TKR Beachy in recovery<

[SusieShoes]

Is that normal for side sleeping? If it is I’m not doing that again!

Yes, it's normal. For some knees. Not for all knees. My knees (both of them) HATED side-sleeping at first. Oh, I liked side-sleeping. Every other part of me liked side-sleeping. Mr. Shoes liked me sleeping on my side (on my back I snore, says he). So you can believe I tried to side-sleep.

The day came, about six weeks in, when I could actually fall asleep on my side with my knees cushioned by a pillow. Did that work? No. I woke up with two painful knees. Back to the Lounge Doctor, me on my back. I tried again. And again. And woke up every time with painful knees. But... the time between falling asleep and waking up with painful knees was getting longer. Victory! Sort of.

After a few months the day came when sleeping on my side led to six hours of sleep and waking up with only ONE painful knee. Usually it was Lefty. And then a few weeks later SOMETIMES I would wake up with a painful left knee. And those times became fewer. And one day I realized I was side-sleeping and no longer waking up from painful knees. About seven months had passed. I was too happy about it to carry a grudge.

Being a side-sleeper, you will continue to test whether you've reached that ability. And one day it will work for you again. Until then, keep that Lounge Doctor handy!

 

[beachy]

Well, hello everyone!
I will try to reply to all in 1 post. And thanks for the replies about Arnica. I have some of that from pre op painful days.

@IronGirl6 .
The home nurse told me a nick while shaving could take a long time to stop bleeding. Whether it's true or not I waited. I snorted coffee out of my nose about the troll doll comment. Good one! Even though we all do it try not to compare your recovery to anyone else's. The progression of recovery in the library is something I refer to alot. I would ask your OS about the pain meds. After 1 week they would have had to pry them out of my fingers.

@Rockgirl4 .
Wow! Thank you. I'm glad my thread helps you. Thanks also for the good wishes. I'm sending them your way as well. I've been through worse things in life so I have to keep this recovery in perspective. And it's temporary! Bad knees are not.

@NanaBeach .
Good to hear from you! I'm going to head over to recovery forum soon to catch up with your thread!

And last, but definitely not least.....hi @SusieShoes!
Hope you've been doing well since your last surgery. Have to give you credit for not giving up on side sleeping! The thing is, I was feeling so good up til then. I sleep through the night on my back with my lounge doc. I'm comfortable so I'll stay that way. I just had to try side sleeping.
I snore on my back. It's funny because the hubs used to snore so loud he could suck the wallpaper off the walls. I put up with that for years. Finally I made him go for a sleep study and he's been wearing a cpap for years.

Hang in there everyone! Each day is 1 step closer to pain free knees!

 

[Jockette]

I don’t know if I have a patella button, but I can see something on the patella on my X-ray, so I think I do. I’ll have to read my operative report again and see if it mentions a button. It would be nice to know for sure.

I just saw on my thread, a page back, that Josephine shows on my X-ray that I do have a patella button!! I forgot that she said that. Now I don’t have to dig out my operative report, and yes, I do know where it is!

 

[beachy]

@Jockette
Congrats! I have no idea what I have. I haven't had a post op appt yet! It's Nov 19. OS was on vacation for 4 week check up then slammed for 2 more weeks. Does the OS normally give you xrays of the new knee and the surgical report?
I was pretty drugged when he came in my room at the hospital and hubs wasn't there. I've almost forgotten what OS looks like
Maybe he's a ninja!

 

[beachy]

Today was productive. First time on my own with Tootsie. I haven't walked her since pre op. I was able to walk her 3x to do her business and thankfully she's quick when it's cold and damp. The knee is tight but loosens up as I walk.

I unloaded dishwasher, did laundry, tidied up, napped. And no pain meds. Iced and elevated in between. The swelling and pain have subsided from side sleeping. Little victories.

 

[Larryhg3]

@beachy my OS took xrays and showed them to me with a detailed explanation on why it looked good. I too am a side sleeper with Lefty it took a good 6-8 weeks to do it comfortably. Of course being a side sleeper and mule headed (says my wife) I try every couple of nights to sleep on my side. Oddly enough having Righty on the bottom I ca manage almost an hour. If I stay on my back I am good for 5 hours which is close to normal for me. But I keep trying, maybe my wife is on to something.

Glad to hear how well you are doing. Our dates are only a day apart so it is nice to read about someone on a similar time table.

 

[Jockette]

My surgeon took X-rays at every appointment and said everything looked great. He didn’t explain much about them unless I asked, but he was happy to let me take pictures of them. The first time I did was at my 7 month. Check up. I took the 2 different views I wanted, not planning to take the third, but he pulled the third one back up and said take this one too. He did have a pleasant personality.

