TKR Full moon and Friday the 13th!

[tiredwife]

@H2OPoloMom That is the problem with TKR you have to keep reminding yourself on the days you feel good not to overdo it. I have had asthma most of my life, so I have came very attune to my body and have learned to pace myself. I learned long ago not to overdo it, and now that my joints are getting worse I watch what I do. My husband, on the other hand, has been active most of his life (until the joints got bad), and has not learned that sometimes you have to pace yourself. Enjoy your forced day off. Elevate and Ice.

 

[H2OPoloMom]

Enforced day off was successful, and despite my serious lack of activity yesterday, I slept pretty well last night. By pretty well, I mean for a tkr recovery. I woke several times, but was able to fall back asleep within 5 minutes or so. I'm starting to think these setbacks are a necessary evil. When progress feels so slow, I don't think it's so bad to fall back because then it's easier to see the progress that is being made, and it doesn't take as long to catch back up then to get there in the first place.

Goals for the day:
1. Get my siblings to plan a birthday gathering for my dad, since they were caught off guard on Father's Day without me to plan, nothing happened.

2. Make a plan to get all my birthday shopping done for the end of July birthdays.

3. Shower (because sometimes this is still a big deal even now).

4. Don't over do it!

 

[plnppl]

I did bring it up at PT one time, but at the time, it had started to happen less often. I think I just overdid it on Friday because I felt good and I could. My knee was kind enough to remind me that just because I can doesn't mean I should. So I am taking a knee enforced day off- not that I normally do much, but today I will do less, somehow. I can appreciate better the progress that I had made now that I am reminded of where I had been.

Enjoy your day!

 

[plnppl]

Enforced day off was successful, and despite my serious lack of activity yesterday, I slept pretty well last night. By pretty well, I mean for a tkr recovery. I woke several times, but was able to fall back asleep within 5 minutes or so. I'm starting to think these setbacks are a necessary evil. When progress feels so slow, I don't think it's so bad to fall back because then it's easier to see the progress that is being made, and it doesn't take as long to catch back up then to get there in the first place.

Goals for the day:
1. Get my siblings to plan a birthday gathering for my dad, since they were caught off guard on Father's Day without me to plan, nothing happened.

2. Make a plan to get all my birthday shopping done for the end of July birthdays.

3. Shower (because sometimes this is still a big deal even now).

4. Don't over do it!

Great goals! I also find showering a big deal still and will opt for a wash down in between! It's good to look back and take note of where we have been compared to where we are now! I agree with you that when the progress is slower a step back or a hiccup doesn't seem so bad and not so far to get back up to! Just remember your point number 4 and don't overdo it!
After going out to lunch with hubbie I spent the afternoon on the bed knitting and was able to finish off a little jacket ( new grandbaby due November!) The energy levels are still low but improving! Not ready to run or walk a marathon yet ( around the block is my goal at the moment and I am slowly getting there!)
We need to all give ourselves a pat on the back and say "well done!" We are Champions and need to remind ourselves of that! It's a really difficult journey but look how far we have come!

 

[Jozilla]

I used a lot of baby wipes in between showers! Always felt very refreshing to me. I can sew very well but love to sit and work with my hands. I would love to learn how to crochet. It has become a lost art around here. Nothing as beautiful as a hand crocheted sweater or blanket. If you can post a photo when you are done!

 

[tiredwife]

@H2OPoloMom Glad you had a good day! I like your last goal for today! In our family the birthdays are mostly winter months, Oct. Nov. Jan, Feb Mar with a few in the summer. My son's is in Nov and my daughter's was Jan with Christmas right in between, it made for an expensive 3 months. Have a great day, and don't overdo.

 

[plnppl]

@Josephine
Just wondering if I injured my knees getting up out of a lower chair yesterday. Lots of pain last night and no sleep. 7 weeks this Wednesday since having both done. Right Revisitation and Left TKR. Things have been going nicely until after lunch tried to get up out of the chair and even with my cushion on it my knees hurt getting up! Is this just the muscles complaining or could I gave hurt it? Left worse than right. Lots of icing and rest today

 

[H2OPoloMom]

@plnppl so sorry to hear that you are hurting! I wish there was a list of 'normal' ways for these new knees to feel as we recover. There are a number of strange sensations, some painful, others not that make me wonder if I did something wrong (especially the painful ones)! I hope the icing and rest have helped today!

All my written goals have been met or are in progress. Delegate, delegate, delegate!

 

[tiredwife]

@H2OPoloMom Please have a better day tomorrow.

 

[plnppl]

I am hoping for a better day tomorrow as I have written off today as one of icing and rest. No sleep last night but I did finish off the pink jacket I was knitting for the new Grandbaby( if it's a girl!) Would love to post a picture of it but it keeps saying it's too big or error. Anyone know how to post pictures? Thanks for the support guys....just a hiccup day today. Anyone else have pain getting up out of chairs?

 

[Josephine]

Just wondering if I injured my knees getting up out of a lower chair yesterday. Lots of pain last night and no sleep.

Unlikely.

I'm going to ask you some questions and it would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't compare this with the bone-on-bone pain you had before surgery!

)

2. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

3. how often are you icing your knee and for how long?

