MUA Done in Time for the Carolina Basketball Game!

[Jockette]

I was never asked to change my own dressing. Do you live close to your surgeon? I would request someone in his office do it.

 

[Helizabug]

I do live close. I’m calling them today. There’s good instructions and it looks manageable. But I’m still calling today.

I wonder if anyone else has experience with Aquacel dressings?

 

[Helizabug]

Back from first PT. We did unwrap my knee. The incision is well protected by the Aquacel dressing. Was able to see minimal drainage, yay! Can’t tell what kind of closure. Swelling as expected.the PT did a heavenly massage with her chilly fingers. She assessed my flexion, extension, ability to fire my quads (pretty good, unexpectedly), and my overall pain. Got a lot of degrees to recover on that extension, but she cautioned me to take it easy because I was only a week out of surgery. She said flexion is important but can recover more easily than extension.

Good sign was when I said I would try to do some extension 3 times a day, she said, ‘well, you can, but I think 2 times a day is more like it.’

Phew. I’m exhausted.

 

[sistersinhim]

I thought the PT was going to take your full bandage off, not just your outer coverage. It sounds like everything went well!

 

[Sara61]

Think we all thought you were actually going to change the actual dressing. I didn't have my knee wrapped at all - I just had a large water proof plaster which was changed by the nurse and after the surgeon examined a new plaster put on, one week later they completely removed it and staples were taken out at his stage I had a few steri-strips and it was left open aired from then onwards.

 

[Jockette]

It sounds like you have a good PT. Be alert, though, to make sure it stays this way.

I’m glad all went well with the bandage!

 

[Helizabug]

I still have to change the dressing tonight. I’ve checked and double checked. My husband and I will tackle this after dinner. We were sent home with a kit of gloves and alcohol and guaze and a new Aquacel bandage. I have instructions on sending a photo of the incision to the PA.

 

[Lovely]

I have changed mine twice (I have a cat at home and my nurse manager wanted it changed at the 1 and 2 week marks). It's kind of like a Command strip in that you should pull the outer sticky part to release it all the way around the bandage before attempting to pull it off. Go slowly, and you should be fine.

 

[Sara61]

Well im flabbergasted, I'm not sure I would have been able to change my own dressing infact when the nurse changed it, I looked away only my daughter was brave enough to photo it for me prior to the surgeons inspection and new dressing applied.

Alcohol seems a little harsh - here they used betadine on mine ( not sure if that's a common name-) it's a reddish/brown colour.

 

[Helizabug]

Okay. Dressing changed! Yes! Like changing our first child’s diaper the first time, but, it was okay.

Removing the dressing was a little fiddle, but mostly just gently press a little, gently stretch a little. Worked like @Lovely said.

Stitches, not staples or glue, looks like three lines of stitches, which is weird, but seems up to the task of holding everything secure. The alcohol was fine, maybe because nothing was open to sting. Phew.

Phew.

Phew.

 

[sondrals]

I had to change mine daily for the first week or so, but I didn’t have the Aquacel, mine was just a gauze pad held on with a giant ace bandage. It wasn’t a huge deal other than holding my leg up in the air long enough to do it. They also didn’t have me put anything on it and I had staples. It’s so interesting the different techniques they use. I was so happy when the staples cane out, those people were annoying.

Glad the bandage change went well

 

[Helizabug]

Interesting fact, she says sarcastically: when you ease up on the Oxycodone, the constipation ends, dramatically. Otherwise, I’ve caught a bug, which would be sad.

Not a bad thing, but a little surprising how dramatic the change is.

Yesterday, I added a series of Ibuprofen to see if I could ease up on the oxycodone. It has worked quite well, so far, controlling some of the pain that I couldn’t seem to manage. The digestive shift seems like a bonus.

I’m not putting the Oxy in the closet yet, but, I’ll save it for toughest times.

 

[Lovely]

Glad to hear that the bandage change went well. Cheers!

 

[Sara61]

Make sure you are taking some tummy protectors prior. if you look at my latest post Celle sent an interesting article about iberbrufen.
Hope your feeling better x

 

[Helizabug]

Thanks @Sara61, I don’t need to switch one stomach issue for another. I’ll look for Celle’s article suggestion.

 

[sistersinhim]

Ibuprofen works better on arthritis pain. The better thing for after surgery is Tylenol. If you continue with the Ibuprofen, make sure you have something with protein in it in your stomach to help protect it.

 

[Macknit]

I used the Oxy at smaller doses as I prepared to return to work part-time....since I needed to drive, but I was on it for about 5 weeks, then the PA moved it to a lesser mix with acetaminophen... and I stopped all opioids by 6 weeks... i had a lot of straightening that went on!

 

[Helizabug]

Just wanted to post these thoughts that I composed on a post to @sondrals, but they’re about me, so I think they belong here.

I was kind of bummed early this morning. I had gotten off my pain meds schedule yesterday and spent the evening very uncomfortable. Barely cheered by the British Baking Show Holiday episodes. Missing my parents who often made me feel better even as an adult. (My dad’s been gone since 2000 and my mom died this past January.) Bummed about missing a big biennial conference this December that I had to miss last time because we thought my mom would die while I was gone, which she didn’t and lived a harrowing, horrible year and a month longer. And just plain finding every reason to feel awful.

Then I read a post about not knowing which was scarier, not having the surgery or having it. And I said they were equally scary, but only one was designed to improve your wholeness. The following is what I saved for my thread.

That’s why I did my knee before I couldn’t walk anymore. I watch a lot of people soldier on, and I have great respect for their strength because surgery is tough and expensive and a drain on people around us. But I have things to do and people to help and hills to climb, so when my surgeon said ‘it could be time, whenever you’re ready,’ I said ‘Let’s go.’ There have been several times in these first eight days — goodness, only eight? — when I thought it was too hard, but then I think of the things I will be doing by this time next year, and I know I picked the better of the two scary choices.

I hope this is helpful for someone else. It sure is to me.

Now on to another episode of the British Baking Show . . .

 

[Jockette]

I’m sorry you had a difficult day yesterday. I’ve been missing my mom more than usual this Thanksgiving.

 

[Macknit]

I agree with your positive outlook on the timing and why we put ourselves through the difficult...to get to the authentic wholeness of helping others and ourselves in the future. It is a decision I waivered on in the month before my surgery, because I hadn't gotten to the point of being disabled yet....but a good friend who had just had her TKR done, reminded me that the Dr. doesn't just randomly pick you for the surgery and it does get worse over time....I am at a point where I absolutely will encourage others, but also remind them of the lengthy recovery to be prepared for. We all can do this if needed!!

I also think when we wean of the narcotics our body does a bit of a slump, difficult days are just that...difficult. There will be a brighter tomorrow. Best of luck today!