TKR My Journey as of 12/16/13 - Over 1 Year and Still Trying

[Ziggysmom]

Good morning, Ellen! (or is it?)

I hate to say it, but I had the opposite kind of night last night...I slept right through...but, I wonder if that is going to be the norm from here on out, or was it just a blip...we shall see...

Back before the tkr, I would go through periods of sleeping all night, then all of a sudden I would have a period of sleeping 3 hours, then waking up and not being able to go back to sleep until it was almost dawn...then I would get up feeling like I was drugged. That would go on for several ugly days...so do you think it's the knee keeping you awake or just middle age crazy?

I hope you had a great day yesterday, and today will be even better....knee-wise, yesterday was great for me...good enough for me to post about it on my thread. I didn't want to brag, but I'm hoping it is encouraging for those who are in that "why did I do this?" stage...

Today is a day of rest for me, except I need to get some laundry done and continue on my quest to get my house in order. Then I have to make a meal I can eat on the couch during tonight's Puppy Bowl! I hope you have a wonderful, pain-free day!

 

[DogLoverx3]

Recipe for Sleep:
1) get out of bed after only 2 hours sleep, wash face, brush teeth
2) transition 'the island' (my bed) from laying down to sitting, which involves switching out all the pillows, firing up the heating pad, making sure everything is just so
3) invite the craziest of the 3 dogs up on the bed with me only find out he's in desperate need of a bath
4) find a movie on hbogo on computer to watch
5) take pain pill on schedule
6) adjust pillows again so back doesn't hurt
7) whine on Bonesmart about not being able to sleep
8) decide you're tired so undo all the pillows, turn off the computer and fall asleep for 2 more hours
(this all took place in the span of about 15 minutes)

 

[DogLoverx3]

PUPPY BOWL! I just watch the game 'backwards' myself. Pay attention during the commercials and ignore the actual football since I'm not a fan of either team.

@Ziggysmom Hopefully I'll be posting all about my wonderfully full and active and pain free day soon. Just not yet. ;-) I'm so happy for you. Sounds like you've really turned a corner. I turned a small one, but yours was big!

My knee has been bothering me at night again and I'm not able to get comfortable lately. Again. I usually sleep on my surgical knee side, but that's not working. I flip over and try to sleep on my non surgical side but that doesn't work either. I then try to sleep on my back, but while that would be okay for my knee, my back certainly has something else to say about that!

I'm still not able to get past 4 hours without some sort of pain med. I'm not a clock watcher and hope that my knee won't remind me until 6-7 hours, but like clockwork, within about 15 minutes either direction, 4 hours is my limit. Darn. Oh well, there's still time.

I thought about moving back upstairs in the next couple of weeks, but my knee is so stiff and weak feeling in the mornings that I don't think it would be a good idea to have to do stairs 1st thing and my dogs will only put up with me puttering around upstairs without feeding them for so long ;-)

I've got a fairly boring day ahead but at least it's sunny out, so I will sit out back with the dogs and enjoy the sunshine for a bit. I did go grab something to eat last night with a friend at a nearby bar and had an entire half a whimpy beer. Only lasted about an hour before my knee started complaining but at least I got out..... I hope you're having a great day!

 

[Chihuahuan]

My sleep is off and I'm not even on pain meds. I checked the Celebrex for side effects and sleep problems are listed. I've added in one Benadryl clear gel at night and that keeps me asleep.
@Bentley's Slave My knee feels better today also -- back on Tylenol around the clock and that helps. My knee looks like a sandwich when I ice --blue ice packs, thin pink muslin baby blankie , and knee in the middle.

 

[Bentley's Slave]

Wishing you all a wonderful night's sleep zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[DogLoverx3]

Let's hope we ALL get a good night's sleep tonight! @Bentley's Slave & @Chihuahuan ! Tomorrow is Monday, after all, and we can use all the help we can get in having a good start to the week!

I went for a walk down the block and back (sorry doggies, you had to stay home) and have just done some cooking and a little cleaning while watching bad movies on my computer. Aside from that, not much else. I'm getting SO bored!

My twin also opted to send me a lovely (read: sh*tty) e-mail today in an attempt to make me feel guilty. About what, I have NO idea, but it just served to make her seem even more selfish and self involved than I already thought she was. She's the one who deserted me after surgery (and after all I've done to help her throughout our lives) and let me know what a crappy human being she thinks I am. Don't really need that sort of family support right now, so I didn't bother responding. I'm guessing I'll get a follow up nasty-gram in the next few days. *sigh*

I think I'll go back to trying Tylenol PM before bedtime (not that I even know when that is anymore! 10pm? 3am?) ;-) and see if that helps. The past few days as I was trying to back off on the 'hard' stuff, I was taking Tylenol but by the time bedtime rolled around, I had already reached my dosage limit for the day. Whoopsie. Bad planning on my part.

