TKR Diane's KneeQuest, NewKnee Inn Recovery

[macduf387]

Just a thought maybe you are not eating enough and taking stool softners twice a day is causing the gas and diarhea. Try maybe taking it once a day and eat some prunes as they are full of fiber. Banana in yogurt is good. I hope you feel better soon nothing worse than a stomach thats not behaving. I know @Timetolive went through a lot with her stomach when we were going through our surgeries together. Hang in there you have got through the first week and you survived.
Wishing you a great day today.

PS I lived on a lot of yogurt and dont worry about PT I only started home pt my 3rd week at home and told him straight not going to do anything that hurts knee he was already surprised at how much I could bend my knee considering I had had no pt. He was gentle and I did just fine without pt.

 

[dianehelen]

I eat yogurt every day, have for years. I would have thought that would have helped ward some of this off , guess not

I am not eating alot, but trying to eat some. I had some fresh chicken noodle soup yesterday, and today I just had some toast.

Its such a weird balance how I can be constipated and have diarrhea and be gassy all in a 24 hour period. If I only had one of those, I could adjust whatever to handle it, but with all three alternating, its quite annoying.

My knee just feels so tight, especially the area right above, I guess my quad. trying gentle stretches but nothing to cause pain.

@Timetolive and good tummy tips you can share?

 

[greatlakes]

Thanks for asking DianeHelen, am compulsively checking all my plans over and over and reading back issues of this forum from years ago. Am ready to just do it! Like jumping into the deep end. Definitely while holding my nose.

 

[macduf387]

I agree @dianehelen I loved the chicken noodle soup from Costco but loosing appetite is all part of the course. I also eat yogurt everyday love it I am loving the new Chobani flip flavours, but noosa and fage still my favorites especially honey one. Hopefully @Timetolive will chime in soon but she ended up with diverticulitis which was not fun at all. I hope you find a good balance with food and tummy soon. Take care.

 

[uva55]

@dianehelen each one if us had something that was really challenging at the beginning of our recovery, I had the horrible nausea for almost three weeks even though I was taking meds for it and it was weeks before I could sleep in my bed. I know is really rough for you now but things will start looking up soon, remember patience and lots of it is necessary

You are not whining, plenty of us have been there and totally understand your frustration!!!

 

[dianehelen]

@macduf387 the yogurt I have been loving lately is from Fresh Market, its their brand called Smart Yogurt, and it says Icelandic.. not sure what makes it Icelandic, but its good., My favorite flavor is coconut. Its high protein like Greek yogurt.

ended up with diverticulitis

ughh thats what I just went thru with my husband right before my surgery...I sure hope thats not the case, but who knows, nothing would surprise me at this point

 

[mamazipp]

Well maybe the yogurt is giving you gas...might be a temp. Intolerance to lactose. Perhaps cut it out even if you love it. Also cut out the dulcolax for a day or so. Protonix is for gastric reflux which doesn't sound like what you have. You also do Need to eat fiber food as the yogurt provides none. Prunes and apricots stewed are yummy. Tummy troubles are as bad as pain .........try to eat some more chicken soup. Is there a vegetable soup that fresh market makes?

 

[sistersinhim]

@dianehelen, are you taking a probiotic? I found they help me with my IBS, which sounds a lot like you are going through.

 

[Tabbycat]

I'm sorry too to hear about your tummy troubles. There's nothing worse when you are already in pain and worn out. Just a couple of suggestions, I found multivitamins give me stomach discomfort if I haven't eaten much, and I think all the drugs we get at the time of surgery and afterwards really mess with our gut flora. A good high strength probiotic might help address that issue, there's often not much in yogurt. I had a lot of nausea but when I stopped the codeine it eased up. But then I didn't get pain relief. You pays your money...
I just read Paula's comment about the probiotics. Great minds.
Hope you feel better soon.
Tabby xxx

 

[Happydale]

I'm so sad that you're having such a struggle. It's impossible to not be self absorbed when you're going through this, and the value of BoneSmart is that we get it!! So complain here all you want. As you go through your recovery you'll try different changes to see what works for you. Here are some things from my recovery that may or may not be right for you:

1. Distractions really help! In my case it was my visitor/friends&family/caretakers. Anything to take your mind off your discomfort
2. I had to limit the stool softeners and I found I couldn't tolerate the high doses that were recommended. I was also taking in too many probiotics, which were causing gas pains.
3. P.T. actually helped me the most when I was in pain. Both my home PT and my outpatient person listened to what was hurting, made suggestions to address those areas, and physically adjusted my body a few times that provided some immediate relief. My PT Kelly even called my doctor to see if I could add Advil to my Tramadol, Tylenol combo and that helped. Maybe you need a different PT person.
4. Even though moving around was painful, I discovered that moving around a little bit when I was especially in pain actually provided some relief.

