Become an Insider

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

Status
Not open for further replies.
Lmarshall said:
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!
Click to expand...
Luisa, you know what they say about the '70s: if you can remember them, you weren't really there! :loll:
 
Lmarshall said:
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!
Click to expand...
Try www.alegriashoeshop.com, as well as their FB page. Their "Classic" range are a closed-toe open-back "mule" sandal with very roomy toe and forefoot and modified rocker profile (not a rounded sole that is thickest beneath the arch, but rather flat till the ball-of foot where the sole points a bit upward to encourage proper and comfy heel-toe gait). In retail shoe stores (especially the dedicated "walking" shops) they are well over $100 but online some of the different leathers and colors are deeply discounted. (Those of us with exactly "average" sized feet are most often out of luck when it comes to discounts).

Going into the city? I miss Manhattan, even though as a kid we rarely went there to shop--our shopping meccas were downtown B'klyn, Queens Blvd in Rego Park (espec. the late great Alexander's and Howard Johnson's--the city's largest and most "formal"), Manhasset (with lunch at Patricia Murphy's Candelight and its incredible gardens and aquarium) and more recently Roosevelt Field (we stay at a hotel very near that when we visit the NYC area). It'll be at least Nov. before we can get back (for our annual parental cemetery visits followed by North Fork wineries)--probably as part of the trip to NERFA in the Catskills.
 
Dear Louisa,
Your day sounds absolutely wonderful :) I can't believe a med change could make so much difference in how
Someone feels......now, don' forget to ice, elevate tonight so you can have many more "good" days.
You cane is very nice.....enjoy your Sunday
Take care,
Diana :kittykiss:
 
Thank you josephine! I will try to fix the videos to public ...wish i was more computer savvy. i am taking ONE 59 mg tramadol with no acetamenophen. headaches seem to have diappeared and very well could have been from constipation fue to previous meds. i will try taking 2 ultrams tonight with the acetomenaphen and see if my night is any better. i seem to be doing better for the past 2 days....at least in attitude. i do feel physical progress tho. ill work on the videos and let u know how it goes tonight after the increased meds. THANK YOU FOR THE ADVICE. Admittedly im tired of just dealing with the pain...but mostly it sux at nite...daytime i can distract myself easily. also the pain in mostly my left leg only. my right leg is light yrs ahead in the healing process.
 
Exact name of meds...tramadol hcl 50 mg

Diana, I think its the med change, the stomach back on track and just time. Ill take it tho, for as long as it lasts. I made my own water/alcohol packs today and waiting on them to ice, but im already elevated. I lovr the cryo cuffs but sometimes they are so confining. I cant move more than an inch or two when they are on.

Diva, I went to the store in Little Neck. Manhattan is close to me since I live close to the bridge, but its so congested with no pkg. Much easier to just park in the shopping ctr, close to the store and close to Paneras! :)

As always ladies...Thanks for all the support!!
 
I have changed the privacy setting on my videos and will try my best to list them again in order PLEAS SOMEONE LET ME KNOW IF THEY ALL WORK NOW! THANKS

1) 4 days post op

2) 7 days post op walking

3) 7 days post op stairs

4) 16 days post op walking outside
 
Lmarshall, the third video is still marked private and doesn't play, but the others are find. Thanks for sharing, this will make other bilats relax a bit when they see it can be done.
 
Thanks bottomshollow ...went back and made that one public as well. Took me long enough to figure it all out lol

One of the reasons I took the videos (even though I HATE pictures of myself) is because I had a hard time finding any videos on you tube pre surgery to help me see what recovery would be like. I plan on taking one more video of the crutches and steps in front of my house, then once I am walking with a cane. It will be really nice to see my progression a few months from now too!