Ooooh, is Bentley back home?? How's he/you doing? Is he being a good boy?

Hope everyone has a great night!

 

[Ziggysmom]

Recipe for Sleep:
1) get out of bed after only 2 hours sleep, wash face, brush teeth
2) transition 'the island' (my bed) from laying down to sitting, which involves switching out all the pillows, firing up the heating pad, making sure everything is just so
3) invite the craziest of the 3 dogs up on the bed with me only find out he's in desperate need of a bath
4) find a movie on hbogo on computer to watch
5) take pain pill on schedule
6) adjust pillows again so back doesn't hurt
7) whine on Bonesmart about not being able to sleep
8) decide you're tired so undo all the pillows, turn off the computer and fall asleep for 2 more hours
(this all took place in the span of about 15 minutes)

Yup....been there...done that...I hope soon you will be able to get a decent night's sleep!

PUPPY BOWL! I just watch the game 'backwards' myself. Pay attention during the commercials and ignore the actual football since I'm not a fan of either team.

I'm more interested in the commercials than the game, also, this year. However, they will have the best ones somewhere on the computer after the game...although I've already seen the Budweiser commercial...it's on youTube, I think... a must see with kleenex in hand!

 

[DogLoverx3]

Hi @Ziggysmom ! You were posting at the same time I was. Yes, I've cried at Budweiser commercials before. Not embarassing at all. ;-) I love to watch all my friends 'rate' the commercials on Facebook as they're playing!

The sleep thing is annoying as I was sleeping much better last week and then all of a sudden, it stopped. Boo. I'm sure it will start up again soon........it better, I have PT at 7:30am tomorrow morning and they better watch out if I don't get any sleep!

 

[Bentley's Slave]

Hi everyone hope you had a tolerable weekend which I have come to realise is all I should expect.

Sorry about your twin @doglover3. Might be best not to reply!!!! Do hope you get some help eventually.

Horrible that you are not getting enough zzzzzzzzz's @Ziggysmom @ chihuahuan and doglover3. I have the opposite problem. I find that the days seem so long with not much to do. I can't get interested in my usual hobbies and my husband is at work. I am now cooking the dinner at night but can't get that interested in it.........

Bentley had been at home all weekend. He has calmed down a lot. He has now gone to a minder for the week and I am hoping that my knee will become less sore this week so I can contemplate keeping him with me all week soon. I miss his company. We bought him some toys cos it's his 1 st birthday tomorrow and he had us in hysterics throwing them up in the air and pouncing on them.

As for the knee it is coming back to life but still very stiff. Loads of sharp stabbing pains which I guess is the nerves coming back to life. One side is still so hard - will it ever soften up and let me bend it? I can only walk for about 10 mins before it becomes lumpy again but can manage about 5 mins walk without any crutches. Bending the knee is still difficult but hopefully the physio and hydrotherapy at the end of this week will help.

I love your recipe for sleep @doglover3. I have a ritual cos I can't stand a duvet cover so I have a sheet over me but have to pull it away from my hot knee. Then a slanket but only over the top of me. Then I take my pills and raise the bed so my leg is elevated. By which time my husband is already snoring and I want to murder him!!!

 

[Bentley's Slave]

STOP PRESS. Woman kills husband in UK for snoring.......

 

[Chihuahuan]

So relate to that @Bentley's Slave!

 

[DogLoverx3]

@Bentley's Slave do you need bail money for killing your snoring husband? I used to date a snorer and oy vey was it ever hard to sleep. Considered several times smothering him with a pillow but opted out of that. ;-)

I understand your inability to get interested/involved in things. I had a very hard time concentrating on anything for the 1st 4 weeks or so. My mind would just wander and my memory was for sh*t. Hopefully Bentley will be able to come home soon for good. I was without my dogs for 4 weeks as the thought of taking care of them and me was just a bit too daunting. Although they still like to thwack me on the knee with their tails, I am much better at paying attention and avoiding the incoming thwack. My mood improved when I could finally bring them home for good at 4 weeks.

I think I told you that week 4 was probably my worst week. I was just sick and tired of the stiffness/pain/weakness/everything and spent more time than not crying. (my therapists just this morning were joking about why I wasn't crying any more - how embarrassing)

The sharp pains and hardness are all par for the course and will get better in time.

We all know what a hard time I've had with this. The tears, the pity parties, the feelings that things just wouldn't improve and that I couldn't do it. I hope everyone can use my 'woe is me' thread and read what I'm about to say and take hope. Things DO get better! Sure, I still curse my knee every morning, but I can walk without a cane, I can do stairs without crying, I can get in and out of the shower/tub without having to work out an entire risk/reward spreadsheet of how to swing my leg in. I've been on the slower side of recovery I think, but today, week #7, I can say that things are better! My ROM measured at 130 today!!!! My 'good' leg is only at 145, so my PT has every confidence that I will be able to get there. I still can't get my extension to zero, but I'm still working on it.

