Encouragement needed badly....

[misskitty]

If you relax I will relax, deal. I just got bumped from noon Monday January 7th to 3:00pm then now I am bumped to 10:00am. I wasn't nervous before but all of the changes I'm STARTING TO

 

[sunnie12]

Dewey,
You are going to be fine, especially with a supportive husband. You will definitely need to rest alot at first, take your pain meds, elevate, ice and eat a good healthy diet and drink plenty of fluids. The pain you feel after surgery is surgical pain, you will see and I promise you, that the pre-surgical pain will no longer be making you miserable. I was told that and low and behold it was true, true, true. I had lived with that pain for almost 10 years, with the last 3-4 months being the worse because my knee became so unstable.
So, my dear, listen to your fellow bonesmarties, be have "been there done that" and are here for you as you look forward to the beginning of a new, pain-free life.
Oh yes, please use the electric carts...you will have a much more pleasant shopping/outing trip. After using the carts for a couple of times or maybe even from the first time, you will be so thankful those electric carts are there! Remember, you're using them on a temporary basis and when you've healed a bit more, you won't need one.
Hang in there and keep us posted on how you're doing!

 

[Lucia]

Dewey, I have missed shopping so much too! It seems like it was another lifetime ago, but I was once a World Class Shop-a-holic (even if I only was "looking"). The last time I remember being able to really make a major shopping trip was about seven years ago and even that hurt, but since then it's too excruciating to bother. I've delegated so much! At school, my students became my willing legs. My husband took over so much of running the house from cleaning, cooking, shopping. I watched and cheered him on as he decorated our tree each year. Sometimes it has made me so sad. Guess that's what finally pushed me into TKR, realizing I would just have to get used to a wheel chair or try to fix the stupid knees. I don't have a success story to share because my first knee is going to be fixed Jan. 9th. I do know there are a lot of chipper little old ladies who had TKR's who are bounding all around my town who are living inspiration to just get it done. I've never tried the electric carts, but think I should give them a go! Good luck to us both!!!

 

[sunnie12]

Lucia and Dewey,

Yes, please, try the electric carts. Take your shopping list and go all over that store and have a blast! Those carts are there for you to use, whenever you need them. So, between now and your surgery, give yourself a nice, distracting shopping trip and partake in some "retail therapy!"

I've used an electric cart about 5 times and it's use is something I wholeheartedly recommend.

 

[bottomshollow]

By all means use the carts when they are available. I could not have grocery shopped for a little over a year had it not been for them. And others will be more than happy to get things off the top shelves for you if you let them. And you'll be able to enjoy your outing with minimum pain and discomfort.

 

[Titianlady]

Oh, my dear, the nerves and anticipation are the hardest thing. BUT, you will be surprised that it isn't as bad as our minds can build it up to be! Trust us dear one.. It really isn't that bad, and each passing week after surgery get better and better!!

 

[Lori-M]

Oh, my dear, the nerves and anticipation are the hardest thing. BUT, you will be surprised that it isn't as bad as our minds can build it up to be! Trust us dear one.. It really isn't that bad, and each passing week after surgery get better and better!!

AMEN!

 

[rlwintin]

Ditto, all that. The worry is one of the hardest parts if not THE hardest part. I'm at 11 weeks today and feel SO GOOD. Yes, my knee is still sore, yes I still ice at night and take a pain pill to sleep, but my knee is actually working better than it has for years, like 30 years! The pain of the surgery is worth it. Try not to worry too much.

 

[Dewey]

Thank you all so much. It does help to come here and read the accounts of those that are glad they had their TKRs. I am in so much pain right now, that I really think it might be a little better after surgery!! I can't wait to get my life back, and I know I have no other choice than to do this.

I know I'll be back with tons of questions after my pre-op appointments. Thanks so much for being here for me!!!

 

[sunnie12]

I'm at the 11 week mark too, rlwintin, and still take a prescription pain med as well. Last night, I finally took one at 230am and got to sleep around 430am and woke up feeling like I'd slept much longer, thank goodness. Guess the sleep was good quality REM sleep. I woke up 30 minutes before my husband arrived with our granddaughter, who we take care of Monday thru Friday during the day and made myself some coffee and her some breakfast. My knee is working better as well...it's a good feeling isn't it!! I'm still having pain as well but know it isn't the pre-surgery pain.