Of all of these, I especially recommend the distraction one. The more you can force yourself to think about something else, the better you'll feel. That's also the most difficult thing to do! As everyone else has said, we promise it gets better!

 

[Barnmom22]

Hi @dianehelen. First let me say so happy you are now NINE days post surgery. Awesome. I remember when you were a month or two pre-surgery and struggling to manage your huge anxiety about the surgery. Me too. But now it's behind you and I can tell you are not only doing well, but doing better than some folks do. You are healing. every twinge and shooting pain in your knee and leg is saying: "We've got this Diane, we are on a roll and making you whole again". So can I gently suggest you loosen your grip a bit on wondering how you will fare? Because that ? has been answered: Splendidly.

Now, as for the stomach issues. They are a beast. I was severely constipated for three weeks and thought I'd end up having bowel surgery. I finally called my internist and she said NO DUCOLAX--no laxatives. She suggested two Colace and one Seena at bedtime. Lots of water. Lo and behold in two days I was human again. I continued with one of each pill for a month and then weaned off. I lived on poached eggs as I had no appetite but could eat those. Of course, ceasing oxy and percocet and tramadol will help a lot too. They mess up digestion. I stopped all those meds at 4 weeks and just took advil every 5-6 hours. For me I realized it was going to hurt for some weeks regardless so I might as well regain digestion.

You were traumatized by your infection from the last surgery, I think. And IMO some of your anxiety is fear of re-traumatization. But I wanted to be a little voice today to say that you are out of the woods. It's behind yo u now. You just have to let time pass and healing happen. What a relief! Oh, and your incision looks excellent. I see no bruising or weeping. Just a very nicely healing scar.

PS I am jealous you can sleep already. I couldn't sleep more than two hours until week 6. Now it's just my 7 month old pup waking me at 3 AM.

 

[dianehelen]

Thanks guys for your always wonderful encouraging support. I am gonna cut down the stool softeners, just hope I can get the balance right and not go from diarrhea to constipation.

So nurse just left, wound is doing well, says I can leave it open air when not icing. Its not draining at all. A few places feel a bit warm, but not hot.

Interesting how we each have different issues on this journey, pain, digestion, sleep, etc etc.

Here is my incision today. And now off to naptime

 

[uva55]

Taking so many meds is not very kind to your belly... I really hope you feel better soon!!!

You are right, we share many of the same challenges but also have our unique individual issues to deal with

 

[Timetolive]

Diane, I am sorry I just now saw your post! Please bring me up to date on what you are experiencing. @macduf387 is very right - I had and still have terrible intestinal issues. Tell me your symptoms now and what you are doing.

 

[sistersinhim]

Diane, that incision looks really good. Very little redness and swelling! You are doing so good! Now, if only you could get that tummy under control! If you are off the Oxy and only on Tramadol, you probably don't need extra softeners.

 

[LoveGiants]

Hi Diane! I found that Miralax worked the best for me. I tried other stool softeners and laxatives, but the Miralax helped the best. I also take a probiotic daily.

Your incision looks great!

Hang in there!

 

[dianehelen]

@Timetolive did you have issues before your surgery? I never had, that's why it's so miserable to me now. So for the first few days post op I was taking two 7.5 oxy every 4 hours round the clock.it kinda started in the hospital, they were giving me 2 ducosate twice a day. The day I went home I had diarrhea in the hospital. I really ate next to nothing the days I was there. Came home, continued the oxy, ate vert little just yogurt & protein drinks. Tummy always felt unsettled. I eased off the softeners and then became constipated. Started back on the softeners, started eating a bit more. Changed to tylenol/tramadol. Ate like toast, eggs, soup. Stomach still very rumbly and more diarrhea this morning. Stopped the softeners again, and that's the summary of tummy troubles

 

[dianehelen]

Just up from a nice nap. Boy when I lay down in my bed and just drift off, it almost for that time I feel decent.

 

[newlybionic]

I have IBS which for me causes diarrhea. For that I'm supposed to take pro biotics, and fiber every day. Are you taking aspirin now twice a day for a blood thinner? The best diet right not to eat anything high in fat. Try to eat small amounts of food throughout the day. You can try the BRAT diet which is banana, rice, applesauce and toast (with a bit of jam or jelly). Don't worry about trying to take the protein drinks until your stomach calms done. Some of us added another food group-ice cream. The only protein I could get down was part skim mozzarella string cheese. I found myself alternating between two stool softeners and one stool softener. If I experienced diarrhea I skipped my next dose. I hope you feel better.

 

[dianehelen]

No aspirin, lovenox injection every day. I did have toast twice today. Once just with a bit of jam, and once with an egg. Hmm rice sounds good, add to shopping list. We may have applesauce in the house. Im stopping the softeners for now, see what happens. I will try a string cheese, always have those in the house. Also eating those little cracker packs, different flavors, have one or two with meds.