Revision TKR Lovetocookandsew’s long road to recovery

[lovetocookandsew]

@sistersinhim I have no doubt that my OS will be very happy with my progress, and pleased as punch with himself for getting me through this without narcotics, as well he should be. I don't know about being a "poster child" but I am pleased overall with my recovery. It has it's ups and downs, but they're little bumps, and not the giant roller coaster I usually get stuck on. The biggest difficulty is the boredom, which, while much better than the alternatives, is still difficult to get through.

 

[Txmomgmom3]

Saw this on a Facebook group I belong to. I think this sums it up for all of us!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Look ma! No steri-strips! The last of them came off after my long shower this morning. I'm not saying whether or not they had a teensy-weensy bit of help though. Now I can go to my appointment with my OS without them.

 

[Celle]

Look ma! No steri-strips!

Yay!!!

 

[Spex10]

I still have 3! Not quite ready to rip them off yet.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@Spex10 I didn't rip them off at all. I may, however, have eased their passage from this world. Your scar is looking good!

 

[Spex10]

I picked at most of mine but the ones down at the bottom seem sealed on!
You can imagine how 'comfortable' the staple removal was!!

 

[sistersinhim]

Yay, a naked knee! No more steri-strips!

 

[Mollymax]

Nice to see you managed to make dinner for you and hubby. You are doing well. Yep have been there on the settling down then the doorbell goes. It's usually just singe cold selling person which really annoys me.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

I'm home from my appointment with my OS. We had a nice long chat, some on the topic of my knee, some on the topic of PT-which all you Bonesmarties will love to hear, and some about his kids, my kids, his trip to Boston and arriving home at 1 am today and my recent trip to Maine, etc.

Anyway, the first thing he mentioned when looking at my knee was the new rash and how he doesn't like it. He prescribed a couple of ointments I need to mix and apply and said that should take care of it in a week and if not let him know. He's thrilled with my recovery-he said, "And you're smiling"! (Believe me I haven't smiled in his office in a very long time) My knee is doing great and he's happy with everything but the rash. He loves how I'm moving-I even got up without a problem from the very low exam table (It was set really low for some reason and I told his nurse it was fine and she didn't need to adjust it) with my cane sitting across the room and nothing to help me stand back up, which surprised him.

Neither of us knows why there was such a drastic difference between pain levels in just a few days for me, but he and I are both happy I didn't end up in the same excruciating pain as the day my first pain ball ran out. He said they are still learning a lot about pain, so I hope they can come up with better ways to control pain without narcotics.

On the subject of PT, I told him, "You know I'm not doing any PT and haven't done a single exercise, right? And that all I'm doing is icing, elevating and walking?" He nodded and when I asked him if he knew why I'm not doing PT, he said in a kind of frustrated, hushed voice, "Because they make things worse!" I asked him if he knows that why he is still prescribing PT for his patients? He said they're working on figuring it all out and that balancing the patients like me who know what they need to do with the patients who won't move around at all unless they have PT, is difficult. I said, "Then why don't you change the PT protocols for this surgery to have them help with walking only?" We talked about that a bit, and I said I've had some really aggressive PTs who are actually causing patients harm with their methods and insistence on certain kinds of PT. My takeaway is that I think he wants to change things, and he is the chief so if anyone has the power to do so he does, but I don't know if he has the power to make the PTs change or not. I plan to talk to him about it more next visit.

He has released me to drive, and said I can toss my cane in the car to use when out and about as needed, and don't need it inside any more. I also showed him the pictures of my leg from four years ago with all the bruising vs the one from this surgery that has nary a bruise. He was surprised at the difference. I told him the difference has everything to do with the skill of the surgeon. He beamed at that compliment. Anyway, he wants to see me again in four weeks, and until then I am to keep doing exactly what I'm doing.

 

[mlwreader]

the first thing he mentioned when looking at my knee was the new rash and how he doesn't like it. He prescribed a couple of ointments I need to mix and apply and said that should take care of it in a week and if not let him know.

I had rash issues up the ying yang during the first 3 months post surgery. I wrote all about them on my thread. At about 4 months I finally went to my dermatologist and she diagnosed psoriasis and the rash was gone within 10 days of her prescribing the ointment. She said it happens sometimes after surgery as a kind of mild auto immune reaction to the stress to the body. I will say that my rashes were itchy enough that I thought I would go insane. Did not scratch, but it was so tempting. Also, I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive in bandaids which didn't help. I hope yours heals beautifully and is gone quickly.

 

[sistersinhim]

Wow, what a fantastic appointment you had! I like your OS. He's our kind of surgeon! I understand what he's saying about some people not wanting to move unless told to do so. SusieShoes' OS told her the same thing, if I remember right. You are proof that using your knee naturally is all it needs to rehab itself!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@mlwreader He noticed the rash right away, and when I showed him the picture from yesterday of my knee bend, he noticed the rash in the picture wasn't as bad as it is today. He even said if it looked like that picture today, it wouldn't have bothered him, but it really is getting worse quickly. He didn't tell me what it is, other than it's some kind of bacterial rash on my skin, but not inside. He said it happens.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@sistersinhim I kind of like my OS too....... He's one of the good guys. I told him I was worried that if I ever had a problem with my other knee, or, God forbid, this one again, and he'd retired...and before I could finish he said, "You'd be screwed!". But he also said if that happened, maybe his daughter would be finished by then and I could switch to her.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

I decided to take hubby out to dinner tonight since he took the day off to drive me to my doctor's app't. Tomato beef chow mein, here we come! We shall see how it goes, but I had no problem going to the doctor, other than it being 107 out!!!!!! I wasn't exhausted or even tired after, and other than my knee being a little sore, I was none the worse for wear.

 

[sistersinhim]

Excellent day you've had today! You should sleep peacefully!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Back home after a delicious dinner of our favorite tomato beef chow mein. It was so yummy. My knee is okay so far, but wants some ice, so I'm back in my nest giving it what it wants.......ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..... But it was so nice to go out someplace other than the hospital.

 

[Spex10]

Sounds like an all round good day (except for the rash!)

 

[SusieShoes]

What a great visit with your OS! Of course he’s thrilled with your recovery. You’re smiling. That’s what these surgeons want to see. They didn’t get into replacing body parts because they want to make people miserable. They want to improve our lives and it must give them warm fuzzies to see a patient like you.

I had the same “talk” with my OS about PT. He’s all about walking as the best exercise for a new knee... so why does he prescribe PT? I asked him that and he said it was because some of his patients would never move at all if he didn’t order PT. You can tell the patient to walk, but... I guess some just don’t do it unless there’s someone like a therapist to answer to.

 

[Laurenkate]

Doctors must be in a real pickle with the p.t. question because your doctor is right; a lot of patients wouldn't do what they need to do and would then turn around and blame the doctor. I'm debating about p.t. now; on one hand, I hate having to be anyplace at a set time each week. On the other hand, the massage at the end of the gentle sessions are wonderful. This whole discussion reminds me of something my mother in law did when she was diagnosed with Parkinson's. The doctor told her not to get home and get into bed because the patients who coped with it the best kept moving. We left the doctor's office, went to the Lazy Boy store, she bought a recliner and basically never moved out of it again.