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TKR Muldoh’s one year old TKR!

Muldoh, can you please tell me what doses and regimen you are taking the Tylenol and ibuprofen? I have switched from Oxy to Tramadol hoping it would be better but still dealing with headaches. If I can use your regimen and have easier pain level, I'd like to try it. Thx.
 
@Dizzy Please discuss your medication schedule with your surgeon's office or your family doctor. You should not be using any other member's schedule as your needs are based on your own medical situation.
 
@Dizzy
Headaches have been a big problem for me as well. I’m wondering if it had something to do with the spinal, but I usually get one at least once a day, even after stopping the narcotics. Maybe it’s the pain and anxiety, along with uncomfortable resting positions. My doc helped me come up with the advil and Tylenol schedule, but only after stopping the Celebrex. Ask your surgeon as I understand some of them are not too amenable to ibuprofen. And I will say the breakthrough pain has been difficult without the narcotics, but the nausea was just too much for me. Good luck to you
 
Muldoh, I'm hoping that I have worked out my problem with my meds. Along with the Tylenol every 6 hours, I am only taking half a dose of the Tramadol 50mg every 4-5 hours instead of a full dose every 6. This is still helping with the knee pain and seems to be helping with the headaches. Hopefully, it stays that way:beg:
 
Saw my surgeon today for two week post op visit. He was pretty pleased with progress and the only issue seemed to be that my scar was still pretty scabby. He wondered if I was stretching too much to achieve flexion with the exercises they gave me to do at home, and told me to skip any more until it heals over. I’m thinking because I can stretch over 90 degrees at this point I may be pulling at the scar. Anyway, I’m wondering if anyone else had trouble with this and how long it took for your scab to fall off. Thank you
 
Hi @Muldoh - I don't think that still having scabs on your scar at a couple of weeks post-op is much to be concerned about. We've seen people who still have scabs at a month out.

The scabs will gradually just fall off, in their own sweet time. Until they're all gone, don't immerse you knee in water, so no bath or swimming just yet. A shower is OK, though.

Your surgeon's advice to cut back the stretching is wise - you don't need to do a lot of exercises and your flexion (bending) is already pretty good.
 
@Celle
Thank you for your reply! it Is wonderful to have this forum for advice, reassurance and recommendations
 
Just a question...2.5 weeks post-op and still feeling kind of feverish/yucky at times. No temperature, although I am on a Tylenol/Advil rotation for pain. Is it normal to still feel wiped out like this?
 
Oh yes, that’s normal. You could feel like that for a while yet, to some extent. This recovery is very slow.
 
@Jockette
Thank you for your reply. I guess my expectations are too high :( but it’s good for my mental health to know what I am feeling is normal and not worst fear...impending infection.
 
Please don’t worry about infection, it doesn’t happen very often.

I know it’s hard not to worry something is wrong, if this is our first replacement we just don’t know what to expect.

The first part of our Recovery Guidelines says this:

“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.”
 
I'll be 5 weeks post op on Monday and still have a few steri-strips left! They must use Gorilla glue!! I see the OS in 12 days. I hope they're gone by then.
 
Thanks for the reply @Dizzy. Hope your recovery is going well!
 
Hi everyone, I’m three weeks postop now and I do feel I’m progressing. Pain is definitely more manageable and I find I’m taking less Advil and Tylenol as the days go on. Swelling is better than it was, and when it gets bad, icing and elevation (recommended by all of you!) really helps. Bruising is almost gone, however scar scabbing is still hanging on. Unlike many others on the forum, my 0S does not push PT. He’s a firm believer that for most, getting back to the activities of daily life will be enough to make the knee heal on its own. However when I read the threads about everyone‘s recovery and their PT, I’m a little worried that I should be doing more. I’m able to easily get up and walk around, do car rides, do you stairs a few times a day and basically take care of myself. My extension seems to be OK, and I’m able to flex the knee without too much discomfort. My OS was pleased with progress at my 2 week visit. I did ask about returning to the exercise bike, but was told I should wait until my scar is better healed since it’s still with scabbing. Any thoughts on exercises I should be doing to maintain/increase leg strength? [Bonesmart.org] Muldoh’s one year old TKR!
 
Muldoh said:
my 0S does not push PT. He’s a firm believer that for most, getting back to the activities of daily life will be enough to make the knee heal on its own.
Click to expand...
You are so blessed to have an OS with this viewpoint! I sure wish mine was like that.

He’s happy with your progress is also a blessing. And you are feeling better! Don’t be in a hurry to try to do more than you are able, it can backfire and cause more pain and swelling, which will reduce your ROM and make you feel like you are going backwards.

Trust what your dr tells you, and keep doing just what you are doing. You are doing very well for 3 weeks. No need to add in anything extra at this point.
 
You are doing things just right. You can tell that by how your knee is reacting...good!
 
Hi BoneSmart friends! Thought I would check in as I’m at another milestone - 4 weeks. And I must admit, this is starting to get old. Although I’m moving around more and doing more around the house, I’m still so stiff and sore. The muscles in many parts of my leg just ache and my back is not much better. And sleeping is still a struggle...can’t get comfortable and wake many times throughout the night. I hate to sound like such a complainer this time, but I guess I just need some clarification that this is par for the course. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my OS doesn’t recommend PT, so I feel a little like I’m on my own. Also i notice that my balance is really off (Which I guess is normal) but are there any recommendations on things I can do to improve in this area? The last thing I want to do is fall. Thank you!

And I guess I should change my blog name if possible...maybe Muldoh’s TKR journey!
 
@Muldoh ... For me, the time from 4-8 weeks might have been the most challenging in my recovery. I was so weary of the aches and pains, so over feeling weak and tired, so ready to sleep well again, and just done with the limitations imposed by my slowly healing knee. I felt really discouraged and wondered if I’d made a huge mistake. The novelty of recovery (I know that’s not really the right word) had vanished and the reality had set in. Because of the quarantine, I couldn’t go to PT, so I also worried that I was falling behind, and that’s where this forum really helped me. I received so much reassurance that everything I was experiencing was part of a long recovery, just as it is for you. And, it does get so much better!
 
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