TKR Braunzie's Journey on "The Other Side"?

[Braunzie]

Hi all-
Well, my nerve block has subsided, so the pain level is definitely up. Using the walker a little more painful, but I know it will improve with time. Sleep wasn't quite as good last night, but still OK. Doing my best to take meds on a regular basis, but at times the pain does get up to about a 5-6. (Fortunately not for too long... ) Last night I tried putting my leg in the CPM machine as a last resort, and believe it or not, it actually worked. I've also found that just a minor adjustment in position (propping my back up) can help as well. I was pleasantly surprised. Keeping up with icing, taking it easy. Nausea doesn't happen to the same degree of intensity, but my daughter did get some OTC anti nausea medicine that worked nicely. Tried to do just a couple of the PT exercises yesterday.. lol! It will take time. (I've heard well - if it hurts, don't do it!) @iivesfam5 - good luck tomorrow!! :cool:

 

[iivesfam5]

Thanks Braunzie!!! keep going girl......

 

[Lovestoread]

You are going to find out over time just what works for you. Everyone's recovery is different, so what works for someone else might have to be tweaked a bit for you. You'll figure it out! Just glad to see that you are finding some relief!


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[icep707]

Be sure you are properly elevated and ice that knee like no ones business. For me it was 16 hours a day. No exaggeration and for weeks. I actually used 2 body length pillows from Costco for 11.99 each. I stacked them and rested my leg on them. And always had ice on it. That was my job ! I aint gonna lie, the first week was twilight zonish for me due to all the oxy but stopped taking them after week 1. Got by well with tramadol, celebrex and my trusty big bottle of tylenol from you guest it.... Costco. Theres ups and downs like stiffness and tightness,swelling and pain, but stay medicated. Its the difference between a pleasant recovery and a nightmare. As for sleep ... forget about it. Catch zzzzzs when you can . Infact do very little your first week or so. Allow your family to help you out. It isnt worth the risk to fall or injure your knee. I had very little help , only my GF and i recall shedding a tear when she left for work 8 day after my surgery. Im sure the meds make one an emotional mess !! Its not too early to start your prune regimen. !! Welcome to the otherside. , Iceman

 

[Braunzie]

Thanks, @icep707 ! I'm with you on the ice. I have the polar ice machine hooked up pretty much all the time I'm not in the CPM machine. I can tell I'm making some slow progress. Up to today, I had pretty much contained my movement from the bed to the bathroom. I actually took a short jaunt out to the living room today and it was not as exhausting has I had found the trip to the bathroom yesterday. Good sign. Was able to get through the whole set of PT exercises twice today.. will likely try again later. I'm REALLY focused on taking the pain meds right on schedule - setting the alarm at night. My first trip out of the house will be to the PT on Monday. Not looking forward to that, but .... I have time to improve to then. We'll see how it goes. Thanks again for sharing your experience. It helps a lot!

 

[Braunzie]

Day 4. More resting, icing, elevating, CPM machine, meds, PT exercises and about 4 jaunts out to the living room, the office and back. Pain hasn't gone past a 3 today (and that was short lived) and hubby remarked on how much better I'm doing using the walker. I got a bit teary-eyed because I noticed it too. (This is going to be an emotional roller coaster, I can tell... I then got teary-eyed later when I felt a bit wiped out from the PT exercises. But then, for anyone who knows me, I can get teary-eyed over just about anything.. so take that all with a grain of salt.. ) Looking forward to a shower a bit later... I'm really working on patience.... trying to be a good "patient".. .... I am so NOT used to not DOING something... But I also hate pain, so that is a good motivator..

 

[tigz]

Oh my gosh the slightest bit of anything exhausted me on Day 4. You're doing very well. And that emotional rollercoaster... It's the longest roller coaster ride I've been on...And at 11 weeks? I think I still have a long way to go!

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[Braunzie]

@tigz - we can ride together!

 

[tigz]

@Braunzie most definitely (my more recent issues stem from an impatient hubby who just does not get it. Oh well)! [emoji259]

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[Braunzie]

@tigz - Yes, it's only day 4 for me, and mine is already commenting he's tired.. Of course, since he's home from work, he's also trying to get things done "on his list" in addition to taking care of me, so I believe he's tired. I'll have to have him try to rest "with me" tomorrow.. (We'll see how that works.. :P ) We don't need the both of us to be tired and cranky! hahaha!

 

[snowleopard]

Wow, Day 4 for you already! Somehow I blinked and missed this! I'm so glad to be past the nausea stage. I was already queasy, as you may recall, when I was asked to take antibiotics for a dental procedure. Took them on an empty stomach, and was sick for about three days. Miz'ry! And yes, the first thing that got me sick was the anti-nausea meds. Ahh, good times. And the emotional stuff? And I went on a crying jag on Day 5 when I realized the ball had been dropped on my home-health care provider, and no one was helping me. Thank goodness I had the support from this site, tissues and tea and there-there pats.

You're doing so amazingly well! I missed Day 4 because I was taking the oxy every four hours round the clock, and sleeping for three-and-half each time I took one. Wake up, pee, swallow a pill, go back to sleep---even I was able to figure out that wasn't optimal.

