Become an Insider

TKR Midwest Girl - Round 2 Recovery

Well this past week at work was a rough one for my knee and wrist. And I didn't work Tuesday (due to a funeral out of town) and I only worked till 2:00 on Thursday due to a doctor appointment. My lab work entails a lot of standing or sitting on a high stool with my legs dangling or bent back. The way the schedule works I only get a 20 min lunch break each day. I go home at night exhausted and usually in bed by 8:00. By Friday night my knee was swollen and sore and my wrist was so painful. Today I was thinking that I actually regret having the wrist surgery because It feels just as bad as it did before surgery. With whst I'm doing at work I don't see how it will get any rest to heal. This is week one and I will have several weeks of doing this just to finish this project and then I'll start again with another project. I'm hoping my knee will just adapt.

When I was at my dr appt on Thursday I told him that I've been exhausted and when I do sleep it's restless and I wake up tired. I've gained weight since the last visit in November (I'm at my all time high - that was depressing enough). He tested my thyroid, vitamin D and C-reactive protein. All normal but the last one which was mildly high, showing there's inflammation in my body. His answer was diet & exercise. I'm sure that's probably the answer, because I'm miserable with my weight and appearance. It's been a blue few days. I'm just venting. I'm praying that eventually my knee (which was doing so good) and wrist will adapt and calm down.
 
I am so sorry you are having problems with your wrist. I had my knee done a day before you, and I cannot let my knee dangle or bend back on a tall stool. You would think by this time, we would be doing better as far as that goes. Are you able to put something in front of you to rest your foot on instead of having to bend it back to rest on the stool's supports? I am sure you have thought of that, I am just sorry because I know how uncomfortable it is.

There are days I have to take diphenhydramine at night to get some rest. It seems the sleepless nights pile up until the exhaustion is more than I can bear. When we don't get enough sleep, it seems harder to lose weight and when our knees hurt, exercising becomes almost impossible. You have been so supportive on my thread, so any time you want to vent, you have earned it. You are in my prayers for a less painful week and some much needed rest!
 
Hi Midwestgirl, Not being able to get a good night's sleep is the worst ! Hope this gets better for you soon. I know for myself , everything just hurts more when I'm tired. Between the knee and your wrist it's probably difficult to get into a comfortable position for any length of time. I broke my right wrist s few years ago, then developed carpal tunnel syndrome in it requiring surgery six months later. It took at least a year before I could say it felt close to normal. It was my right hand so I had to learn to write with my left, looked like a 5 year olds writing ! Now it's fine but it still cracks & creeks now & then. Need to do those exercises eery morning too , so it stays loose. Some mornings I feel like an old car that needs to be warmed up - ha,ha ! Hope you have a good day and that your aches and pains go away !
 
I don't know what a knee pillow is but I do use a body pillow. When I lay on my right side I put my left tka knee on the pillow and that is comfortable. My knees have finally adapted somewhat to my work load. I still will have some days with swelling (knee to toes) but at least the aching is gone. And my wrist is finally healing to the point where I'm having one or two good days between a bad one. My newest development is my back. I've developed a knot in my left shoulder area and super tight muscle on the top of my shoulder. Dry needling and using the graston has helped some but I'm still in pain by the end of the day. After supper I take a muscle relaxer and am in bed by 8:00. Chronic pain SUCKS!!
 
Good morning. I am sorry your wrist is still bothering you. It truly took a full year for mine to stop hurting. And now your back! I do hope you can find some relief for that! Have you ever tried a TENS unit? My OS prescribed one for me and I am surprised how it is helping me. My husband has been having a backache for over a week and we used it on his back and it did help his pain. Just a thought. I am a day ahead of you on the knee. I am still swelling also. I wonder how long this lasts? I have finally gotten to the point I don't have to use a pillow under my knee. I do hope you can find some relief! You are in my prayers.
 
Yes I have a TENS unit but haven't used it on this particular back problem yet. And it would only be a temporary fix. I need to have the knot completely worked out to give me pain relief. I'm thinking one or two more treatments using the graston may have it worked out. My knee is doing great! For being 4 months out I have many days where I don't think of it at all. So unlike my first tka. I will get the occasional swelling if I've done too much. I don't take any kind of meds for my knee at all - just because it doesn't hurt. The meds now are for my back. The wrist will get there. The OT and I think the reason it's taking so long to heal is the nature of my job. My thumb/wrist just doesn't get a break and a chance to heal. I can't stop what I'm doing or wear a brace to give the thumb a rest. I wear exam latex (actually nitrile) gloves and those don't go over braces. And I can't do my job without use of my left hand. It will get there eventually. I see my OS Wednesday for my wrist and we'll see what he says. I'm also going to have him look at my knee scar. I know that the ladies on here say that nature will take care of the scar but one portion (the portion that was under bandages for 2 months) of the scar is very thick and not pliable or moveable at all. It feels like it's adhering to tissue around it. It's definitely not like the rest of the scar. So I want him to look at it.
 
