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TKR Muddy Paws makes it thru!

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Congratz on making it to the other side! I couldn't raise my leg at all the first time the OS asked me too, but after a few days, I was able to easily. It'll come. I also slept a lot! I am not a nap person, but the first couple of weeks, I napped 2-3 times a day. Now, I wish I could nap - still not sleeping straight through the night. Hope your PT is as good as mine. I love going to mine even though they work me really hard, it's never to pain only discomfort, and I can pull back at any time. I always come out feeling reenergized!
 
Hi Whimsey, thank you for taking the time to answer some of my questions on my recovery thread and giving some awesome advice. :) It sounds like you are well on your way! I'm jealous!

I am committed to taking my time and giving my new knee as much time as it needs to become a strong partner. I, of course, am anxious to be farther down the road than I am but fully understand that at only 5 days out I have a long way to go. I ,like everyone else I'm sure, find the down time the very hardest to handle especially when my pre TKR life was so hectic and crazy. So I have downloaded some good books and games onto my IPad that will occupy my time while I ice,rest ,elevate, heal and get stronger. I think tho I might be in for a bit of a hard time with my new in home PT person. We might have to come to an agreement because I'll not be pushed! :scare:


Brithael, I'm happy to here I'm not the only one who hasn't been able to raise my leg without massive amounts of pain. I have been using the cane to lift it up onto the bed but I really like the idea of using a dog leash. I certainly have enough of those around!
I'm sorry you aren't sleeping at night. I have never been a very good sleeper and understand your angst about being awake all night. Makes for a long, long night then your always tired during the day. It's especially irksome when your significant other is sound to sleep and snoring to boot! I hope you you and your new knee are getting along!
 
Josephine Am I taking to many pain meds? My doctor has me on 4 mgs of hydromorphone every 3 hours ,plus 5-10 mgs of oxycodone for break thru pain in between. Seems like a lot to me but is keeping me very, very pain free. Maybe i should try and cut it down a bit?Thank you
 
That sleep thing is so weird, isn't it?!?! I swear the day of my discharge I slept for 20 of the first 24 hours home!! That's unusual for me. Insomnia at its best!

I didn't have issues moving my leg after the first day. I'm pretty proud of it, but there are other concerns I have. I seem to have lost some of my flexion due to inflammation. It's annoying when you get used to one thing and then all of a sudden it changes. The area around my staples right on top of my knee also have swollen a bit and gotten slightly red. There hasn't been any oozing or discharge so I don't think it's infected. I just think I've done too much on it. :( I really have to learn to take it easy!

And OMGosh!! The itching!! It's horrible because of the numbness around this area so even if I scratch it doesn't help!
 
muddy paws said:
Josephine, Am I taking to many pain meds? My doctor has me on 4 mgs of hydromorphone every 3 hours ,plus 5-10 mgs of oxycodone for break thru pain in between. Seems like a lot to me but is keeping me very, very pain free. Maybe i should try and cut it down a bit?
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Be thankful for your pain-free state! You are not even one week out yet. Most people carry on with that level of medication for many weeks, probably even 6 or 10 weeks. Allow nature to govern this, meaning that as your pain diminishes, you will find yourself forgetting to take a dose here and there which is fine and the way it should be done. It will be a sign you can leave longer gaps between doses and take slightly smaller doses as well. But don't think about it now. Personally I was taking mine for 12 full weeks and needed them!
 
Woohoo, Jen you go girl! :dancy: It sounds like everything is progressing ... Lol you are 5 days out! Josephine will be here soon to give you the what for! :no-fin: Remember, ice, elevate and medicate! Oh and it will be my dream to say "I am sleeping all the time!" :sleep: Enjoy your day and give your horses a big hug!
 
Hi Jen
I am 4 weeks out from BTKR and can tell you each day and week brings new progress. I had the same narcolepsy for the first few weeks, guessing mostly due to meds and the need for healing. I have tried to ween back from meds but really find I feel the best at my original prescription - I can do more, less pain and swelling and overall feel better. At one week out do not worry about changing your meds.

The hospital had given me a leg lift tool that looks like a dog leash without the dog :) I only needed it the first two weeks, moved on to using my hand to lift my leg and slowly have been able to begin to lift my legs on their own. I need to remind myself to move slow and steady otherwise can cause a sharp pain somewhere if I move too quick or awkwardly.

ROM and flexion are not gold standards, only one measure of progress. There will be ups and downs. Honestly I have seen the greatest increases when I take it easy for 1-2 days after working harder. You will figure out what works best for you.

Good luck on your journey - I really liked your description of your new partnership with your knee. Me and my new knees are still working on it....

