TKR Josephine's knee story

[Ellejay]

I'm really glad you enjoyed your outing Jo, you were out for quite a while, and on no pain killers as well, amazing! I hope you warm up soon and give that knee a really good rest.

 

[Celle]

I'm glad your outing went well, Jo. You did quite a lot!
It sounds as if taking your neighbour was a really good idea.

Your chiropractor sounds like just what you needed.

No pain meds at all! That shows how well you're doing. When I was off daytime meds, I did find that I still needed to take something at nighttime for a couple of weeks, so do be prepared for that.

Best wises.

 

[Lovestoread]

Josephine, you are rockin' this recovery! Way to go!

 

[zauberflöte]

Man I want your chiropractor!! It sounds like you had a good time, I am glad things went so well. Keep warm


My phone sent this using BoneSmart Forum, clever phone!

 

[skigirl]

great story---you are past the hard part onto life which awaits you!!!

 

[HollyB]

Wonderful, wonderful news! You had a rough start and now look at you. I send you my best wishes and please tell your neighbor that she has a Fan Club here in the States!

 

[Peaches]

Very glad to hear things are looking up, and that you got to have an outing, can cut down on the painkillers. Hopefully the roller coaster ride has ended....

 

[Josephine]

Well, 'rough start' continues. Last night I got quite bad pains around my knee.

So:
took Tramadol - 1 hour later no change
rubbed on Volterol gell - 30 mins later no change
tried ice - made it worse
then I remember Poppet telling me that the Chinese preferred heat for pain that wasn't immediately post-surgical so sat myself beside the microwave and rotated two damp cloths. That help a lot but the heat wasn't persistent enough so I got a hot water bottle and treated the back and sides of my knee with it - result

SUCCESS!!

I also came to the conclusion that this pain is nothing to do with the knee surgery but all to do with the muscle spasms in the biceps femoris and hamstrings which, as I said before, have been plaguing me for almost a year.



So, I retired to bed at 2am, slept right through to 9am and woke pain free.
Not only that but ROM in my left leg is now equal to that in my right leg!

Also, appetite has returned about 90% and the pain is still very low.

Just in case you are interested, this is the pattern of my tendinitis pain - in blue

 

[zauberflöte]

You are definitely getting this under control, and I tend to agree that the pain is not the new knee. Could have been related to massage/leg-tenderizing yesterday?
I have several ice packs, store brand, that can also be nuked to be heating pads. They stay warm for a long time, and are only about $5.00, not bad atall.
Keep on rollin', nothing will stop you now! Woohoo equal ROM!!


My phone sent this using BoneSmart Forum, clever phone!

 

[speccybecky]

I used to go to bed with ice on knee and wheat pack heated in microwave on leg. My husband thought I was mad but it helped

 

[Celle]

I'm glad the hot cloths worked for you, Jo. Any chance some of your pain was due to the big day you had yesterday?

When I sprained my ankle, I had continuing pain for months, due to an inflamed tendon. The physio recommended alternating hot and cold packs, and that helped a lot.

 

[Josephine]

Could have been related to massage/leg-tenderizing yesterday?

Any chance some of your pain was due to the big day you had yesterday?

Thank you ladies but the answer is definitely no. I've been suffering from this pain for over a year now and Greg has treated me for it many times before. The aftermath of the surgery just made it worse. I should have realised and not got it mixed up with post-op pain. Silly me!

I also measured by ROM today 123/0! Not bad, eh?

 

[amab]

123/0 ROM.......Outstanding!!!!!!

 

[Celle]

I also measured by ROM today 123/0! Not bad, eh?

Great!

 

[Clipless]

Love your ROM- that must feel wonderful!
Heat helped when I was having a lot of spasm-y issues later in my recovery.

 

[Sudibar]

Love the idea of heat pack. Even though summer here, I place a heat pack at my back or stomach to keep me from shivering! I think I will try heat pack on tops of thighs as they get really tight and I think this may help. Awesome recovery Josephine, glad you enjoyed sometime on the "outside".
Diane

 

[Josephine]

You know, whenever I post about a good day or progress, it is then followed by an absolutely abysmal night. And last night was no exception. I retired at 11.30pm and after only 30 minutes my knee started raging. This is now pain, I promise. It's a raging heat included with a kind of tightness along the scar like a cheese wire being pulled ever and ever tighter! I tossed and turned for ever and finally, at about 2am, I gave up and came downstairs to try the hot towels and hot water bottle again. This time it didn't work and I finally tried the last thing on my list which was the Gladwrap. That worked too! Wonderfully well. But now I tried to settle on the settee and though I had several blankets on me, the room seemed cold and I got totally chilled. I slept until about 8am and woke even more cold than before. And feeling sick and ill.

Imagine my surprise when I went into the conservatory and found it was roaring hot in there! The sun was shining and people outside were out and about in just cardigans! It took me ages to warm up.

I do hope tonight will be a better night, please God.

 

[amab]

Here's hoping for a better night for you!!! I remember those sleepless nights all to well.

 

[lavender]

Hi Josephine Nice to hear you had a chance to get out and do some things
so good. I think it is great how you are doing . Understanding the feeling of being cold I have never felt this cold usually too hot . You have managed so amazing and wishing you all the best. Holly

 

[Josephine]

Thank you!

I had a lovely night past night. I've actually found it unnecessary to actually wrap the Gladwrap right round the leg. A patch of it, sufficient to cover the wound and both sides of the knee, is quite enough. And since somebody kindly sent me a box of Gladwrap (we don't have it in the UK) and Gladwrap is lightly self-adhesive, the patch stayed put all night! So I slept from about midnight to 9am - long old night for me! But when I got up, I had a whole array of discomfort, hot wound, feel out of sorts generally, foul taste in mouth so no appetite, feeling really chilled so wrapped myself in blankets and about 20-30 minutes later, had a hot flush and threw them all off again! It's only settle down when I replaced the Gladwrap. Hope this means I shall have another good night tonight.