TKR Anxiety about TKR - now it's done!

[sjnyc323]

Wishing you an easy surgery and recovery

 

[lunula]

@jenng2003 - hope everything went well today! Let us know how you're doing!

 

[jenng2003]

Thanks! Surgery went very well! I was out of recovery by 9. Surgery took 30 minutes . I had good pain management yesterday, but today has been horrible. I started walking today which increased the pain as well. I have not even had much relief from morphine. I have a high tolerance for pain, so I am not used to this. The on call dr came to visit and prescribed a whole bunch of good drugs. I was suppose to go home today, but the pain isn't managed so I declined. I will go home tomorrow in the early afternoon. I have had some very awesome nurses while here. My first nurse didn't want me icing but the rest understand and have been allowing my gel packs. I cannot wait to go home and ice all day long my way. They won't let me put a pack behind my knee...just on top.


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[lunula]

Glad to hear your surgery went well, and good idea to stick around your pain is under control. Wonder why you have a nurse that is resistant to icing? Seems odd since it's effective at reducing swelling, which helps with pain control and healing. Strange.

Hope you can go home tomorrow!

 

[jenng2003]

I will definitely be going home tomorrow. Because of the type of facility, my insurance only approves three days. I was really hoping to go home today, but I am totally not ready to leave today. I cannot find a combo of meds to keep it at bay. I am frustrated because I want a set regimen and they are still not keeping a schedule. Maybe I should've gone home so I could stick a schedule. And the pt said ice is totally necessary, but it's not something the nurses want to
Be bothered with. I love my dr but I am not thrilled with the facility.


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[Djbrund]

I am so sorry your facility is aweful. May call your OS office and ask them to make orders that you ice every hour or whatever and give pain meds every 3 hours. I have always had a high pain tolerance and could not believe how much pain there was. I was taking a 20 mg 12 hour oxicotin twice daily and for breakthrough pain was taking up to 3 oxicodone every 3 hours. My OS sent me home with the same meds because that is what controlled my pain. The hospital nurses also cheched my ice machine and refreshed the ice very often. So did my husband at home. Be sure to get the names of the lazy nurses and put all this down when they send a questionair/report card about your experience.

There is not enough Medicare money to go around, so Medicare will pay the hospitals that meet certain measures first. Good reports from patients are one of the measures. They take all patients responses into account, not just Medicare patients.

Ortho is a huge cash cow for hospitals. They need to treat you better! - Joni

 

[sjnyc323]

Feel better

 

[kneegone]

Hi Jenng, hope all is well.
I had a TKR on Oct. 3 and the first couple of weeks was horrible. I was on 8 diff. meds and was groggy and nauseous. I slept alot the first week. Second week, was depressing, dependent on pain meds and saw little progress. But, coming out of 3rd week, I'm stretching pain meds and am seeing improvements in strength and ROM. I stopped 3 of the meds myself because of nauseousness and upset stomach. I notified the nurse and she said it was okay.

I can hobble around w/o cane or walker so there is hope. Try not to push yourself and be strict in your recovery timeline. Long ago, I returned to work from a torn meniscus removal after two weeks and had a huge set back and had to stop work and take another two weeks off, but I didn't recover properly.

Anyway, try to take it easy and concentrate on healing. Best wishes!

 

[jenng2003]

I had first outpatient pt today. It was horrible. I have more swelling now than when I woke up this morning. I can't get comfortable and I am in absolute pain. I'm taking maximum pain meds and they aren't touching the pain. I regret this decision. I should've just had a crappy quality of life. I tried to tell her no, but she did hurt me anyway. I screamed. I'm suppose to go tomorrow morning, but I can't even think about going anywhere near that place again. They were trying to bend me to 90 degrees today. I'm less than 5 days post op. I am rolling in the couch in pain. OxyContin every 4 hours and nucynta 100mg every 4 hours. Nothing helps the pain. I think the witch hurt me. I have never had pain this bad.


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[kneegone]

Oh gosh, it sounds terrible! My first P/t had me writhing and crying and she didn't care, but kept pushing down on my knee with both hands with all her strength and remarked, how she was surprised I wasn't screaming by now...
I requested a different P/T and it was the best thing I did.

Don't go back tomorrrow!!! rest and ice. Call you doctor and tell him about your pain. You cannot possibly do P/T if you are in pain. I felt the same way you did, I questioned whether or not I should of done this. I coulda tolerated my pre op situation a few more years I think. Yeah, quality of life was going downhill and my left hip started hurting everyday due to limping. But this forum really gives me hope hearing that others went through the same ordeal and came out in a better state. So take comfort like I am, that you made the right decision and the wisdom of others who went through this.

It's gonna be tough in the beginning, the pain unbearable at times, but you will see daylight. I was so depressed at my slow progress, but lo and behold, around the 3rd week, I saw a slight improvement in flex and lessened pain. Have faith and don't let that P/T hurt you. A couple days off is not going to do irreparable harm. You need to control your pain first. Wishing you better days. We will get better!

