TKR BCS Anna's Recovery

@Sunnyo

Thank you for the well wishes. Will be happy when this long recovery is over for both is us!

Anna:flwrysmile:
 
Hello Everyone,:wave:

Well, my baby knee, Penelope, had another uneventful night. Getting this baby on a schedule was, surprisingly, much easier than getting a human baby on a schedule some thirtysomething years ago. There was no sleep at night back then!:hairpulling:

Penelope gets elevated on her Lounge Doctor and covered with her cold therapy icing blanket at 10pm. This is after she gets her nightly medications. Then with two short potty breaks at around 1am and 5am, Penelope will sleep through to 7-7:30am. Compared to some people who find themselves wide awake and staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, I consider myself very lucky to be able to sleep pretty much the way I did pre-op.:)

After I did some walking this morning, to the powder room and the kitchen for breakfast, when I got back in bed, I had my very first little "zingers." They weren't painful just a weird sensation. I had three quick ones right in a row and then they were gone. My OS did prescribe Gabapentin if I need it.

Tomorrow my visiting nurse and my in-home PT show up. They had called our home on Friday, before we even got home from the hospital, and wanted to come out on Friday night. My husband told them I was worn out from the surgery and the three hour ride home from the hospital and told them Monday would be soon enough. My PT from Penn gave me a copy of the exercises and the sequence that I am to follow. The exercises are to be slow and gentle and if there is any deviation from those PT exercises, my OS is to be notified immediately.

And so, we will see what tomorrow brings.:) :-) (:


Anna :flwrysmile:
 
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@Woodpusher

Well you know what Penn Medicine always asks, "Isn't your life worth Penn Medicine." My life certainly is! I go to Penn for any specialist care and always for any and all surgeries!:tada: We are so dedicated to Penn that even our two Siamese cats have a Penn educated veterinarian.:meow::meow:What is good for mom and dad is also good for the kids.:heehee:

I really like my Lounge Doctor a lot. Even though I am short ( or my preferred "fun size") I can still get a comfortable fit while elevating. I sleep through the night with my legs elevated on my Lounge Doctor and with my cold therapy machine running with no problems.

Best wishes on your recovery as we both travel this long journey.

Anna:flwrysmile:

The Penn Medicine Princeton Hospital orthopaedic slogan is "I've reclaimed my life". I'm still early at 4 weeks post-op but not yet as "good" as I was pre-op.

Sorry Anna, you have a longer route back now but the promise is that after 6 months we won't even know which knee we had operated on.
 
Hi Everyone:wave:

Well today is day 5 post-op. And Penelope had some visitors today.

First to arrive was my visiting nurse. She was very nice and thorough and as a bonus is a cat lover also.:kitty:

She checked my incision and said everything looks great. She is now scheduled for three visits a week and will be removing my dressing, as directed by my OS, on Friday. She also checked my vitals and all readings were where they are suppose to be.

The next visitor of the day was the PT.:yikes:
When I left Penn Medicine on Friday, I was given a booklet covering what PT exercises I am to be doing and those that I am not to be doing. My session today started off ok; but, then took a turn South when I realized that she was not following the Penn Medicine instructions; but, the exercise program of our local hospital's PT program. She then mentioned that "their doctors like to see ROM of 0 degrees extension and 90 degrees flex by the end of two weeks of PT." That is when I responded, "That is why I didn't go to one of your doctors; but, went to Penn Medicine instead where my doctor would like to see 0 degree extension within 4 weeks and 110-120 flex within 3-4 months!":gaah:

Ok, so we now move on to some more exercises and the PT mentions using a strap for increasing the bend of my knee!:hissy: Now, have you ever witnessed a woman go to full blown evil witch in 0 to 10 seconds? My husband did this afternoon.:heehee: Using my very best authoritative voice, I informed the PT that there WILL NOT be any straps; weights; forced pushing; pulling; or forced bending of my knee at any time. I then said I expect non- aggressive, gentle PT and when I say stop you need to stop. PT responded, "OK then."

At the end of our visit, as my scheduled visits for the next two weeks were being added to my calendar, my PT said that my OS had ordered two weeks of in-home PT and then I need to go to off-site PT. I told her that my OS and I had not discussed off site PT yet and I would talk to him about it during my post op visit. PT said "well at the end of next week I can call him and get his decision on it." No No No!
I in turn responded, " It is not his decision to make. It is my decision. And right now my decision is my PT by others will be done in two weeks." I can just as easily do the PT exercises Penn Medicine sent me home with all by myself."

And so, that was day 5 post-op with Penelope and me. :) :-) (: I really don't care much for PT. The PT I had after my breast cancer surgery lasted all of one day and was dismissed. I did my rehab on my own that time and got the ROM back in my arms just find. Like someone else mentioned in a thread ,"This isn't rocket science!"

Annie:flwrysmile:
 
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Well done you, you are taking serious ownership of your own care! I had my first OF today and was very lucky as she was great and believes healing is more important than pushing a new knee ☺ I have also named my knee, she is called Katy and when I get my right tkr later this year or earlier next year then that one will be called Ken. My daughter (aged 12) said I should have called this knee Barbie, but I stuck with Katy☺
 
@Woodpusher,

I sincerely hope that you are right about that 6 month timeframe. Because come December 13th, my hubby and I pack up the RV; put the cats in their carriers; and head down to the Florida Keys for three months of "snowbirding." That is my goal for getting my new knee in shape and ready for travel.

Anna:flwrysmile:
 
@dogwalker2

Just like I tell my grandchildren, "My house, my rules!" And so it is with my knee, "my knee, my rules!"

:heehee: Ken and Barbie, now that's funny.

