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TKR ACK! OMG! TKR on May 29th

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1ELISEA said:
Alright, appreciate the reminders. I am less than a week out of surgery so my expectations are higher than my abilities it appears.

It seems, at least when I read about them, that a lot of forum patients are up and about right away; which could be where I am in a few weeks. At least I'll hold that thought.

It is good to know that not everyone is up using crutches right away and a walker is fine. I am not a huge person, and my arms are strong, yet the body is unwilling to comply to orders to get up. It's like it's on a mini rebellion for doing something so traumatic to it.
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I was up, but I was not doing much "about"! It took me a while to get around, and I was using a walker!

Please do not compare yourself to other recovery patients---remember---we all recover at different rates and in different ways. SOme can get up and going rather quickly (I was not one of them!)---while others may take longer---but you cannot rush it.

The harder you work at this, the more frustrated you will get.
 
OMG. The aching, the aching on the back of my calf and my knee. I have tried cold, warm, elevating, massaging, more meds and am on the CPM machine now having it move gently back and forth.

Nothing is working on the ache. :cry:And now it is interspersed with these jolts or jabs of electricity type pain. Just needed to complain to someone who understands. And if you have any suggestions, do pass them along.

I'm usually pretty good at holding my own but tonight is just too much. :cry4:
 
Oh dear! So sorry that you are in such misery just now. I am sorry that I have no great suggestions, but I want you t know that I feel for you. I hate it when those things happen. Hopefully your pain meds will magically kick in and evaporate the nasty pain. ((((huggsss))))
 
Thanks BJ., that does help having a sympathetic ear tonight. Just took more meds so hope they do kick in. I am in pain. :cry: Don't remember signing on to this part of the package.
 
Seriously, this is the stuff that we were not forewarned about, and it is sooooo hard. Every once in a while now when I overdo it I lay in bed crying as I wait desperately for my percocet to magically make the pain disappear or at least back off to a reasonable level so that sleep can come. Hang in there!!!
 
On one of those nights my 16yo daughter texted me from her bed wanting to know if I was ok. It felt good to know that someone cared, even if there was nothing they could physically do to alleviate my pain.

Hang in there friend. :friends:
 
Thanks, BJ, I am trying to hang in. Have taken more meds and am back to icing. And trying to distract myself. :sigh:
 
Hi Elisea!
I'm so sorry that you had a tough night. I hope today is better for you. I was sort of out of commission last night due to having that failed root canal taken care of. I wish that i had seen your post. You have always been so supportive of everyone, that you certainly deserve to vent.
I'll be sure to check in tonight
 
Thanks Nyland. I read your sweet note when you wrote it but was soooo not doing well enough to respond.

Right now I am crying, :cry4: and I never do. Seriously, in all of my notes, other than today and last night, I never cry.

I can usually make jokes about the worst of pain, it's my coping mechanism, but this has been awful. I liken it to when I was growing up as a child and would have terrible leg aches from growth spurts. The fact I can still remember how that felt, tells you what an impact it had at the time and now.

Incision, strength and agility wise everything is looking to good and right on schedule. So it hit me like a ton of bricks; thought I was over the worst of it, and baaammm, it was like "OMG, this is bad!".

I have been getting a little sleep through varying whether it is cold or warm pack, just one mode is not doing it.

This seems more than an angry tissue phase. I think they are having a long drawn out angry conversation with me. There we go, a little joke.

Well, waiting for the latest pain pills to kick in and maybe some massaging around in the area to help blood flow and then back to an ice pack. :sigh: :sleep:
 
Elisea, maybe you need stronger pain meds or to be taking them at least every 3 hours rather than 4. You should not have to be waiting for the meds to kick in.

You need to get in touch with your OS or at least his PA and do something about this. And you need to do it sooner rather than later. You will not get extra points or a gold star for toughing it out and being in tears. GET'ER DONE, GIRL!
 
bottomshollow said:
Elisea, maybe you need stronger pain meds or to be taking them at least every 3 hours rather than 4. You should not have to be waiting for the meds to kick in.

You need to get in touch with your OS or at least his PA and do something about this. And you need to do it sooner rather than later. You will not get extra points or a gold star for toughing it out and being in tears. GET'ER DONE, GIRL!
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My fault, I am supposed to be taking them every 3 hours and after looking at my notes, I wasn't.

