Bilateral TKR Home after BTKR

[Anthi]

Thank you all for your replies which confirm what I thought and have reassured me a lot. I got home last Thursday after 7 nights in hosp (I shall post in the post-op area soon). I wore the TEDS while in hosp. They were pretty comfortable - when the nurse putting them on knew what she was doing. Some of them however couldn't do them at all and I would end up with the heel section round at the front and so on. Even when they were on correctly they left large grooves in my legs - almost like a tourniquet - and I felt they were more of a danger than a benefit. So, off they came when I got home.

I've just come back from the dressing check and had the full 'where are your TEDS?' treatment from the two nurses and I said I would try again. In fact my legs and feet are so swollen that there really isn't a hope. I'm resting a lot but get up once an hour to walk around, prepare snacks, meals, do the laundry etc. so I reckon that counts as pretty mobile. I'm on blood thinning meds and will be for another few days.

 

[Anthi]

Well I'm home. In fact I got back last Thursday but have been so exhausted that this is the first time I've felt like coming on the site. I don't have a laptop - just a desktop computer which needs more effort as I have to sit up at it.

Hospital was OK - lots of good care. The hospital was really good at getting the pain relief right. We lost control of the pain at one point when the epidural was taken out but they persevered and after a nasty few hours got it back under control. I was in for 7 nights and was visited by the physios twice a day for the last four days. They were really good. I had explained that I live in a second floor apartment with no lift - hence the need to get up quite a lot of stairs to get into my home. The physios trained me in the technique for stairs so well that when I got home I just went straight up them with no problems. They wanted me to go back this week for outpatient physio but I told them that I want to wait a couple of weeks. I'm still not sure if I shall go or not having read the articles on this site advising against aggressive painful physio. I'm doing the exercises and shall see how I get on.

As I said I was incredibly tired when I got home but am feeling much better now. I'm resting sometimes in bed and sometimes in my lovely comfy chair but get up every hour and move around for 10 minutes - meals, snacks, tea, laundry and so on. I live alone and have been alone since getting home, but with lots of help from very good neighbours mainly for shopping.

Main problem is that my thighs, calves and feet are very swollen. How long is the swelling likely to last? Apart from ice and elevation is there anything I can do about it?

 

[KarriB]

Good to hear all went well with surgery and they were able to manage your pain. Here are some post-op articles, take a look at the swelling/icing articles and activity progression chart. At this point in recovery the majority of your time should be spent elevating and icing which will help with the swelling. Please create a signature containing your surgery and date.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/how-to-create-a-signature.14728/


First are the BoneSmart mantras ....
- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!
- be active as much as you need to be but not more than is necessary, meaning so much that you end up being in pain, exhausted or desperate to sit down or lay down!

Next is a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) thread.

And here are some very crucial articles
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs

Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Activity progression for TKRs
Heel slides and how to do them

Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling

Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

 

[Pumpkin]

Main problem is that my thighs, calves and feet are very swollen. How long is the swelling likely to last ? Apart from ice and elevation is there anything I can do about it ?

Welcome to the OtherSide!
You are still very early in recovery, your swelling will go down as you heal, everyone is different so it is hard to say when your swelling will go down.
If you are concerned about your swelling, you can search out someone who does lymphatic massage, it will help move the fluids out of your soft tissues. You can usually find lymphatic specialists in wound care clinics, also look in the yellow pages, and call around to therapy clinics asking if they have a lymphatic specialist on staff. Some massage therapists are certified in lymphatic therapy.

 

[gazelle7777]

@Anthi I had the same swelling as you.. both ankles. It will go away but best to elevate your feet as much as possible right now. I bought a foam wedge off of Amazon which I still use to this day when laying down on the bed reading etc. Hang in there, it does get much better quickly! Joan

 

[Want2hike]

Glad you are home and were well prepared for the stairs.

I had quite a bit of swellings in my knees, calves, ankles, and feet at two weeks when I went in to get my staples removed. My OS prescribed a short course of methylprednisolone (Cadista) which really helped.

