TKR Carole’s recovery thread

[sistersinhim]

What a great recovery you are having. You're listening to your knee and obeying it. It's working for you.

 

[Carole4815]

Today the Home Health nurse took the staples out, and I immediately took a photo of my knee. Then I put it on the knee scar photos thread. So, you can just go over there and see it if you are curious.

Overall, I think it looks pretty good for 14 days after surgery. It doesn't even gross me out. The only pinkness or redness is due to the staples having just been removed.

By the way, I couldn't even feel the staples coming out. It was very gentle.

 

[ElanorG]

Definitely looks good! I wasn't grossed out either but I forgot to take a photo of mine.

 

[luvcats]

I agree that pain always seems worse at night. I always needed more meds for sleeping, much longer than I needed them during the day.

 

[Carole4815]

@luvcats , exactly! I hardly take any pain meds during the daytime, if any. Ice is usually enough for me during the day. But even a level 1-2 pain is enough to keep me from being able to fall asleep at night.

So, I have been taking two hydrocodone+acetaminophen at bedtime, which (usually) takes care of that problem and I am asleep and snoring within 15 minutes after taking them. Supposedly they should wear out in about 4-6 hours but oddly the pain doesn't awaken me once I am asleep, so I'm good for the night if I do that. Last night I tried taking just one, and although it took me a few minutes longer to fall asleep it still worked.

 

[Carole4815]

Did anybody else feel unusually tired, sleepy, or exhausted after getting the staples taken out? It didn't hurt when mine were taken out yesterday, but last night I slept about 3 hours extra and today I still feel really tired. It even seems like more effort to just correct my gait when I am walking.

Or maybe I just overdid it yesterday doing other things. (sigh) It's hard to know how much I can do these days. I did 2/3 of a small load of laundry (did step 1: washer, did step 2: dryer, but let my sweetie do step 3: put the dried clothes away). Maybe that was too much.

 

[kneeper]

Just the fact of it being an "outing" was draining on the day I got my staples out. If you also did laundry that will have set you up for

 

[Hoppy Nanny]

Following your thread with interest & so pleased you are doing so well...

Sleeping so well is so good...so pleased for you..

Hope your tiredness wears off...
bet it’s good to have those staples out & getting a 90 degree ROM is amazing!




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[Carole4815]

Thanks kneeper, that makes a lot of sense.
And thank you too, @Hoppy Nanny and it DID wear off!!!! After writing that post, I had such a wonderful day. You know how it is; recovery is such a roller coaster! When I wrote that, I honestly thought it was going to be a very, very tough day. But it turned out to be the very best day ever.


I have to tell somebody, and I know bonesmarties would understand whereas those who haven't had knee surgery might think, "well, what's the big deal". I definitely don't mean to brag or make people feel bad, though! I seem to be on the Recovery Rollercoaster that many of us are riding. Maybe this post will give more hope to those that are having an especially tough day. This recovery is so unpredictable and just when things seem tough, they can turn around.

Anyway, my PT lady is wonderful at encouraging me and lifting my spirits. She had me do what I could do, without pushing me and just telling me I was doing fine. Then she had me do unassisted leg lifts!! She helped with the first one, didn't have to help much with the second one and let me try (and succeed!) at doing numbers 3-20 all by myself, for the first time since surgery. Pretty doggone cool. She measured my ROM, which wasn't half bad considering how the day started out.

August 13: (TKR Surgery Day)
August 13: (No ROM measured; PT had me walk 120 feet with walker 2 hours after surgery)
August 14: (No ROM measured; PT had me walk 300 feet with walker before going home)
August 15: 68 degrees
August 16: 68 degrees
August 19: 69 degrees
August 21: 82 degrees
August 23: 82 degrees
August 26: 90 degrees
August 28: 89 degrees​

Then I got off my bed without using the leg lifter, for the very first time!!! WOW, two firsts? On a day that started out bad? But it gets better.

I told her that I wanted to try to get into my SUV passenger seat using the leg lifter, since I will need to do that for my doctor appointment in a week. Well, all three of us (me, PT lady, and also my sweetie) went out there. My first time outdoors since surgery, BTW . I got in the SUV without even needing my leg lifter or having to pick up my leg with my arms.... just lifted it using the muscle strength in that leg. Who woulda thought?

It gets better.... my sweetie and I have eaten a light lunch at a small restaurant together almost every day since we retired. Since I was already in the SUV, he drove us there and we had lunch at the restaurant. Lunch out? On Day 15? Sounds insane but why not give it a try. I only had to walk 20 feet from the car to the table, but I did have to deal with going up one step onto the curb on the way in, and down that same step on the way out, which is all new for me. The wait staff has known us a long time, so they were nearly as happy about my return as we were. The chairs were remarkably low compared with what I remembered, but I managed to get up somehow after lunch. Then we came home, and I'm icing and resting.

I am using four layers of cloth (a big scarf folded twice) between my knee and the cold, because there isn't a thick dressing on it any more to protect the incision from too much cold. All there is, is just those strips (Steri-strips? I think they are called).

Two steps forward, one step back, but then two steps forward again....

 

[LindaO]

Wow! What a great day for you! You are doing super so enjoy every minute of celebrating!

 

[Carole4815]

@LindaO , thank you!!! It's been the best recovery day so far, for me. I know they can't all be like this but it sure feels great.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

It's nice to be on the uphill side of the roller coaster when you can. Too many of our early days are on the down side so the ups are a nice place to be. The up days will eventually outnumber the down days, and you will be there before you know it. Your leg woke up finally! Isn't that a wonderful feeling?

 

[Carole4815]

Your leg woke up finally! Isn't that a wonderful feeling?

Yes, that's what happened! I never heard of it described like that but that is a perfect way to phrase it. Up until today I couldn't lift my leg. In fact I could not even twitch that muscle until a few days ago. Then boom, there it was! It woke up.

Of course the down side is that I overdid, to some extent, so here it is 3:21 AM and despite two hydrocodones with acetaminephen I still have enough (mild, justifiable) knee pain that I haven't been able to sleep yet. Still, a day like that was worth it.

 

[Hoppy Nanny]

What a fabulous day for you...
so pleased ... hoping your recovery continues only upwards.

How lovely that you went out for lunch every day after retirement... you have to make the most of every day...

Take care... no overdoing now!! xx


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[luvcats]

What a lovely day! Thank you for sharing it. It must have felt wonderful to be back to normal-ish for a few hours.
I remember how exciting it was when suddenly your leg is 'real' again and you can control it.

I hope eventually you got some sleep. I myself had a number of days where I did too much and couldn't sleep after, but usually it's worth it just to do something different or progress a bit further.

 

[sewhat]

Wow! All those firsts you deserved a celebratory lunch! I'm so proud of you! You go, Girl!

 

[Carole4815]

Wow! All those firsts you deserved a celebratory lunch! I'm so proud of you! You go, Girl!

Thank you, @sewhat and everybody!!

 

[sewhat]

Carole, I looked at your new knee. It looks pretty good. I posted a picture of mine, it came out huge. I don't know how to fix it. Maybe an admin will do it. You can see how bruised mine is.

 

[Carole4815]

Carole, I looked at your new knee. It looks pretty good. I posted a picture of mine, it came out huge. I don't know how to fix it. Maybe an admin will do it. You can see how bruised mine is.

It is really bruised! But I think you got some good advice on your thread about it - - ice, elevate, and in time, surely all that bruising will go away. I think picture size looks ok from here on my laptop PC, anyway.

 

[LindaO]

I looked at your knee too Carole! It looks good!! The swelling looks well controlled and very little bruising! Keep doing what you are doing!!