Think it was more of a combination of not feeling well, thinking I was feeling better than I was, being a bit loopy from the meds I had taken and not realizing the collision between all three.

Dr. has given me good, strong drugs and the option of how often to take them. Need to do it more wisely.

This was an all new pain, though, and one I wasn't used to. It didn't seem to be the pain from surgery or the pain from a bad knee, more of a dull ache recovering knee perhaps....

Anyway, I'll try to be better about taking them at least on time or taking more before the pain gets out of hand.

I am still aching but not as bad as a few hours ago. Man, that was bad.
Thanks bottomshollow.
 
You're forgiven. And even if you don't think so right now, IT IS GOING TO GET BETTER. I promise.
 
A big thank you to BJ Mac last night. Just knowing you were there helped immensely. No one here (staying with family) knew what pain I was in. I finally fell asleep about the time they were getting up and they all thought I had a nice looooong sleep. Yeah, no such luck.

It was by far the worse night at home yet. I am trying to stay up on my pain meds for tonight to prevent a repeat performance. Here's hoping that it works. If not, you'll know where to find me.
 
You are welcome Elisea! Hopefully tonight we will be sleeping peacefully. :sleep: you are going to be fine, and now that you know the doses and times for your meds hopefully they will do their job better...
 
Hi Elisea,

Reading your thread has brought it all back to me!

I am just at 6 months out now, and believe me, it does get better!

Now, about those pain medications - I know how the fuzzy, drugged brain can forget when they are due. So, perhaps you could try what I found helped me. At the start of the day, write down the times that each drug is due (make a sort of list). Now take those meds strictly by the clock - set an alarm, if necessary.

When you take a dose, put a mark by the time, or draw a line through it. This will help you to not only take the meds when they are due, but also give you reassurance that you are not accidentally taking an extra dose.

As for the physio and the bending, right now it's most important to do ankle pumps and heel slides (and possibly a little straight-leg raising). All else can wait until the swelling starts to go down some more. I didn't start formal physio sessions until 4 weeks post-op.

About bending: my surgeon told me he does not worry about how much you can bend at first (apart from keeping up the heel slides). He does not worry unless his patients can't get to 90 degrees by 3 months.

Don't worry. You're doing fine!

PS: Weeping and depression are also an expected part of this wonderful recovery process!

Best wishes from me and my 2 cats (who thought that having a bed companion during the day was just great). :cat-kittyandsmiley: :cat-kittyandsmiley:

Celle
 
Elisea, enjoy the electrical action in your leg. The nerves are working!

Overall, it will get better. Yes, it will. I had my op 3 1/2 months ago and my stay at the hospital wasn't good. I have a hard time remembering that pain now.

Hang in there!
 
Thanks Celle. Yes, I should be keeping better track of the pain meds. I'll try that tonight.

And I appreciate the encouragement that it will get better!

Plus the best wishes from you and your cats! :cat-kittyandsmiley:
 
Hi Elisea,
Sorry to read how tough your doing. I missed a few times when I should have taken my meds and it did really hurt. Keep to a schedule ( I used notes on my IPad) that you can be sure of. A word of encouragement: At your stage it is only going to get better. Today I rode my bike with my kids as my daughter got a mountain bike for her birthday on Monday. My first time riding in two years. Soon you will be better, but it takes time and healing. My knee still aches, but mostly just a 1 or 2. I know in the months to come this will go and a pain free knee is what I hope for. Remember this is a marathon and everyone's journey is unique. Keep positive you will get throught this, we know it is painful, hard, and there will be hurdles. We care and we know you will be better in time. Good Luck.
 
Hi Elisea, when I couldn't sleep during the first couple of months I used to get up in the middle of the night and eat cornflakes. First time I got up I made toast but the smell woke my hubbie up and he asked me not to do it again. He asked every so politely so from then on it was cornflakes and camomile tea.
 
PooShay said:
Elisea, enjoy the electrical action in your leg. The nerves are working! Overall, it will get better. Yes, it will. I had my op 3 1/2 months ago and my stay at the hospital wasn't good. I have a hard time remembering that pain now.
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Thanks PooShay. Ahhh, so that is what that is. All of a sudden the leg has a jolt like someone put an electric volt simulator to it. Good to know the nerves are working, now to get the rest of it working as well!

And I could use with the pain fade. Seems like I should be farther along, but then I try to remember I am less than two weeks out from surgery.
 
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