I have massaged my scar from the first day it was closed good. I tend to make really good scar tissue at all my surgical sites, so I didn't want that happening on my knee. I am really pleased and hopeful that when I CAN kneel on it (OS says at least 12 months healing) I won't have a ridge of scar there. Good luck on the back!
 
Yes my right knee scar turned out great. But that section under the bandage wasn't touched or massaged for 2 months and then for another month after the bandages came off as the skin/scar tissue was very tender. We'll see what the surgeon says.

And I'm having a battle with billing from the wound center. Because they are owned by the hospital (and the hospital owns several centers & clinics) my insurance is covering it as a outpatient hospital visit. That is costing me $100 a visit X 11 visits all for a 10 min visit to change the bandaid and apply new ointment. A clinic copay is $30. I've called and talked to hospital billing and they are telling me it is not a clinic. But they can't explain to me how a co-worker with the exact same insurance coverage as me who also used the wound center was billed as if it was a clinic visit with a $30 copay. So I don't know what to do. But it's an $1100 bill that I wasn't expecting for a "repair" I wasn't expecting all because the surgeons assistant did a poor job of putting staples in to close my incision. I know people make mistakes but this mistake ends up costing me.
 
I had problems with billing like that before also. My PCP had me see a specialist and she ordered some blood tests even though she highly doubted it would sho anything. I found out later that because her office was in a hospital building I wasn't covered even though my PCP worked for the same hospital group in a medical arts building several miles away. It just seems like you get hit with these bills when you least expect them. Have you tried calling the hospital and asking them for financial help? Sometimes you can get a discount or you can set up a payment plan you can afford.
 
I think I would get the coding department to refile it under the correct code. That is all the insurance department has to go on. Geez...sometimes it never ends!
 
Yeah I'm going to call and asked who determined the codes - the wound center or the hospital billing dept. and then I'll call my insurance company and talk to them. What I really need is my co-workers statement that shows how she was billed as if the wound center was a clinic. But I don't want them to say she was billed incorrectly and have her claims re-filed.

Our hospital does have a payment plan but I don't like debt so I will pay it in full (less the 5% discount the hospital gives if you pay in full - aren't they generous). I'll just have to go without of a couple of things I was needing to purchase this year like a new computer and glasses.

I will be paying more on this bill than I did for my entire hospital bill & surgery. It just makes me upset and depressed.
 
Wow! It's been a month since I've been on here! I passed the 5 month mark last week and I think my knee is doing really well. I did have a few days this week that by the end of the day my knee was sore and swollen. Not the joint itself sore but all the soft tissue. I attribute it to the multiple times of getting on and off the high stool/chair at work.

Tonight was my first lawn mowing of the season. After changing the oil and air filter and putting the sharpened blades back on it was time to mow. The grass was so long that i had to mow the front yard twice. My knees felt great! Although the left knee is a little swollen. My lower back and left wrist (that is 4 months post-op) didn't fair as well. But it was a beautiful evening. I could smell my lilacs as I was mowing and I got to 12,536 steps for the day. So that made it worth it!
 
Last week I had two milestones. May 10th was the 6 month anniversary of my LTKA and May 13th was the 2 year anniversary of my RTKA. I'm happy to say all is going well. My biggest challenge is still going down stairs. Both knees have issues with it but the right does much better than the left. The only thing I'm noticing with the right is I believe so scar tissue has grown enough to where it's catching. In January 2015 I had surgery to remove a wad of scar tissue that had formed behind my patella and it was really catching on the implant (patellar clunk syndrome). So I'm starting to notice a little bit of a catch when I go to stand up from a seated position. It's not enough to do anything about it though.

My left knee is also doing well. Outside of stairs the only thing I notice is some pain now and then in the area where the nerve was cut - nerve regenerating pain. And I'll get pain behind my knee which I'm sure is probably tight hamstrings. I'll work on loosing that up over the next few weeks and see if that solves it. I go back to my OS the end of June for a follow up on my wrist (which hasn't had the results I was hoping for) and if I'm still having pain behind the knee I'll ask him about it.

Two weeks ago I was at my nieces college graduation in Spearfish SD which is in the heart of the Black Hills. I can't tell you what a thrill it was to walk up stairs to our seats in the gym, walk some trails to see the waterfalls in The Hills, and to wear shoes with a heal - all without that bone in bone pain. Having both of my knees replaced has been one of the best decisions I've made. Although it was a rough recovery on the right knee & so much easier on the left knee, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. It just gives you a whole new lease on life!!
 
Good report. I'm glad things are going well for you. Hopefully you can get some of your issues sorted out with some stretches and more time.
 
This sounds wonderful! I am so happy for you. It is amazing to not have that bone on bone pain. I am sorry about your wrist. I will say it took the FULL 12 months for mine to stop hurting. Every now and again I will get a pain where the break was, but I can usually massage it out. Thanks for mentioning the nerve pain! That explains what I am getting!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Corganics CBD
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 755 (members: 0, guests: 755)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom