Bilateral TKR Jeaniesknees. Bilateral

[Jeaniesknees]

I am curious, in the hospital my BP tanked to 60/40 and I was given 2 units of blood. Is that unusual in Tkr patients?

 

[Jockette]

My blood pressure was low the day after my surgery, but not enough to need to be given blood. We’ve had other members who also had low blood pressure after surgery, so to some extent, I think it’s normal.

 

[Sisterpat]

My pressure was also low in the hospital and for a few days after, but I never received blood. Stay well-hydrated.

 

[djklaugh]

@Jeaniesknees I had to have a transfusion after my BTHR. It does happen sometimes that a patient will lose more blood during surgery than their body can easily handle. I'll bet you will feel much better after the transfusion.

 

[Jeaniesknees]

Well I was ambitious today and went out to the garage and assembled some stands for my bee hives. I painted one before I decided to go take a break with my ice bags. Oops... too late! My left knee is really ticked off. Swollen and stiff tonight. I guess I better behave tomorrow. In the future I think I will set a timer on my phone to limit activities so I don't get carried away.

 

[FCBayern]

In the future I think I will set a timer on my phone to limit activities so I don't get carried away.

Brilliant idea @Jeaniesknees! Anything that keeps you out of the ODIC (Over Did It Club)!

 

[Jeaniesknees]

In the future I think I will set a timer on my phone to limit activities so I don't get carried away.

Brilliant idea @Jeaniesknees! Anything that keeps you out of the ODIC (Over Did It Club)!

I joined a club?? Do they meet at 4:00 AM because my knees are keeping me up!

 

[FCBayern]

We've all been members of the ODIC at one time or another @Jeaniesknees. The key is to not be a repeat member. And yes, it seems most meeting are in the wee hours of the night.

 

[Jeaniesknees]

Sigh, But I felt productive. Today I am still stiff and sore, spending time with my ice bags. In the future I am thinking 1 hour up and 1 hour down. I will see how that works.

 

[sistersinhim]

What worked best for a lot of us was 1 hour up 2 hours down in the first few months.

 

[Jeaniesknees]

Question about the internal swelling. I think it has been a bit worse this week. Can too much salt make it worse? I am spending time with my ice bags and feet up but it is so slow to respond. I feel like this week was a bit of a regression, is that also normal?

 

[Jockette]

“Regression“ is normal, though I wouldn’t really call it that. Swelling is very dependent on activity, so if you do a bit more one day than your knee likes, you’ll swell more. We call this recovery a roller coaster.

I don’t know if salt can affect it.

 

[DEL2021May-19]

Have you been affected by salt before?

 

[Jeaniesknees]

Yes salt can bother me.

 

[Jeaniesknees]

9 weeks out and went to a petting zoo with the grandsons yesterday. Rough night sleep wise, iced at 3:00 am and gave up and took a pain med at 5:00. Today I stayed home with my ice packs. My ROM is a bit stagnant but my stair climbing is getting easier. The back of my legs is fairly tight so I have been doing a few easy lunges to losses up. I haven't tried my stationary bike as I think it will be painful.

 

[sistersinhim]

At only 9 weeks, it's much too early to be going to a petting zoo. All that standing and walking is rough on a baby knee. Unfortunately, you ended up paying for it last night. It will probably take a few days at least for your knee to settle down and get back to where you were before. Listen to it and you should do well.

 

[tinwoodwoman]

Hi @Jeaniesknees

I'm grateful for your feedback on my recovery thread. I thought I'd give your journal a read, since we both had BTKRs at the same time, roughly. It is interesting to me that you are only 5 years younger than I am, but you are so much more active. Today, I went to the office to get it ready to reopen on Monday. I used my walker, tried to sit as much as possible, took a nap, and now I am icing. I've mostly been at home, sitting in my recliner and doing ADLs. I'm still taking 3 Percocets a day. I don't feel at all bad about this level of activity, only wishing it could all go faster. But I'm not pushing it. I'm grateful to my knees that they are getting better a little bit each day, no matter what I do to them LOL

 

[kneeper]

When you've overdone (and we've all done it) you're right to do very light stretching while taking it easier for a day or two.

 

[LateRainNYC]

Hi @Jeaniesknees

I'm still taking 3 Percocets a day. I don't feel at all bad about this level of activity, only wishing it could all go faster. But I'm not pushing it.

I can’t get to the exact date without navigating away from this page and losing my pending post (admitting my ignorance of computer stuff is humbling…) but did you say that you are about five weeks out?

I take emergency calls, so I am pretty sure I can’t return to work until I am off narcotics round the clock.

I’m on day 5 and feeling impatient…long way to go from here!!!

 

[Jockette]

I can’t get to the exact date without navigating away from this page and losing my pending post (admitting my ignorance of computer stuff is humbling…

Everyone’s surgery date is in their signature. Are you using your phone to access Bonesmart? If so, rotate your phone, and you should be able to see the signature. (It took me a long time to figure this out!)