I'm glad that you have the icer with the pump. The gravity fed ones take a lot of managing.

What kind of hardware did they put in you? I'm starting to get the bills in from the hospital, and I was boggled to see what the knee implant cost. It's kind of fun looking at the numbers when you know the insurance company is picking up the costs.

That first shower is a proud moment indeed. I've been using a seat in the shower, and today was the first day I took a standing-up shower. I'm so nervous about another slip-fall injury that it makes me think through everything.

It may be a roller-coaster ride, but once you're done with the ride and get off, that's when the rest of your life begins. I realize now that I was just flying in a holding pattern for a long time. In another month or two, I'll be skippity-do-dahing all over the place, and you'll just be a few skips behind me. Woohoo! Look out world! Here we come!

 

[Braunzie]

Hi @snowleopard! I don't blame you at all for being nervous about another "slip-fall".... I can only relate to some of the pain I felt pre-surgery when my knee didn't like how it happened to twist at a particular time - and that wasn't even falling.. yikes!!

I did four sets of PT yesterday - my instructions say 5 a day... but I haven't made it there yet. Four was definitely the max I could do yesterday, and thankfully, I've picked up from this site that I'm not going to push myself to pain just to hit a particular goal. This will be hard for me, as I'm kind of a competitive person (I can hear my friends laughing at the "kind of" part).. It's my nature to want to recover better and faster then others.. (It's kind of a blessing and a curse, if you think about it........ lol!) I have to practice discipline and patience and let my knee be the leader in this one. And this "resting" part.. hahaha! My husband keeps looking at me cross-eyed when I pick up my laptop at 7:30 or 8:00 in the am... Of course, he can sleep at any hour during the day, on anything... sawing logs in no time!

....Oh.. he's moving me to a new location! Get to sit in the front room today!!! I'll be back later!

 

[PolarBear60]

Yay for fresh scenery. I did my PT exercises throughout the day as I felt up to it. It sounds like you're keeping your competitive side in check for now, and that's to be commended.

 

[snowleopard]

[knocks] Hello hello hello . . . lo It's very *echo-y* in here.

Has she ever returned, no she never returned, and her fate will be unlearned.
She may hang out forever in the sunny front room, she's the smartie that never returned . . .

Just checkin' up to see how you're doing. Hope this means you're snoozing a lot, and not out running quarter-miles just to show that ol' OS.

 

[Swish]

@Braunzie, my hubby was exhausted too. So busy taking care of me...he didn't eat and the went into terrible low blood sugar. He's diabetic and it scared me like crazy. I finally had to yell at him to take care of himself first. This is my third elective surgery in five years (2 bunion surgeries before TKR), so I think he's had his fill. He went back to work this past week, I'm back doing the laundry and I hired a cleaning service to clean the house.....so things are better now.

 

[Braunzie]

@snowleopard - haha! What time zone are you in? I'm thinking I might be doing more snoozing than you?? Thanks for checking in. Finally took off the ace bandage and cotton wrapping around my leg yesterday. WHEW!! It was wrapped pretty tightly, so that was a huge relief! Still have a pretty thick bandage that is securing the wound, that I won't have it removed til I go to have my stitches out on the 29th. But... I was surprised at how little bruising I had.. There is some, but not like a lot of the pictures I've seen.. Not sure if there is more bruising to come once I'm up and around on the leg more?? Knee is still really stiff, and where as I was able to do 4 rounds of PT on Thursday, I only felt up to 3 yesterday.. Keep trying to keep the 'big picture' in mind. I do have number of questions I may post in a separate thread later today.. I'll try to write them all down first so I remember them..

Yesterday was your 6 week anniversary!! Congratulations!!
How are YOU doing??

 

[Braunzie]

@Swish - Wow. That would be scary... and I can imagine yelling at my hubby if I were in your same position!! haha! Sometimes that helps them hear a little be better..

Back doing laundry already? That's pretty good! My laundry room is downstairs, so I imagine it will be sometime before I can do much more than fold.. I've thought about getting someone to come in and help clean the house too. I've always kind of shied away from that, as I always thought what I didn't spend on housekeeping, would get me that much closer to retirement!! This may be the right time to sway from that - at least for a while.. I'll have a better argument when my youngest daughters are no longer here at the end of the summer. One is going away to college in Portland, OR, and the other is moving back there (probably) to get a job as a nurse. (She just graduated from University of Portland and was finishing up her clinicals here during the summer.) Time will tell!!

In any event, I think my husband will be more rest at work than he's getting here.. That's for sure!

Two bunion surgeries also?? Whew! I will be counting my blessings!! Keep us posted on how you're doing!! Take care!!

 

[PolarBear60]

You may notice more bruising in a few days. Or not. Everyone is different, but I enjoyed monitoring the color display.

 

[Lovestoread]

I had bruising that was still showing up two weeks after surgery! Also one leg had more bruising than the other, which surprised me. Same surgeon, same procedure....but one knee and leg hardly had any.


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[Slainte]

My OS warned me that my knee was horrible, and that there would be lots of bruising. But I have not seen any, yet. Glad you are getting a change of scenery, @Braunzie . Makes a world of difference.