TKR Bob T's Recovery

Bob T

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I made it lol! Surgery went well on Tuesday and came home yesterday afternoon. I'm doing well with managing pain. I slept better than I thought I would last night. My worst pain is on my thigh where the tourniquet was applied but it's really an ache and nothing sharp. My best friend is definitely RICE. I had two PT sessions in the hospital and have my first outpatient PT tomorrow. I'm so glad to have found this site back when I did, it's been world of information!
 
Hope it continues for you.
 
Hi there. I also have found this site brilliant, so good to find others going through the same thing. Yes, RICE is the way to go, the first few weeks will soon fade into the background. Wishing you a great recovery.
 
Hey! Welcome to the other side! I hope your journey to recovery goes as smoothly as possible! You’re absolutely right...this place is brilliant!
 
Keep reading about PT, and be aware. You are your own advocate, like they say, it is your knee. Glad you are doing well
 
Hi and Welcome to Recovery!
PT sessions in the hospital and have my first outpatient PT tomorrow.
Just a reminder, contrary to popular opinion, PT should not hurt. My first two out patient sessions were fine, then in the third session, which was one week post op, he surprised me by gently continuing to push my bend to an excruciating pain level. There is no reason for them to bend your knee for you, ever. Don’t let them. I wish I had known that. I suffered needlessly and now I have trust issues with any PT.

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery. Pay special attention to #4, the articles on exercise.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access to these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?

Energy drain for TKRs

Elevation is the key

Ice to control pain and swelling

Heel slides and how to do them properly

Chart representation of TKR recovery

Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
Hey! Glad you are doing well. I am also having problems with thigh cramps. They are easily the worst part for me. I'm forcing electrolytes and constantly applying magnesium oil. It is improving, slowly.
 
Glad you're doing well Luvcats! I'm not having cramps, just a dull ache from the tourniquet. My wife has been amazing..... truly the best nurse ever lol. My two "what the hell" moments throughout this were the drain removal and catheter removal lol. Those both happened within a minute of one another yesterday morning. I have to say the spinal was great. I remember them telling me to roll my shoulders forward and then only remember already laying back down on the bed. One weird thing was I felt like my knees were drawn up when they were actually flat on the bed. The entire hospital experience was very nice. All the doctors, nurses, and techs were great. I hope everyone is having a great independence day!
 
Glad to hear that things went well for you, Bob T. I am having a spinal as well and am fearful of it. Your report encourages me. I hope you continue to do great!
 
Thanks quicklabs! I wouldn't be at all fearful of the spinal. It truly was a non event. I was wide awake in recovery.... very quickly. They also used a pain cocktail in my knee that helped. I won't say I've been completely without pain because that's not true. But the pain meds have made things very manageable. I'm hopeful for another decent night's sleep tonight. I'm sleeping in a recliner in the livingroom. I don't think the bed will happen for a few more nights but we will see how things go. I wish you well on your journey!
 
Glad to hear that things went well for you, Bob T. I am having a spinal as well and am fearful of it. Your report encourages me. I hope you continue to do great!
I told my OS about my fear of the spinal, he told me not to fear, I remember nothing
 
Glad to hear that things went well for you, Bob T. I am having a spinal as well and am fearful of it. Your report encourages me. I hope you continue to do great!
I have had numerous (many, many) surgeries and always with a general. I had the spinal and femoral nerve block for this one and the experience was fabulous compared to all of the other times. I don't remember anything after the spinal and woke up without the druggy head and nausea I always experienced from generals. I could not believe what a difference it made in my early recovery.
 
I do remember a pretty amazing slip n slide ride from the prep bed to the operating room table. They pretty much rolled me like a log to get the slide under me and then had me "hug" myself. The next thing I knew I was sliding over onto the operating room table. It was pretty cool to be honest. I was still out when transitioning back to the bed. I woke with them turning off the big overhead lights in the OR. Then I was zipping down the hallway to recovery. I was completely awake with zero grogginess. I was in recovery a very short time then they took me up to the joint floor. I honestly found it fascinating how easily they got me up to my room and comfy. I'm up and down by myself in the bathroom today. It's the little victories! I do get a little restless leg deal around 10 each night. I'm hoping that'll pass pretty quickly.
 
I hope it passes quickly mine did, but while I had it very uncomfortable.
 
Congratulations on your new knee!

I ,too, felt sore from the tourniquet for quite awhile after the first knee; quickly subsided after the second (both partials).

Had a wonderful experience with the spinal—so nice to wake up clear-headed. No soreness from the spinal after. I had been quite nervous about it.

My last memory before surgery was being positioned on my left side for the spinal. My right shoulder was scheduled for rotator cuff surgery soon after this surgery, so they were very carefully positioning me. Tricky, as it was the left knee being fixed.
And they spent awhile using the ultrasound to examine the whole area before insertion, as they told me they would at the pre-op anaesthesia meeting a week before the surgery.

Then, the anaesthesiologist told me they were ready, and a nurse sat down very close in front of me, held my hand, whispered that I would be fine, and gave me a warm, comforting smile as I drifted off to sleep. Sweet really. That really helped me relax.
 
Yes.... all I truly remember is the nurse anaesthetist saying..."I started your meds".....i looked down and she had a syringe in her hand. I woke up..... probably a very short time afterwards and i was on my back and couldn't feel anything from the waist down. I'd do it again in a minute.... it was peaceful and very calming.
 
One question that I never thought to ask. How long until your surgical bandage was removed? I have the tyoical fiberglass looking rubbery bandage vertically on my incision if it makes a difference.
 
Mine was supposed to come off at 2 weeks, but I had to go in to the office before that, I forget why, and my surgeon took it off early. He did wait until the 2 week mark to take my stitches out.
 
Thanks quicklabs! I wouldn't be at all fearful of the spinal. It truly was a non event. I was wide awake in recovery.... very quickly. They also used a pain cocktail in my knee that helped. I won't say I've been completely without pain because that's not true. But the pain meds have made things very manageable. I'm hopeful for another decent night's sleep tonight. I'm sleeping in a recliner in the livingroom. I don't think the bed will happen for a few more nights but we will see how things go. I wish you well on your journey!

Thanks, Bob T. My doctor will also use a pain cocktail. I hope you get to sleep in your own bed again soon! I appreciate your encouragement a great deal. Continued good wishes for you
 
I'm back in bed since friday night! It's a much better sleep quality in bed versus the recliner. I've found that I take the Norco about thirty minutes before bedtime and then I sleep pretty well. Usually from around 11:30pm to 7:00am. I wake somewhat stiff but getting up and using the restroom resolves that quickly. Then 400mg of ibuprofen and two arthritis strength tylenol get me through most of my day. I'm taking the ibuprofen every 4 to 5 hours with the tylenol every 8 hours. I'm very careful not to exceed the limit on tylenol per day. I'm finding that walking with the walker is getting easier each day. Also the tourniquet pain is gone.......that was a welcome e change! It's challenging but I'm keeping my head up and I'm happy for the little victories! One of my best is.......no more of that excruciating pain that I had prior to surgery!and flexion doesn't bring that hot burning pain within the knee. I have a long road ahead but I'm really pleased so far. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!
 

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