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BossK's recovery thread

I'm complete! RTKR done yesterday, and I'm home. This time I did it at the hospital due to timing, and they sent me home with the ice machine! The difference between the treatment I got here, versus the outpatient surgical center was noticeable.


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Welcome back home! Remember to be gentle with your knee.
 
Welcome home again @BossK
When you are able to, please will you add your right TKR to your signature? Thank you.

I'll give you the recovery reading again, as a refresher:
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. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


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 a 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 history before providing advice.
 
Which treatment was better and what was the difference?
 
KarriB said:
Which treatment was better and what was the difference?
Click to expand...

With the surgical center, I felt really rushed through. Like they needed the bed. With the hospital, it was more relaxed, and the nurses were super.
 
Here ya go. So that we can see it at the bottom of every post you make, and thus advise you appropriately, please will you create a Signature, in which you put your knee surgery and its date in full? Write the name of the month, so there’s no confusion.
Hover over your username, top right of the page, and select Signature from the drop-down box. Enter your surgery details and then save. This article also explains how to do it:
How to create a signature
If you can’t do it, please let us know, so that we can do it for you. Please tell us which knee and the date. Thank you.
 
KarriB said:
Here ya go. So that we can see it at the bottom of every post you make, and thus advise you appropriately, please will you create a Signature, in which you put your knee surgery and its date in full? Write the name of the month, so there’s no confusion.
Hover over your username, top right of the page, and select Signature from the drop-down box. Enter your surgery details and then save. This article also explains how to do it:
How to create a signature
If you can’t do it, please let us know, so that we can do it for you. Please tell us which knee and the date. Thank you.
Click to expand...

I think I got it! Thank you!


Boss K
LTKR November 4, 2016
RTKR April 17, 2017
 
Ugh- the pain today is awful! Dutifully taking my meds and icing, but wow! Throbbing down to my ankle.


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The pain today is unbearable. I got behind on my meds, and now my whole leg aches. The back of my calf really hurts, but I'm not hot or cold. No fever. It seems to be just the muscle tightening, however the pain this time prompted me to call the surgeon. They didn't seem concerned, so has this happened to anyone else?


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Have you been walking too much or doing too many exercises? Ice everywhere that hurts! You can set a pain med schedule so you won't get behind anymore. Playing catch up is awful. I hope you can get it under control really quickly. Be sure and follow the guidelines that were left for you in post #123.
 
@sistersinhim I promise I have been the best patient so far! I think I got off my meds schedule in the middle of the night, and by the time I woke up I was already behind the pain.


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Setting an alarm schedule would be worth it then. Are you feeling any better yet?
 
At this point in recovery you need to stay on top of the pain and not skip a dose of medication. Right now you're chasing the pain, use ice until the meds are back in your system.
 
I used to set my alarm clock for when the next dose of pain meds was due. That prevented me from missing a dose.
 
Last night I set the alarm for two dosings 4 hours apart, and today I feel much better. I have my Amazon Echo remind me of my daily doses.

The calf pain has moved now to the outside of my lower leg. I've been icing all day with that continuous ice machine and that has helped. I start PT this afternoon with the same therapist I had before so I'm going to let him know when I've had enough!:)


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