Revision TKR Lovetocookandsew’s long road to recovery

[lovetocookandsew]

You take care too, @Mollymax.

 

[Pumpkin]

Kim,
Take care, glad you are out of the ICU.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Thanks, Chris!

 

[Txmomgmom3]

So glad you are in a quieter room and out of ICU. Hopefully you can get some much needed rest.

 

[NightQuilter]

Oops, then Tramadol would not be a good solution! Yikes. Do you have any luck with Aleve? I find it better for me than ibu or Tylenol....

 

[SusieShoes]

We will blame your fall on the kangaroos. Glad you and nurse are both okay. What a scare!

Hope today is less painful for you. The first couple of days are the worst, though the first week as a whole can be... challenging. We are all pulling for you!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

I had a really rough morning today. The nerve block from yesterday wore off and the pain hit like crazy. I was in so much pain I was sick to my stomach. Around lunchtime they came and took me to the PACU to do the ON-Q pump. It wasn't fun going in but the pain relief is worth the pain to get it in (the anesthesiologist said that it was more difficult to get it placed due to the large amount of swelling I have all the way from my thigh to my toes). I can walk around again with just a little pain instead of the excruciating pain of earlier. I walked a little farther down the hallway than I have so far. I could stand the little zingers that hit occasionally, but I did get weak and shaky so went back to my room, had some lunch and now am back in bed planning to take a nap, except that it's shift change now and I know my nurses will be in to see me, do vitals, etc. so I'll wait to nap until after that.

 

[Jockette]

What an ordeal!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Oh, my OS also told me he was surprised in surgery when he went to start chipping out the tibial post (I think that's what he called it) and it just popped out before he even started on it. He didn't think it was loose as it didn't show up as loose on any x-rays. The cement was still attached to the bone but not at all to the implant there. So my problems could have been the nickel allergy, the loose part, or a combination of both.....who knows. Now I have a new baby gold knee and two very long posts above and below my knee implant.

 

[Celle]

I'm glad they've given you the ON-Q pump, Kim.
From what I've read and the experience of a couple of people who've posted here, it works very well.

 

[Jockette]

He didn't think it was loose as it didn't show up as loose on any x-rays

Exactly! I had a second opinion 2 weeks ago by a best of the best surgeons and he spent a very short time looking at one (only one) X-ray and told me it wasn’t loose. A loose implant would explain a lot of what I feel. I didn’t have time time to ask about patella maltracking, my other suspicion, because the doctor breezed in and out so fast.

 

[Twinmama]

I hope it works as well for you as it did for me. I didn't have it for my knee but I did have it for my hysterectomy and it worked out great on that surgery.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

They removed the wraps today. Hopefully some of the swelling in my foot will go down now.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Here's what the ON-Q looks like in my leg. It also has a ball-type thing in a pouch I carry around my neck.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Can you tell where I am from the pictures ?

 

[beachy]

Home Sweet Home! Yay for you!
What is the gray thing wrapped around your knee? Is that an ice machine wrap?

 

[Jockette]

You’re home!!!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

That's the wrap for the ice machine. I get to stay home this weekend, then have to go back to have a new ON-Q ball added as this one will be finished by then. Now I'm just chillin' with my Lounge Doctor and my ice machine....... Oh...and watching my GIANTS!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Not only has this recovery so far been amazing, other than some pain before the ON-Q, I also have zero bruising on my leg so far. Last time my leg was one giant bruise! And I don't have staples either. But I do realize that after the ON-Q is removed around next Thursday, I may end up in a lot of pain since all I can take is OTC pain relievers.

 

[Jockette]

We’ll worry about that with you, later. Right now “enjoy” feeling as good as you do, and being home.