thanks everyone! I'm still shocked at how well things are going. I think the main thing that was different this time is that my left leg was in SUCH better shape preoperatively than my right one was, and that really has made a difference. go figure though, i'm having a tougher time doing the full leg lifts than i did with my right leg, but the heel slides and quad sets are much, much easier than they were with the right leg.
I do know that the change in hospitals made a huge difference, as well. the first hospital is a fine hospital to be at if you have cardiac issues, but other than that, not so much. the hospital i used for this recent surgery has such a reputation for patient care and it really showed.
the first time around, i had a catheter. I did not have one this time with the left knee, which surprised me. i had the choice of using either a bedpan or a bedside commode. well, this chica doesn't do bedpans unless i'm unconscious. LOL the only problem is that with both the spinal and the femoral block, my right leg was pretty weak. It held me enough to get out of bed to the commode, but when I was trying to get back into bed, it slowly gave out on me. I didn't even realize I was going down until my left leg was bent to nearly 90 degrees when I yelled, "I'm going down!" to the aides who were helping me. they were momentarily distracted by something else going on (and i hold them to no fault because of it, just a fluke thing). They managed to keep me from hitting the floor and got me back into bed. that was the only time I had issue with that right leg not being able to hold me though.
I had the surgery friday morning, and the spinal block lasted 24 hours. I knew when it wore off because I had positional pain in my right knee (replaced a year ago). However, the femoral block lasted 36 hours! heavenly! Well, heavenly until it wore off. Oh. My. GOODNESS. I didn't go through that with the right leg, so wasn't expecting much with the left leg, but holy cow, i've never felt such pain in my whole life. It was like my left knee was in a vise and it was slowly crushing my knee. Makes me still cry to think about it now. to make matters worse, my IV failed, so they had to get a new IV started to give me morphine, and at that point, my body was in a "fight or flight" mode from the pain and that made getting a new IV started nearly impossible. This was explained to me by my wonderful nurse who refused to leave my side until I was comfortable again. after two sticks, they got a new iv going and after about 3 hours, things were good again. Since then, I've just steadily improved and am tickled with how things are going.
I'm thrilled that the cpm machine i have to use at home is small enough to be in the recliner with me. I actually slept all night last night in the cpm!!! am doing the pt exercises and managed to do 5 full leg lifts by myself yesterday, so even that is improving.
had my first "sleepless" night last night, the first of many, i'm sure. I still have ambien to use from last year, so will probably do that tonight so I don't get my sleep cycle really out of whack.
And...as a reminder to all the first-timers, be sure to use those stool softeners! I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that doesn't become an issue. I have the prescribed stool softeners, plus eating oatmeal, plus eating those "Sunsweet Ones" prunes (not bad, I must say!), and also chewing on those Benefiber chewable tablets during the day. We will NOT have THAT particular issue again!
This forum is amazing in the help they give to all of us going through this, and I'm happy to be back amongst the ranks!
--Kim
RTKR 08/22/08
LTRK 09/11/09
United States
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