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TKR Here she comes just a walkin' down the street

Wowza...that's some good bruising! I didn't have much at all, but I do still have one spot that at 8 weeks after surgery is still there! Good for you for getting your walks in! My leg lifter was invaluable for quite awhile in my recovery! So was my backscratcher for itches on my leg! Keep up with meds, and call if you need additional or something different before you go home!
Hang in thee!
Kim
 
I had bruising like that and also on my ankle, there is actually a spot on the outer side of my knee where I had bruising that it still looks a little darker than the rest of my leg, I almost looks like a shadow of a bruise.

@KarriB with all you went through and you didn't bruise!!! Wow

Good thinking using the higher toilet, there is no way I would have been able to use a low toilet the first few weeks. I hope your pain behaves!!
 
Good morning Audrey
I had bruising too from my thight to my ankel and it took a while to go away. It seems that it was because I bled too much. That's what I was told in the hospital. I stayed there for six days. But there is a lot
I don't remenber. Hope you have a good day wihtout to much pain.:thumb:
Tina
 
Wow, some fierce bruising. I do not have bruising on my leg, just my arm, as usual from my crummy veins IV's

When do you get to go home? Are you keeping on top of the pain? Hope you have a better day each day
 
Good morning, Audrey. For some reason I can't see the pic of your bruising, but I am very bruised myself-- especially my upper thigh.

I ended up using a long wide scarf for a leg lifter -- it was more comfortable than the thing they gave me. At day 4, I could suddenly lift my leg to the bed and couch without assistance -- I think it took that long for the local anesthetics to wear completely off.

I hope your day is painless and restful.


Shelia
RTKR - 8/23/16
LTKR - 9/20/2016
 
My thigh bruised too. It scared me because no one told me that it would happen. When I showed the nurse she just said that it was normal and I relaxed. There is so much I didn't know going into this. I just trusted the "experts." Now I know that was a mistake but I don't want to do it over again!!!!
 
I think the bruising comes from the tourniquet. Since I had no bruising I wonder if my OS used a tourniquet, but my dad and friend had bruising also.
 
@greatlakes Just read your thread. Sounds like you are doing quite well so far. How long before you will go home? Hope you aren't at the hotel by yourself?! I remember all the bruising I had...not comfortable! But it does gradually go away. Very interesting that you live on Lake Michigan...I live in Wisconsin so I am a neighbor...so to speak. Hope you continue to improve. Keep on top of the pain and hope your journey home goes well!
 
@dianehelen They use a tourniquet to minimize bleeding. My OS uses one on his patients. I remember asking him the day after my surgery why my leg hurt way up high on my thigh and he said it was from the tourniquet. He said it makes the surgery easier to see what they are doing and it is less likely that you will need blood transfusions and less likely you will become anemic.
 
I know I had a tourniquet, but I don't have any visible bruising from it. The muscles are sore where it was applied and still are. I had one small patch of mild bruising at the bottom of my incision, but otherwise none.
 
Hi Audrey, I saw that you had questions about my gabapentin in Dianeshelen thread.

My OS prescribes 300 mg at night for all his TKR patients. That is a very small dose. He gives it for prevention of nerve pain, but also for the side effect of drowsiness (it makes me sleep like a log, and I have suffered from insomnia for years). It does, in high doses, cause memory problems and has other side effects. The low dose is not supposed to have major side effects, although I do think some of my initial fogginess was from the gabapentin (I was taking oxycodone with it). I'll gladly trade fogginess for a good night's sleep for a while. My fog seems to be lifting since I'm taking Tylenol instead of oxycodone . I am to take it for 30 days post op. Let me know if that didn't answer your question.


Shelia
RTKR - 8/23/16
LTKR - 9/20/2016
 
@sheliac yes, answered everything! Thanks. Since I run out a couple days before my Thurs appointment with the OS, I'll see if I notice any problems that would cause me to ask for a refill. @jmp65 , hi neighbor across the lake! I'm not alone in the hotel, the friend with whom I share a house on the island came with me. We had to hire a ride, as he doesn't drive. But he's great at replenishing ice, which is my main need. We are here until Thurs, when the ride returns, takes me to the follow up dr visit, and takes me home. Everybody else, thanks for the discussion and good wishes.

