TKR 5 months post op and recovering well from TRKR

[KarriB]

Great to hear all went well. Stay ahead of the pain!

 

[LindaO]

Awesome to hear all is going well! Keep us posted and stay safe and warm!

 

[mikebob]

Good news for you! Looks like a blizzard in your part of the country. 75 in Carmel, CA today.

 

[Celle]

Hi all, everything went well.. I got back to my room at 2:00 yesterday afternoon. Pain is under control. I was up and walking soon after getting back to my room. It's 4 am now and they just came in to give me my meds. Everything is going great so far, the angry knee is gone, thank you Jesus! It snowed here, so they wanna keep me here for another night, they're afraid I'm gonna slip on the ice at home. I'm getting a little sleepily, so I'll write more later. Thanks again for the get wells.

Welcome to recovery, @Bluebell53 . I'm glad everything is going well.

Here is the new version of the BoneSmart recovery guidelines:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
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
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.​

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

the BoneSmart view on exercise
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


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.

 

[newlybionic]

Congratulations on your new knee. Sleep while you can.

 

[Bluebell53]

I Finally got home late this afternoon. I don't think sleeping is going to be a problem, not with all these meds. Only one thing, why do I have a nose bleed?

 

[Celle]

Are you taking blood thinners, @Bluebell53 ?
If so, you need to phone your surgeon. Your nose bleeding could be an indication that your dose of blood thinner needs to be adjusted.

 

[Bluebell53]

Are you taking blood thinners, @Bluebell53 ?
If so, you need to phone your surgeon. Your nose bleeding could be an indication that your dose of blood thinner needs to be adjusted.

Sent from my iPhone

 

[Celle]

Bluebell, you don't need to quote a post to reply. Just start typing in the box at the bottom of the page. You quoted my post, but didn't type anything of your own.

 

[Bluebell53]

Hello all, this moving I woke up with swollen legs and feet. On my operative side where I had my knee replacement (right side) my foot looked black purplish and bruised. After icing and no changes I made a trip to the ER. While there, they had a problem trying to find my pulse in my right foot. They sent me for a dobbler and a sonogram to look for blood clots and any bladder issues. Both tests came back negative. I told the ER doctor that over the past four days since surgery I've put on 20 lbs of fluid. My incision is covered with fluid filled blisters. They thoroughly checked me out and released me. They said to continue with the icing, elevation of legs and drink plenty of water. Well that what I've been doing. I'm so down at this point. Any advice?

 

[mikebob]

Sorry to hear, i hope the solution is simple for you. Keep us posted!

 

[Celle]

@Bluebell53 - you never answered my question about your nosebleeds.

I'm sorry you're feeling so uncomfortable.

The blisters you have are from the swelling. They're called fracture blisters (even though you don't have a fracture.) They should gradually go away, as your swelling decreases. Don't pop them. If one should happen to burst, keep it covered with a sterile dressing.

Your mission for the next few weeks is to spend almost all your time resting, icing and elevating your leg, with your toes above your nose as often as you can. Just get up for walks to the bathroom and kitchen and back. Do ankle pumps while you're in bed, to prevent blood clots.
Resting, icing and elevating are the only things that will bring down your swelling.

When the swelling starts to go down, expect to have to make more frequent trips to the bathroom as you get rid of the extra fluid.

As for the bruising, that's normal. The bruising on your foot and ankle is simply blood that has gone downhill to the lowest part while you have been up and about. It will fade gradually.
Read this article Bruising after surgery
Some of those legs are glorious technicolour.

 

[Bluebell53]

@Cella, Thank you for the info, I feel a little rest assured. As for the nose bleed, the home nurse had me cut down on the aspirin milligrams. Thanks again for the info.

 

[Celle]

As for the nose bleed, the home nurse had me cut down on the aspirin milligrams.

I sure hope she informed your surgeon about that!

You are taking Aspirin as an anti-clotting agent, to help cut down the risk of getting a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in your leg. Aspirin does make you bleed more easily - hence the nosebleeds - but your surgeon should know that you have reduced the dose. Mind you, it's probably the advice he/she would have given you, too!

 

[LindaO]

Thinking of you and hope your swelling is improving!

 

[Lynnallison175]

Hi Bluebell53. I am in month number five from my second/left TKR. I had those crazy fracture blisters as well. They are distressing and painful. They will rupture and empty out and they may look like a bad burn on your knee. Mine was discovered in the hospital the morning I was to be discharged. They started as three small blisters and grew into one large one, the size of the palm of my hand and it was at least an inch thick. The premise is that the area of trauma is so swollen, there is no place else for the fluid to go, so it pushes out thru the skin. They are a pain in the butt, but they do go away in about 2 or 3 weeks. Mine ruptured in the shower on morning.

My knee is still swollen and painful, but I achieved 0 extension and 132 flexion at PT. Just be patient and all will be well. Good luck. Lynn

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[Bluebell53]

Question for all.. Do any of you experience a snapping/clicking feeling in your new operated knee? One more thing regarding knees, what day were you all allowed to shower and put antibacterial on the incision ? Monday will be the 7 day mark. My surgeon glued my incision and put a strip over the incision to keep it clean.

 

[newlybionic]

It's not at all unusual for your knee to make noises. It's normal and it happens because, instead of the relatively softer bone and cartilage, you now have hard metal and plastic parts moving over one another.
As long as it doesn't hurt, the noises are nothing to worry about.
Clicking/clunking knee joint after surgery

Your OS will tell you when you can take a shower. Call his office to find out when it is allowed. You should never put anything on your incision at all. You don't need to use an antibacterial. Just keep the area clean and dry. Don't remove the strip unless the OS tells you to do so.

 

[Marbles]

My surgery was in NZ and length of stay is 5-7 days, I got out day 4, which I felt was about right... for me.
I loved my hospital bed and the catheter!!
Once I had to get up to go to the loo I thought, might as well go home where the food and company is better.
I'm a good sleeper, but even with hospital interruptions I was more comfortable in the hospital bed.
For me my saving grace at home was a cheap and nasty body pillow, under both legs sleeping on my back, under operated leg sleeping on my side.

 

[Lynnallison175]

Bluebell53. I agree with Newlybionic. My surgeon told me the same thing, the noises are normal (mine clunks) as hard plastic and titanium are moving against each other. As long as your pain continues to lessen, you will get use to the noise and then you won't even hear it anymore.

Until that incision is completely closed, you won't need to put anything on it.
When I finally was allowed to shower, I used an antibacterial bar soap and got the wash cloth good and soapy and just squeezed the soapy water over the incision, then used the clean shower water to rinse the soap away. I didn't rub the incision and just patted it dry. That strip on top of your incision is to keep it clean, together and dry, it will start to peel off eventually.

Sounds like you are doing great. Just remember this process is a marathon and not a sprint. My right knee (July 2015) recovery was text book and I was back to work in 3 months. This left knee (October 2016) recovery has been very different, I'm still off work until 3-27-17, for a total of 5 and a half months. The left knee is still swollen and painful, but, I'm bored out of my skull and want my life back to normal. My extension is zero on both and my right flexion is 126 and my leftB flexion is 132. You only get one chance to recover properly. All will be well in time.

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