Revision TKR Mamie's Recovery Thread

Mamie

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Hello, Lefty. I received your message but cannot figure out how to set up my post op thread. But I did not want to ignore your kind comment. Be sure you have a potty chair. We thought we had one and don’t.

I won’t lie to you, this surgery is the one from hell but I believe it’s PT that expects so much. When sitting I can force my knee with tremendous pain but get to 90 degrees. I hope when they get you up, they support your foot and leg.

Thank you for being supportive and I suspect my next comment will find us at post-op. Mamie is my real nickname.
Mamie
 
Hello @Mamie - and welcome to recovery.

I've started this recovery thread for you.

Please continue to post about your recovery in this thread, which is yours now. Can you bookmark it, so you don't lose it.

If you need help doing things on BoneSmart, we have a whole section with helpful articles about how to do things. It's here:
How To Use This Forum

I won’t lie to you, this surgery is the one from hell but I believe it’s PT that expects so much. When sitting I can force my knee with tremendous pain but get to 90 degrees.
This surgery should not be one from hell. Things have changed a lot since your first knee replacement, back in 2005.

Please stop forcing your knee to bend. That is quite unnecessary and very bad for it. It's not necessary to do any exercises that are painful. A gentler, kinder way of recovering will produce much better results, and far less pain.

Whatever your PT therapists tell you, there's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

In any case, it's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your knee has the potential to achieve good ROM right from the start, but it's prevented from doing so by swelling and pain. As it heals and the swelling goes down, your ROM (both flexion and extension) will gradually increase.

I believe it’s PT that expects so much.
Let me set you straight about PT. It's your knee and you are in charge of what happens to it. You are the only one with the right to say what happens to it. You are the boss. You don't have to please your PTs. They have to please you.

You have the absolute right to say you won't do painful exercises or allow them to push on your knee, so stop torturing yourself with painful exercises.
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?

Follow our recommendations in the recovery guidelines I'll give you in my next post and you will have a much more comfortable, and still successful, recovery.
 
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. Try to follow this

6. Access to these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
When sitting I can force my knee with tremendous pain but get to 90 degrees.
This is not good for your brand new knee, the only thing it will accomplish is unnecessary additional pain.

Your knee has been extremely traumatized by this surgery. It needs gentle treatment so it can heal, not punishing forcing that causes tremendous pain. If you continue to do this you could end up with pain and swelling that can be hard to get under control.

Common sense says you don't push inflamed and painful tissues when they are in that state. You do whatever you can (rest, ice, elevation, pain meds) to get the inflammation and pain under control.
 
Hi, @Mamie.....so glad to see that you are through surgery and starting on recovery. Did everything go okay in the hospital and with your surgery? I'm assuming you are back home now. Were you able to sign up for Home Health?

Please listen to the advice you've received above. You know in your heart that you shouldn't make your knee hurt by pushing too hard during therapy. Your knee has been through so much and the most important thing it needs right now is to heal. Read those recovery articles and try to follow all the guidance. You will have a much more comfortable recovery that way.

Please know we're here if you have any questions or concerns.
 
Creating pain like you are doing is causing more harm than good. It increases inflammation and swelling. That causes a setback in your recovery timeline. Your knee will have to heal from the additional damage you do to it by forcing it to do things it's not ready to do. Just relax and do your normal daily activities. That is enough to rehab your knee.
 
Hi Mamie
Hope you have a great recovery! I had no PT, never pushed my knees to the point of pain & have done incredibly well . I think the big key for me was following bone smart recommendations - icing elevating & not pushing to pain.
 
Thank you for asking. Yesterday I cried all day from being overwhelmed with pain! Swollen leg and foot, and for my husband having to do so much. I’ve been reading everything I could find and not making huge progress but some. I was just in a rut stuck. I could not lift my leg, go potty on my now, and my pain raged out of control. My blood pressure spiked too high and dropped in danger zones. I wanted to reach out but was too negative. The doctor made us take a three-hour trip to rebandage my leg because they forgot to call home health. So we all exhausted.