 

[appaloosa girl]

Definitely don't go in!! Rest that knee!! Elevate and ice. And take your meds!!!
Dana


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[jenng2003]

I went in and it loosened up a little but now is super tight again. I'm running out of pain meds (not enough for the weekend). I have a call into the OS, but I have to find the time to pick up the script before the office closes at 3 (they haven't called and it is almost noon). Why I am sent home with less than a week's worth of pain killers is beyond me. I can't take Advil or motrin due to blood thinners. Now I'm trying to tough out the pain and not take them so I have them for nighttime (which is always worse). I am so frustrated by this whole process.


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[kneegone]

@jenng2003, I hope you got your meds in time!!!!! I got a little panicky with my first prescription when I realized my pain meds wouldn't last me through the day. (bad keeping track). So I ventured out to get it filled, the pharmacy was only five, blks away, but lo and behold they didn't have it in stock. Because it is a narcotic, all the pharmacys keep a low amt in stock and they do not call other pharmacies, even if its the same chain, to see if they have it in stock. Long story, short, the 5th pharmacy I stopped at, had it in stock. It was debilitating and I felt like crying and dying at the same time because I wasn't supposed to be out driving and was forgoing my pain killer med cause I was driving and the whole thing was taking forever.... Anyway, lesson learned, make sure you have enough meds to carry you through and get them filled asap. Get someone to do it for you.

 

[kneeper]

I hope you were able to get the pain meds. You are mere days from surgery and everything should be very gentle right now. It is normal to be a bit uncomfortable and fairly stiff feeling at this stage, but not in lots of pain if you're medicated. Lots of ice, elevation and rest is important.
Also I'd see what your options are for therapists. The PT you went to was needlessly hard on you.

 

[Josephine]

This kind of PT is not going to do you any good. In fact, it will do you harm - lots of harm. For your own good, please DON'T LET THEM DO THAT!

Let me put this into context for you - just suppose you walked up to a person in the street and did something like that to her. What do you think would happen? I would expect you'd be in the custody of the law in no time flat! Just because these people have a 'professional' standing does not give them carte blanche to abuse you in any way they deem fit, particularly as you have clearly objected and denied them the freedom to do it. In legal terms, that is an assault. It's also bullying. If your PT behaves in this way, complain to the facility manager/owner and ask for different PT or leave and find somewhere else that is going to show you some respect.

 

[jenng2003]

My os doesn't believe in pushing at this point. The pt is taking it upon themselves. I am stiff and expect some pain but without meds it is unbearable. The swelling is increasing instead of decreasing. I understand the importance of keeping it straight when lying down but forcing it bent is just not happening. They tried to put me in bio-something machine and I screamed in agony. I stayed an extra night in the hospital because we couldn't get the pain under control. We finally did and I left with scripts. They are gone two days later and now I can't get them filled again. I can only have one narcotic even though two were awesomely working especially after crappy pt or sleeping at night. Now I have to drive two hours to get a new script for a fraction of what I was getting and I cannot take advil since they have me on aspirin as a blood thinner for 6 weeks. I am so over this ****. I wish I had never done this. Morphine didn't even work in the hospital. I have issues with pain meds working correctly. I have always struggled to find something that works. I do have an earlier appointment with the os now since I pushed but it still isn't until the 14th.


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[referee54]

This kind of PT is not going to do you any good. In fact, it will do you harm - lots of harm. For your own good, please DON'T LET THEM DO THAT!

Please remember that the PT is not in charge of you---he works for you!

He is your employee---and if you do not like what is going on, set up ground rules---things that you will not let him do to you---and activities that yo will not allow yourself to do.

Never let anybody push you to the point of pain---only to discomfort, and no further.

While we say that the knee is in charge of the recovery and its schedule, you are in charge of who does what or attempts you to take things too far.

IT is difficult, but you need to take a stand and allow this inflamed knee rest and cool off, so to speak.

I would also speak with either your OS, your GP, or a pain specialist about what yo are going through. Pain management is vitally important.

 

[jenng2003]

My knee gets more bruised every day. I am wondering if my stiffness/tightness/muscle spasms are caused by the increased bruising. It started 48 hours after starting blood thinners. I am borderline anemic on a good day, so add the stress of surgery and my levels were really low my last day in the hospital. Since coming home, the bruising and stiffness has increased. I blamed pt but maybe it's the excessive bruising. I went from being able to walk with little difficulty to now being unable to put weight on it without tears. I ice about 18 hours a day. I lie down and elevate constantly (except for the bathroom trips). I am doing everything right and it is not cooperating.


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[kneeper]

You are barely out of surgery and had an overly aggressive PT. It will take more than a few days to settle down. You're doing the right thing with icing and elevating. Do some gentle heel slides but giving the knee a rest is just what you need to do. A lot of people see a lot of bruising after the surgery. Stiffness is a kind of pain and pain meds should help with that.
I had a lot of muscle pain and my knee pain was mostly achy stiffness. Even with pain meds I can tell you the first week home was pretty lousy. But it does get better.

 

[jeano]

Sweet Lord. I would suggest not going to PT AT ALL for at least a week. You are up and doing more than enough. Try your urgent care or ER if you have to re pain meds. It'll pass, truly it will, but you are having exactly the kind of start this site tries to prevent by providing support and education. Sue the people if you have to. I'm serious.