 

[skigirl]

The best way to get rid of swelling is to keep your legs elevated

Elevating your leg to control swelling and pain
Using ice

 

[referee54]

I also had a BTKR, and both of my legs looked like tree trunks in the early days. As others have said, ice, elevate (and do both for long periods of time---you can ice for long periods of time if you have a cloth between the ice and your skin).

I would see if somebody could help you with the laundry and such---move around gently as indicated, but try to avoid anything that will tax the knees at this point in time.

 

[Anthi]

Many thanks to everyone for your replies and links to articles. Very helpful. I'm having a spot of bother creating a signature. I followed the instructions but got 'you do not have permission to use this field'. Oh dear. I must have done something wrong. Likewise a link to 5 gentle exercises would not let me view it. I'm probably too tired or too drugged up. will try again later.

 

[Jaycey]

@Anthi I created your signature for you - found your date on the November knees thread.

 

[Anthi]

Jaycey - thank you so much. That is really kind. Best wishes

 

[Josephine]

Main problem is that my thighs, calves and feet are very swollen. How long is the swelling likely to last? Apart from ice and elevation is there anything I can do about it?

Well, considering you are a mere 12 days out, there's not a lot you can do except just grin and bear it! But you've had good advice - the only thing I would add is to make double sure you are taking your pain meds routinely.

If you are concerned about your swelling, you can search out someone who does lymphatic massage

I think this early out, this is a bit previous though I can give you the name of a great LDM (Lymphatic Drainage Massage Therapist). And she will come to you! Her fees are £50 an hour. Would you like her details? I used her for several months during the last year and her treatment was veyr effective. I think it would be just the thing once you're a little further along - say 8 weeks or so.

 

[Anthi]

thank you Josephine and Pumpkin for your advice. Pumpkin, I shall not use her yet, but it would be nice to have the LDM therapist's details for possible future use . Many thanks - Anthi.

 

[Josephine]

Here it is

Julie Stephens MLD, DLT email: [email protected]

 

[Anthi]

Many thanks. I have filed it.

 

[Anthi]

A reasonable 24 hours. After reading the comments and replies here about elevating I decided I probably wasn't doing it properly or enough. I found a rather good section on this site - 'how to elevate properly' - and followed some advice there - . Result - yesterday evening at 6.30 I ordered 4 pillows from Argos. They arrived this morning at 09.00 (what did we ever do without computers). Four cheap but really rather nice new pillows which are now providing me with incredibly comfortable elevation. thank you to whoever uploaded the picture of her arrangement of pillows with safety pins - can't remember her name but it works.
I have developed a very itchy rash. it's only on my trunk - nowhere near arms or legs or - most importantly - scars. I think I came home from hospital with some of this and had decided it was probably a sort of heat rash - prickly heat or similar. I was much too hot in hospital and sweating like a pig. It's got worse since I came home and now looks like hives. So I've taken some Piriton . It could - I suppose be a reaction to the sheer amount of pain killers I 've been and am still - taking but because it's so localised I think more likely to be a heat rash. It goes from under my breasts down to the pubic area. I'm now wearing just a loose cotton vest and nightie and will see what happens with the Piriton.

 

[Marilynjoy]

Sheeeeesh, I had my left TKR in 2013 and didn't have any teds.
Earlier this year I had a midfoot fusion , and had to be no weight bearing for 3 months.
I did have blood thinning injections. But no teds.
Now I am looking at my right TKR . We will see.

 

[Anthi]

Whoops! these threads have got into a muddle. I started this one about compression stockings before I had my surgery in the Pre-op forum and then replied to some comments in the same thread after I came home but it was still in the pre-op section. However, it seems to have been moved to the post-op section.
My real recovery thread is the one I started after I came home in the post-op section and is titled something like BTKR Anthi home from hospital. It's now on page 2 of this section and is the one I am watching and where I would like to post concerns about my recovery. Is it possible to organise this please so there is only the one post op thread ?

 

[Josephine]

However, it seems to have been moved to the post-op section.

Yes, you said you had no recovery thread so I moved these two post-op posts in there for you - as I said here.

@Anthi Here is your recovery thread! Enjoy!

However, now I know about the other thread I'm merge them.

Sorry for the mix-up!

 

[Anthi]

Josephine thank you so much for sorting that out and merging the threads.