By my one year check up when I was convinced I had a problem, I asked at the front desk when I checked in, for all my X-rays, and for my operative report. Sistersinhim had said she had a copy of her report and I thought it would be an interesting read (and it was!)

Now I have all I need for second opinions, if a surgeon will actually look at them. The second opinion I did have, the surgeon hardly looked at my X-ray and wasn’t interested in anything else I brought with me, including my list of concerns.

I’m glad you are coming along well. Your attitude is great and your relaxed approach to all things recovery-wise will take you through. You’re doing great!

 

[IronGirl6]

What on earth is a "patella button"? Did we get hooked up to some good hydraulics or other super powers? Oh please oh please...

I just saw on my thread, a page back, that Josephine shows on my X-ray that I do have a patella button!! I forgot that she said that. Now I don’t have to dig out my operative report, and yes, I do know where it is!

 

[beachy]

@Jockette
I remember your crappy 2nd opinion. I will probably have tkr #2 at the beach next year. Most likely in Del. I'll ask about xrays and surgical report at my appt next week.

@IronGirl6 .
No idea what that is but I'm gonna look it up! I've seen it mentioned many times here.

 

[beachy]

I have a gray ring all around my incision. It looks like a bruise. It began to show during week 2. The home nurse looked at in week 2 and said it was most likely bruising from the tools the surgeon uses to hold back the soft tissues during TKR. The tools look like a fork with ends curled. I saw them on the YouTube video of TKR that I watched countless times.

As time went on and the swelling decreased, mesh dressing, scabs, etc went away I still had the gray ring around the incision. I think it has become more noticeable as the rest of the skin becomes normal. The actual incision is pink and healthy looking. Swelling is moderate to low.

Most of my pain is in that area (about a 3 pain level) when standing/ walking. Is this normal? Is it bruising from the inside out?
I’ll try to post a pic to see if it shows.

 

[IronGirl6]

You actually watched the video?!? I was too afraid. Didn’t want it to psychologically increase my pain levels before i started! My version is I had a fairy and some magical unicorns come in, stomped me a bit, and healed me... just healing up from the hoof marks.

The tools look like a fork with ends curled. I saw them on the YouTube video of TKR that I watched countless times.

 

[beachy]

@IronGirl6
You don’t have to watch the video now. It’s just fairies and unicorns. LOL

I watched the first few times with a knot in my gut. As I became desensitized it was interesting. Helped to understand the true scope of how big this surgery is. It also made me step back and realize I was going to need help at first and to prepare a comfy nest to recuperate.

It’s not for the faint of heart!

 

[beachy]

Here's a pic. The discoloration shows at the top where scar is a little puckery and a line at the bottom of scar.

 

[Txmomgmom3]

Oh I too watched the entire surgery before my first tkr. Dumbest thing I ever did lol. Watched it again after the 1st surgery with a new set of eyes and understood why I was in the pain and discomfort.

 

[Celle]

What on earth is a "patella button"?

No idea what that is but I'm gonna look it up! I've seen it mentioned many times here.

If the cartilage at the back of your kneecap (patella) is damaged, it is shaved off during surgery and replaced by a plastic button - the patella button.

I copied the explanation below from this article:
Knee replacement surgery types and suggested videos

Patellar resurfacing with a button
Sometimes the articular surface of the knee cap is arthritic as well and needs to be resurfaced.

 

[Larryhg3]

I have a button on both knees. My doctor said “ your knees were a train wreck couldn’t save anything”. Apparently my knees were a total loss

 

[beachy]

Thanks @Celle..
So if the cartilage is shot it's replaced by the patella button?
No idea if I have that. I'll ask next week at 6 week appt.

 

[beachy]

@Larryhg3
Does the button make the area around the kneecap more painful?

 

[Larryhg3]

His PA said “ kneeling may not be in your future. Most people with buttons find kneeling uncomfortable”. Only place I usually kneel is at Mass and God knows why I don’t anymore.

 

[Motherbone]

@beachy the only thing that comes to mind about that gray ring is that it's transfer from some kind of ink or dye. Does it roughly match any of your icing equipment or bags? For both of my surgeries the surgeons wrote on my knee with black marker. The hospital had a protocol that required them to personally initial the knee to be operated on prior to surgery and while the patient lay in pre op. For my second surgery, the repair, there were additional black lines drawn at different points on the perimeter of the knee joint, I presume they had meaning for the surgical team. The ink from all of that took a long time to fade.