That's what's so good about this forum...fellow tkr patients going through the same thing as you are! I'm proud of you for making the decision to get the surgery! A bit of perspective is gained when other tkr patients share what they are going through at various time periods after the procedure.

Oh yes, the surgery is totally worth it. My other knee isn't in good condition, and I've been told I'll need tkr on that one too, but not anytime soon. I hope the OS who did my RTKR is still practicing medicine when the time comes, because I'll go right back to him! He's about 10 years younger than me, so he probably will be in practice. Oh yes, he needs TKR, too and told me he will get the Stryker Triathlon, the same prosthesis he used for my surgery.

 

[BUTTERCOOKIE]

Dewey,
Get that knee surgery. You will feel wonderful in no time. The pain after surgery is not half as bad as the pain that we had before. I had my first knee done in Jan. 2012 and the second one done 3 months later. I can't even begin to tell you how good you will feel. It's like the Dr. gave you back your life. I, like you, could not walk back to the car after shopping. I just wanted to cry. I thank God every day that I went through with the knee replacements. Keep your chin up and after surgery make sure that you take your pain meds per Dr.s orders before you do therapy. It helps to be pain free during therapy so that you can do all exercises and get back to normal. It is so worth it. You will wear your knee scars with pride when you are running through Walmart shopping and believe me, you will do that. I have to stop when I realize how fast I am walking and shopping now. It's a miracle. Wishing you well with your knee replacements. Keep your chin up.

 

[bottomshollow]

You asked in a post to Buddhabear, "but I was wondering if you can tell me any "secrets" about having both knees done within a few weeks of each other? I will have one done in late January and the second in 6 to 8 weeks. Is the first one really strong enough to handle recouperating number 2??"

The answer is a resounding YES. Some have both knees done in one surgery. I had mine done two days apart.

Left knee was done on Monday. Stood and it and walked a short distance that afternoon. Started some PT on Tuesday--was able to walk down hall to PT room, able to walk up three steps and down again, to get in and out of plywood car. On Wednesday, I walked up and down the long halls all day long.
Now my left knee was a model child. Very little swelling---could do straight leg lift very soon after getting to my room. I had excellent pain management with this one.

Had my right knee done on Thursday morning, but they did not have the pain ball to attach to the line from my knee until later in the day. I knew right away the knee #2 was very swollen and tight and was going to be my problem child. Also was much more uncomfortable and achy because I didn't have the pain ball from the beginning. This time when they got me up to stand and walk--my pain level went from 5 to 10+ immediately---I went right back to bed. Did not get ahead of the pain until the next morning. When PT came Friday morning, I asked to just do the bed exercises and they were good with that. I did walk down to PT room later and did the steps again for them, and getting in and out of the "toy" car. Saturday morning, I got up and got dressed to be checked out and go to inpatient rehab on my own.

Your knees are fine after the surgery---they are now metal and polyurethene and don't feel a thing. It's the surgical pain--mostly felt when getting up and getting down--but if you have good pain management during the first 6 weeks, you can handle it with very little problem.

Following the BoneSmart mantra made my recovery in the initial stages pretty comfortable overall. I did a lot of resting (catnapping during the day), elevating (toes above nose) and icing, icing, icing--for at least 2 hours at a time--occasionally longer---off and on all day long---and in the middle of the night if I needed to. I knew sleeping at night would be a problem from having my right hip replaced. So I took pain meds before going to bed, made myself stay in bed at least 3 hours. If I could not sleep or get back to sleep, I got up and took pain meds and got in my recliner and turned on mind numbing TV and dozed off and on until time for hubby to get up and time for me to feed the kitties their breakfast.

Since your knees are in charge of the recovery from start to finish, I found that I just followed their lead. I did not try to push anything---I knew it would be a waste of time and frustrate me---so I just rolled with the flow---slow and easy. All my PT was very easy and gentle---just pushing to the level of discomfort. I only had PT for about 2 months. After that I just lived my life---and got plenty of exercise from that. I have never been a gym rat or exercise enthusiast and I'm not any kind of athlete, so I am satisfied with my ROM which is 0 to 120/125 and allows me to do the things I want to do.

