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TKR I Feel Like the Tin Man these Days

No I didn't think that because I didn't notice it!

I think it's time we stopped derailing LaurenKate's thread!
 
Well, last night was another adventure in recovery land. My poor husband did something to his neck/shoulder the night before and could hardly lift his arm all day. We've known each other for 45 years and he missed ½ day off work for being sick that entire time so when he said he felt bad and somewhat feverish, I was a little concerned.

In the meantime, I was sure I'd "broken" something in my knee. If I couldn't have seen it, would have been convinced the incision had split open and something was poking through it. The muscles in the back of my knee felt bunched up and Achilles tendon aches too. Very worried about all that.

Then, we had those low, rumbling thunderstorms all night so the terrified dog was either pacing back and forth between our rooms or standing in the corner, staring and scratching at it. Tried to get up and put him on the bed a couple of times and finally gave up because getting up meant unhooking from the ice machine, blah, blah, blah.

Husband feels a little better this morning, went to the farmer's market and brought back a bunch of tube-roses which smell wonderful. I sat here and wrapped my "Linus" blanket around my foot, held it upright and as straight as possible while watching an old movie and it feels more "normal".

Things are slowly improving and I still think I'm ahead of where I was at the same time after the first TKR. (knock on wood). Just can't get over how it really is a completely different experience but I'm grateful to have what I need and that I was talked into doing this sooner rather than later. It helps that the weather is so humid, hot and rainy - makes it easier to stay inside and cooped up since the mosquitoes must be the size of pick-up trucks.
 
This thigh pain (from the tourniquet?) doesn't seem to be going away. Almost impossible to sit in a chair for more than 10 minutes without being miserable. If you had it, how long did it last and how did you cope with it?
 
I had it this time around, it hurt like :censored:, I coped with it by icing. I don't remember when it went away but it wasn't too terribly long. Sitting in a chair is difficult for a while as your knee doesn't like it, so I just avoid it.
 
I’m five and a half weeks and still can’t sit in a chair for long because of the thigh pain. I see my surgeon on Thursday so will be asking him about it then. It’s a horrible nagging pain that is only there when sitting.

Hope your recovery continues to improve
 
Thank you for sharing your recovery thread. I am having my 2nd TKR almost 4 years later and know the revoveries may be different but preparing. Best wishes on your continued recovery!
:flwrysmile:
 
The day after my left TKR, they were suggesting I could go home that day. I put my foot down, and said no, I'd prefer to stay 1 more day, as my balance was still somewhat off. I live alone and have stairs in my house and I didn't want to risk a fall. They were ok with this and I went home the next day. They have the outpatient TKR in my area too. Personally, I don't think that is such a great idea!! Maybe if you have family at home to help you, but not if you live alone!!
 
Today has been a big day. Didn't sleep much last night so I just dozed and listened to the snoring dog. Got up, took a shower and convinced my husband we should try and go to a local diner for breakfast. It was a little tricky getting into the car and uncomfortable sitting in it and the diner - but ok. Breakfast was good and it was equally good to get home. I've been up a little more than the past two weeks doing a couple of minor things in the kitchen and then watched the last 30 minutes of "An American in Paris" which is always divine. Did my few exercises and tried to do a rotation on the "bicycle". That was an epic fail but it felt good to just rock my feet back and forth. Back on the bed now feeling a bit shaky and as usual, have a few stupid questions.

Can I put pure cocoa butter on the incision if the staples come out tomorrow? Or is it best to just leave it alone? The itching is still driving me crazy.

Last time, my leg would swell from knee to ankle. This time, it seems to be swollen more on top of the knee cap and it feels very hard. This isn't anything to worry about, right? Just ice as usual?

This may be tmi but also curious about something. Does the amount of swelling have anything to do with urine color? I've tried to find an answer to this and can't and I've gotten two different answers in the past.

Hope everyone has a good night's sleep.
 
That was an awful lot of activity for 12 days out, and, IMHO, way too much. I think you need to re-read the activity progression in your recovery articles; at 12 days you should be taking short walks around the house, resting, icing and elevating. That might be the reason you're feeling shaky now.
 
Oh, I know it was too much but I expected to feel much worse than just shaky. Will probably make up for it tonight. Won't be going out again anytime soon but I wanted to see how much I could tolerate and my husband needed to do something other than wait on me and the dog. It also convinced him it was ok to leave me here for a couple of hours; it's good to occasionally take a break from each other.

Dreading this week. Either physical therapy and/or a nurse will be here everyday except Tuesday and, of course, we won't know what time they're showing up until the morning of so we have to get up early in case they arrive at 8 a.m. Will be very glad when that part of this process is over.
 
Laurenkate said:
Dreading this week. Either physical therapy and/or a nurse will be here everyday except Tuesday and, of course, we won't know what time they're showing up until the morning of so we have to get up early in case they arrive at 8 a.m. Will be very glad when that part of this process is over.
Click to expand...

I didn't think about that particular benefit of saying no to PT this time around. Although the ones I've had in the past have had the courtesy to set a time at least by the night before, if not sooner, it was still a pain to have to conform to those schedules when all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. Another unsung benefit of skipping PT!
 
I decided not to skip the in home p.t. so the doctor would have less argument when I decline the out-patient p.t. Wanted to refresh my memory about the exercises and so far, they are the same exercises I did when I went to outpatient p.t. last time. This is going to be a sticking point with my husband who thinks outpatient p.t. is absolutely necessary but will worry about that in a couple of weeks. And as mentioned before, the massage at the end of the session is wonderful - just not sure it's worth what it's going to cost.

