Revision TKR Bruising 3 years out

[Xanaphia]

The nurses are still in the office but he doesn't have a doctor covering for him that I know of. I knew he was leaving but I didn't expect it to be so quick after my surgery. Had I known I probably would have waited because having things like this going on and not being able to talk to your doctor about it is not what I had in mind. Makes me feel chopped on, mutilated, stitched up and then put out in the road. And you can't talk to the nurses because they're all quite rude

 

[Celle]

Don't lie there worrying. Go to the ER now. You do need to get this checked out. It may be nothing serious, but you need to make sure.
Tell them at the ER that your surgeon is away and his nurses won't/can't help.

 

[Xanaphia]

I'm going to be going to the ER in the morning. This time of night I'll be sitting in the waiting room for 4 hours before being seen so I'm going to get some sleep and have my daughter drive me up there tomorrow.

 

[skigirl]

Here we have Urgent Care centers that are a lot cheaper than the ER. It is hard for me to believe that the doctor did not have someone covering for him, especially in the case of emergencies. I would not go to a physician who had a rude staff. Have you let him know that his staff was rude to you?

If the pt is pushing and pushing on your knee, that is probably the source of the pain. Pushing like that causes swelling to occur. I am amazed at her ignorance---many people struggle with extension issues---she is completely wrong. Is she the only PT in your town? If not, go to the owner of the pt clinic and tell them you want someone who has recent training in how to rehab a TKR. She is using techniques that are from outdated thinking.

I have great rom and never had a minute of pain in pt. My PT was very professional---are you sure you are working with a PT and not a PT assistant or aide. I think you need to see her credentials. Showing frustration, treating you like a failure---those are not the traits of a well trained professional.

 

[Clipless]

Good luck with your ER visit. I hope everything checks out okay. A couple of years ago my teenage son suffered a severely sprained ankle- so severe he was casted for two months- and his entire foot turned purplish every time he stood up even after the cast came off. And yes, it would get numb and tingly. I don't remember what the doctor said caused this phenomenon, but anyway he was fine. I would check periodically that I could feel his pedal pulse (pulse atop the foot), and that his injured foot was as warm as the other one. He just had to ice and elevate most of the time, poor kid.

As for home PT, unless for some reason you are absolutely required to cooperate (e.g. worker's comp), why not call the agency and simply terminate it? That's what I did two sessions after my first TKR. My PT was nice enough, I just thought the whole concept was "lame" and I wanted to rest more. Instead I found myself vacuuming and doing other housework in preparation for their arrival only days after surgery- because that's how I was raised. So I "fired" the home PT service and started outpatient PT when I felt ready. For my second TKR I declined home PT altogether and didn't even BEGIN outpatient PT until 6 weeks post op, and I am doing well (extremely well!) at six months post op.

Look, the average person is perfectly capable of performing their own little mobility exercises at home. There are plenty of resources available for that online and right here on Bonesmart. The one thing I will credit PT with was in helping me with my gait, as I had somehow forgotten how to walk properly.

 

[Xanaphia]

The PT comes to my house thru a home health agency because I cannot drive yet. The pain medicine does very little for my pain but sure does make me drowsy, and I can't get myself into and out of my truck yet because I cannot even lift my leg yet. I think I'm going to stop taking the percocet and just use tylenol because for the second day now I've gotten really dizzy, my ears started ringing and my heart pounding really fast. It doesn't help my pain anyway. Most of my friends think I'm a wuss and have even said so because of my opposition to PT. They don't understand how badly it hurts. I find myself wishing I had never had this done because the pain and body symptoms I have now are almost too much. Before it was just crunching pain when walking, now it's stabbing pain all the time, among other things going on with my body. I'm miserable and scared and depressed and I feel like I'm alone in this horrible journey. I hate this feeling :(

 

[Clipless]

The PT comes to my house thru a home health agency because I cannot drive yet...

You do NOT have to have the home health agency PT if you don't want it- that's what I'm saying! They may argue with you, but that's because they want the revenue! If you still desire their services at least call and cancel a few appointments until you get your pain sorted out. I did not do any sort of PT after my RTKR until I was able to drive myself (after about 6 weeks post op).

I declined 1) Home Health nurse, 2) Home PT, and 3) CPM machine. Yesterday, six months after RTKR, I mountain biked 18 miles over steep and rugged terrain. Can anyone honestly say my recovery suffered because I refused those early services? I don't think so!!!

 

[Xanaphia]

Oh that CPM machine is awful. I think it just adds to the pain honestly. As for home health nurse, the only reason I have them is because my doctors office said I'm not allowed to change my own bandage I have to have a nurse do it which begs the question, how am I supposed to watch for redness drainage etc if I cannot change my bandage?