I can only stress that if you do things the BoneSmart way, your recoveries will be very doable---but it is a long road with ups and downs and you need to find the patience to take the time to get to the end of the road. And I have no doubt that YOU CAN DO IT!

 

[jenn8759]

I feel Dewey's pain, I am 53 and scheduled for bilateral knee replacement surgery on March 11th. I am tired of the pain, tired of taking Advil, tired of taking Vicodin. I have had several pity parties myself. They are worse and keep getting worse despite pool aerobics, stationary bike, etc. So looking forward to having them done and getting my life back. I used to be an avid walker and now I can't walk half a block without pain and I limp and I have a weird walk now, not very attractive. Not that I care about that but I am sick of limping and am sick of the pain. My doctor is a young doctor and when he looked at me a couple of months ago and asked "are you ready?", I was stunned, I could not believe it. Hang in there Dewey, next Christmas you indeed will be force to be reckoned with, work hard at PT and stay positive!

 

[leenie60]

Life will be so much better - don't hesitate - embrace the future possibilities!

 

[Dewey]

Thanks, again, for the encouraging words! Two weeks from today.....I'm afraid I will be a "basket case"!! It will be my last Sunday before the surgery on Monday, and I will need to be prepared to head to the hospital. Oh my, I sure hope I can do this!!

Reading everyone's accounts really does help me, even though sometimes it's a bit scary. It's the "what-ifs" that are keeping me awake at night, and I JUST NEED TO STOP! I know I have to do this, I have no choice.....I don't want to live like this any longer!

So, I'm going to continue reading and learning all I can before my big day. Thanks for helping me do that!!

 

[leenie60]

Dewey if you haven't been to the recovery area you should read there too.

 

[Dewey]

Oh, yes! I've been reading for a while now! I love reading the ones that are having a great recovery. It helps me to believe it won't be as bad as I'm imagining! The ones with uncontrolled pain scare me the most, but those truly are few and far between. That is comforting. It's also comforting to me that many are able to post just a day or so after the surgery! Here I thought I'd be "out of it" for a week!!

This continues to be a great site for me. It's actually quite addicting.....I've spent many hours here already. I know that this site will be invaluable to me when I'm really in the middle of my recovery. Thanks, again and again, to those of you that are so helpful to those of us not quite there yet!

I just keep telling myself.....you can do this, you can do this, you CAN do this! And reminding myself how much BETTER I'm going to be once recovered!

 

[rlwintin]

Right on!

 

[sheryl7]

Dewey you got to do whats right for you,look at your quality if life.
I myself have chosen for health, and family reasons to wait anther few years, not that I particularly want too, but that's my situation.
If you are able to do this, and need too, and nothing staning in your way, i say go for it, why live in pain any longer than you have too. Good luck my friend

 

[MyKneesAreCooked]

I feel Dewey's pain, I am 53 and scheduled for bilateral knee replacement surgery on March 11th. I am tired of the pain, tired of taking Advil, tired of taking Vicodin. I have had several pity parties myself. They are worse and keep getting worse despite pool aerobics, stationary bike, etc. So looking forward to having them done and getting my life back. I used to be an avid walker and now I can't walk half a block without pain and I limp and I have a weird walk now, not very attractive. Not that I care about that but I am sick of limping and am sick of the pain. My doctor is a young doctor and when he looked at me a couple of months ago and asked "are you ready?", I was stunned, I could not believe it. Hang in there Dewey, next Christmas you indeed will be force to be reckoned with, work hard at PT and stay positive!

One thing I wont miss is walking really slowly at times so I don't have to limp. Most people mean well, but sometimes I don't want to discuss why I'm limping so badly. Lately that hasn't been an option as I limp even when I walk slowly. Also hard when people laugh at my strange gait. A lot of my co-workers like to comment that they can hear me coming a mile a way because of my shuffle. It's not like I shuffle because I'm too lazy to lift up my legs. It's because I can't bend my knees without a lot of pain. I know they really have no idea why I have the style of walking I do. I'll be happy to be more of a normal walker. This should also help me to stop tripping over every slightly raised surface because I never pick up my feet more than an inch or two off the ground.