Bilateral TKR Luisa's road to recovery June 10th, 2013

[Lmarshall]

I finally got the pain in some kind of check tonight. I have a very hard time handling these pain meds! Who'd of thunk a child of the 70's, who was def on the wild side, would grow up to be an old lady who cant handle a couple of pills! CRAZY! Headache was very mild today but pain was bad. Finally felt better head wise so I decided to take an Ultram around 4 and have been much better since then. Will try to take abother Ultram right before sleepy time with my Xanax to get a few hours of sleep. Iced my heart out today with elevation to get rid of pain and it did help alot. I am still going to call surgeon if this pain persists. Tomorrow I go to P/T again, so lets see what I'm in for afterwards. Ill make sure to take my pain meds 1/2 before I leave so it can be in full force by the time I am in for the session. I was very bad and did NO home exercises the past 2 days. I wish I could find the motivation, especially when I am feeling pain. Turns out I'm a big baby :( I might add to all this complaining that I am doing, my husband has been AMAZING. I honestly dont know what I would do without him. He cooks for me, helps me every time he hears me getting up for the bathroom, helps me in the shower, cleans the house, especially important, vacuums so the doggie hairs dont let me slip with my crutches. I have 3 Golden Retrievers that shed enormously! I am a lucky woman.

I hope everyone had a safe 4th and for my post op buddies, hope all are feeling well and healing peacefully!

 

[bottomshollow]

Please take it easy at PT tomorrow (or actually today). Don't let them push you harder than you can go comfortably. It's your body and your knees---and in truth they work for you not the other way around. The PT will do you absolutely no good if you end up in pain and with swollen knees after you get back home.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.

 

[Lmarshall]

Thanks Bottomshollow, I will absolutely make sure I dont push too hard tomorrow.

 

[new knee in June]

Louisa,
I am also a child of the 70's & have never liked pain pills. It's o.k to take a day off from p.t ( my day off is Saturday's)
But do ice, elevate & gentle stretching.
Is the Xanax helping you at all.....
Also, I find if I exercise before p.t gets here, I do better because I am warmed up. I don't ice before, muscles will be to
Stiff.
Please don't over do it at p.t....remember...your knees are the boss.
Your husband sounds like a true I'm lucky i have one too....
Thinking of you & hugs coming your way...
Diana

 

[Lmarshall]

Hi Diana. Yes Xanax helps me relax definitely and cryingspells have decreased. I take it right before sleeping. I actually slept 3 1/2 hrs straight last night, with ice. Woke up and now cant fall back tosleep :( ill try again in anhour. Illmake sure to stop icing when its closer to getting ready. Walking to the car and getting in shoul do it.

 

[MissJ]

Luisa
Like everyone else, I am so sorry you're having these tough days. They WILL pass. As for passing...are you taking a stool softener? For the first three weeks or so I took one 1-2x day (morning and/or bedtime). They don't act as laxatives but can help "move" things along a bit easier. In the hospital I asked the doctor if even moving the bowels a teensy bit in one day "counted," and he said yes - especially if I wasn't eating much. It's a tough balance and I will never again take that bodily function for granted!

I worry about your spacing out your Percocet if you really need them for pain. And I too second the Ativan idea. A brain that's buzzing with worry is going to wear out! Even one a day can make a big difference in just taking the edge off of anxiety.

Hooray that the holiday's over and today the offices you need to contact will be open. Keep us posted.
j

 

[Lmarshall]

I am now taking Xanax and Ultram, no more Percocet for me. Unfortuantely, the Ultram is better, but not perfect, still gives me minor headaches, so I try to take every 8-10 hours and not 6 hours, and fill in with Advil.

Off to the P/T, will fill in on how it goes!

 

[Lmarshall]

I just left therapy and i loved it! PT gave me relaxing snd soothing massage then an incredible gentle pull and dtretch for extension which is my problem area especially on the left. he even showed hubby how to do it. some supervised exervises.....then recumbant bikewhich also gave me a nice stretch. i felt so limber walking out! Believe it or not i cant wait for mondays session! Praying i will feel good tomorrow after stretching today but nothing was painful while doing it so im hopeful.

 

[Limpynomore]

Excellent report Luisa! Until then, ice and relax!

 

[new knee in June]

Luisa,
Bravo for a great post your p.t sounds amazing. If you are looking forward to p.t, you are way ahead
Of the game keep doing what your doing & remember to ice & elevate gentle stretching. Are you drinking a ton of water.
Sometimes when we get dehydrated, we will get headaches
Have a wonderful weekend & remember it's good to take 1 day a week-off (mine,s tomorrow)
I asked my p.t today & she said that was fine, I only ice & elevate....no exercises, no cpm machine, just a day to rest..
Talk soon,
Diana

 

[Lmarshall]

Thank you Diana. I think you may be onto something re: drinking enough water. I dont, and I will make it a point to increase and see if it helps. I have PT 3X a week. Ill try doing the exercises myself tomorrow, then take Sunday off and see how it goes. Still crossing fingers I feel good tonight. Just having some lunch with hubby then will lie down and ice for a couple of hours. Will check back in later to let you know how i feel after the stretches.

 

[Ready]

I am glad to hear things are on the upswing. Hope it continues for you. A good PT is worth their weight in gold!

 

[Lmarshall]

I have no excessive swelling tonight, but do have slightly increased pain in my left leg. The PT mentioned something about using a brace for short periods to ease pain a bit (based on a massage technique he used during therapy). I tired it and it did ease the pain alittle. I had a neoprene brace from pre surgery and used that, but I think I will go with some ace bandages instead since brace has kneecap hole and didnt lke the slight swelling within this open space. Has anyone else tried this technique and/or know if this is a good idea in short spurts to ease pain?

 

[Lmarshall]

Planning on going comfortable sandal shopping tomorrow. The sneaker/sandal type. Hoping my night goes well so I am ready for my outing tomorrow with a girlfriend. Hubby isnt too thrilled at letting me go out without him, but I think a part of him is relieved to have me off his back for a cpl of hours! Cant wait to spend some money of which i dont have right now HA!

 

[new knee in June]

Louisa,
Wow, your going out shopping I haven't even attempted that yet....& why you may ask.....the stupid Percocet
Makes me off-balanced today is my day off....just icing, elevating & gentle stretching...
Seeing your friend & getting out & about will be good for your soul...enjoy it
I told my p.t I drink 3 bottles of water a day...she said that was not enough. Since you have also started p.t
It is all the more important to drink your water....can't wait to hear about your shopping trip.
Have a great day
Diana

 

[boydmom]

So glad to hear your good news. I had a huge stabilizing brace I had to wear at first because of my pain pump. I found that it helped with my pain while I slept. My pt said that if someone couldn't get their leg straight that they would have to sleep in the brace so that said to me that it was ok. When I mentioned that to her she said that was fine. It really did help.
I hope your shopping goes well. I have some sandals that I can wear all the time and I am so glad I do because I hate to wear closed shoes in the summer and the thought of tennis shoes was killing me. I hope the good news continues.

 

[Lmarshall]

Had a GREAT time shopping with my girlfriend and having lunch. Felt so wonderful to sit in the front seat of her car (first time in a car without lying in the backseat!). I feel totally energized, even though I do have alittle pain in my left leg (learning to live with it). Ahhh the simple things in life!! Shopping can be so therapeutic! Must add it to the modalities used in Rehab LOL!!

Went to this great orthopedic type shoe store called Eneslow and found a super comfortable pair of shoe/sneakers, with a supportive insole.

 

[Lmarshall]

On a total shopping spree today! Decided I needed a cane for walking around the house (and also for the future once I dont need the crutches outdoors). The crutches are so clumsy around my small house...doors, walls, furniture. Also, they always seem to fall over when I lean them somewhere. Sooooo I investigated alittle bit and decided on this one! Isn't it pretty??!! Never thought I would be excited over a cane

 

[Josephine]

AN Ultram?

- which Ultram is it?
- what is each tablet in mgs?
- is it with or without acetaminophen (Tylenol)?
- is it extended release?

I ask all this because I was prescribed Tramadol when I had my knee done which comes in 50mg capsules but I took 100mg each time along with 1,000mg acetaminophen. On occasion I even took 3 (150mg) (on doctor's advice) and needed it! I think that your taking only one at a time is useless and therefore little wonder you are still having pain.

Do remember not to believe all the hyper-adevertising about things like Advil and Aleve. They're grossly over blown and the truth is they are very poor pain killers. Okay for the odd mild headache or bruised ankle but inadequate in the extreme for something like this.

Plus you really need to remember that 3½ weeks is so very early in the recovery of one TKR never mind two! You are going to feel like rubbish for another several weeks and need pain meds for that long too. I was taking mine for a full 12 weeks - full doses - and needed them.

As for your headaches, I would definitely suggest that they were more likely due to a combination of constipation and dehydration. The two very often go together. We have a whole list of remedies for the former though it sounds like you're nearly over that little problem! Constipation and stool softeners.

Don't ever feel guilty about not doing exercises - even God took a day off! In fact I recommend that everyone should NOT do them every day regardless. 4-5 days a week is plenty. Rest is just as important as is elevating and icing (of course!) Sounds like you have a great PT though, which is excellent!

So end of this lecture is, don't keep beating yourself up about this process. You are neither a loser, a wimp nor anything else of like nature. In fact, you are a WINNER! You went into this surgery and have come out the other side. Now you just need to be kind to you and to your knees! Take it easy - Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are knees rehabbed in a a few short weeks!

 

[Josephine]

By the way, the three videos you posted earlier are now showing that they are private so no-one can view them. (Yes, I have just read this entire thread! )