 

[Clipless]

I changed my own bandage, no problem. Did I ask permission? Of course not! I work in health care but I am not a nurse. I just thought, "I can do this". I felt much better not allowing other hands near my incision. I cleaned it every few days with a sterile Chlora-prep sponge, let that dry, applied a sterile non-stick gauze, then covered the whole thing with a clear waterproof film called Tegaderm. I could shower!

If you decide to take control and change your own dressing you will need the above supplies from a home care pharmacy, and always wash your hands well first.

 

[Xanaphia]

Where do you find the tegaderm large enough? All I've found is the small tegaderm waterproof bandages

 

[Clipless]

4 in x 4 3/4 in. Not long enough so I would shingle two. You might have to call around or try Amazon. I found some at a small pharmacy in a medical building that carries colostomy and wound supplies.

 

[Xanaphia]

I think my pain meds are wrecking havoc in my body. For the past 3 days my head has been super fuzzy, my ears ringing and I've had a couple episodes of dizziness to the point where I felt like I was going to faint. I haven't taken the percocet since very early yesterday morning, I switched to my norco that I took for 5 months. The doctor I seen last night said it could take a couple days for the percocet to get fully out of my system. My daughter took me to the hospital last night because she was worried about me and they did all sorts of tests and couldn't find anything wrong. So the doctor concluded it must be a build up of the pain meds because there's no other answer for what's going on. It's awful really. I haven't had to take much for pain which is good, I'm working on my ROM myself, I know which exercises I need to do so I don't see a point in letting PT come out and torture me. The pain has dropped quite a bit over the weekend. I'm even starting to be able to lift my own leg, slowly but surely each day gets a little easier.

 

[kneeper]

I was happy to have a home nurse check my incision. And she left me with a few of the bandages so I could change my own. I was able to get replacements at a pharmacy that carried all kinds of medical supplies. I did have to tape the bandage on, but that was no problem.

The nurse could still help be an advocate for you as far as getting that leg checked out by an OS.

I was lucky with home PT. Very mild exercises and for the first knee she massaged my sore muscles.

For my 2nd knee the outpatient PT wanted to see me 3x per week (their standard) but I said 2x was plenty and I'd do my exercises at home the other days. I actually slacked (by their standards) on the days off and did fine. What they didn't know didn't hurt them. ;)

skigirl also makes an excellent point about seeing an actual PT, not an assistant. The assistant at my place was the worst tyrant. I was on the verge of refusing to see her when somehow I must have got lucky with the scheduling and didn't have to make an issue of it.

 

[Xanaphia]

Ok today is happy dance day for me. I DID IT!!! Lol I got fed up over the weekend, tired of laying in bed, tired of crying and so I spent the entire weekend working on my leg and boy did it pay off. I was able to go up and down the stairs, get in and out of my truck and even drive. Today I was able to do every single exercise the PT asked me to do including the leg lifts and my ROM is 105°/+1°. I'm so happy today. I know I still have a long ways to go but I feel so much better, and I don't even have to take my pain meds except for right before exercises and at bedtime. 3 days ago I was miserable and stuck in the thought process of this is never going to get better, today I see a beautiful light that tells me this is all going to be ok and I can do it

 

[Celle]

I'm glad you're feeling so much better.

Now that you've taken that big stride forwards, be careful not to overdo things. You can do the leg lifts, so there's no need to keep on doing them.

It's only 2 weeks since you had this major surgery and it will take a long time to recover fully from it.
You've made a huge amount of progress over the weekend. Now, it would be a good idea to let your knee rest again, and consolidate the progress it's made.

This recovery does take a long time. If you think of it as a race, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

Your knee is doing very well. There's no need to rush to achieve deadlines.
Remember that's it's time and reduction of swelling that will improve ROM.

 

[Xanaphia]

@Celle I agree. I've been up all day and I'm seeing the results of that, my entire leg is swollen. Time to elevate and ice.

 

[Xanaphia]

Ugh.... one step foward, two steps back..... My calf is still so swollen today, Ive been elevating off and on all day and can only get the swelling down so far and as soon as Im standing up for a bit or I get out of bed it swells right back up. Have also been having what feels like a charley horse in my upper thigh off and on..... Ive iced, elevated, Im not really sure what else to do.... this is so frusterating..

 

[Clipless]

You did too much at PT!

 

[Xanaphia]

So the calf swelling is normal? Nothing really to worry about??

 

[Clipless]

Better safe than sorry- call your doctor.