I have a question for the group. When I elevate the bad left leg on one of those curved foam cushions, it naturally turns out towards the left at the toes, and wants to lie slightly sideways, tilted left. Is this bad? Should I make the effort to keep the foot and leg all straight and centered?

I am feeling pretty good, a bit more pain than in the hospital, but bearable with pills and ice. I just counted and realized the 60 pain pills he prescribed, max 2 every four hours, will only last five days at the max, and there are seven days from picking in the prescription until I see him again. So he's essentially making me cut back already. Since they are norco, I suppose I could substitute an extra strength Tylenol for one of them, taking one Norco and one tylanol every four hours. And then have enough to take two norcos at night. That keeps me within the acceptable dosage for acetimenophin. Sigh. We will see how that goes. Re exercise, I get up and walk frequently, one longer walk a day to the end if the hotel hall and back. Lots of heel pumps and circles, a few heel slides and extension exercises. That's it. Icing all the time and elevated all the time.
 
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Hi Audrey
In the first days and weeks my leg (it was the result get one) only felt comfortable if it turned to the outside when I had it elevated. Keeping it in a straight plAne was painful.

I also had tremendous bruising which took quite a while to fade. The staff at the rehab were worried it was a blood clot. They were clueless about TKR rehab but finally ordered an ultrasound, which was negative. When I saw my OS he said it was because I was on that oral blood thinner (Eliquis) which caused more seeping. He did use a tourniquet and i also had a drain afterwards as well, with lots of drainage.
 
Audrey-- I would ask your doc to give you another prescription at your visit on Thursday. I suspect that's just a routine prescription order and he/she needs prompting to give you adequate pain control. Even if you don't need them, it will give you peace of mind to have them on hand. Here in Ohio they can't call in refills for narcotics -- I don't know if it is that way in Michigan but you certainly don't want to be on your island without enough meds.




Shelia
RTKR - 8/23/16
LTKR - 9/20/2016
 
Shelia's right, ask for s script because it will be difficult for you to get another script once you're home. Narcotics can't be called in to a pharmacy in PA, the script must be picked up in person.
 
I got 60 oxycodone. I had 2 left when I went in for my checkup 11 days after surgery. My prescription said to take 1 or 2 every 4 to 6 hours. I took 2 every night and I took them in the daytime as needed. Usually just 1, sometimes 2 (if needed). I found that I wound up taking them more like every 6 hours or more in the daytime. I found I didn't really need them when I was elevating and icing as I had no pain then.
 
Ok, time to come clean on something, so to speak. I was going to ask for advice tomorrow, but instead will rejoice in a solution, and will share in case anyone else has constipation issues. The poop fairy had withdrawn her blessings since last Monday, and this is the wee hours of Sun morning. I've been reading @Timetolive and @dianehelen's threads for ideas. At our joint surgery preparation workshop they told us to being miralax and or seconet to the hospital, I did, along with a bag of prunes, but didn't need to. When I had no bm after a couple days, the nurses gave me some there. They gave mirilax in the morning in a glass of water, and a tablet of seconet in the evening. After discharge, I kept this up on my own. Still nothing. Drank lots of water, ate fruit and veggies, still nothing. Only mild discomfort, but I knew from reading that this could get bad quickly at this point. So today I kept up the two otc remedies, plus did four things differently. I cut down on Vicodin, having one every four hours along with a tylanol. Previously, I had two every four hours. Second, I dug out the prunes and dutifully munched about six. Third, I read on the internet that some people find the poop fairy visits if you drink Diet Coke, so I bought one at the hotel vending machine and drank it. Finally, I have experienced some correlation in the past with eating sugar free candy, so downed about a dozen sugar free werthers. Fell asleep around 11:00, woke to my pain pill alarm at 1:30, and success. Am about to take my third trip to the magic stool. Not sure what finally worked, but something did. Stomach is a bit unhappy from all this, so I think I will go to toast, bananas, protein drinks and oatmeal for a few days. I'm offering up all this detail in case anybody down the road has this issue and is looking for solutions.
 
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