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TKR MSuki’s Fabulous Recovery Journey

Glad your trip went well. And a concert all in the same day! You get #1 Grandma award for sure! I was supposed to go to our Awana Christmas party last night (I am a leader) to see the kids perform but I was too tired after my own long day in the car.
 
Hi MSuki,
The need to deal with the brick is so unfortunate. Hopefully the project runs smoothly.
You certainly made it through a long day with the stops, starts and walks in between. Then the concert too!
Sweet grandkids and so thoughtful of the oldest to text you a thank you. He obviously loves his grandma.
Glad you're doing so well. :) I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!
@MSuki
 
So on the theme of if it’s not one thing it’s another, I developed a sore throat last night, woke up today with no voice, massive drainage, and an even more sore throat. Also was nauseated again all afternoon. I am running out of meds to blame that on. First I thought maybe it was the senna, so I stopped taking it, then I thought it might be the xarelto (blood thinner) but I had to finish the 30 days of that regardless, so now I’m wondering if it’s the tizanidine (muscle relaxant). All of these can cause nausea. Or could just be part of whatever I have. I am pretty miserable so here’s hoping I’m better tomorrow.
 
Oh no! Talk about not on your Bingo card!

If you develop a fever with that sore throat, you might want to see if your primary care practitioner think it merits checking for strep throat.

Yes, sinus drainage can cause nausea. Here's to good home remedies... rest, steam inhalations, hot beverages....
 
I am sorry to read this, MSuki.:sad:
I hope you slept comfortably last night and feel better today.
@MSuki
 
If you don't start to feel better soon, I'd certainly call my doctor, if I were you. You want to 'nip this in the bud'!
 
I think I am doing a little better today on the respiratory front. I can talk although I’m still hoarse. I am going through tons of tissues. I was too nauseated to do much during the day but I had some herbal teas I hadn’t tried in a variety pack and drank some orange ginger hot tea and then a peppermint. That seemed to settle me down some. I am getting frustrated with not getting things done and sitting around too much but it can’t be helped. On the bright side: I started driving this week, and I am no longer taking any pain meds in the middle of the night. Took a hydrocodone last night at 9:30 and this morning when I woke up I didn’t feel like I needed anything but a little ice. Until about 11 am when suddenly my knee demanded I take something….it was unhappy for a few hours but I took a pain pill and did several sessions of ice and elevation and it calmed down. Taking one before bed tonight.

I know a lot of people stop earlier than this, but I am going to be done with these sooner with this knee than the first. I think I’m about ready to enter the bedtime and whenever I overdo it stage which will be great. I am wondering if I should try taking just tylenol during the day. On knee 1 I took hydrocodone until I was ready to do without anything.

I have a follow up appointment on Tuesday but I am a little disappointed that so far my follow ups have been with the PA and not my surgeon. I love my surgeon and loved his old PA but not as crazy about this new one. My surgeon is always encouraging and thrilled at how well I’m doing. The new PA is always nice but gives me a subtle impression that she expects me to not do what I’m supposed to. At the first appt I came in with my ROM way ahead of goal. Her reaction was “well, that’s good, but if you don’t do your physical therapy regularly you may lose it later.”. Talk about glass half empty! It’s like she is scolding me proactively in case I need it later.

I went to the chiropractor and on the way there I was sitting at a red light when a teenage girl rolled into me from behind. Gave me a scare. We pulled over and I got all her information but could not see any damage. What a blessing! I am going to have my husband take a good thorough look at it and make absolutely sure there is nothing, and then I will text her tomorrow and tell her not to worry, she’s off the hook. He looked at it briefly yesterday but it was getting dark.
 
Please do be extra careful about going out and about with an active respiratory infection!
 
You are right, I was originally assuming it was sinus (I have an extensive history of allergies and sinus issues) but after I got worse Thursday pm it occurred to me it could be a virus instead. I have not had fever though.
 
MSuki said:
At the first appt I came in with my ROM way ahead of goal. Her reaction was “well, that’s good, but if you don’t do your physical therapy regularly you may lose it later.”
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Why did she have to ruin the compliment by adding that untruth to it? You are doing great and know what you are doing is working for you!
MSuki said:
I was too nauseated to do much during the day but I had some herbal teas I hadn’t tried in a variety pack and drank some orange ginger hot tea and then a peppermint.
Click to expand...
I have often used peppermint to soothe my moody tummy. I was surprised it worked so well. I was having a heel spur filed down and thought I was going to throw up. The nurse gave me a peppermint piece and it settled the nausea. Who knew such a simple thing could be so helpful?!
 
My voice is back and I’m not feeling sick tonight although I still have some drainage going on. But throat is not sore at all so I think I’m over the worst of that. I took a hydrocodone this morning but then went all day without taking anything else. Taking the regular stuff at bedtime. My ankle is hurting a little and my knee hurt now and then but icing it helped.

Yesterday morning I joined a new club similar to the ODIC but a little different: the WDIDIMS club. (What did I do in my sleep?) I guess the good news is that I can change positions in my sleep without immediate pain that wakes me up, the bad news is that I can stay in a non-ideal position for long enough to cause me trouble most of the following day. Luckily that issue was mostly gone this morning.
 
Oh!!! I can join that club without even having a knee replacement!!!! Ask my neck, my shoulder, my rib muscles... :rotfl:

Seriously, it's good to learn your upper respiratory woes are resolving.
 
Thank God your throat is better and you can comfortably talk! I understand your new club and have been a member many times. Still am, sometimes! You know...the side effects of getting older!
 
I had my six week follow-up today and it turns out the PA was called away for some emergency, and they rescheduled me with the surgeon. I was actually happy to make that change. As I mentioned before, my surgeon’s PA is nice, but I always get just a slight feeling that she is talking down to me or lecturing and it annoys me. Usually it is very subtle, to the point where it’s hard to tell if it’s her or just in my head. My surgeon, on the other hand, is very encouraging. When you have good progress to report, he always seems very pleased and happy for you. After meeting with him, I feel encouraged and optimistic. I feel like he is very invested in having his patients do well, and he tries to make sure that I have anything I need. I asked him to switch my muscle relaxer from tizanidine to flexeril (I only take 1 at bedtime) and I can already tell after about an hour that it works better. I have a re-eval at PT tomorrow for insurance so hopefully that will be an easy session, I think I did a bit “extra” at aquatic on Monday.
 
I wish more members of our medical teams would realize what we are going through, and especially how vulnerable we feel, and try to be more encouraging. What a difference that would make in our recoveries. But, most of them have never had the joint replacement they work with, so they really don’t know.
 
MSuki said:
My surgeon, on the other hand, is very encouraging. When you have good progress to report, he always seems very pleased and happy for you. After meeting with him, I feel encouraged and optimistic.
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That's great. It really helps. My surgeon is a great optimist and I always felt much better for seeing him.
I really related to your recent virus infection. I had a rough winter after my PKR last year. We had a baby grandson staying with us- so in addition to being a bit low post surgery he was like a mini culture medium! It felt like one thing after another..... But it does eventually improve.
 
MSuki said:
As I mentioned before, my surgeon’s PA is nice, but I always get just a slight feeling that she is talking down to me or lecturing and it annoys me. Usually it is very subtle, to the point where it’s hard to tell if it’s her or just in my head
Click to expand...
Having this awareness while visiting with the PA hopefully keeps you from feeling as though you're failing in some way. I'd take what the PA has to offer with a grain of salt and hold on to the reassurance form your surgeon that leaves you feeling encouraged and optimistic. Sounds like a blessing the PA was needed elsewhere, Yay! :wink:
Have a great rest of the week and Happy Holidays to you!
 
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