Anna:flwrysmile:
 
If I had the physical ability to get one of my legs behind my back, I would kick myself right in the behind for agreeing to PT today!:headbang:

Five days out from surgery and everything was going better than expected. Pain level was kept between a 2 to 4. Swelling was down. And Penelope was a happy new baby knee.

So what do I go and do, because my OS ordered it and I consented to it, I allowed my poor baby knee to endure way too many PT exercises today. And now, Penelope and I are paying the price. Penelope is now swollen and I had to move her scheduled pain medications down by two hours because the pain was so bad...well beyond a 2-4!:gaah: Now it will take me a couple of days to get back to where I was before PT.

Anna:flwrysmile:
 
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I'm sorry PT upset your knee so much. But I am glad you know the cause of the extra pain so can keep within the boundaries your knee is setting for itself. I have had PT in the past with not great results, so for my revision I chose to have no formal PT at all. I followed the BoneSmart way (which, IMHO, is way smarter than the PT regimes for TKR recovery I've been given) by reading all the articles here, especially the activity progression one, which I read every day. I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing too much, or too little, at any given point in my recovery. I started out slowly with daily activities and gradually increased them as time went on. My revision recovery was night and day compared to my other recoveries; part of that I attribute to no PT and following the advice here.

You are doing great with standing up for your knee, keep it up!
 
Post-Op Day 6

Penelope is doing much better today. Following a cranky night of increased pain medication; icing; and elevation.

I had already decided last night, that I would be doing no more PT until Penelope was back in the state she was before PT assaulted her. This morning while reading over the Penn Medicine's Knee Replacement Home Exercises Booklet I was given, I remembered what my Penn PT told me on Friday before I left the hospital. " You should concentrate on the first two exercises, Knee Extension Stretch and Seated Knee Flexion. During yesterday's PT session, I was instructed to do one of those exercises; but, not the other. Despite being given a copy of Penn's Exercise Booklet, the PT used the exercises by our local community hospital. She had me doing the pre-op exercises Penn had me doing before my surgery and not required now. Plus, several of the approximately 18 exercises I was given to do yesterday, were not in my Penn Exercise Booklet, and, were for hip replacement patients!:censored: Is it any wonder why people in my area say, "You only go to XXX Hospital when you are ready to die!:groan:

And so, today I made an executive decision. I asked my husband to call the home health agency in question and cancel the Occupational Therapist scheduled for today...I can change my own jammies just fine; can get to my kitchen for a drink or food; etc. I also asked him to cancel my PT and told him to tell them why. "The PT was not in line with my medical center's; it was far too many exercises for being post-op less than one week; my knee was very painful and swollen after the PT; and that I will be doing my own PT using the exercises I was given by Penn Medicine. When my knee is up to it.

I feel so much better knowing that Penelope's recovery is fully in my hands now. And you can be sure she will never again have another day like yesterday!:no-fin:

Thank you for allowing me to vent. It truly does help.

Anna:flwrysmile:
 
@lovetocookandsew

Thank you for your encouraging words.

Like you, I am not a big fan of PT and have not had good results in the past. The first time the PT lasted one day...and so, my track record still stands. The second time I had PT was when I suffered a trip and fall and injured my left wrist. Since I had lymph nodes removed from my left arm an injection could not be used. And so, a tropical pain patch was applied and within minutes I went into anaphylaxis shock.:yikes:

As a result, PT is not one of my favorite past times.


Annie:flwrysmile:
 
How infuriating! I would be spitting tacks if I got (get!) a PT who doesn't understand knees! Good for you standing your ground. Figuratively speaking. You know what is best for Penelope.
 
@luvcats

Yes, indeed it was infuriating and I was ready to spit fire!

Anna:flwrysmile:
 
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Sorry you had such a bad experience at PT. This is one of many reasons we caution our members to avoid any aggressive PT. All too many times the exercises are not even appropriate for the area you are addressing.

I hope your knee settles soon - get that icing and elevation going. Glad you don't have more PT visits to deal with.
 
Today, my baby knee, Penelope, is one week old.:curtsey:Penelope has now recovered from our bad PT experience. And, has already accomplished a lot today. We began our day with our own PT. Using the Penn Medicine PT Exercises for TKR, Penelope did 3 sets/10 repetitions of the first three exercises...without pain and without pressure. We will do another session this afternoon.

After PT, we had a wonderful nice warm shower. Followed by breakfast containing that all important protein and vitamin C for wound healing.:) :-) (:

While taking my shower, I noticed that I have bruising at the bottom of my shin and around the side to my calf which has been causing me some pain. And so, once back in bed, my husband applied an ice wrap, which I used prior to surgery, to that area.:ice: Legs are now elevated and Penelope is tucked into her icing blanket and is a content week old baby knee.:angel:

Anna:flwrysmile:
 
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I feel so much better knowing that Penelope's recovery is fully in my hands now. And you can be sure she will never again have another day like yesterday!:no-fin:
It's a shame to have to had gone through this learning experience, but it's good that it happened early on before any real set back occurred.

When I had my first knee surgery, a scope and lateral release, the in hospital PT took off my bandage and had me do exercises. These caused bleeding inside and out. My OS throw a fit! Since then, after 10 other knee surgeries I never took formal PT exercises. I just let my daily life rehab my knees. Even after my TKR I did my own rehab and am doing great!
Penelope did 3 sets/10 repetitions of the first three exercises...without pain and without pressure. We will do another session this afternoon.
That's a bit much for a week old knee. Be very conscious of your knee's reaction. It will let you know if it's too much or not.

Don't worry about that bruising, it is completely normal. http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/bruising-after-surgery.7930/
 

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