TKR gr82cu2 Hello new knee, it's great to see you!

[Yorkimom]

@gr82cu2,Janet I was so happy to see your post and that you are improving a little. Thank God for Lois. Honestly, when I was reading about her having the same name as your mother and you felt as though a God sent her and you were so happy to see her, I actually got tears in my eyes. Please don't ever feel selfish in asking for prayers. It's our way of talking to God and he wants that. Can you imagine what a better world it would be if more people actually did pray?
At our hospital they give us a spinal too. And like I had posted before it didn't work for me either time. But once they gave it to me they didn't ask me if my leg felt numb, they asked me if I could move it and wanted to see. When I moved my leg and toes they saw that it didn't work and then put me under a general.
Thankfully you were finally able to elevate and ice your leg. I wonder what the day nurses will say when they see it elevated today and that it is actually helping!!!!!!!!
I'm hoping and praying that your day steadily improves, they get your meds regulated to keep you comfortable and that you can go home. Love you, Anne

 

[madinana]

@gr82cu2 I feel God has answered some of our prayers starting to give you some relief I did not sleep well last night and like @ConnieJOS I would do a prayer for you. As yesterday scared me and so many others Thank goodness for beloved Kent and your Angel Lois, you never know God works in mysterious ways and maybe he knew this is what you needed, for you to see Lois. It brought you comfort and that is what you needed. I don't mean to preach, but so believe in the power of prayer. So I am hoping as the day goes on you get better and better and get to pain level of 4!!!!

 

[tiredwife]

@gr82cu2 Janet what a relief to know that you have your Lois, and that you can now elevate and ice your leg properly. That will help get rid of the swelling although I know it will be slow it is at least a start. I am sure you are the most prayed for person I have ever known! So many people are worried and praying for you (me included). Just try to remember that because you got 108 before, once the swelling is down you will be able to get that and more! I wonder if some of your pain is from blood pooling? Remember Steve had that and it caused a lot of pain! I know you don't like the way the meds make you feel, but don't let the pain stay too high. Hugs and prayers, Jackie

 

[new knee in June]

@gr82cu2
I am a great believer in prayer. In my whole life I have only used prayer when I was a
Caregiver to my Mom. I was all by myself, I would say Yah, though I walk through the
Valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Thy rod & thy staff they comfort me. Surely
Goodness & comfort will follow me for the rest of my days. I love this saying & it did
Bring me comfort
I am very happy you get to Elevate the proper way your nurse sounds like an
Angel on earth I remember reading in your thread that this was a new procedure
( the spinal) Please tell them it doesn't work. You may save future patience from the pain
You have experienced. You have a wonderful husband, & all of us pulling for you
I pray your pain level is a constant 3 no higher. They sort your med's. & you can go Home
Thinking of you,
Love,
Diana

 

[Josephine]

how do we know the implant didn't loosen or shift or something?

Most unlikely that would have happened. And even if it did it would be the cause of this gross swelling. So don't worry about that.

He more or less shook his finger at me about all the pain meds I've been given and I still complain of pain.

That sounds like an experience my sister had when she had her knee done. I was working with her surgeon at the time and I really let him have it with both barrels next time I saw him in theatre!

I've read countless times how arrogant surgeons are so maybe that's it.(why they are so defensive)

Some surgeons just hate having to admit they don't know why something has happened. Could never figure out why as I would respect any person prepared to admit that in any circumstances.

I remember in the OR, the anesthesiologist sticking the needle in my back and asking if my leg felt heavy or numb at all. I answered a very clear NO. Then I remember nothing after that. I assume they immediately knocked me out. When I woke up in recovery I was immediately moaning, crying and trying to rub my leg. It hurt soooo bad. And I wished they had just amputated it. It was that bad! Someone came over and said I shouldn't be feeling pain because I'd had that block. Well, guess what genius? It didn't work!! So, they called in an anesthesiologist who injected something into my upper thigh (I can still see the needle puncture so it must have been a big needle) and pronounced to me I would feel all better in a minute. Well, that didn't work either. Several times since then my OS has brought up the fact that they just started using this procedure and overall people are feeling much better.

