PKR And Now for the Left One

[SpaceGirl]

Glad you made it home and are resting. I am already so bored of sitting around lol but I know that is what is best! This time they did mg spinal in the OR as well, I was in and out and heard the saw multiple times (not a fan lol) but never felt anything, woke up in recovery just fine. Hope you enjoy your holiday weekend, resting!

 

[Rick951]

Day #2 First full day at home. Just using Tramidol and Tylenol for pain so far. Pain is almost 0 at rest.
Start to feel some pain as I start to bend about a 3 as I get to about 30 degrees. It will coniinue to go up from there, so I stop.
Had an OK nights sleep till about 4:00am Decided it was a good time to do some Icing. now on my 3rd. half hour session with the Game ready. So far I really like it. I started with 90 lbs.in coolers on the back porch. Between melting and use I am down to about 50 lbs. For anyone familiar with the Game Ready unit. I am running program 3 1/2 hour session on medium compression.
Been holding off on the Oxy till the big pain days start. I expect that to come in the next day or so.
As for the walker, been using it on and off. I have good stability. Mostly using it to make DW happy..
Some busing is starting to show up not to bad so far.
I suspect today quite boring. This where I might get myself in trouble. I know mt Wife will keep me in line
I will also get to shower today... YEA Starting to feel a bit grungy...
Hope every one out there in recovery land is doing well!
Rick

 

[JennyLynne]

Another good report from the early days! Keep it up! That first shower feels so good!

 

[Rick951]

@Celle yes,thanks for the suggestion! I have been running (2) 1/2 hour sessions back to back. Then I have to drain the water and refill with ice. That way I get some walking in while refill the unit. Seems to be working well so far. One thing that might help some one. I purchased a small aquarium water pump. I use it To pump the melted ice (water) out of the chamber. That way I don't have to move the Game ready main unit around.

have only been using the walker on and off. The new knee feels very stable.
Had a BM today, BIG check mark on that one. That was a big problem when I had my right one done.

Now just waiting for the big pain avalanche. I think at that point I will bring out the Oxy for pain management.
All for now.
Rick

 

[Rick951]

Day 2 12:45pm Had to make an emergency Ice run. Between the hot weather and the Game Ready
Went through about 80 lbs. of ice. So in my car way ahead of schedule. Before everyone goes nuts on me for driving so soon... This is the left leg so I don't need it to drive. I have not needed to take any narcotic pain killers yet. The store is close and did not have to go over 45 mph.
Getting in and out of the car was easier than I thought it would be. I have not needed my walker at all today. and the cart acts as a walker any way.
So with 8 10 lbs. bags of ice I am good to go for a while.

I also wanted to have a good supply of Ice when the long term pain killers injected in my knee before closing are all gone. I call that the pain avalanche, you are good one minute, then an hour later you are in big time pain.

Other than that little adventure I am doing well.

 

[Jaycey]

@Rick951 Can you please post you 2 images here again? There seems to be a problem with one of the images. I'll edit your post above to insert them. Thanks!

 

[sistersinhim]

I filled plastic cups of water and Cool Whip bowls with water and froze those. They last much longer than bagged ice. I would add a few ice cubes from the ice maker to help with the melting, then a little cold water. I was able to go at least 3-4 hours before replacing the huge chunks of ice. This allowed me to sleep much longer at a time. As my knee healed more, it wasn't as hot and the ice lasted even longer.

 

[Celle]

I have been running (2) 1/2 hour sessions back to back. Then I have to drain the water and refill with ice

Between the hot weather and the Game Ready
Went through about 80 lbs. of ice.

Just a suggestion:
A lot of people have recommended freezing small bottles of water , putting them in the unit, and then surrounding with ice.
Apparently, the frozen bottles take longer to thaw than just using ice cubes, so you don't have to refill as often and you don't use up so much ice.

