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Moving Forward On Two New (Conformis) Knees

PoetryChef said:
My father is concerned with the Lounge doctor as it allows the leg to bend. I believe I read a post by Josephine which stated it is not natural for us to keep our legs fully extended and that it may cause additional pain.
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There is a lot of old wives tales about this and I refute all of it.But I do agree that the leg should be allowed to bend a little.
SusieShoes said:
The "legs must be kept straight" thing is an obstacle we all encounter because the wisdom of nurses -- bent legs (like sitting in an airplane) for long periods impedes blood flow and makes them prone to developing blot clots
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@SusieShoes I've never heard this as being akin to long haul flights and DVT. What I've heard IRL and on this forum is that straight legs incur stiffness so that's why they are discouraged. But I refute this also. As PoetryChef said, "it is not natural for us to keep our legs fully extended because it may cause additional pain".
PoetryChef said:
They suggest Tylenol PM. If need for more than that they suggest I contact my primary. Are these expectations reasonable? Tylenol 325 taking 1 or 2 (was not informed of the frequency)
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I think you'll need opiates longer than "a few weeks". But it depends how many 'a few' is. If it's 8 weeks or more then fine. But if it's 4-6 weeks, not fine and you need to discuss it with your primary and maybe get some Tramadol prescribed for a few weeks more. As for the Tylenol, the effective dose is 1,000mg up to 4 times a day being every 6hrs.
 
@Josephine, the nurse was suggesting two to three weeks for the narcotics bridged at that point with Tylenol. I cannot imagine that after all I have read here.

Thank you for clarifying my questions.
 
Oh that's just plain ridiculous! No-one can tolerate a TKR on just Tylenol. Can't be done.
 
@Josephine, the nurse at the hospital told me I needed to keep my legs straight to prevent blood clots. She didn’t say anything about stiffness. Either way, I was sure I could safely bend my knees, so I did!
 
How long you stay on meds seems to be highly personal thing. I was on percoset which is oxy plus tylenol for two weeks full time. I spent the third week cutting back to percoset at night only and tylenol during the day and the 4th week slowly tapering off narcotics to just tylenol. That worked for me. You may be entirely different.
 
Pain and control of pain is highly individual. I was on OxyContin for the first three weeks. After that I weaned myself off because I was sick to my stomach all the time. I then used only Tylenol. I have high pain tolerance, though, and lived with such terrible arthritis pain for more than a year that post-op pain didn’t seem all that bad. :unsure: Bad, but not intolerable.

You can’t predict ahead of time how much pain you’ll feel or the strength of medication you’ll need. What’s important is that you and your OS plan to have control available for whatever pain you do end up having.

Oh, and ice is an underrated pain help! After I stopped the narcotics, ice was my best friend!
 
I keep turning my calendar to count down the days until the BIG day or in my case BIG days. In 25 of those days I will be on my way to South Carolina riding in the back seat of my mother's van-my dad driving. Suddenly I feel 13 again depending on my parents and thankful beyond words that they are still with me at 54. I know I am going to need strong knees to take care of them in the not too distant future.

Tonight a Target run for thin sweat pants and nearly a baker's dozen long-sleeved t-shirts to recover in.

Making my list, checking it many times. I am the first-born child.
 
Do you have a nice cushy throw or blanket to use when icing? Icing will make all of you cold at first. :ice:

Wide-legged pants are currently stylish and wonderful for those visits to the OS when you have to display your knees, yet also fashionable for any other appearances in public. Because of swelling, jeans (other than wide legged) might be difficult to pull off for a month or three. :umm:
 
I am so glad to read that you have family to help you out. That is so awesome. I took flannel pillow cases and used them for slip covers for the ice packs. Most Walmart's carry those small soft throws. I have a couple of them. It looks like you are getting ready and are ahead of the needs for the future. You will be a rock star.
 
@SusieShoes, thin as in not thick. I can't imagine by backend in skinny jeans. :yikes:

Yes, I think I might just go to Kohls and get a new snuggly blanket for the nest. And a new night gown and socks. At work tomorrow we are having an employee store where we can purchase lots of food items (and body care items) for nearly nothing. I will be first in the door to buy snack foods like Kind and protein bars to keep nearby for meds and movie time.

Just yesterday when visiting with my son he said "I hope you have a Netflix account." He is a certified personal trainer at a nearby gym and is also in graduate school for divinity studies. He of course admonishes me to do what PT suggests and more. I have decided to do what I need to do to get well and to take my own sweet time with PT. My son's name is Kole and he also likes snuggly blankets. Perhaps I should buy two. :snow plough:
 
Snuggly blankets make wonderful holiday gifts. The wrapped package is also large and looks impressive. :heehee:

You mentioning socks made me think of something... grip. At the hospital, you will be given a pair of grippy stretchy hospital socks. The grippy part of that is the important part. You MUST have good grip on your floors for a while. Because the grippy socks are not warm, and I tend to cold feet, I wore a pair of soft, warm (non-binding, because swollen legs are a given after surgery) alpaca socks UNDER the grippy socks. Warm feet assured. But those grippy socks sure were useful for walking to the bathroom across tile floors. So I took them home and continued to use them when in bed or recliner.

The couple of times I forgot to wear them (or any other grippy sock) and just wore regular socks... I found my feet slipping on the kitchen and bathroom floors. When I’d angle myself down onto the toilet... I could feel my feet slip a bit. When trying to get up... I could feel them wanting to slip. I had to be careful. You will not be nimble and well-balanced for several weeks, so use those grippy socks!
 
@Teri59, my parents have reserved a suite and a regular room at the Marriott which shares a parking lot with the hospital. I will be in the regular room Monday and Tuesday night. We decided rushing to make the trip for my Tuesday pre-op appointment was going to be no bueno. I'll have a joint class after my pre-op and will see the hospital for the first time. We will settle into our rooms, Cracker Barrel for dinner then spend the remainder of the night resting before arriving at the hospital @ 5am.

Since my mom is a nurse (previously cardiac care at Duke) and also a respiratory therapist, I think I will be in very good hands. Plus, going home to them is initially a very good idea as they will have both received good information on what to expect. I am so blessed. My favorite doctor of all time is a customer at my store and attends a monthly class that I teach. She has offered to come sit with me as well. Sweet beyond words but not necessary I'm sure.
 
What an awesome support group you have! That is spectacular. Sounds like you are getting things ready and in tip top shape.
 
An interesting day at my cooking station today. I made a double batch of butternut squash soup with pears and rosemary. What a double batch means is that I have plenty of time to talk with the regulars.

One such regular knows all about my upcoming surgeries. We started talking about "the list" of things to gather before the big day. I realize there are many things to think of still. Pull on skirts with an elastic waist, the upcoming difficulty associated with pants (the bending of painful knees), maneuvering socks and panties.

I need vacation days to pull this all off.
 
@Josephine, I have seen several mentionings of tissue stages in recovering from a TKR. Can you please direct me to this information?

Thank you.
 
We informally talk here about the "angry tissue stage" early in recovery--just our own term for the soreness after the trauma of the surgery.
 
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