Stacie
 
Josephine, really? I am grateful for the pain relief but it just seems that having both dilaudid and Percoset seems like a lot ,especially when i read on here that people go home with tylenol and tramadol. oh well. Guess i should hug my OS. Thank you for answering my questions!

@janice, thank you! I hope you do get to sleep all thru the night very soon. It rarely happens but Nothing is better. Wish I could hug my many horses but unfortunately I can't get down the driveway to see them! Lol. Take care

Jen
 
@stacie Thank you for writing. I sorta wish they had given me a dog leash and it could have even been attached to a dog! I need another one anyway since 4 just doesn't seem like enough. :puppysmooze: It does hurt tons when I try and lift it from the floor to the bed without any help. Yikes! I now use the end of the cane to lift it. Hope that goes away pretty soon.

My original meds make me feel crappy. Pain free but yucky all over. Not sure if I like the pain better than the nasty feeling they give me. Let's not talk about the constipation! UGH! No amount of prunes, colace, miralax or greens is gonna explode that dam! :yikes: :beg:

Glad to here you are doing well on your journey. I know by next year we both will be very , very happy we did this. :)
 
Hi Jen
I have the same meds as you but my Percocet is my round the clock med (10 mg every 4 hours) and I use the dilaudid (2 mg) for the breakthru pain usually 1-2 times per day. Luckily these have been working well for me and do not make me queasy or sleepy. Before I was able to lift my legs into bed, I sat on the end and was able to scooch (spelling?) myself backwards with my arms & my bum gradually which helped keep the knees from bending deeply like lifting them in from the side. Makes a mess out of the sheets so ended up taking off the top sheet and the hubby and I each have separate blankets so I can move around better. One week post just take the meds, sleep, ice and do very gentle slides to keep ahead of the stiffness. You will be amazed how different you feel just one week from today.
Take care,
Stacie
 
muddy paws said:
No amount of prunes, colace, miralax or greens is gonna explode that dam! :yikes: :beg:
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This is what I am worried about! I have been taking lactulose twice a day for a week now, with little if not no effect, and Ihaven't even started on the opiods yet! Oh gooness what am I in for! I will be telling the nurses tomorrow morning believe me!!:eeeuw:
 
Hi muddy paws and ditzy dinah The best thing I found for the constipation was Milk of magnesia. I used it every few days for the first couple of weeks.
Now the leg lifting. my left leg refused to lift for at least a week (may have been longer) One morning as I was sitting at my desk I changed position and my left foot raised about 2 inches on it's own. From that point on it got better every day. I still needed help to get it in the bed for a week or so after that.
It will wake up.
Wanda
 
Hi Again I forgot to add I used the belt off a bathrobe to lift my leg when there was no one to assist me. Just make a loop, slide it over your foot and pull the leg up.
Wanda
 
I think that you will find the meds that work for you after some experimentation. I took 10 days of oxycodone 10 mg. and then Percoset 5 mg every four hours. I really was able to control my pain with that amount, but some people are different and need more meds. I was off the opiods by the end of week two---they make me feel all weird and sweaty!! I switched first to Hydrcodone and then to tramadol. Your doc will suggest some step down drugs when you see him next.
 
Jen, I am so pleased you are on the other side and I will address a few things the Physiotherapist aim should not be to cause you any pain and with a comment like if I haven't made you cry. Well as a Physiotherapy Assistant if I made someone cry I would feel I have done something WRONG. The motto is "slowly, slowly, gently, catchy monkey" it is understanding the patient firstly by listening to them and NEVER pushing above their pain level.

It really annoys me that they have this idea of no pain no gain thing because that is just not going to help anyone and it will end up causing more swelling and pain. Terrible circle to be on. So please tell them a huge an firm "NO" and you do what you can handle and if it hurts refuse to push past it.

Constipation- Pear juice is excellent it is natural and helps move things along. we use it aged care for residents who are taking many medications and the bowel is just building up.

Trish- has been doing wonderful totally a true champion in hospital. Just keep remembering ladies to follow the mantra on this site.

As for "Me" well I am still 2 weeks away from TKR now, and after having oldest son and his two children here last weekend then him all week and then the kids over the weekend GUESS WHAT? I am SICK I have caught their flu and feel like this is not a good sign for my surgery.

I have to make an appointment with my GP so we can try anything to get me through this quick as I am allergic to so many meds I cannot take cold/flu meds from the chemist. What am I going to do???

The son took the kids back to their Mother yesterday and he himself is sick. Coughing all over the house and I stood my ground and told him he is going to have to go away as I have to get over this as quick as I can or my OS will not operate.

I did get to sort a little in my room and completed the draws, Ya!!!!! Wardrobe next and my room is done and prepared. Will pack my hospital bag this week too so I am organised there, and have the second bag sorted for DH to bring in as required.
 
possum_here, I had the same issue with grandchildren just today. One of the boys came down sick while they were over here this afternoon. He started feeling feverish, etc. and I had to do the "do not touch me, do not breathe on me" thing. Like you, I just cannot afford to get sick and have to postpone surgery and go thru all this waiting again. Poor grandson understood (he's 9), but I think he felt sad he didn't get a hug and an "aw, you poor thing" from grandma.
 
@myway,
Thanks for the info. I have been taking MOM right along and finally started to add some pure raw fiber to my routine. Definitely helped. I like the idea of using the bathrobe belt to lift my leg up. I might start doing that instead of using the hook end of the cane. Silly leg. I hope that gets better soon and can lift itself into the bed :wink:

skigirl. I am hoping I can get off the Opiods as soon as you did. I am suppose to take 4 mgs of diluadin every three hours with 10mgs of oxycodone for break thru pain. I'm also suppose to be taking extra strength tylenol 3x a day , along with Celebrex 2x a day and gabapentin 1x a day. I do take the tylenol 2x a day, and the Celebrex 2x a day ,as well as the Gabapentin. For the pain meds I only take 1 diluadin every 5 hours and hardly ever use the oxycodone. If I take more than this, I feel really, really bad, foggy, and just plain nasty. :sick: I'm sure it's not enough pain meds but I just can't stand the way the pain meds makes be feel. Love your corgi by the way!

possum_here and Butterfly. That is the reason I told my Stepdaughter and grandkids they couldn't stay here, when they come from Italy,for the month.
I know the kids would arrive here sick and I would inevitably get it! Plus I'm just not sure I can handle that much energy here while I'm trying to heal since the kids are only 16 m and 4m. Although I miss them ,I'm not even sure how good it is to get a cold after the TKR but I really want to hug them!

Possum thank you for the info regarding PT. I have it in my mind that I'm not going to let the young PT woman, who doesn't have any joint issues, hurt me. I'm have never been a shy person about speaking my mind and of course, I have rehabbed my knees many times, so I will send her on her way if she even tries :) Hopefully she is on the same page and understands that if the knee is swollen, it's hard to get it to bend.
I'm impressed that you have everything organized and ready for your TKR. I was trying to organize everything right up to the minute I was walking out the door on surgery day! :doh: I hope your surgery goes really, really well and when you join us on this side, we can all heal together! Please keep the great advice coming. :yes!:

Thank you all for replying and for helping me during this time of need :thankyou:
 
Hi Jen, Found your thread and had a good read! Sounds like you're doing really well :) My little grandson is 21 months and if I'm honest it was really hard to be around him in the early days. He wanted to climb on Nanny like he was used to and his energy levels were just too much. I think you're right not having them stay with you. And yes, he always has a runny nose or a bug he has picked up from nursery and it is horrible being ill with a new TKR :yikes:

if it's any consolation my leg didn't lift until into the third week, so try not to worry. It will come back. And don't let that PT hurt you :no-fin:
 
HorseyLady. That's exactly what I'm thinking! Those little guys, as much as we love them, are germ factories! :cry: Not sure I want to catch anything with my TKR so close to being done. Would dearly love to give them a huge hug tho. :friends:

I'm so happy for you! You are actually driving and getting out to see/ touch/groom your horses. I'm incredibly envious of you! I really miss the everyday interaction and even the massive amount of daily work. I know that sounds extremely odd but they are a huge part of my life and to be perfectly honest, I'm totally bored. Ugh! This healing thing is tough work!

I am annoyed that I can't lift my leg yet but I am very happy with my ROM so far. I am hoping the leg lifting gets better. Kind of annoying if I can't throw my leg over the back of a horse :yes: Still working on the escape to the barn thing. Hard to do!!

Cheers

Jen


TKR. 8/26/2013
MCL/meniscus repair. 3/12:2013
 
So I had my very first in home PT today. All I can say is I had much better extension and flexion before PT than after!! I also took more drugs this afternoon than I had been taking all weekend! Ouch! It was a pretty easy PT session with nothing strenuous but my knee was not impressed. Still icing my knee and my thigh 8 hours later. :tantrum: Does this get better? The only good thing is I have 4* extension and am up to 105* flexion.

Thanks Jen

RTKR 8/26/2013
MCL/meniscus 3/12/2013
 
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