Can't think why as this sounds to me like a bog-standard spinal which didn't work as sometimes happens if the anaesthetist bungles it, and he had to give you a general which is why you woke up in pain. I am shocked that a) he never made it clear to the recovery staff that the spinal had failed and b) never did the femoral block straight away anyway while you were out. But then he bungled that as well so he is obviously a gasman to avoid!

While I was in the potty she got my bed all straightened out. There is almost nothing in the world I hate more than a dishevelled bed with blankets and sheets all rumpled up. It makes me crazy. I would aks the others to straighten it but they would just sort of pick them up, shake them out and throw them back down on the bed.

I'm with you there! I too hate a rumpled bed. I have elastic strainers on my sheets to keep them straight! Right performance it is getting them on each week too!

However, for patients I was always a perfectionist. It's the same with dressings. I have a theory that if patients see untidy dressings (or bed) they will feel perhaps the surgery was similarly untidy! But I am so pleased your friend was able to make you comfortable. It makes all the difference.

Now about your swelling - it's patently obvious you have a propensity to swell badly and that should have been taken into account by ALL your carers. But then I know you know that! But because of that, again you know, you should have had extreme elevation right from the start, even before this started.

I did wonder, since you mentioned that your dressings had to be packed over because of bleeding, if you probably had a bleed and that was what caused this. Have you developed any bruising?

However, I think the most likely thing that happened to you is compartment syndrome which it seems nobody took into account. Compartment syndrome occurs when excessive pressure builds up inside an enclosed space in the body such as the knee. The dangerously high pressure impedes the flow of blood to and from the affected area. The tough walls of fascia cannot easily expand, and compartment pressure rises, preventing adequate blood flow to tissues inside the compartment often resulting in the foot being cold and/or numb. Symptoms are excessive pain and swelling with a cold and/or numb ankle and foot. Immediate, and even preventative, treatment is extreme elevation! Typically with CS, pain killers are ineffective. I might add I've nurse one or two patients with CS in my time. Anyone having any kind of knee surgery is potentially at risk of CS and all those caring for them should be informed and on the alert at all times even though it is actually an extremely rare complication.

 

[Foxsea]

Janet, I'll keep this short and sweet. Very happy that you are getting some relief. What an ordeal! Woke up thinking of you. Will keep you in my prayers. Bless your hubbie for helping you so and how wonderful to have an angel named Lois. (Mine was Rose and I'll never forget her). Let's get that swelling down so you can ambulate soon.
Hugs,
Foxsea

 

[gr82cu2]

Ok, here we go........

Thank goodness for your lovely Lois. It must make such a difference to wake up and see someone you know is kind and cares.

Oh, you have no idea the sense of relief I felt at that moment. I'd been so in and out of awareness and to see her standing here I thought I needed to pinch myself to be sure I was actually awake. She truly is my angel and I told her that. The others have been "ok" but she's something special. The one I have today on day shift is pretty sweet, a younger gal.

It's not like we are about to become 'junkies' or run out to sell the flaming meds!

I know, right? As much pain as I've been in there isn't enough money in the world to get me to sell my meds! I've ready many, many times that people who actually require narcotic pain meds do not become addicted, not physically addicted. Psychologically maybe but not physically because as a rule they do not abuse them by taking more than prescribed.

I have woke up several times and just felt that God was nudging me awake with you on my heart, so each time I've taken a moment to pray for you

You are just too sweet! Thank you so much! God knows how much you have been through just this year but you still have a heart big enough to share with others like me. You're the best!

Lots of hugs and continued prayers for you.

