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Bilateral TKR just throwin it out there<'

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It sounds like you need to forget about getting any help from your so-called helpmate! Anyway, I am divorced and was alone at least 99% of the time. I didn't go to PT. You can do this on your own. Just ignore your mate and take care of yourself. You will be fine! There are many of us who did this alone. You can, too!
 
Nothing in my job can be phased in. Geeze, my Dr td me I could in 3 months but reading all you guys' posts and the the way I feel now, it's not happening

There's no phasing in on my job

It's not a matter of doing it alone. I am taking care of myself, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the dog and my 6 year old little buddy. The feeling of being alone if that makes any sense???
 
Denny, it makes sense. Post surgical blues is very normal, and it sounds like you're experiencing a little of that. Embrace them and know they will pass. If they don't or they are particularly severe, mention it to your doctor. You may be one of the people who benefits from a brief prescription. It sounds like you have the garden variety of post-surgical blues complicated by a not-too-sympathetic significant other. My husband wasn't particularly helpful during my recovery. Thankfully, he didn't minimize my pain (but I was fortunate and was able to manage mine pretty well fairly quickly), but he didn't do much to help either. I broke each task I had to do into small chunks with rest in between -- that kept pain under control.

Don't worry too much right now about how you'll be feeling in another two months. A lot will be changing between now and then, but you'll want to focus on resting as much as possible now, because that's how your body heals. Ice and elevation will help it keep fluids moving, which is how healing is helped, too.
 
You are receiving lots of good input.....Pumpkin and others are spot on, as usual.

Unfortunately, life gets in the way, i.e. bills and employment. Employer open to phasing you back to work?

Saving some of your sick/disability time? Best wishes..... ~ Pat
 
Thanks all. No, job doesn't offer sick days. 3 month disability insurance I pay for on my own. I'm a Ford technician and unfortunately, heavy lifting and engine work, bendiing and usually moving 5/6 miles a day on my feet.
 
Denny, it is possible that your previous drug use has impacted the way pain medications work (or don't work) for you. I'm sure you've had discussions with your surgeon about this. You might also try talking with your GP or someone from a pain management clinic. There are options when it comes to pain control and it sounds like you may have to do some experimenting.

But....just in case it's a matter of proper dosing of what you have, please tell me what pain meds you are taking now. I'll need the medication name, strength, dosing instructions on the bottle and how many you take at what times through the day and night. If you tell me this, we may be able to see something that you could do to improve your pain levels.

Also, as someone else mentioned, ice is a wonderful pain management tool. Be sure your are icing and elevating your knees as much as possible through the day and night. You just want to be sure to have a kitchen towel between you and the ice source so that you don't damage your skin. I slept with ice gel packs on the front and back of both my knees when they were done. It really helped.

One tip....it's common to feel good after therapy or when taking those walks. But if you find that you have pain or swelling later in the day or the next day then it means your body is not yet ready for that much activity. If that's happening to you, then we'll need to talk more specifics about your activity because it may be it's causing at least some of your discomfort.

Hang in there! We're here to help you!
 
Hi Jamie. Should have checked my post last night. Heaven knows I was up. Still no real sleep. I started out on pain meds 5 mg oxy every 4 hours. That did nothing. Then went back and gave me Dilaudid 2mg every 4 hours - nothing. I even tried chasing the Dilaudid with some of the left over oxy to no avail. Then 8mg Dilaudid every 8 hours - nothing. Getting fed up. I tried 12mg Dilaudid every 4 hours that helped but went to pain management and they said I had intolerance from prior drug use and that much Dilaudid was out of the question.

I am currently on this stuff called xtanza. This am will be my 5th dose, 13.5 mg every 12 hours. This stuff absolute garbage. Also 1 Lyrica per day, don't know the potency and right now sitting here iced up, not getting up to look. Thanks

Pain management treats me like some kind of idiot trying to get over on them. Was not in a happy place when talking with Dr.
 
xtanza is actually just oxycodone which is a step up from the Dilaudid so over all, I'm not surprised you are not finding it too successful.

I usually ask before leaving these questions but I am assuming you will be willing to answer them.

It would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually - numbered as I have done - in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't forget to factor in other forms of pain such as soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness).

3. how swollen are your legs compared to these?


4. what is your ROM - that's flexion (bend) and extension (straightness)

5. are you icing your knees at all? If so, how often and for how long?

6. are you elevating your legs. If so how often and for how long?

7. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

8. are you doing any exercises at home? If so what and how often?
This is the most crucial question so please help me by using the format I have left as an example
(which means please make a list and not an essay!)

Exercises done at home
- how many sessions you do each day
- enter exercise by name then number of repetitions of each
etc., etc.

Anything done at PT
- how many times a week
- enter exercise by name then number of repetitions of each
etc., etc.
 
