TKR Am I on the right track?

[maddoxsmama]

If you feel like sleeping, do so. Those long nights with little sleep will definitely catch up with you. Sleep whenever you can. Your body and knee need that restful sleep so that it can heal. I am 3 1/2 months post op and still have stiffness--especially when rainy weather moves in. I just ice and elevate and that usually takes care of it. Ice and elevate as much as you can especially at 7 weeks.

 

[Bionic woman2]

Yaaaaay! I need to move to The Land Down Under! When I saw my Dr at my 6 weeks check up, he told me I shouldn't be taking my meds so frequently (1 hydrocodone every 4-6 hrs) and gave me one last prescription of 60 pills to wean myself off.... OK Doc. I'm down to about 1 1/2 weeks supply left and not sure WHAT I'm gonna do when I run out. I'm wondering if I should start substituting Tylenol for a dose to stretch things out???

He said, if I don't cut back it's gonna be hard to come off them. He explained that the flu-like withdrawal symptoms are what make people get addicted. It made sense at the time, but now that my pills are running low and my recovery is taking it's sweet time I'm concerned. Especially with my upcoming surgery of the other knee next month, I need to be diligent with my p/t so my bad leg can become the good/decent leg. Sigh...

I'm glad you had a good day and got your goods. Today I am an emotional wreck. Sorry to vent on your page Knee Pain, I've been posting on my thread trying to get some feedback and support, but it's a ghost town over there. Maybe I'm not doing it right. I know I'm not supposed to start a knee thread, but the title of my old one doesn't always match what I'm posting about.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow for dreams to come true.

Wishing you another Good Day tomorrow!

 

[Knee pain]

Hi Bionic women, yes come down under, I have a bed... I will share my drugs with you. LOL.... I have so messed up my post, make no sense now, was trying to edit it, and have totally messed it up. I have no idea were to post, it's all pot luck.LOL. I'm having a seniors moment. We are not going to get addicted to drugs if we truly have pain. It's when you don't have pain, and want the drugs.
Another knee op, my heart goes out to you. May be you need to print out some of the facts from bone smart, and let your Dr read, some good info, on why you need the medications. I'm going to spend some time today, and read again how to do posts and threads, really don't know the difference, so not computer snazzy. Your having a bad night, up on your computer, here to talk to, not that I am not much help. Talk soon Regards Leonie.

 

[Bionic woman2]

Thanks Leonie. I'm gonna hop on my "Hoveround" and head your way. It's gonna get a little tricky when I get to the water, but I'll figure something out. After all there are drugs involved and Dr Miser is not shelling out.

My day started okay, did a little shopping with one of my boys (he drove.) When I got home my knee started doing it's tree trunk impression and the emotions came flowing in. I think I'm gonna call it a night and see how the knee and I are doing tomorrow.

Thanks for being here for me

RaQia

 

[Jamie]

Knee pain......I'm just catching up with your recovery. I noticed you had 5 recovery threads out there so I have merged them all into this one. We prefer to keep each member's recovery story in a single thread so that others who come to read about it can find everything in one place. It's much easier to follow that way!!!

So every time you post an update or a question or concern, please use this thread. If you decide you'd like a different thread title to better reflect where you are in your recovery journey, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.

I think you're doing great on the forum!!! It will always help you to read some of the "how to's" in the HELP & INFO forum (tab at the top of the page). So keep checking there until you are really comfortable with all the things you can do here. And.....the staff is always here to help you if you need it.

Your recovery sounds like it's going just fine. All the things you're experiencing are normal. The road to recovery is never a straight one. It will have lots of bends and twists and you'll sometimes take some steps backward before you go forward again. That's just the way our bodies heal. Plus....it's a factor of us trying to do new things now and then. If you listen to your body, it will definitely tell you when you're pushing too hard and that's the time to pull back for a bit.

I'm glad you've gotten your pain controlled. It sounds like you have an excellent rapport with your doctors. That's HUGE!!! So many doctors don't understand how much people need pain medication to get through the first months of this recovery.

So, keep doing what you're doing!!! Things will improve week by week. I look forward to more updates from you.

 

[Bionic woman2]

Jamie, to piggy back on the thread thing... If I'm having my other knee done would that be considered a new thread? Would I post questions I have about my concerns in the pre-op area, or just keep it in the same thread that I have now? Oh, and how do I tag an administrator if I have a question?

Leonie, I'm not asleep yet, still fighting it like a 2 yr old. Wait till that alarm goes off tomorrow at 5:45AM. Booooooo! But I gotta wake up to make sure my son doesn't miss the bus.

 

[Jamie]

Bionic woman2.....I certainly do not agree with what your surgeon was saying to you about pain medications!!! I hope you have taken his "advice" with a grain of salt.

I know the doctors like to get their patients off the narcotics at the 6-8 week point. But most of us still need something fairly heavy duty for pain. If he will not agree to let you continue on the hydrocodone, ask it he will allow you to switch to Tramadol. That's what my surgeon did and it worked great for me. I took it until almost the 3 month mark because I needed it. Then, my pain was less and I just gradually cut back because I could without hurting.

