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Bilateral TKR just throwin it out there<'

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Ice is a great pain reliever, so ice as much as possible. We do expect our drs to give us information, unfortunately, thy information tends to be all over the place. But you've come to the right place!
 
I am not sure anything can completely prepare us for this surgery, unless you have been through it before, and even then it could be very different. My son put his Netflix account on my tv and that has been wonderful. I can watch multiple episodes of a show, and that takes my mind off my knee. And if I fall asleep, oh well, I can hit replay. I love ice. I have gotten the best relief ever from ice. The pain meds were great at first, but I was happy when I no longer needed them. It is always good to read reports of those who had their surgery a month before ours, to give us hope that things do get better.
 
I'm just a few weeks ahead of you and I'm so glad that you are here and getting some real advice from people who have been there and done that. Unfortunately, for me, weeks 3-6 were the worst! So, I don't have a lot of advice except to say- hang in there! It gets better! And especially, you are doing great! The one problem that I had/have that drove me nuts is the nerve pain. The pins and needles down my shins to my ankles definatelty kept me from getting more than a couple of hours of sleep. Finally my OS suggested Gabapentin for it and it has helped tremendously! Also, using warm towels or washcloths on my shins and ankles helped some. Finally, remember that you are part of an amazing club of people of brave people who made it through this huge surgery and you are doing great! Give yourself that and stay strong!
 
Not your fault, @dennyside. Relatively few physicians and medical centers tell patients how very draining and painful a BTKR is. They prepare patients to have the right assistive devices and practices in place, but don't talk about how you're going to handle two long months of disability and pain. Then there are all the myths about people recovering in record time, which hardly ever happens. I had to disabuse my family of the notion I would be up and at 'em in three weeks. I couldn't even sit at the table to play a board game in three weeks, much less do grocery shopping or return to a job.

Look on the bright side: you've had the surgery and are one month into recovery. You're heading into better days. The TENS machine sounds interesting. I've heard good things about them. If you get one, would love to hear more about it.
 
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ok susie thankz keep you posted..pain is .tollerable right now i am assuming is wbat you guys are calling tight band pain.really bad in am can walk fairly well ..only little jots around the house
 
ok guys need your expertise yet again....i have been icing these things till the cows come home but i just got out of the shower and ran hot water over my knees for 7 minutes and i can really feel an improvement for a little while...cant i maybe try heating pad?? dont mean to be blasfamous on all your info on ice but just woundering?.?? also i can lye on my stomach with no dis comfort is ok to sleep like that or attemt too or wll i wake up unable to move???? thanks in advance
 
Are you icing constantly? If so, maybe it's a tad too much. Give your legs some time in between icing, an hour or so. More if you aren't in pain. I found as I got further along in my recovery (more than 8 weeks) my "better" knee actually started to protest long icings. It was further along in healing and didn't need as much, I reckon. Find your own comfort schedule with icing.

Now heat... it's still early for using heat, such as a heating pad, directly on your knee. Heat generally increases swelling because it increases blood flow. But you can certainly heat your feet (one BSer uses heated towels on her feet when she ices) or calves. It's the knee joint you want to keep chilled.

Lying on your tummy... try it and see what happens. :) :-) (: Follow the mantra: if it hurts, don't do it. If you are comfy in that position and your knees don't protest, you're good. I tried on my stomach at about six weeks and it was okay, just not very comfy. Now it's not a problem at all. If you're a stomach sleeper, of course you need to find out if it works! I doubt you'll wake up unable to move because if your knees really dislike the position, you'll never get to sleep in the first place. I'm a side sleeper, and it was 15 weeks until my knees would let me sleep a whole night on my side. Trust me... the knees are in charge of that department.
 
My PT always said ice works it's best for th first couple of weeks then you can start with some heat.
Increase of blood flow to the area aids healing. Made sense and worked for me.
I certainly wouldn't use it constantly though.
If you found it increased your swelling don't use it.
 
Ok I know you guys say be patient but this is nonsense today my knees feel no better then day 1. Doing light PT, nothing hard. Can't possibly ice any more. Dr says cannot find anything (within a reasnoable dose) that will help the pain. I know they are talking cortisone shots and or doing a nerve block on my knees. Pros - cons??
 
dennyside said:
i know you guys say be patient but this is nonsense today my knees feel no better then day 1
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Dennyside, the first 6 weeks or so are really hard - a lot of damage was done to your knee during the surgery and your poor wounded knee will take time to recover from that.

It's only just over a month since you had your surgery and your knees are still upset, angry and inflamed. They will settle down.

Cortisone shots and nerve blocks would not be good for your knees right now. I'm afraid you do have to continue to be patient. Better times are coming, and probably not very much later.

It's a good idea to ask your PCP for help with your medications.

Another thing to consider is how much exercise are you doing? I was going to ask Josephine to advise you, but I see she's already done that. Did you read her suggestions? Since you're having to look after yourself and your child, you're probably having to do too much, so don't go adding any exercises to that.

Your girlfriend sounds rather immature. Perhaps she needs to see some pictures or a video of the surgery you've had, so she can maybe understand what your knees have been through. Try these for a start:
TKR surgery - WARNING: real life photos
Knee replacement surgery types and suggested videos
 
My PCP can't advise me since I am under pain management. The only thing that gives me any relief is 12 mg Dilaudid every 4 hours and no one will prescribe that much. Presently smartpain Dr treating me like I am a drug abuser and will only prescribe 13.5 mg xtamza every 12 hours which is doing nothing. Plenty of icing and doing no extra PT at home just outpatient 2x weeks, very light. No pain at all during sessions.

Can't continue 2=3 hours a night sleep and occasional nap during the day. In fact it is the pain management Dr who suggested it. I mentioned to her I needed an er opioid along with a short term break through opioid but she won't consider it.
 
@dennyside Hello. Are you referring to a partial replacement? I had one in 2015 and found it much easier then the TKR.

As for the pain, are you taking enough meds? I wasn't so night time was horrible. You may need to take 2 pills each dose; actually some prescriptions says up to 3 pills. And stay on schedule. I literally set an alarm so I wouldn't get off track. Good luck!!
 
Dennyside, sending prayers your way! Oh my! I can't imagine both knees at same time. I'm 3 weeks post op and still trying to get this pain under control. Taking Percocet, acetaminophen and ibuprofen every 4 hours seems to be working somewhat. I called my surgeon's office for a refill of pain meds and nurse said that I might want to cut back!!! Crying, I informed her that I was not abusing the Percocet, but just trying to survive this hell! After checking with doctor, she called and told me that my husband could come and pick up refill script!
I hope you do get some relief and comfort very soon!
 
Thank you. My Dr pretty much doesn't want to give me anything. She thinks everyone is abusing them. I even had to show her my scars because she wanted to make sure I wasn't scamming
 
here at 4 weeks, I put some heat on for a short time when I also put heat on my calves before walking. It felt good. But I always follow up with long time icing.
 
ok last nite worse one yet little swelling terrible pain..havent been doing anything really i n past 3 days but resting and ice .had pt 4 days ago but nothing out of the norm see os today...stll no meds that work at the moment just advil really discouraged doin everything ia suposeed to if i am not back to work buy november afraid i will loose my house
 
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