There was a lovely older woman and her daughter at PT today who was just 3.5 weeks out from TKR and she was very discouraged and quite envious of all that I can do! Crazy, right? I told her 'my story' and how she was actually ahead of where I was at 3.5 weeks and that things would get better. I told her about this website and hope that she will look it up. She's pushing herself too hard with long walks and just took herself completely off of pain meds! I spoke to her daughter about the different trains of thought with recovery and explained that when I was 'pushing' myself, I didn't really get anywhere. When I started being 'lazy', things started to improve. I still have pain, I still can't get comfortable, I'm still on pain meds, I still get tired very easily, but I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was a few short weeks ago.

Oh, and I was able to sleep last night! I put Tylenol PM back into the rotation at night and fell asleep @ 11, woke up at 3:30am, took a pain pill and fell right back to sleep until 6:30!! Yippeeee!!!

I hope everyone is having a great day!!

 

[Chihuahuan]

So glad you had a good nights sleep -- I did also Always makes the world look better.
Great ROM! My extension is nearly where it needs to be with lots of PT help. Yesterday I managed to ride the recumbent bike for 20 minutes --my version of the Super Bowl

 

[DogLoverx3]

AWESOME @Chihuahuan ! That's so great! Uhm, the super bowl yesterday certainly set the bar low for being able to exceed the excitement level , but I'm so happy for you! Yes, a good night's sleep makes a ton of difference in how things 'look'. Keep up the great work!

 

[DogLoverx3]

OMG, I just figured out what was different today. That horrible awesome tight band/vice like feeling around my knee? It's not as bad as usual! I can't say that it's completely gone, but it's MUCH less! Not sure what that due to; time, meds, etc.... but good riddance. I know there's a debate about NSAIDs and Diclofenac, but all I know is that when I took it, my knee felt better. When I stopped, it tightened up again. So I'm back taking it, as of yesterday, and although I know I'm risking liver issues I'll take my chances as my knee seems to like it. What the knee wants, the knee gets, right? ;-)

 

[Chihuahuan]

I had the same experience with Celebrex --tried not taking it for a few days and my knee is nowhere near as comfortable. All the other "normal" aches and pains returned also The OS gave me a prescription for a lower dose of Celebrex but I can't find what I did with it so need to call and get another copy. Glad your swelling is going down --maybe these boring rest days have worked

 

[DogLoverx3]

@Chihuahuan I hope these boring days of rest are helping 'cause next week is a busy one and I'm a little concerned. I'm sure all will be fine and I will do my best to rest and ice when I can. Glad to hear that Celebrex has worked for you. So strange how certain medications work for some and not for others. Yes, I think a call to your OS for a copy of the RX would be good.

I went out for a bit tonight even though my knee is acting up tonight. I was good and sat with ice on my knee, but it was sooooooo good to get out. I hope you've had a good day and evening!

 

[Hoppy Nanny]

@Bentley's Slave...Hope you don't get time for the murder....I just banished Bill from the bedroom as murder seemed a little excessive!! Probably necessary though...? Love Chrissie xx


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart®

 

[Chihuahuan]

@Bentley's Slave My brother has a very painful bruised rib - no idea of how he got it --I think my sister-in-law kicked him when he was snoring
@DogLoverx3 I finally found my prescription --had tucked it in a magazine I was reading in the waiting room and took home with me. My memory is seriously impaired after this surgery….
Knee is looking quite normal this morning--no idea why such a magical difference. Off to PT today for the dreaded balancing act I feel like such a dork but just keep trying. I will get there when my knee is ready.

 

[DogLoverx3]

Funny you said that about your memory @Chihuahuan , I joke all the time that senility has kicked in as I can't remember anything (and still have a questionable attention span) since surgery. Glad you found your RX and that your knee is looking good! Have a good time at PT and show that balance board who's boss!!!

Although I woke several times last night, I didn't feel the need to take any pain meds. I took 1 5mg oxy @ 9:45pm last night with 2 Tylenol PM about an hour later and then didn't take any more until 7:30am this morning. My knee was very stiff when I work up, but it always is. I did a quite supermarket run and now back home, back in my sweats and not planning on leaving the rest of the day.

My knee hated that I was dumb enough to pull weeds yesterday and punished me most of the late afternoon and evening, but seems to have forgiven me. I have to cater tomorrow, but it's a small and short function, so fingers crossed that all goes well. I got kinda used to doing absolutely nothing last week. ;-)