 

[Rick951]

@Celle Thanks! I had hear that suggestion. So I do have a few in the freezer. I was saving those for when I run out of Ice.
I think we have something similar to To a cool whip container that I could freeze and and make a small iceburg. Great sugestion!!! Now to fiind room in our freezer. I think half of it is filled with cat food....
Thanks again!!

 

[Rick951]

@sistersinhim Thanks I missed that you had the Iceburg suggestion. Thanks!

 

[sistersinhim]

Being by myself, I had to bother a neighbor every day to run get me 10 lbs of ice. That's was getting old and expensive! I read on here about the water bottles and had those. Then I thought back to when I was a child and would travel with my parents with cold and frozen food for more than a few hours. They made their own big ice hunks out of 1/2 gallon mild jugs. These were the cardboard type covered with wax. The ice would last for days. That's when I started using plastic glasses and containers to freeze huge chunks. Sure did save money for me and aggravation for my kind neighbor!

I know what you mean about cat food. I am a rescuer and have 6 left. My biggest count was 13 and that was right after my tkr. I can't say no to a needy kitty!

 

[Rick951]

@sistersinhim I found some plastic containers for paint mixing. The size is perfect for the Game Ready. I have 4 in the freezer at the moment. I will let you know how they work out.
Thanks for the suggestion!!!

 

[Rick951]

@Celle here are the pictures of my knee.

 

[TKAA]

Glad to hear you are doing well Rick. Those appear to be the same dressings that my hospital used. If you can find out anything about them please pass it along. I'd like to download the spec sheet to find out the composition of the rubber and adhesive, so I can be sure to avoid them in the future due to my adverse reaction. Thanks!

 

[Rick951]

@TKAA I found a link.
broken link removed: https://www.allegromedical.com/wound-care-c541/aquacel-ag-surgical-silver-dressing-3-1-2-x-12-inch-rectangle-sterile-p586896.html?CS_003=9164468&CS_010=ff808181685619b5016857bc398c0004&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6ub6z4-y6gIVGeDICh3YuAylEAYYASABEgJ9wvD_BwE#730+586896+02

Might be a good start..
Rick

 

[TKAA]

Thank you!

 

[sistersinhim]

Yay, Rick. I hope they work as well for you as they did for me.

 

[Rick951]

Thanks for the suggestion! I will find out tomorrow when the are frozen.

 

[Rick951]

Day #4 So far doing so much better than the first one! I am also so much more educated, than the first. I have known that I was going to need a 2nd PKR / TKR when I had my first PKR done. I have been keeping up with BoneSmart. From all that I have learned from following BoneSmart, I developed a plan for recovery. We dedicated our 3rd bed room to my recovery. We got a new TV to keep me occupied. I also got a Hospital style table that I can use to eat or put my laptop on. I requested a Game Ready ice / compression device. I also have 2 Lounge Doctor leg wedges. In short any thing I read on BoneSmart that was help to some one, I made sure I was prepared to do the same thing.
So far things have been going great! I hope I have not just jinxed my self.

I have approached this recovery with a totally different attitude. I knew that recover was going to take time. I knew I could not rush recovery! While in the hospital I limited my flex to less than 90 degrees. I kept Ice on it all the time.

When I arrived home I started right away with the Game Ready cool compression device. So far I have gone through 100 lbs of Ice. It is programed to run for 30 minutes, then off for 30 minutes, and so on. I also have my leg elevated on my Lounge Doctor. The only time I am not in this position is when I am refilling Ice, bathroom runs, making a few laps around the house. other than that I am hooked up to the Game Ready device.

The results, so far great! I have been able to sleep. I have NOT had to use the Oxycontin. Whatever pain I have had has been managed with Tylenol and Tramadol. I keep waiting for the post surgical pain avalanche. So far so good. My swelling has been minimal. It is still early, but going well so far. Monday I have my first outpatient PT. I had the same PT for my first knee. He is not the pushy type, so that should be OK.
All for now.
Rick

 

[sistersinhim]

You are looking really good with very little swelling. Good job keeping that down!