Tomorrow my PT begins but I told them they will not be rough with me or I will show them the door! No more. I can barely deal with what I have let alone someone who’s gonna hurt me. This is a very kind group and I thank you. I don’t want to use it as a place to whine or feel sorry for myself but at times I do when the pain gets over me. Thank you for everything this group has done for me and I will come back and let you know how things are going when’s I have something really positive to report. I will look in to see if someone needs encouragement. I will do my best but I can’t lie to everyone and tell them it’s a walk in the park because it’s not. I see it as being vastly different from the total knee and it is far more painful than you would ever have expected. God Bless this group and its members. I haven’t seen Revision Lefty for a while and don’t know how they’re doing. I hope someone is encouraging them. Mamie
 
Sorry. Not yesterday. I wrote that two days ago. I was being told that if I do not push I would be sent to PT elsewhere that would. I drew a line in the sand which did not make me popular but have told everyone no more. I have finally stopped pushing. My leg and foot are up on soft pillows and they will stay that way. Please forgive me for complaining when it was me feeling pressured.
 
@Mamie Vent if you need to!!! This recovery is not easy, but it is worth it!! I have NO idea where some of these "Physical Terrorists" get the idea inflicting pain is a beneficial. I am just a kid 61 and about all I did the first week was Rest, Elevate, and Ice. I slept mare int that week than I ever have in a week span. I gave my body time to heal. You need that!
Rick
 
While we love positive stories, one of the missions for BoneSmart is to help people who are having problems and pain. So never, ever feel that you cannot come here and tell us what is really going on. We've all been where you are in some fashion and we'll completely understand. And, of course, we'll try hard to help you with options you can try to make things better.

Let's start with your pain levels. High pain is not part of normal recovery. Pain can be managed. If you're icing and elevating your knee that's good. You should be taking some type of pain medication on a regular basis. If you'll tell me what you're taking and when, I may be able to make some suggestions for you. I'll need the name of the medication, strength, and what you take with each dose during a 24 hour period.
 
Please forgive me for complaining when it was me feeling pressured.
We don’t take it as complaining, we totally understand how you are feeling because we have been right where you are now.

I cried a lot, especially very early in the recovery, my brain just didn’t know what hit me! I was so unprepared for this recovery.

Please try to be kind to yourself. When you are feeling down or upset, come here and talk to us. :console2:
 
Thank you all for your kind words. I’ve really never experienced hard depression and did not know what hit me. I read the article from BoneSmart and it helped to know I was not a freak or alone but still felt guilty for these feelings. Yes, I did say things like, I wish I had never had the surgery or that someone whose more deserving who won’t complain should have had it. I’m still in a fog. Between my blood pressure, blood sugar, and pain I find myself spinning. Except having to go for a dressing change, I have retreated to bed where I sleep more than ever, leg up with ice and compression wraps plugins. I do some exercises as in the BoneSmart and feeling less pressure. What I can’t understand is why my foot cannot get into any shoe. Not even Birkenstock’s. Or shorts to go out in so I bought Long lingerie, tunic tops, and summer shifts.
Does anyone else have this problem?

One last thing.
My legs original out of surgery ace was removed to find the cause of extreme pain in my foot. They then put my leg directly in a brace. It is on when up and off in bed.

Pain meds
Dilaudid 2mg x 6 daily
Tramadol 50 mg x 4 daily
Tylenol 3,000 mg daily
Baby aspirin 81mg to avoid

I am to take either Tylenol and tramadol or Dilaudid and Tylenol depending on pain levels. I’d better quit as I fall asleep and delete so much.
Again, I have not seen Revised Lefty. Has she had her surgery?

Thank you, Rick and everyone for allowing me to vent and feel better. I worry I may bring harm or stress to those yet to have their surgery with negative feelings. Please anyone reading this, if your surgery is yet to come, know that everyone’s pain is different. Mine is Iow tolerances to pain. My gastroparesis causes me not to absorb many foods and meds.
 
Sorry. I dozed off and the screen frozen so I could not finish my sentence. All I wanted to say is everyone has different circumstances and yours is likely different too. I had an excellent surgeon who appears to be kind and caring, I researched hard for the surgeon. You must trust your surgeon and care team. Good luck.
 
