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TKR Jojo9610's recovery thread

What a good friend! You're absolutely on target with meds and resting as much as possible. Your body is craving sleep, so go for it!
 
jojo9610 said:
One thing I didn't lose was my appetite like so many I've read about. I had pizza for dinner last night and biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs just now for breakfast.
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I'm glad you are doing well.

That sounds like me when I was in the hospital. I had a great appetite. The hospital menu wasn't huge but what they had was really good. Made to order omelets for breakfast with sides of bacon and hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy, hot cereal, pancakes, etc. Burgers, sandwiches, steak, and soups and side dishes available for other meals. Makes me hungry thinking about it now. The kitchen closed fairly early so the nurses reminded me to order extra food for the cooler on my floor for a late night snack. I usually asked for that around 10:00pm
 
Well, I've had a visit from the home health nurse and PT this afternoon. I did not really care for the nurse. When she asked what I was taking and at what intervals or pain she replied "you should only be taking 3000 mgs of acetaminophen". I told her I would follow my dr.'s orders, not hers. She goes on to say "well, it's only the first 24 hours after the surgery that are the worst". I asked her when she had her total knee done. Of course she hadn't had one. I told her after she did then she can make a stupid statement like that. Luckily she won't be the nurse returning on Monday.

I think I'm going to really like the PT. He was very gentle and said it was up to me to let him know if I felt he was pushing me past my comfort zone. He measured me at -10 and 75. I don't really know if that's a good start or not. Doesn't really matter I guess, he wants me to 90 in 10 days.
 
@jojo9610, you crack me up! :rotfl::rotfl: What did the nurse say when she left?? :rotfl::rotfl: You go girl! You said what I wish I had the brass you know whats to say. Love it. Will you come with me to PT next Tuesday? Think you will be up to a trip to NC? :rotfl::rotfl:
 
She was pretty quiet after that. One thing I have learned off of this forum is that these people work for us. If i'm not happy with someone there's always someone else that can take their place. If I were you i would request a different PT next week and tell them up front you want a gentle therapist. My PT said there is no point in forcing the knee, all it does is cause it to swell and I'm stuck with a swollen, hurting knee after he leaves (gee, where have I heard that before?).
 
75 degrees flexion is a great start for just being home from the hospital. I really swelled and stiffened up after I got home from the hospital. 90 degrees flexion at ten days would be awesome since it seems like a lot of people here say that was the goal at 6 weeks.

That was funny about the nurse. I had to read it to my wife.
 
75 degrees flexion and 10 extension is pretty good for now. Don't let your PT's expectation of 90 degrees by ten days encouraging you to do too much, or to get discouraged if you don't achieve it. Most surgeons don't expect 90 degrees until a month or six weeks after surgery.

Your extension will improve as your swelling goes down, but it will probably improve more slowly than your flexion. That's quite normal.

Well done for speaking up to your nurse.
 
jojo9610 said:
My PT said there is no point in forcing the knee, all it does is cause it to swell and I'm stuck with a swollen, hurting knee after he leaves (gee, where have I heard that before?).
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That's why I thought it was great when my PT said the same thing to me on my first visit. He actually told me to stop doing any exercises or moves that caused me pain. Hard to believe after some of the PT stories I've heard here.
 
Some of the PTs need to update their training, because the "work it hard" philosophy is no longer considered appropriate for recovery from a knee replacement.
 
Love your response to the nurse! You are doing great. Those pain meds are very important in the early weeks. Your ROM is fine. You are bound to have swelling, and swollen knees don't bend very well.
 
I'm glad you're doing so well and your OS sounds wonderful with his limits on flexion. I hope you keep up the good work!
 
I told the PT what the OS said about not focusing on Flexion for a couple of weeks because he wanted to give my knee time to heal. The PT's response, "well, I've never had any of his patients tell me that before". I said "well you have now and it's coming straight from the dr. ". I think he thought I was lying to him.
 
Way to go!!! :yes!: I only wished I had said the same thing but my OS and PT belong to the no pain no gain school. I won't make that mistake again!
 
I'm doing great today. I slept from 10p-6a and only got up once to use the restroom. The last two days I've spent in bed so this morning I've decided to move to the recliner during the day. My husband has been great waiting on me hand and foot. He had originally planned on taking next week off as well but I really think i'll be fine by myself. My pain stays around 2-3. I alternate my Hydrocodone with Tramadol & Tylenol. I think I found the combination that works so I'm sticking with it for now.

How are you doing this fine Black Friday?
 
Next week just have your nesting place prepared. I had a basket with remotes, phone, iPad, tissues, hand lotion, Chapstick, pain meds and a bottle of water near my chair. Have pillows and blankets nearby and I found a leg lifter to be valuable when getting my leg up on the ottoman.
 
My daughter and I always went out shopping-so kinda missing out on that. We discovered the key was getting the husband to drop us off at the stores so we didn't have to be aggravated with parking. He was more than glad to do that in return for not going along! :ok:

Try to be independent while your husband is home as a dry run. It seemed I hit a wall a few days out. Don't forget easy snacks and a lunch you can easily carry with your walker. Are you ok toileting by yourself?
 
I've been able to get to the bathroom, even take a shower by myself. Of course my husband is near by just in case I need him. @KarriB I have most of what you listed in a bag that I take between the nightstand and end table in the living room. @Timetolive we're still trying to figure out what to stock the fridge with as far as breakfast and lunch. I think a protein bar for breakfast will do, I'm still thinking about lunch.
 
I never used a walker at home, but my dad has been with his hip replacement. We bought him a little plastic basket with cut out handles at a dollar store and used zip ties to attach it to his walker. He's able to carry a few things in it as he uses his walker. Wait till he's home or someone else is with you to shower next week.
Left over turkey for lunch? Mmmm! Or soup you can microwave?
 
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