Thanks Minnie's Knees! Hugs feel mighty good right now. On Tuesday afternoon during my 1st PT session (where I did so well and felt sooooo good) I became emotional because I was so happy. Here I was thinking it really was going to be easier this time. The in house PT they have here is a real sweetheart. She gave me a huge hug and it felt really nice.

Don't worry about the ROM - it's in there.......just concentrate on that darn swelling...and keeping that pain down.

I'm still so happy about the 108 don't get me wrong. I know if it was there within hours of surgery it will come back. I'm just to ticked off that they wouldn't let me elevate or ice properly and the swelling took hold like it has. It's worse now than last time. My poor foot looks like a cubby 2 year old's foot Last time I swelled down to my ankle but not my foot. My calf is huge, huge, huge! I have naturally large, muscular calves anyway but this is ridiculous. And my thigh is hard as a rock with swelling. I was having a lot of muscle spasms that they gave me Xanax and something else for. That seemed to relieve it but not completel.

I think surgeons see us, far too often, as a point on a bell curve of experiences that make up average. They don't realize that our personal deviations, which they may have seen similar cases of before in their careers, are traumatic for us as individuals, and they too often forget we need to be treated as the suffering human beings we are, with unique compassion, not as averaged data points. They seem jaded to their patients and their individual differences, and don't take the time needed to support us thru this incredibly difficult surgery.

First of all, how are you doing? You had your surgery only one day before me and look at you here encouraging me! You are awesome, totally What you wrote so intelligently is exactly what I was trying to explain to the PA/patient advocate they have here, this morning. I told her they need to take a patient or patients who have had this surgery and are capable of explaining in a non-emotional way (that rules me out!) to these doctors what we go through as patients. They need to take a couple hours one afternoon and bring these people in for a question and answer session and let the patient speak and the doctors need to actually LISTEN!! And in my opinion they should be told under no uncertain terms they are never, ever, ever to tell any patient "it's normal", "it will pass", "it will get better", "don't worry". Because you know what? As patients, while we are in the thick of excruciating pain like we've never dealt with before, we are scared, we are confused and we are feeling helpless and those are the last things we need or want to hear. Of course we all know, or at least have hope, that it will get better. But when we're in the thick of it we deserve better answers than that and I told that PA that. Whether it will get passed along to any doctor here I have no idea.

Thank God for Lois. Honestly, when I was reading about her having the same name as your mother and you felt as though a God sent her and you were so happy to see her, I actually got tears in my eyes.

Reading what you wrote brought the tears right back to me. If I only could have had her my first 2 nights here things would have seemed a whole lot better.

I wonder what the day nurses will say when they see it elevated today and that it is actually helping!!!!!!!!

Haha! When my day nurse came in and saw my leg was up on pillows she started in about how we aren't supposed to do that. I put my hand up in a stop motion and told her to just stop. I'd been through all of this yesterday and had permission to do it. We reached a cordial agreement pretty quickly

As yesterday scared me and so many others

I'm sorry Laurie. I never meant to scare anyone. I knew if I came here I could count on you all to help lift me up. I was in a very, very bad place.

That will help get rid of the swelling although I know it will be slow it is at least a start.

I know and I'm ticked that they let it slide so far backwards before they let me elevate it. I realized it still would have swollen like last time over the first few days but this is/was extreme. As you know from dealing with Steven it's a whole lot easier to get it to swell up than to get the swelling to go down.

I wonder if some of your pain is from blood pooling?

I think it is absolutely. And I think Darrell the PA thought so too and that's why he tried to aspirate it out yesterday but unfortunately it was too thick and coagulated and he barely got any back out.

your nurse sounds like an
Angel on earth I remember reading in your thread that this was a new procedure
( the spinal) Please tell them it doesn't work.