To clarify a little about those "flu-like" symptoms. When you do start weaning yourself off prescription pain medications, some people experience a feeling like the flu, some anxiety, or just a general sick feeling. That can result from your body becoming used to the medication....dependent on it at the dose you were taking. That is NOT addiction and that feeling does not lead a person into addiction. It just means that your body was used to the medication. We recommend following a schedule that slowly reduces the amount taken over several weeks if you no longer have pain and want to get off the meds. Here is a thread that outlines that schedule. Or, some people (me included) have just stopped them cold turkey and endured the sick feeling knowing it is harmless and only temporary.

But, most importantly, I don't want you to worry about taking something for pain when you need it. This is a tough recovery and most of us need the help that prescription pain medications provide. If your surgeon doesn't understand that need, try talking to your GP. They usually are much more understanding of this process for some reason.

 

[Jamie]

You can either cover your second knee in your original thread or start a new one for that knee....either way is fine and it's up to you.

To tag someone you type the "at" sign .... @ ..... before their user name with no space in between. When you make the post, the username will turn blue and underline if you've done the tag correctly.

You might want to spend some time reading in the HELP & INFO forum (tab at the top of the page). There is a "how to" area that will tell you LOTS of important things about getting the most out of BoneSmart.

 

[Bionic woman2]

Thank you Jamie, just read the thread on reducing meds. It sounds helpful and I should have close to enough to do it over the course of 2 weeks. My Dr. is not a fan of Tramadol, my previous Dr had prescribed it and my OS said it can be addicting. I actually have 2 pills left from my last refill months ago. I don't know why he feels this way. I guess he pictures me breaking out in a cold sweat, shaking in an alley somewhere begging for drugs. In any event I have a high tolerance for pain since I've been dealing with these knees for years! So I will get through this and considering that I will have surgery on 9/18, I won't be without meds long. Thanks

Knee pain, I've high jacked your thread once again... It's a Stick Up!

 

[Bionic woman2]

It sounds helpful and I should have close to enough to do it over the course of 2 weeks.

Oops, just reread the article, looks like I might be contacted my GP, or begging my OS for one more refill.

 

[Jamie]

I'm not sure why your doctor would be so hesitant to use Tramadol. Geeze Louise!!! You're in pain here. And you're not going to get addicted!!!

 

[Diminuata]

Leonie,

I've been reading this thread about meds and heres my take. There's a painkiller in Australia now called Targen which also has something in it that doesn't draw all the water out of your system and bind you up. Bionic Woman 2, Tramadol 50mg is ok now and then, when I get to the truly grumpy and sleepless stage, but any higher dose sends me into a kind of walking coma. Not to mention the constipation. I found Targen a huge help because constipation caused by the opioids like Endone affected me badly. I'm now on Panadol Forte and keep forgetting it half the time. But it does help just before you go out. Are you taking painkillers before hydro? I didn't today and I can feel the difference. Panadol Forte seem to send me to sleep at night only and when I wake up, I have 10mg Temazepam and that seems to do the trick. All this messes up my sleeping pattern - I sleep late and of course that makes me more awake later at night... there's also the classic marital problem when you share a bed/bedroom - wanting to read and not wanting to disturb your partner. I solved that by picking up my pillow and sneaking down to the spare room. (my husband seems to think that divorce is imminent when all I want is sleep) I've started to read a book called " Sleeping apart doesn't mean falling apart" ! Yay! Then I can read and play Words with friends ( anyone want a game, send it to Roopert1) until I am crosseyed and ready to sleep. I do hydro once a week, and am going to up it to a second time. I think its great for the rest of the body as well. I'm more confident with the exercises and stop if it hurts! My bend is probably about 110.
Leonie, I live on the Mornington Peninsula so if it was a good, clear day, not pouring and 9c, and we could stagger to the beach we could wave at each other.

Wave, Wave!

Diminuata

 

[Knee pain]

I had a brilliant sleep last night, the longest I have stayed in bed for 7 weeks, LOL I can never be pleased, woke up very stiff and sore, but thats ok a little better than the grumpy old lady from lack of sleep. Last night was the first night on my new medications This how it went on new medications 1 x 10mg of OxyContin CR, & 1 x 20 mg Temazepam, with an ice pack wrapped around my leg. In the morning another OxyContin, went all day pain free, although when I went for my small walks I had that heavy band around my leg all day, which makes my walking a little difficult, I did spend many times during the day icing, hoping if I got rid of this tightness.Late afternoon went for my first outing to the shops, with my tight banded leg. Did only about 15mins slow walking in a furniture shop.
Returned home straight to my recliner for icing, my pain level was about a 5, so decided to just have 2 panadols.
My head has felt quite cloudy all day, not real clear, it may be the new Oxycontin Im on, Even though I have had a good day, Im hoping my head clears up a lot better tomorrow, may be when I get use to the new medications.
Is any one else out their on the same drugs, are they OK for you? The whole Oxycontin worries me.
Regards Leonie. XOX

 

[new knee in June]

Knee pain,
Here's to a good night
Diana

 

[Bionic woman2]

Hi Leonie, glad you got a good night's sleep. Seems Australia is the place to be for meds.

yeah, Oxycodone will have you singing WITH Lucy in the Sky with Diiiiiiamonds. Oh, and the Mad Hatter and Alice from Wonderland will be there too.