Agree with you about the scheduling but apparently the services here have been overwhelmed with demand lately. The nursing side of the home health group just hired 18 nurses in the past 2 weeks and they are still short-handed. When I was waiting for a nurse one day last week, she called and apologized profusely because two new patients had just been added to her roster and they were both 5 minutes away from where she was - and I was 25 minutes away. It didn't make sense to ask her to come her and then drive back across town but they certainly have some scheduling issues.
 
I declined outpatient PT too. I wondered what my OS would say, even though nothing he could say would change my mind. I did know before my surgery he agreed that I could skip PT since he said I already knew what to do. But I didn't know his personal thoughts on PT until after. To my delight he not only agreed with me, when I asked if he knew why I wasn't going to PT, he replied, "Because they make things worse"! (if you go to post #2010 on my thread, the entire conversation I had with him about it is there)

I also do zero exercises on my own. I'm just doing normal activities and I've been doing really well as a result. (although the last few days have been tough as I can't take any pain meds and my ice machine bit the dust, so until the new one arrives my only form of pain relief is awol) I don't know my ROM numbers, and don't care what they are as long as eventually I can do everything I want. My doctor gave me no numbers or dates to achieve any numbers. He hasn't said a word about my ROM to date.
 
Laurenkate said:
Can I put pure cocoa butter on the incision if the staples come out tomorrow? Or is it best to just leave it alone? The itching is still driving me crazy.
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No. It's unwise to put anything on your incision until it is completely healed, with no scabs or open areas at all.
Even after it's healed, you don't need to put anything on it. It will heal well, whether or not you use any lotions or creams.
If you put anything on before that, you run the risk of introducing infection.
Massage post THR

I've always looked on the itching as a sign of healing.

Laurenkate said:
This may be tmi but also curious about something. Does the amount of swelling have anything to do with urine color? I've tried to find an answer to this and can't and I've gotten two different answers in the past.
Click to expand...
If the swelling is reducing, putting extra fluid into your circulation, you will pass more urine and your urine will be diluted, and paler in consequence.

Generally, if your urine is darker, it usually means that you haven't been drinking as much.

Laurenkate said:
Dreading this week. Either physical therapy and/or a nurse will be here everyday except Tuesday and, of course, we won't know what time they're showing up until the morning of so we have to get up early in case they arrive at 8 a.m. Will be very glad when that part of this process is over.
Click to expand...

There's no need to get up early. All it needs is for one of you to be awake enough to open the door.
The nurse and PT can both do what they have to do while you are still in your night clothes. In any case, at this very early stage of recovery, you should probably be spending most of your time in bed or on the couch anyway.
 
I will not go to PT or have one come to my home next time.

My surgery was Monday, I was sent home Tuesday evening and I had to go to outpatient PT at 1 pm on Wednesday.

I did not know any better. I do now.
 
How do you get the snippets from someone's post into your new one? Sorry, I'm technology challenged, lol!! I'll just do it like this for now--
@Laurenkate: My "big day out" was 2 weeks after my TKR, the day after I got the staples out and could drive again. So, where did I go? The grocery store, lol!! It was so great to be able to walk around the store without bad knee pain, and having to sit down numerous times!! Well, I paid for it, by that evening, my knee was swollen and very achy!! Sat in the recliner with ice on it, and took the pain meds. Same for the next day. So, after that, I learned to pace myself, and did things in moderation.

Oops, I forgot I'm not supposed to post questions on someone else's thread, sorry about that!!
 
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Good grief, KitKat; that's either crazy or awesome - or both. I'm surprised you were allowed to drive while taking pain meds. The grocery store is going to be last on my list when I can drive. Looking forward to going to the farmer's market but not the other.

Celle; I know the intensity of color has to do with how much water one is drinking and how diluted it is, but when my leg is really swollen and going a lot to the bathroom (like every hour at night), there is a green tint to it. Sort of like when you eat too much asparagus.

And, you're right, about not having to get up and be "presentable" but after hearing some of the horrors they encounter on a daily basis (bless their hearts), I like to at least be clean. For some reason, not sleeping makes me feel very grungy in the morning and a shower improves my outlook on life - and feels so good!

Thanks for the massaging post; i'd read that last time and missed it this time - or don't remember it.
 
Laurenkate said:
Celle; I know the intensity of color has to do with how much water one is drinking and how diluted it is, but when my leg is really swollen and going a lot to the bathroom (like every hour at night), there is a green tint to it. Sort of like when you eat too much asparagus.
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I have no idea why that would be. Maybe it's the night light? :heehee:
I wouldn't worry about it, anyway.
 
@Laurenkate - I also had my 2nd TKR on 7/17. So, I have been following your progress closely, even though I remind myself that comparisons are often not helpful.

I live alone so came home from the hospital to my sister’s, where my every need has been attended to. Yesterday my sister hosted a big baby shower for her son and his wife and I did my best to join the party. Well, I cannot imagine being more exhausted than I was when I crashed. Paying for it today with no energy and feeling kind of ill.

I am also dreading the in home PT this coming week, for no good reason but the complete lack of advance notice is kind of irritating. Anyway , I find your sensible attitude reassuring and enjoy reading about your experience. Thank you!
 
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