...I've uniformly been told to keep my scars out of the sun (it's lie out at the pool season in Nebraska). If I'm going to sit outside in shorts I just put a dishtowel or something over my knees.

Transfusions: I ended up needing to be transfused 2 days after surgery. I hadn't expected it - I'd been diagnosed as slightly anemic three months prior to surgery, had taken iron, and was given a "go" on my hemoglobin level - so hadn't researched it. I needed two units. All I know is that I felt like a million bucks when it was over. I know many people who have had BTKRs and the vast majority have not needed transfusions. Also keep in mind that donating blood will lower your hemoglobin levels.

Good luck!
j
 
Thanks Jeanine!
I will not be donating my blood for that very reason. It was great to hear your story. Pool-side season sounds delightful ( lol dish towels :)
I plan to hide under hats and umbrellas like a mushroom until my scars aren't purple any more.
 
I donated for myself both times, and both times needed it. The first time after passing out in the hall during my first walk! (Fortunately they saw it coming and ran a chair up under me). The second time my levels were just low and they decided to transfuse so I wouldn't pass out, I guess. My iron had been low for months regardless of the supplements and when I donated my own they told me that if I had wanted to donate for someone else I wouldn't have been able to because of my low levels (though they were high enough to donate for myself). So I'm glad I did, as I needed it and prefer to have my own blood back where it belongs! Best of luck to you!
 
Well, it's decided. Bilateral knee replacements for me in September. The two month wait is a killer. My knees don't even have a thin layer of cartilage left on them. They are full of bone spurs and my meniscus is torn to shreds and this has flipped over, locking both of my knees so they will neither bend fully nor straighten. Yet, I waddle around surprisingly well. I planted flowers on my patio today as well as jalapeno peppers ( It is jalapeno poppers season!) yet, I have been unable to do any physiotherapy this past week. My quads, once shapely, are looking pretty sunken and my thighs, butt and calves are the consistency of Jell-O with mini-marshmallows in it. Going to physiotherapy tomorrow I hate having to tell them my week was unproductive. I was put on a short course of the drug prednisone to relieve the bowling ball size swelling encompassing my knees that had been there for months. At 20 mg I was like a hummingbird. Weaning down from 8 to 10, the swelling returned and I was super-bird no more. Before surgery, I try to abstain from coffee as it decreases calcium and is not great for bone health but when coming off of prednisone it's like I Neeeeeeed coffee! Going to try and rally my forces to make it through the pre-op PT.
 
Jesse for the Fight said:
The two month wait is a killer
Click to expand...
Yes, it is isn't it. Maybe you could try to get it brought forward?

But you have some prep time. Upper body strength exercises; setting up your bathroom with (maybe) grab handles for the toilet, and get a toilet seat riser too; maybe get a rocking chair for those easy flexion exercises - certainly set up somewhere that you will be able to sit and rest and watch telly, somewhere with a fairly high seat (maybe just a chair with supports underneath to build it up).
 
It's official - got the surgeons call - bilateral knees for me August 1st 2013! Here I thought I had until September or October! I turn 32 in September so I think of the knees as an early birthday present. Starting to feel those pre-surgery jitters. Do I have the right elevation cushion? My iron is low, should I go load up on some steak? and where are all my ice packs???.... I'm a little exhausted of everyone saying " You're so young you'll fly through the surgery " In fact I took longer than most to heal from my hip replacement and being young means important considertion of the possibility of MULTIPLE revisions. Also, When you have rheumatoid arthritis you have to stop medications which keep the rest of your body from flaring up in painful swelling which adds some difficulty to post op physiotherapy. As a woman you have to worry about birth controll and extra iron loss. Years of arthritis and related meds meant muscle and early bone loss for me...Also, my family are all far away from the city I moved to for university and only my 75 year old grandmother and boyfriend ( a busy phd student who is not the most attentive caregiver) are here to help nurse me. NERVEs!!!
That being said, I have exercised as much as I could, ate well and lowered my BMI with local organic veggies, fruits and meats, took my vitamins, cultivated a vocation and learned to be curious but relaxed .... so I think I'm ready for whatever life throws my way.
One month to go - excited and holding breath.
 
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