Rockgirl4
Former BoneSmart staff member
United StatesI can't believe it's been 5+ years since the Right TKR, but I'm back for the Left TKR and eager to see how the rest of you are doing as we recover together. 
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I made it home by 10:30 yesterday, after spending a wonderful night in the hospital. Surgery day was definitely eventful. I have high blood pressure and anxiety, and both were very out of control. My numbers finally came down after they gave me the happy juice through my IV. That was after a lot of cat and puppy videos and deep breathing exercises.
I don't remember the spinal, but they unfortunately had to convert me to general anesthesia in the middle of the surgery. My oxygen SATs kept dropping into the 80s, and they gave me a lot of albuterol to open my airway. My allergist thought we had ruled out asthma last year, but I keep having some weird episodes like this, usually in the late summer/fall, so we're going to revisit that in a few weeks. Oh, and I kept crying and telling the nurses everything....and I mean everything about our stressful last 2 years. My husband warned them that general anesthesia is basically truth serum for me.
I am pleasantly surprised with the pain control though. Like SHOCKED!!!! I was told the blocks/meds in my knee would last 48-72 hours, and mostly all I'm feeling is the burning/tightness where the tourniquet went. I haven't gone above a 5 on the pain scale yet. I can get by with the Tylenol and Tramadol so far, only taking one oxycodone before bedtime (at the drs/nurses recommendation). I keep wondering when the "Oh my Gawd" pain is going to set in and don't want to get my hopes up yet that this time around will be easier.
As for the actual surgery, I was able to have the Press-fit implant to match my other knee, as my bone was still strong. Since I'm only 51, it's supposed to last a lot longer than the cemented knees. Time will tell, right??!! The surgeon also injected all sorts of local anesthetics in my knee, plus the strongest IV anti- inflammatory (Toradol) because of my history of severe swelling. They even gave me 2 steroid shots in the hospital, and it sounded like that was for swelling prevention too. All in all, I felt VERY well taken care of. Washington University Orthopedics in St. Louis has been wonderful for our entire family, and their nursing staff is the best I've experienced after 12 knee surgeries, an ankle surgery, and having a baby. I'd recommend them to anyone, as 2 of the surgeons are revision specialists too. My rheumatologist won't "let" me go anywhere else.
I'm still really groggy, so I'll stop here before I fall asleep typing again. My poor husband must be exhausted too. He's a great caretaker, but I feel bad that he hasn't sat down all day. I'll check in with you all later and see where everyone else is at in their recovery.
--Lisa
,
I made it home by 10:30 yesterday, after spending a wonderful night in the hospital. Surgery day was definitely eventful. I have high blood pressure and anxiety, and both were very out of control. My numbers finally came down after they gave me the happy juice through my IV. That was after a lot of cat and puppy videos and deep breathing exercises.
I don't remember the spinal, but they unfortunately had to convert me to general anesthesia in the middle of the surgery. My oxygen SATs kept dropping into the 80s, and they gave me a lot of albuterol to open my airway. My allergist thought we had ruled out asthma last year, but I keep having some weird episodes like this, usually in the late summer/fall, so we're going to revisit that in a few weeks. Oh, and I kept crying and telling the nurses everything....and I mean everything about our stressful last 2 years. My husband warned them that general anesthesia is basically truth serum for me. I am pleasantly surprised with the pain control though. Like SHOCKED!!!! I was told the blocks/meds in my knee would last 48-72 hours, and mostly all I'm feeling is the burning/tightness where the tourniquet went. I haven't gone above a 5 on the pain scale yet. I can get by with the Tylenol and Tramadol so far, only taking one oxycodone before bedtime (at the drs/nurses recommendation). I keep wondering when the "Oh my Gawd" pain is going to set in and don't want to get my hopes up yet that this time around will be easier.
As for the actual surgery, I was able to have the Press-fit implant to match my other knee, as my bone was still strong. Since I'm only 51, it's supposed to last a lot longer than the cemented knees. Time will tell, right??!! The surgeon also injected all sorts of local anesthetics in my knee, plus the strongest IV anti- inflammatory (Toradol) because of my history of severe swelling. They even gave me 2 steroid shots in the hospital, and it sounded like that was for swelling prevention too. All in all, I felt VERY well taken care of. Washington University Orthopedics in St. Louis has been wonderful for our entire family, and their nursing staff is the best I've experienced after 12 knee surgeries, an ankle surgery, and having a baby. I'd recommend them to anyone, as 2 of the surgeons are revision specialists too. My rheumatologist won't "let" me go anywhere else.
I'm still really groggy, so I'll stop here before I fall asleep typing again. My poor husband must be exhausted too. He's a great caretaker, but I feel bad that he hasn't sat down all day. I'll check in with you all later and see where everyone else is at in their recovery.
--Lisa