@Mamie I, too, am at wits end with my pain! I will be 6 weeks post op on Tuesday and have had a terrible time adjusting to pain meds. The narcotics are giving me side effects( headaches, ringing in the ears) and the Tylenol and ibuprofen just isn't cutting it!! Yesterday, my knee felt like it was on fire! Icing, elevating, resting...nothing is working! By the end of the day, I gave in and took a Tramadol and decided to deal with the side effects as it was the lesser of two evils!! Last day of in-house PT today. Not sure how that's gonna go!

This is what I love about this forum! You can complain, whine, vent, have your own pity party, and everyone understands and are sympathetic. Never be afraid to vent here!
 
Physical terrorist arrive here shortly. I will listen but if more than what I do now or read here, I plan to refuse.

Did anyone deal with extremely high blood pressure due to pain?

They have arrived. See you later
Thank you
 
@Mamie .... glad to hear you're taking things easy. You likely have some excess fluid in your body from the surgery that is causing you not to be able to wear shoes right now. That's common as they pump a lot of fluids into you during the surgery. Your body will eventually expel the extra fluid, but it's a good idea to drink as much water as you can to help that process along.

The member you're looking for is Revision lefty and not Revised Lefty. Her surgery was just yesterday, so it's likely that she is not home and up to posting just yet. She hasn't been on the forum since Sunday.

You mentioned you had pain in your foot and now you're in a brace when you are up. What was causing that foot pain and what did they tell you about the need for a brace? You didn't mention that before and it's an important part of your recovery information. Your pain medications sound adequate, providing you are taking them on a set schedule and not just when you feel pain. You'll need to do that for a while until things settle.

Pain definitely can elevate your blood pressure. It should resolve once you get pain under control. Is this something you're experiencing now?
 
Hi Jamie. I know she is Revision Lefty. It was a typo. She was kind and I wanted to support her more. I was in such a fog I lost track of her date,

When I woke in recovery, I was in uncontrollable pain. I had the sensation that someone was using an axe to chop off my foot. They immediately tore off the bandage to look at my foot. It had swollen so large but they had no clue why. Rather than rewrap it in the ace bandage, they put it in a brace and it will stay until they say otherwise.

My screen keeps locking up on me and won’t let me finish my words.
Anyway, the brace is for stability and I wear it most of the day except when resting. I cannot get up without it, nor bear weight without it.
I wrote about this in one of my other messages. But sometimes when I nod off things get deleted. Sorry.
Yesterday, I was told by the surgeon that he wants me to not set my clock to take the pain meds and to taper off. By next week he felt it was a good time not to be with pain meds. I don’t think I can manage the therapists without help.

My gastroparesis has left me without an appetite.

The therapist came today and did not push me. I told her that was not acceptable. Because my leg is so hot and swollen she would push until next week. But I told her pushing me beyond my ability would not be good. She said if not my leg would freeze up, develop more scar tissue and not work or walk properly. When I went into surgery I had only 60 degrees ROM. I don’t yet have that now. I am frightened I may be worse than before. Any advice? What do I do about no pain meds after next week? I see him again on Tuesday but see the PA. She is dead set against any pain meds.

I hope I have completely included every detail.

Thank you for helping me.
Off for a brief nap.
Mamie
 
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But I told her pushing me beyond my ability would not be good. She said if not my leg would freeze up, develop more scare tissue and not work or walk properly.
This is not true and many of our members have proved it by not pushing, not even going to formal PT, but gently rehabbing their own knee at home.

Yesterday, I was told by the surgeon that he wants me to not set my clock to take the pain meds and to tapper off. By next week he felt it was a good time not to be with pain meds.
What do I do about no pain meds after next week? I see him again on Tuesday but see the PA. She is dead set against any pain meds.
You can try asking your GP to help you.

Actually, I was only on prescription pain relievers for 11 days. I didn’t really think they were helping very much, and I didn’t like the side effects-I thought they were the cause of my blurry vision that I’d had since the surgery, so in a melt down on the evening of post op day 11 I decided to stop them. (I did it cold turkey and I’m lucky I didn’t have any withdrawal!)

My surgeon recommended alternating extra strength Tylenol and ibuprofen, which I did, and I managed ok.
 

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