Seriously, I've had bad :rolleyes: and good experiences with Oxycodone. You definitely need to eat something fortified with that one.

I was on it when I first had my surgery and about a week out I got so light headed and nauseous that I had to switch. I tried an anti-nausea med first but it made me dizzy go figure. I finally ended up going one day cold turkey to get all the hospital meds out of my system. Later when I ran out of Hydrocodone (which doesn't do much for me) and I had Oxy left, I started back on it for a couple of days till I went in to see my OS to discuss a new prescription. I didn't have a problem with the nausea this time, because I made sure I really coated my stomach. YUM! That's all I needed here. I still had the light-headedness, so make sure you eat before you take it.

Good luck with your new medicine cocktail Hope you're having a good day/night... Not sure what time it is there.
So enjoy whatever part of the day it is

 

[Knee pain]

Well last night was a blast....WOW I had a sleep from 11.30 pm until 6am. I tossed a little. and the meds gave me some amazing dreams, very colourful, but hey never sat up all night. Spoilt with breakfast in bed, Just up and showered and dressed, now exhausted LOL, In a very positive way.
A little disappointed, every dayI hope to wake up with less of that very tight band around my leg. So my bend is still at 115, so thats good. It doesn't feel swollen, but I have elevated any way. This very tight band will go away wont it ? Would it help to walk more, is it possible to walk it out? I walk small walks during the day, but doesn't seem to relieve it at all. Its all about I do to much, Or Im not doing enough is the question. I normally only walk until its feeling stiffer.
I keep telling my self its all ok, I can do this, and every time those little negative thoughts come into my head, I just wave them good bye, or wave at them as to say hello and good bye, not easy and I try to practice this every day, Its so easy to over think every thing.
Beautiful day in Geelong today, the sun is shining, I think a nice country drive, or a drive down our beautiful great Ocean Road, might be a way to go. Now to go and see if my man would like to do the same, only have to bribe him with a nice feed of fish and chips on the way and he will be happy...LOL so easy pleased.
Talk later Regards Leonie. XOXOX

 

[maryo52]

I normally only walk until its feeling stiffer.

That's a great approach. Probably the perfect activity level is one that feels as if you're not doing enough. You can wait until later (months later, even) to do more knee and other exercise. Right now your knee is busy healing, healing, healing. Brownie points for great attitude, by the way. Up over in the US, "brownie points" is something along the lines of good karma.

 

[daughter stalker]

Hi Knee pain,

Just stopping by to say Hi! Looks like you are doing well. Absolutely amazing on you getting some well deserved sleep! I am working on getting sleep. It will be here soon!

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

[Jamie]

Yes, Knee pain....that tight band feeling will eventually go away. You're still early, early in recovery! It's realted to swelling...even if you can't see it, it's there. You cannot "walk it out." Try that and you'll hurt more. At least that's the way it is for most folks. You're better off to take things nice and slow for a while yet. You are actually getting up and out and doing things more than most might at this stage. So, I'd consider you on the good side of "normal." Way to go....keep it up and don't rush yourself!! This is "you" time.

 

[Diminuata]

Well, I'm having a rubbish day today! For once didn't have to get up early but woke up anyway. I've been hoping to find a new rug and there's a shop having a sale about 15 minutes drive away.went there to find the rest of the world knows about it so walked 10 mins there and back. One of those days with chatty people interrupting while the guy was showing me rugs, so I stood for a further 20 minutes. The walked back to the car, drove home. Husband wants to go out, first time in a months he's been able to with a bad back, and wants to go shopping . Oh no! More driving, parking,standing around while he reads every label and looks for amaranth flour instead of asking the staff. We've never shopped well together. Then back to car, drive to other shops, go to local restaurant for lunch sit outside and freeze, move inside and then drive home, clean up kitchen from last nights mess. FINALLY on the bed with leg elevated and Ice pack. I am not moving for at least an hour. My knee and shins hurt all the time. Hardly enjoyed lunch. And it's only 2:20 pm! My pedometer rear 5900 steps.
Oh yes, forgot my trip to the chickens: who have considerately been laying where I can easily get the eggs. It poured yesterday so of course they moved somewhere dry and inaccessible. Local child out for the day. So now I'm trying to work out how to get them without breaking them - maybe a kitchen scoop attached to a broom....

One more thing- when I was in rehab, the lovely nurses there said that icing should only be do e for 20 minutes at a time, or it becomes counterproductive - 20 on, 20 off. I move the ice bag around .any thoughts anyone?

Leonie, I apologise if I'm waffling on your thread. I am talking to you and everyone else in general. I won't be offended if you tell me to go back to my thread ' should I still be feeling this pain at 11 weeks? "

Diminuata