TKR luvcats recovery box

Mine are named Pat Ella and Neil. Glad you are back with us on the other side.
 
All Hail Oxy! Bringer of sleep.
This knee is going differently from the first one. Either all the horrible cramping I was experiencing before just isn't happening, or it was a response to being under-medicated. I'm thinking under-medicated because that's what I start to feel if my meds are running late or I do too much.
On the downside, I'm having a lot more itching, which is my body's usual response to real opiates. Benedryl is my new favorite OTC. Because itching is much easier to deal with than agony.

It is a real shock to me how much I can do with my new knee. Less than 48 hours installed and they send you home and I did a flight of stairs with not much more difficulty than when I left on Wednesday. I'm certainly not pushing anything, but I'm actually sitting in a real chair, and it's been almost 15 minutes. I couldn't do that last time. Although I'm definitely going back to bed and ice when I finish this.

The other major difference is how nice it is that I actually have one good leg. Everything is just a little easier now that I have one that doesn't really hurt at all, and can do the things. I may accelerate my real-shower timetable.

Because I was just at the same hospital in the same ward as 2 months ago, a lot of people recognized me. That was pleasant. It's nice to be remembered when they much have seen 1000 different faces since I was there. Of course, my size is unusual, and everyone always remembers me. I already mentioned that the PT who approved me for discharge the last time was quite excited when I showed her my ROM on the new knee. She thought it looked great and I should keep doing whatever I did. Which, by the way, was a heck of a lot less PT than she gave me. lol

Back to bed I go.
 
Mickey and Minnie?
And you can introduce them to their namesakes and take a family picture!
 
694F3E63-26B5-4CD9-B08D-D9CDBCAF7B98.jpeg This is for your NurseCat.
(My husband bought these napkins to help my recovery)
 
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@luvcats Without going back and reading all your pages, I seem to remember you were talking about things to binge-watch as you recovered the first go round. Forgive me if it wasn't you, but it's hard to remember sometimes...:heehee: Anyway, my knee has been a bit of a pain lately, so I've been taking more time to rest it in between tasks, and needed to find something to easily binge-watch a little at a time. I don't know if you enjoy baking shows, but I've been watching the "Great British Bake-off" from series one on. I have watched it the last couple of years on the TV, but missed the early years, so now am enjoying those episodes. You can find it online free to watch on your TV if you have a smart TV, or on your laptop, if not. I love cooking shows, so to me it's a great break to sit and enjoy this one.
 
@lovetocookandsew I definitely am one for binge watching. Now that I am back to day 1 in recovery, I'm back to tv and naps. I absolutely ADORE the British Baking Show. Everyone is so nice and supportive of each other, even though it is a competition. I'm excited about their new season!

If you are looking for something pleasant and easy, I recommend Canadian Gas in Prime. Its about life in a small town in Saskatchewan. Its light and easy to follow. It's what I'm watching right now in fact.

For cooking shows did you see Alton Brown is doing another good Eats? I've seen ads for it but havent tracked down the details.
 
I've watched all the new Good Eats shows already-as a matter of fact I had it in my programming before it even started so I didn't miss it. I also have Corner Gas (I'm assuming that's what you meant) in my Prime watchlist, but haven't yet watched it. I have the first two new episodes of the GBBO ready to watch, but want to catch up on the seasons I haven't yet seen first.
 
Your recovery sounds like it's going great! Praise God!
 
So glad you are having a good recovery, Luvcats! You are giving me confidence for my left TKR in November! I can't wait to have two aligned, strong knees!

Have a great weekend!
 
@marieltha Those napkins are adorable!

I know they say every knee is different, but this isn't at all what I expected. Part of it is proper pain management. I can tell that is huge. I still hurt a lot lifting the leg in and out of bed, and the bending exercises I like to do are decidedly Not Fun, but everything just feels a lot easier this time. I suspect that my body hadn't really recovered from the initial trauma in July, and this has been accepted as additional trauma instead of a new one. In any case, I'm taking the blessing as the gift it is.
I'm still feeling much more mentally present than I was the first go. A blessing and a curse together. It's nice to not be completely stupid, but it will make resting and keeping my feet up much more of a challenge.

My new incision itches a lot. More than the original one I believe. And I've had a few 'zingers', so now I know about those. Wouldn't want to miss any major milestones from this adventure. My biggest problem isn't knee oriented, exactly. I'm having some sciatica pain radiating from my hip. I went to the chiro last week to try to avoid something like this, but who knows how something got tweaked while I was being man-handled into, out of, and during surgery. Managing that is more antiinflammatories, ice, gentle stretches, and ice, so I'm already doing what I can.

@mtmtoronto I hope your second will go as well. I can definitely say the second is easier because it was the stronger leg in the first place.
 
Good morning!

I am so glad to read that so far, knee #2 has been easier for you than Knee #1! Especially since I haven't had knee#2 done yet and have some fears.

Like you, I had some sciatic discomfort after my TKR, especially during the first week or so after surgery. And like you, I wondered if that was due to the man-handling you mentioned that has to surround surgery (especially for those of us who are, er, big gals so to speak). So I guess I am saying that I think you are 100% right about the reasons for the sciatica, and also saying that it will go away so don't worry. At least mine has pretty much gone away most of the time by now. Sounds like you are doing everything possible to help alleviate your sciatic pain, in the meantime.

I think that the itching is just due to the healing process. Hopefully you won't scratch the incision in your sleep since it is covered by a dressing.
 
Itching & zingers & saiticia...oh my!!
I had a lot of itching, the nurses at the hosp had me gently rub my skin with a dry washcloth & that helped a lot. But my itching was all over from the meds so I guess that doesn't help you much.
So I just stopped by to say hi & I hope you had a good night :sleeep:
 
What a blessing that this knee is doing better than your first one. I think you have a point there saying that this second one was the strong one going in.
 
Yesterday was not great. I am exceedingly grumpy, which I don't like. Sciatica is being more trouble than the incision site. And I can't sleep.
I really want to be sleeping. I keep drifting off when I try to type or read, but then I go lay down in bed and...nothing. I'm wide awake.
For some reason my body temperature is off. Despite taking multiple wipes-baths with really good wipes, I feel desperate for a shower. I think that will be the first thing on my agenda today. I'll need supervision for the first go, just in case
I have one spot where I can see some drainage through the dressing on my leg. It isn't huge or spreading rapidly, so the people at home health said I probably don't need to worry unless it does start to spread faster. But that's the same place where I have a very itchy spot and some of the zingers I've been having. They are making me a bit crazy.

It was much easier being dazed and stupid for the early days last time.
 
That is so annoying when you feel so sleepy and then go to bed and can't sleep.

My bruised areas are itchy now, but hurt if I scratch them.

I've been allowed to take showers from the start. It's funny how each doctor has different rules.
 
My doctor allows showers. I limited myself based on how stable I feel so there wont be trouble getting in and out of the tub. But if its going to keep me from sleeping, then I'm going in!
 
You must be so exhausted! I remember how much I needed lots of sleep and napping right after surgery. Healing from TKR surgery takes an unbelievably tremendous amount of energy. Maybe you could at least get some brief napping done when you drift off to sleep while typing or reading.

And yes, a shower could help. But good idea to get some supervision for it the first few times.

BTW we are allowed to be exceedingly grumpy for days after TKR surgery. (I am sure that I read that on the internet somewhere, so it *must* be true, right? :rotfl: just joking...) Anyway, loved ones may not like grumpy behavior but generally they seem to assume that it's just the pain talking. Just thought I'd let you know. :yes:
 
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