4. are you elevating your leg, how often and for how long?

5. What is your ROM - that's flexion (bend) and extension (straightness)

6. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

7. what kind of PT and home exercises are you doing? How much and how often? (and detailed details would be appreciated, please! Reps, sets and session and all that)

Note:
If you're not familiar with this, it goes like so:
1 lift of a 500kg bell bar = 1 rep or repetition.
Doing 5 reps and then a brief rest = 1 set of 5.
And doing 5 sets and finishing = a session.

 

[tiredwife]

@plnppl About the photo. You will have to use a program on your computer to resize it and make it smaller. This site only allows certain sizes. I'm always having to shrink my photos for it.

 

[H2OPoloMom]

So I'm starting to think that there is a pattern to this sleep thing. Except for the 1st couple of weeks where an hour is common, 1½ hours is good, it seems that the best sleep you can expect ( continuous hours) equals the number of weeks completed in your recovery minus 1. So, I'm in week 6, but have only 5 weeks completed which means that the maximum amount of sleep I can expect is 4 hours in a row. Maybe I'm grasping for straws here, but it seems to fit the limited information that I have...

 

[tiredwife]

@H2OPoloMom Sorry to bust your bubble. Hubby is almost week 8, and except for 1 or 2 odd nights only can sleep 2 or 3 continuous hours a night. This from a man that usually sleeps like a rock!

 

[H2OPoloMom]

Hmmm, an outlier. I cannot tell you how sorry I am to hear that. Not because it goes against my hypothesis, but because that is tough! I hope he can manage more before he starts the cycle over again!

 

[tiredwife]

@H2OPoloMom The best he got was 4½ hours straight after a shot and a half of bourbon. We are trying something different every night. zquil, nyquil, benedryl, chamomile tea, heat pad, staying awake all day, elevation , no elevation, ice, no ice, ice and elevation, etc. and of course the bourbon The doc will give him ambien for after the next one, hope that works. I rub his thigh muscle and around the incision and knee every night and that does help a little with the stiffness in the morning. We even tried the icepack with a vibrator in it. Problem is it isn't pain waking him up, if it was just pain we could deal with it. He just can't stay asleep. Hope you have a pain free day!

 

[Josephine]

So I'm starting to think that there is a pattern to this sleep thing.

Sorry, neat as your hypothesis is, it's full of holes! Truth if the matter is no-one knows why sleep is disturbed after major surgery but it's a fact whether you're having a knee replacement, a bowel resection or any other major procedure. I've tried to explain the various things that impact this here Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?. But of course you read this before when you read your recovery articles (post #141!)

Unfortunately, Tylenol has never been an effective pain killer for me (same with Vicodin and now Norco). I've always taken ibuprofen for headaches, pain, and a few other issues. Luckily, I don't have any of the stomach issues that it can cause.

I have not tried the 1000 mg dose of Tylenol 4x a day. I don't even keep straight Tylenol in the house anymore (used to use it with my kids when they were babies) because it hasn't been helpful for pain for me even when I was 12.

Let me tell you some things about your thinking:
1. NSAIDs (ibuprofen and the like), unlike many other drugs, can suddenly turn of you for no apparent reason. Just because you have no stomach issue now does not mean you are immune to the side effects of them and they are pernicious and can cause problems even when you are sticking to the supposedly 'safe' limits. The cases of serious damage from NSAIDs is every increasing and the medical profession - those who bother to read their medical journals! - are getting concerned to the point where they won't recommend or prescribe them any more.
NSAIDs, acetaminophen (Tylenol, paracetamol) differences and dangers
2. TYLENOL is known to cause liver damage either when the safe doses are exceeded, it is taken to the max for extended periods of time like several weeks. Also, the biggest risk is run when people only take half the effective dose which is 1,000mg. Taking only 500mg at a time just means you are exposed to all the potential sire effects yet get none of the benefits - what's the point of that? But those most at risk from Tylenol are children. There was a time when it was used as a kiddie pain killer but we now know that the immature liver is extremely sensitive to it.

In summary, Tylenol (or acetaminophen or paracetamol) is a good, reliable, effective and safe pain killer provided one takes the proper dose.

 

[H2OPoloMom]

Thank you @Josephine, as someone who is living the life of the sleep deprived, I'm just looking for hope that it will get better, and it does, but like everything else with this recovery, it is slow. Progressing, but slow. What I wouldn't give for a full 8 hours (sigh).

I have been taking ibuprofen for the better part of 5 years for a variety of reasons: reducing blood flow, tendonitis, and arthritis (which is still a problem for my hands and right knee). Quite honestly, I dread the day when I'm told that I have to stop, but in the meantime, it's what works best for me. I've tried other NSAIDs in my journey with arthritis and have found none as effective including Celebrex. Assuming that Tylenol is effective at the 1000mg dose for me, can I safely take it from November to June when my arthritis and tendonitis are at their worst?

 

[plnppl]

@plnppl About the photo. You will have to use a program on your computer to resize it and make it smaller. This site only allows certain sizes. I'm always having to shrink my photos for it.

Thanks for that!

 

[tiredwife]

@H2OPoloMom Thought I would let you know that my husband slept 6 hours last night! ;)