Oh trust me, I told my doctor several times it didn't work. It was weird. It was like in his mind it was so wonderful he couldn't remember that it hadn't worked for me until I reminded him again and again. And then it seemed like to me that because he thought it was so great he wasn't willing to make any accommodations for me even knowing I had no benefit from it. And he also made a big deal about saying I was only 1 of 4 it hadn't worked for that day. A 25% failure rate isn't too great in the medical field if you ask me. This procedure is performed 100's of thousands of times a year in this country. That's a whole lot of people being put through unnecessary pain assuming a 25% failure rate is average. I have no idea.

Now, back to sort of real time. This has been the longest day. I was awake at 2:30 am, 4:40 am, 6 am, 8 am.........Kent got here around 9 and I just could not keep my eyes open so I felt bad but hey, it is what it is an dhe didn't come here to be entertained by me

Three doses in a row of Percoset I had them only give me one 7.5 mg. pill instead of 2 and told them between that, Dilaudid and Morphine I was residing somewhere in my mind I didn't want to be. I didn't want to be in more pain but that was miserable in it's own way, ya know? So, they discontinued the dilaudid and Morphine. They are still giving me the 12 hour long acting oxycodone and my last dose of Percoset I worked with my nurse and we settled on two 5 mg. Percoset. Two 7.5 was making me so I couldn't keep my eyes open at all. One wasn't enough to control the pain very well so we tried two 5 mg. and that seems better, at least as of right now. She just came in and said she has been working on my discharge papers and has talked to Darrell about my home pain meds. According to her, he is going to Rx the 12 hour long acting oxycodone (oxycontin - same thing) to help keep the peeks and valleys of pain more even. Then, he is giving me 5 mg. Percoset, which I can take one or two, and Ultracet which is Tramadol with Tylenol in it. Also the Meloxicam for inflammation. Hopefully I'll be all set. Kent seems concerned about me going home and his concern is probably valid but I really, really, really want to go home. I'll feel much better once I'm in my own surroundings, with my own things, familiar food and my kitty cat. I need to go. PT is supposed to come shortly and unless they say no way I'll be going home this afternoon. I'll get back with you all sometime this evening if I can. Last time that whole trip home and getting settled was exhausting so we'll see but please don't worry. Thanks so much for all your prayers and good wishes. xoxoxox

 

[SuperSnapper]

Hope you get home today. Home is best. You will be so much better when you can control things provided you have adequate med. Sending you good thought from a very cold and rainy Yorkshire.
Mary x

 

[tiredwife]

@gr82cu2 when Steve had the blood pooling he was on 2 Percocet and the 12 hour pill. He eventually switched to just 2 Norco when he was better. Hope you make it home safe and sound! Keep us posted when you are up to it!

 

[Jamie]

I'm so happy to hear you are doing a bit better today. It may take a while to rebound from this awful experience, but it sounds like you are on that path now....thankfully.

 

[ConnieJOS]

@gr82cu2
Janet, I hope you get to go home soon and that the meds you are going home with will do the trick. I'll be watching your thread for updates. Surely the worst is over and you can be more comfy.

Love Ya bunches!
Connie

 

[madinana]

@gr82cu2 no I am sorry we were worried and what a relief it was to see you sign on I hope you get home and that way you can control your meds, and elevate and ice at your leisure I hope this means you are on the road to recovery and that nightmare is over

 

[ridgetop01]

@gr82cu2 , so glad things are improving some today! I am doing quite well compared to other leg when I had general and woke up in incredible agony - recovery wasHARD!! This time had spinal + femoral, both worked, now just using Tramadol + Tylenol - oxycodone is too constipating and I am still waiting for that to clear! Miralax/ metamucil / etc, plus possibly an enema, sigh - gastric bypass surgery complicates all that . Take care, u r doing good!

Judy

 

[tiredwife]

@gr82cu2 Hope you are home and better in your nest!

 

[Minnie's knees]

@gr82cu2 Glad to hear things are improving. Hope you make it home where you can be more comfortable in your cozy nest and on your own schedule. I will continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep us posted as you feel up to it.

 

[new knee in June]

@gr82cu2
I hope you get to go home Today..........