1) pain right now sitting is 8 ..if i stand ormove is a 7.is a deep pain not such a sting .not throbbing but constant.sometimes if i move other than what my knee wants will sting.always stiffness pain.(2) swelling is just a tad more than moderate(3) rom when measured at pt left leg 2-108 right leg 4-104 (4) i ice probo bly 5 times a day 40 min to an hour and 2-3 times a nite legs are only slightly elivated but is elivated (6) very active get up use bathroom get my own meals light cleaning stretching twice a day take 1 block walk with walker .generally dont use a walking aid around house just in the am when get up (7) heal slides lying down maybe 1 set of 10 5 times a day.3 sets of 10 standing calf stretches 3x a day..3 or4 sets quad set with towel 4 sets of 10 5 times a day..go up and fown 9 steps 3 times a day (8) pt is 2x per week been op 2x both times massaging my knee and hamstrings working on straighting my leg after masssging slightly pushing down on kneecap to straighten never any pain usually gain 2 to 3 degrees when finished.1 set quad set towel under heel 10 reps holding 5 sec.straight leg raises2 sets of 10 reps.seated hamstring stretches 1 set 4reps holding for 20 seconds .rode bike 15 min but cannot get 360* out of right leg i go as d fsr as i can the reverse direction..riht leg not a good as left also more pain..end of session elevate rap in ice copression on right leg electro stimulate 15 min then done...usually feel good when done..hope my info what you looking for the xtampza is supposed to be extended relief.. i think its forgetting to release altogether thank you
.
 
Sorry but can you do your answers as I requested answer each one individually - numbered as I have done

I really don't have time to pick your paragraph apart.
 
pain level right now - lying down 8, walking or moving 7
feels little better till sit still
pain deep but not throbbing sometimes when knee moves wrong

swelling just a tad more then moderate
ROM left leg 2-108 right 4 -104

ice my knees 5 times a day usually 1 hour, 2 times throughout the night, legs a slightly elevated

very active, move throughout the day, make meals, try get up and move about, take 2 one block walks per day

heel slides lying down 1set x10 7 times
standing calf raise s 3 times a day 3 sets x10
quadsets with towel 10 reps 6x a day
up and down steps (9)
walk 1 block twice a day with walker

pt only 2x week
has been massaging leg to loosen up
been working on leg straightening
putting slight pressure down on knee cap, nothing painful always better when done followed buy the above mentioned exercises plus
bike 15 min - can't quite do 360* with right leg just stop and go back
follow up with ice packs, compression on right leg, electro stimulation 10 min

Hope better and the xtanza is supposed to be an ER don't think it ever releases
 
Thank you so much. I really appreciate you doing that for me!
dennyside said:
pain level right now - lying down 8, walking or moving 7
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Well, I suppose at 5 weeks that's to be expected - what we call slap bang in the middle of the "angry tissue" phase!

Have you had any success with your pain meds yet?
dennyside said:
swelling just a tad more than moderate
Click to expand...
Okay
dennyside said:
ROM left leg 2-108 right 4 -104
Click to expand...
Well, y'know what - those aren't have bad measurements for 5 weeks
dennyside said:
ice my knees 5 times a day usually 1 hour, 2 times throughout the night, legs a slightly elevated
Click to expand...
You need to do more than that - in fact you accomplish little or nothing in that time. Ice for at least 40-60mins and more than 4 times a day.
dennyside said:
very active, move throughout the day, make meals, try get up and move about, take 2 one block walks per day
Click to expand...
Read this article (you have to click on the blue text to open it) Activity progression for TKRs. Follow the routine suggested

If you are doing these more than once a day, stop! Once a day is plenty and none at all at the weekends
heel slides lying down 1set x10 7 times - heel slides are a very easy thing to do badly and 70 reps a time is badly! Read this Heel slides and how to do them properly.
standing calf raise s 3 times a day 3 sets x10 - these also are ill advised. Stop doing them
quadsets with towel 10 reps 6x a day - these too - stop them
up and down steps (9) - far too many - read the Activity Progression article
walk 1 block twice a day with walker - read the Activity Progression article

pt only 2x week
has been massaging leg to loosen up - oky
been working on leg straightening putting slight pressure down on knee cap, nothing painful always better when done - I thought she'd said your ROM was excellent? If that's the case, you don't need to do these
bike 15 min - can't quite do 360* with right leg just stop and go back - this is a bad sign that your flexion is blocked by swelling

I'd say stop all of these. Did you read all the articles Susie left you in post #2? Whether you have or not, you need to go back and read them all again - carefully!

You may feel that now you've got to work hard to get your knees working properly but do listen when I say that you really must not! You only have one chance to get this right and if you mess it up, you risk ending up with lots of pain and poor function. We see it all the time on here. So NO EXERCISING at all, okay? Rest, rest, rest - that's all! With just an occasional walk to the bathroom and kitchen and maybe one or two other short walks around the house just for the heck of it! And follow the routine in Activity progression for TKRs
 
Dennyside- I had a BTKR July 10th. I can relate to everything u are saying. Keep pushing for the docs to get the right pain medicine "recipe" that works. I'm here if you need to bounce ideas off. I'm 8 weeks out tomorrow. Did you go to acute rehab?
 
dennyside said:
I think we lost track my surgery was Aug 1st
Click to expand...
:doh: so you are! That's what comes of getting old - I really thought this was August. It's September, isn't it!

I'll go back and edit my answers ...
 
the last thing this crackhead pain dr said was cant guve me anything else maybe do nerve block..but for real this xtamza extended release oxy does absolutly 0 so what i just try to bear the pain till see her in 2 weeks and then she does nothing....i think but am no dr but just talkin to yall that i need stronger dose of this er oxy..because i dont think they are giving the real oxycotin any more with abreakthru oxy every 4 hours
 
Thanks Josephine. The pain is terrible 24 /7. Pain management Dr won't do anything for me, even took my case management nurse with me. Just this xtanza ****. Tried oxy and Dilaudid. Don't know what to do. I don't go back for 2 weeks
 
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