TKR Incontinence

[tkrsurvivor]

I may have spelled that incorrectly in my title.
I had a total knee replacement in my right knee and everything went smoothly. The nurses were great. They showed me how to set up and use my ice cooler for my knee that went home with me and everything.
My daughter was newly pregnant and asked my nurse (who was obviously pregnant) if she was delivering at the hospital we were at. She had some bad things to say and said “I would never deliver here”.
I told my therapist or someone at the hospital what she said and never had another thought of it.
Then I had my left knee done. She was my main daytime nurse. She held medicine from me. My recovery was miserable. Nothing like what I had experienced with the first knee.
When she took out my catheter from surgery she was kind of rough. I was , every time I sat up, feeling like I had to pee, now. As soon as I stood up pee went everywhere. Sideways out of me all over me and the floor.
This happened in front of my sister who was there constantly, and any company I had there, which caused me severe embarrassment.
Even though I kept asking what was wrong with me they ignored it and sent me home.
For the next two days and nights I peed horizontally out of myself, more than a bath towel full every hour or two for the next two days or three.
I am really thinking that she hurt me out of revenge.
Any thoughts?

 

[sistersinhim]

What an awful experience you had at that hospital. I have heard of some patients having incontinence that lasted just a few days. How are you doing now?

What was the exact date of your surgery and which knee was it? We can better assist you knowing these things and people can look and see when your surgery was.

Each person is different as is their recovery. Most find that the Bonesmart approach works best for them, but others find that a more aggressive therapy helps them more. It's your recovery and your choice on how you recover. As you read more on other members' recovery threads, you’ll get a better perspective of what to expect. The following are our basic guidelines and should help get you started.

If you want to use something to assist with healing and scar management, BoneSmart recommends hypochlorous solution. Members in the US can purchase ACTIVE Antimicrobial Hydrogel through BoneSmart at a discount. Similar products should be available in the UK and other countries.

KNEE RECOVERY GUIDELINES

1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary

2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
the BoneSmart view on exercise
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for TKRs

6. Access these pages on the website
Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Care In Hospital

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here

Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.

Try out our great new opportunity to improve your gait. It's OneStep. It's free and you will find it to be a huge help to you. Click here: OneStep

 

[Jockette]

Hi and Welcome!

I‘m so sorry you’ve had such an awful start this time around. I hope you told your doctor about this incontinence.

 

[Layla]

Hello tkrsurvivor,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for joining us.
I am sorry you had such an emotional experience at your surgery site. While not everyone in the healthcare field has the best bedside manner, I do believe most enter the profession with good intentions, have strong ethical values, empathy and a general desire to help people. It's hard to believe a nurse would do something to deliberately hurt you, especially out of revenge.

It is normal to urinate more frequently post op due to the fluids pumped into your body before surgery which need to be expelled afterward. Incontinence does occur for some and can last for several weeks. It may be related to the anesthesia. If you're still experiencing this, using a sanitary pad temporarily will afford you some extra protection until the incontinence resolves, if it hasn't already. I'm uncertain as to whether the situation is ongoing, or has already resolved and that is why knowing the exact date of your surgery will help us better advise as sistersinhim mentioned above.

Aside from this, how is your recovery going? I hope you're comfortable for the most part and getting the rest you need. I wish you well on your recovery journey and we invite you to share your progress here so we can support you along the way. All the best to you!
@tkrsurvivor

 

[Flashlight]

Hi, I'm sorry this happened to you. I was incontinent while being held up waiting for my spinal to wear off. Here they don't use a catheter for short operations. In the past I was catherized for a procedure and it was uncomfortable when it was removed. You were probably told to increase your fluids. It took a few hours before I was able to urinate. How are you doing now?

 

[Ayse]

OMG. how awful! In the past when I had a catheter for an op when they took it out it was very painful and felt the urge to wee all the time when it was removed for probably a week. How are things now?

 

[Sara61]

I'm sorry that the Nurse treated you so badly, you should at least write a formal complaint in the hospital log book, regardless wgat nurses think they should treat each patient with kindness.
However incontinence is a side effect of the anesthesia, most doctors fail to mention this, after I had my 2nd knee surgery, the anesthesia in the epidural left me incontinent for 6 weeks, after seeing several doctors and ruling out all possible infections, one of the doctors explained the side effects that can be caused by anesthesia.
It did finally stop but took longer than I expected, the only plus was I certainly got plenty of exercise in those first few weeks running to and from the toilet