 

[ljrfrm]

@gr82cu2 You will do so much better at home in your nest where you can control your own ice, elevation and meds. Wishing you a safe trip home, and a restful and comfortable night.

 

[tiredwife]

@gr82cu2 I am wishing you a pleasant night, and a whole lot less pain!

 

[gr82cu2]

Ok, I'm home. Hurting but home so that makes it a little better. We got home a little before 4. I was so sleepy I laid right down and took a nap. We stopped at CVS on the way home to drop off prescriptions. Nothing is ever easy when Kent deals with CVS, I swear! So, I think I told you all the other night that Darrell the PA wanted me to try taking Meloxicam for inflammation but their in house pharmacy didn't stock it. So, they wrote an Rx for 10 days worth and gave it to us, Kent went and got it and they dispensed it there at the hospital. They were to give it back to us today when we left. They were in a huge hurry to get me out of there and the nurse just started stuffing all my stuff in tote bags all willy nilly. We weren't far from there and he remembered about it, not knowing she had allegedly put it in a bag. We turned around and he went in and she said she stuffed it down in the bottom of one of the bags. So, we came on home. Naturally, when we got here it was nowhere in any of the bags and even though Darrell wrote a new Rx, insurance won't cover it yet because it hasn't been long enough. Good grief! We called CVS back and will pay out of pocket for it and the pharmacy tech was going to see if she had any coupons or anything to help with the cost. I really need an anti-inflammatory so waiting a week isn't really an option till I can get it filled. Then, after he got back from CVS he said, "wait a minute! Where is your blood pressure medicine?" arghhh!! I had to take it to the hospital so they would know the kind and strength but they never asked and never took it from me. It had been in my little purse with only a couple of other things but it's gone! Luckily, on that one, we're able to get it refilled even though I'm technically about a month away from the date I should be able to get it.

Who would think a 30 minute or so drive would be so totally exhausting? On the way home I couldn't keep my eyes open and I"m never able to sleep in a moving car. We dropped off prescriptions at CVS and came home and got me settled on the couch where I instantly fell asleep. I was freezing and had covered up with an afghan but when I woke up about an hour later I thought my body felt hot even though I felt cold. Ugh! Temp was 100.1, not too bad I guess. I took it again about 2 hours later and it was 100.6 and just a few minutes ago it was 100.8 so it seems it's moving up. Hopefully it will stop rising or better yet, go back down. I know surgery can cause a fever plus all the hub bub of discharging from the hospital had me exhausted......they had me do PT literally minutes before signing the forms to leave. Ever since we left I've been hearing my heartbeat whooshing in my ears which is known to happen when I have a fever or it could be my BP is up but I'm pretty sure I remember them giving me my BP med this morning.

Also, this morning at the hospital the blood tests showed me to be borderline anemic so I have to get Iron and Vitamin C to take for that and retest in another week at my regular doctor. Darrell hooked me up good with meds this time! He gave me 30 - 20 mg. oxycontin to take 1 every 8 hours for 5 days, 1 every 12 hours for 5 days and then one tablet a day for 5 days. Plus 90 - 5 mg Oxycodone to take every 6 hours plus 120 Ultracet 37.5/325 to take every 6 hours. Probably once I get this leg settled down I'll do like last time and alternate the Oxycodone and Ultracet.

This leg is much, much, much more swollen, stiff and sore than the last one. Just walking to the bathroom is killer. I had Kent put some bricks under the legs of the sofa to raise it up which helped tremendously. I can't keep my eyes open so I'll have to write more later or tomorrow. @Josepine thank you so much for your thoughts, expertise and guidance. When my brain is less foggy I will go over it all again and let you know.

Have a good night everyone!

xox

 

[madinana]

@gr82cu2

Glad you are home. Everytime my husband picks up meds for me at CVS he always has a problem one time he could not remember my birthday I hope you have a good night and still keeping you in my prayers