PKR Floridoris's Recovery Thread?

[floridoris]

I'm the same, so difficult to remember how it was before.

Funny, isn't it? My daughter says that I walk better now than I have in years. I don't think I realized how bad I had let things get, and how much my body had been making accommodations for my knee. Even the tendinitis in my same shoulder didn't give me the hint.

 

[floridoris]

Some pain in the back of the knee today, more in the muscles. I assume it's from use it hasn't been "used to."

I think I mentioned that I left the in-patient rehab facility at two weeks post-op without a walker. The reason was because Medicare would not cover a walker of my own because they only cover one assistive walking device every 5 years, and 4.5 years ago, I purchased a cane that I stuffed in a closet and never used. I was pressured into getting a cane 4.5 years ago by my GP doctor who was worried about my knee and the risk of falling. I didn't even remember that I had gotten a cane until the people from Medicare so helpfully reminded me, ha ha.

Now it turns out, I didn't actually need the walker when I came home. But what is interesting, well, to me, is being further reminded that 4.5 years ago (!) my knee pain and gait were bad enough for me to agree to get a cane. Which means that my knee pain began long before then. I wasn't kidding when I said I had been putting this off for years.

(Also, a cane and a walker are quite different, and I don't see why Medicare shouldn't cover a second "assistive walking device" when one is for use post-operatively. I'm glad I didn't need it so I wasn't stuck between having to buy it out of pocket or trying to fight a bunch of red tape.)

 

[floridoris]

Anybody else still suffering from major brain fog? I haven't been able to read much of anything, and before surgery, I would do two crossword puzzles a day and read two newspapers. I can do the easier crossword puzzles, but struggle with the moderate ones now.

Also, I wrote down "mashed potatoes" on my grocery list and ended up buying potato salad instead for some reason.

Am also anxiously waiting for a visit from the "poop fairy" as I believe it is known around here. Have tried the usual - prunes, prune juice, the softener pills the doctor recommended, peppermint pills my daughter suggested, the chewing gum I read about on here. Still waiting.

 

[kneeper]

I don't have much to do in the way of activities for daily life, I'm afraid. My house is on the small side and not set up for much walking. So it was good for me to walk without turning around after three steps - and to alleviate my cabin fever a bit. I didn't feel like I "paid for" it the next day.

I'm certainly not going to push myself to either resume walking my dog or drive. It may be months before I feel I can do either of those things. Maybe longer. We shall see.

Good report. It is good for the mood to get out a bit and it sounds like you are paying attention to what your knee is telling you.

 

[kneeper]

Be sure you're drinking tons of fluid along with the prunes etc. That can help.

 

[floridoris]

Thank you, kneeper, for the reminder. I must be mindful of drinking more water throughout the day. I've probably not been drinking enough.

 

[KarriB]

My nurse at rehab suggested Miralax, it was the only thing that helped me.

 

[Benay]

I got to the point where the only help was Fleet, hope I never go there again.

 

[floridoris]

Oh no, @Benay! I'm hoping to avoid that. I'm not a big water drinker under normal circumstances, and now with the prospect of having to pee constantly... Well, no matter. I need to be better about it, even if it means 20 trips to the bathroom.

 

[Benay]

Honestly, try to nip it in the bud. The point I let it get to was excruciating. I don't say that lightly.

 

[Benay]

I tried everything for days, it wasn't that I wasn't proactive. Possibly the worst day of recovery. PS sweet little dog pic.

 

[Josephine]

I liked Fybrogel

 

[floridoris]

4 weeks today. A mixed bag of a report.

Some pain today. I cancelled my PT appointment for today. I'm either going to scale back PT or stop going for now and resume in a few months. It's proven too much for me. I'm tired to begin with and going there really wipes me out.

Had an appointment with my regular GP yesterday. He wants me to reduce or stop taking the hydrocodone. I'd love to but I am still in pain! He said that when he broke his hip (no replacement) he hardly took any pain medication. "Well, bully for you," I thought but did not say. I didn't see how his experience with a different ailment was at all relevant.

I broke down and ordered a cryo cuff. I'm tired of drippy ice packs and wet sheets and repeated trips to the freezer. It should be here some time next week.

And the poop fairy blessed me this morning and was very generous!

 

[Josephine]

I cancelled my PT appointment for today. I'm either going to scale back PT or stop going for now and resume in a few months.

I would suggest that stopping for a 'few months' is pointless. I stopped completely and never regretted it. Do yourself a favour and do likewise!

Had an appointment with my regular GP yesterday. He wants me to reduce or stop taking the hydrocodone.

Why don't you suggest to him that he switches you to Tramadol which is a far more effective and much less habit forming med than any of the others.

 

[floridoris]

I think I'll need to learn how to do certain things and develop some muscle tone. I think I should eventually learn how to go up/down stairs properly. There are no stairs in my home, and lord knows I haven't gone up more than two or three in years. But I think I should. I haven't had actual exercise since chair yoga became too difficult for me around three years ago. I don't know how to bend besides at the waist! When I'm more healed, I'd like some structured lessons.

I didn't think to ask my GP about medication specifics or alternatives. If he doesn't like that I'm on one, why shouldn't he propose an alternative? In any case, I want to seek out medical marijuana from another doctor (my GP frowns on that as well). There isn't much he does approve of, apparently.

 

[floridoris]

Does this sound normal/familiar to anyone else?

Prior to my surgery, I had a very difficult time standing from a seated position because of intense knee pain, especially if the seat was too low. At the kitchen table at home, I would sit on a firm cushion and would also bring the cushion with me when I went somewhere. Post surgery, I've been using two cushions when sitting at the table (typically only for a few minutes while I eat). I tried using just one cushion today, and it hurt the knee to stand up at the incision and the medial side and I also felt a bit of a pulling in my groin. I'm still rather high up on one cushion - I suspect the chairs and seats in 95% of public places are far lower. Is this normal? Is it normal after surgery to need "high chairs" still?

 

[Jockette]

It was normal for me for months! And I also had a partial. I kept a short box under my computer desk to put my foot on as my chair was higher than some others.

 

[Jockette]

Also, I used my arms for quite a while to help me up. If the chair didn’t have arms, I put my hands on the seat and pushed up.

Booths in a restaurant were the worst. The table was too high to be much help and there wasn’t room at the end to put both my hands on the seat. My husband would offer me his hand, but it didn’t help much either, I needed to be able to push up from where I was sitting.

Thankfully I’m past all that now! I only need to push up from a chair if it’s very low.

 

[floridoris]

That's interesting about the booths, @Jockette. Making a mental note to avoid them for a good while. I'm still using the high commode (with arms!) in the bathroom, so I don't quite know why I thought sitting in a chair would be easier.

 

[winemama]

@floridoris it has taken me 8 weeks to be able to sit in a chair, and forget low seats. Gravity pull is hell on your knee. Patience it will come