I had another wonderful day (night not so much...still having terribly broken up sleep even after taking 2 tramadols and a Xanax only slept 2 hours before waking up, then again after an hour and so on and so on). I went out to breakfast with friends, then took a small shopping trip to drug store to pick up some nice massage cream with Shea butter for a more slippery feel during my husbands wonderful knee massages. Bought Mederma on an impulse buy, and also the low dose aspirin since Ive stopped the injectible blood thinner. My right leg is totally awesome! My left leg is still being stubborn, stiff and alittle painful. This is also the one who keeps my up at night. I am hoping it starts to catch up to my right one quickly because I am losing patience with her!! LOL It feels so wonderful to be able to get in and out of the front seat of the car pretty easily. Admittedly, I did have a seat in the store once I got a bit tired, just to take a break while my friends kept shopping.

3 GREAT days in a row...Im pretty happy about that!!!! Tomorrow is my outpatient P/T session and I do look forward to it!
 
[Bonesmart.org] Luisa's road to recovery June 10th, 2013
Lmarshall, you've got me grinning from ear to ear about your great day---and the two before, too!!!! Just make a note of them for when you have a bad day so you can remember that more good days are on the way.

Sleeping at night is going to be tough for another month or two. You just have to catch those catnaps during the day to make up for it and have things planned to do in the wee hours when you can't spend one more minute in bed.

We are doing so well---keep up the good work---keep us posted. We care.
 
bottomshollow Believe me Im grinning too! Currently lying in bed sprayed with my gift of relaxing aromatherapy, legs elevated and icing. I will come back and re read this section of the thread during my next blue moment!
 
Hey, sounds like you are doing so much better. I know that makes this whole process easier when you have good days. I know you will have more in a row even if the occasional bad day shows up. Love the cane. Sleep is still my big challenge, but I have gotten a few good nights of sleep and hopefully those will start stringing together. I start back to work a month from today. I teach school and August 7 is the first day of inservice. I am nervous about the sleeping and getting ready early in the morning, but that is a month away and a lot can change in a month. Hope you have another good day tomorrow.
Geunita
 
Geunita,

I start back in Sept. I also work at a school....special ed preschool. Im a occupational theray assistant. My work is pretty physical so I hope 2 months will be enough time. If not...I have AFLAC, so I wont go unless im totally up to it. I can hold off financially for another few weeks.

You know what I found out I can do today that I havent been able to do in over a year? Get up from my computer chair without holding on. I almost cried....huge accomplishment for me!
 
That is great! I still have to have something to push off of to get up. Will you have to get in the floor and do you have to sit in the small chairs? I told my friends that they would have to come to the house if I fell because I am not sure I could get up by myself at this point and I live alone. I am also worried about the chairs in my classroom. They were hard on my knees before and when I was at my worst almost impossible for me to get up from. They are not that small, but they are still not adult size. I just have to hope that a month will make a big difference. I have sick days I can take if I need to, but I really don't want to do that at the beginning of school since that is such an important time of year for establishing things for the rest of the year. I know it will all work out. It has so far. Have a good night.
 
Yes, and yes :( They do have slightly higher chairs for the adults in the classrooms, but they are still pretty low. And during therapy its better for me to get on the mats, but dont absolutely have to. I havent really done that much in the past year anyway, but the kids I was treating were higher functioning and could follow verbal or gestural cues with only some physical assist. I am planning on looking for a new job soon, so I really need to be at my best! They had massive salary cutbacks when a new owner took over our school (its a private school) and Salary cuts started in July (while I was gone). So I plan on going back for a few months until I find something better.
 
P/T today ... and it went well. I feel like I should be pushing more, because I am having trouble getting 0 extension on my left leg. I'm thinking it may be at -10 or -8 by now, but it still hurts to straighten completely. I am walking alot more and after alittle while I can straighten better. I saw someone on another thread mention some kind of brace to wear at night...is that something I should look into? I went on the recumbant bike today and managed 1/2 a mile in 10 minutes. I do love that thing! I really do like P/T, b ut the time goes so fast and I feel like I could do more, at least in the stretching dept. I think I need longer stretches and will mention it to the P/T Wednesday.

Last night I was in alot of pain in my left leg. I took 2 Ultrams and 1500 mg of tylenol, put the cryo cuffs on and hoped for the best. Sure enough, I slept for a straight 4 hours. I was so happy about that. Once I got up and went to toilet (seems to be every few hours even at night), I came back to bed and actually was able to lie on my stomach for 2 hours but i did have to put a thin pillow under my left shin to give me some flexion or it was painful. It just felt soooooo good to lie on my stomach for awhile.

Regarding my continued pain....I have made an appointment with my pain management Dr on Friday, instead of calling my surgeon back. I feel he has more experience since it is his specialty. My concern is this. The pain seems to be generalized to the left leg, and at times, I even have pain in my toenail, almost like I have an ingrown toenail, but i dont. Its like my nerves are extra sensitive or something. Also, the back of my leg hurts both in my thigh and in my calf. It is not in the knee or the joint so much as the entire leg. Also, I have pain inside my mouth when i eat. Weird I know. The roof of my mouth has some soreness and raised sore areas, almost like when you eat a too hot slice of pizza. I know I did alot 2 days in a row, and I am thankful I was able to get through the night with some decent sleep, but the continued pain in my left only concerns me alot. Is it NORMAL? I am 4 weeks post op today.

Sorry for the long post, I just seem to have alot to report/be concerned about!

Luisa
 
Louisa,
I had a huge stabilizing brace that I had to wear at first because of the nerve block. Even when I didn't have to wear it, I wore it at night because it helped with the pain. My pt told me that that was fine because people who couldn't get enough extension often had to wear one. Mine would not let me bend my knee at all.
Glad to hear the pain meds worked and you got to get several hours of good sleep and also slept on your stomach. Doesn't it feel good to know that good sleep is possible? Hope tonight is another good one.
Geunita
 
Today has been one of those bad days that I knew would come. I have been reminding myself all day what a great few days ive had and how I actually slept 4 hours last night. P/T was fine this morning, but I noticed my leg was a bit swollen down to my foot. I hadnt seen swelling inmy foot since I was in the hospital so it concerned me. Mind you swelling was not bad, just a bit noticeable. So...today I spent the day elevating, sleeping, icing and watching tv. Getting up only to use the bathroom. Swelling is better, pain is slightly better, but still concerning to me. My lack of full extension on the left is really concerning me too. Im at 4 weeks and see so many at 0 extension. I feel like ill never get there. I plan on resting more tomorrow, so I can feel better in time for my next PT session.

Wish me luck for semi decent sleep tonight....Luisa
 
Hi Luisa, I am glad you have found a little sleep. What a gift a good night's sleep is! I love my recumbent bike, too. I love to read and peddle, or I peddle and use some hand weights for my upper body muscles. Anything but watching more TV! Hey, I can't seem to get to 0 either. With my first knee, I was at 10 at the 3 weeks, but by week 5 I got to 0. I had surgery same day as you. I started last week at 9 and was at 3 by Friday. Hoping for better tomorrow. It will come for you, too. LET it happen, because you can't make it happen.

I start back at school in September as well (workshops the week before). I am hoping to be ready. boydmom August 7 is approaching quickly. Will you start 1/2 days?

We should both get to bed! Wishing you a good sleep.
 
Thanks@ready I just took meds and hubby is getting cuffs ready. Tomorrow is another day...hoping for a good one!
 
Luisa, you are doing so well! I was cheered to see that on the "bad" day that followed the good days, you let yourself rest and take care.

I did not have swelling in my lower leg/foot, but my sister did w/her replacement and it lasted quite awhile. The elevating should help. As for weird pains, I had a sharp pain down my left shin for about a month - I wondered if they broke a bone or something during surgery! But it went away.

As for the mouth tenderness, I'm not sure. Going to the pain dr. rather than the ortho is the best choice you can make.

I'm glad you got out and about a bit; that's therapy all by itself!
j
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Members online

Total: 1,026 (members: 1, guests: 1,025)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom