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

[DogLoverx3]

yikes @RestAssured ! that's scary. I looked up possible drug interactions on the web and found that oxy & naproxen are okay when taken together. Since I stopped taking the aspirin (no clue why I'd need the blood thinner aspect after 4 weeks) I think I'm good to go, but thank you for the warning.

Too funny @jeano about your border collie hugs! I love it!! I have a beagle, doxie, jack russel mix that give hugs when sitting on your lap. He'll face you, press his body up against you and wrap his paws around your neck. Too cute!

Gotta love what dogs bring to the table! Now, if only you could teach yours to wash the dishes and refill the water bowls too!

Thanks @Chihuahuan ! Being able to sleep certainly does make all the difference. It was only in little 2 hour spurts, but compared to the 20 minutes I've been doing for the past month it was heaven!! (kinda think the muscle relaxer had something to do with that though) ;-)

 

[Chihuahuan]

I a on Celebrex, but have learned the hard way that Celebrex and drugs such as Motrin don't mix! I started bleeding internally down my calf, and it pooled in my foot. So when experimenting be careful of the combinations you use.

One NSAID at a time is the general rule.

 

[RestAssured]

Here is a picture of my rascals!

Brandy is the red one, Myra is the fawn colored

 

[RestAssured]

One NSAID at a time is the general rule.

Very true! I learned the hard way! Blood is pooling at the bottom towards the back of the foot!

 

[DogLoverx3]

your pups are too cute!!!

 

[DogLoverx3]

OMG! Guess what just arrived at my doorstep?!?!? My ICE MACHINE! I only ordered it yesterday and couldn't afford the 2 day shipping so only did the 'expedited' and here it is!!! Too bad I can't pick up the box thanks to my back. Boo. I did have a fun time shuffle kicking the box across the family room to a chair where I could break into it! As soon as my water bottles are done freezing, I'm going to fire that puppy up!!!

 

[RestAssured]

your pups are too cute!!!

Thanks, they are lap dogs! If my hubby does not let them snuggle w him at the end of the night, they get upset and pout! They sit with me during the day!

 

[DogLoverx3]

Couldn't wait, so hooked up my new best friend.... the Polar Cube with ice & water - put a tea towel over my knee, wrapped the knee wrap around, hooked it up and plugged it in. And then .... nothing. Boo. Didn't make a sound so of course figured it was broken and i'd done something wrong....until my knee started feeling cold. It's working! and Silent! I'm in love!!!

 

[DogLoverx3]

Tried to back off my pain meds again today and am being rewarded with a throbbing knee. I called for another refill of my oxy 5mg. I have been taking 2 every 4 hours. They are only approving 1 every 6 hours and didn't offer any other 'backup' other than Tylenol. Every time I think I'm ready to step down, I find that I'm not. Now I have to figure out how to meter out my remaining pills to last until my next appt with my OS in 2.5 weeks. :-( I have vicodin that I can take when I run out of oxy, but I'm not happy that I'm even having to try to figure out how to cover my pain.

In other news, I made a quick trip to the store and tried it without using the electric cart. I only picked up a couple of items and kinda used the shopping cart as a walker, but I did okay. It was a very quick trip as I found my knee didn't appreciate my not checking with it 1st. Came straight home and hooked myself up to my ice machine thingie.

Guess I shouldn't have paired my 1st real outing with trying to back off my pain meds as I hurt now and have PT in 2 hours. I love my therapist but he said something on Monday that didn't sit very well with me. My back seized up when I was trying to get off the table so I just kinda froze because the pain was so bad and he said that I just need to 'work through the pain' :-( that I wasn't going to break anything, so just push through ..... uhm, he's obviously never thrown his back out before ..... I'm going to tell him that I don't want to do my 'stretching' where he bends my knee today as he sometimes goes too far and it hurts pretty bad. We'll see how that goes....

 

[RestAssured]

It is YOUR money and he is being Paid by you, not the other way around! I left one PT clinic after the PTA sat on the end of the bench and suddenly slammed her body into my bent knee! I reached up and slapped the back of her head and she yelled "That hurt!" I said so did what you did to me. Bring me my walker. I got up hobbled out and never returned!

 

[DogLoverx3]

110 flexion

 

[NetballKnees]

Ellen how marvellous for the flexion ... so happy for you. If I could, I would be but I can only do this but I will do it a lot. Sorry about the pain meds thing. Hopefully you can sort it out so you remain comfortable and able to forge forward with mending the knee. And it must be so good to have the ice polar thingy. I have looked at them, but really couldn't afford one, but I know from on here that everyone that has one, loves it.

Somewhere on my thread I have photos of my fur babies - I wish I was clever enough to put copies on here. Oh, hang on, I am clever ...

The one above is Mikki and this one is Kimbo :

Sorry they are so big (the photos that is) - I have yet to conquer putting small photos on threads. They normally have a very bushy coat just like border colliers, but I keep them clipped short as Kimbo in particular feels the heat.

Anyway, Ellen, I hope this positive attitude of yours continues. You are doing fantastically and my wish for you is that it continues.

Take Care ... Ellen

 

[DogLoverx3]

Hiya Ellen!

Thanks for the kudos on my flexion. I was getting a little worried since I went backwards about 3 weeks ago and hadn't been able to gain back any ground since. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I didn't go to PT for 5 days and just kinda let my knee rest all that time (no exercises at home even, just walking) or that I started taking 500mg Naproxen twice a day (I stopped taking the aspirin that I was supposed to as they don't mix). I know that anti-inflammatories aren't supposed to help 'this kind' of swelling, but maybe it did?

My back is feeling better, I just have to be very careful. As for my new bff the polar ice cube thingie, that certainly wasn't in my budget either, but I found the cheapest one I could that had really good reviews and splurged. It's been worth it so far and it's nice to be able to actually move around in bed without fear of displacing my bag of peas!

I have counted out all my hoarded Oxy's and if I switch to 2 x 5mg every 5-6 hours, I should be okay up until a couple days before my next post op visit with my OS. I'd still like to cut back if I can, but knee says no way as of now. PT has left me with a lingering ache in my knee and I have a new spot to torture me. I get VERY sharp pains in my lower calf, front of my surgical leg when I'm walking that appear out of nowhere. They're not much fun. ;-)

Your pups are cuties and look VERY happy!!! Anyway, thanks for always be

 

[RestAssured]

Well,

I am glad to hear you are feeling better! That polar ice cube is a lifesaver! I know, I have had 3! The last one they finally listened and got me non-latex, because they were having to wrap my whole leg, because any part even the tubing touched broke out in blisters within minutes! Then it quickly spread up my body. So to anyone w a latex allergy please tell them to get you a non-latex machine! It is worth it!

 

[DogLoverx3]

it's been 30 days since my RTKR (or is it 31?). Here are my 'notables' from this past week

1) got my polar ice cube on Tuesday and have used it several times ~ i keep forgetting to put the defrosted water bottle 'ice cubes' back in the freezer at night, so also have my tried and true bag o' peas still in play

2) I reached 110 ROM ~ not sure about my extension, but think it's around -5

3) knee is still very stiff & swollen as is my ankle and foot

4) as I was having a pity party last night (yes, another one) and I was cold, I made it up my 15 stairs to the 2nd floor to change the thermostat ~ took me forever (and even longer to get back down) but I did it

5) my knee rewarded my stair climbing efforts by not allowing me to fall asleep until after 3am

6) I am trying, once again, to back off my pain meds. Instead of taking 2 every 4 hours, I am trying to take just 1 every 3 hours. Not a huge step down, but reduced the # of pills each day from 12 to 8. If I do okay at PT today, I will try to stretch it to 1 pill every 4 hours tomorrow and stay at that for a few days to see how I do.

7) I have a serious case of cabin fever. I have not been brave enough to actually go out and 'do' anything yet. No lunches, no beloved happy hours, no movies, no nothing aside from quick trips to the grocery store.

8) Although I am trying to cut down on having to work, the reality is that I must. Luckily (?) things have been slow and I only had 1 function last week and only have 3 next week

9) I think I am going to try taking a little walk around the neighborhood tomorrow. Instead of taking my walker or cane, I will try it with my crutches.

10) I was able to do a full backwards rotation on the bike on Wednesday. No go on the forward rotation, but I thought backwards was pretty good. I did have to 'cheat' and kinda lift up my hip on my right side to make it around, but that still counts, right?

11) My spazzy dog pounced on my knee this morning. Twice. He's in the proverbial dog house right now.

Off to PT now. I hope everyone had a good day!!

 

[RestAssured]

How did PT go today?

 

[DogLoverx3]

Hi Sonja, thanks for checking in. PT went okay today. I was able to do full rotations on the bike backwards AND forwards! Sure, the seat was WAY back, but I did it! So far so good with the pain meds being cut back. I told my PT that I didn't want him to bend my knee for me today and he just laughed. I didn't let him go as far as he normally does though. I measured at 110 again today on my own and when he was a big meanie and pushed on my leg (just like i asked him not to), it was 115. One of the other patients told me something strange to try and help with my swelling. He said to put green cabbage leaves over my knee at night (either tape them down or saran wrap them on) and it helps with swelling. Odd as can be, but I will be headed to the store tomorrow to give it a shot. I just hope the dogs don't think my knee is a buffet!

How are you doing today? How was work?

 

[Chihuahuan]

Hi Ellen: I have used Arnica gel for the swelling --worked wonders for me. I use it at night. I get swelling after PT and exercises at home but for the most part it's not too bad. Glad you are doing okay with the pain meds.

 

[DogLoverx3]

Thanks @Chihuahuan ! I will look into Arnica gel tomorrow. Is it over the counter? My swelling is odd - looking straight on, my knee isn't too bad, but from the side view, it's like I have a balloon sitting on top of my knee. I can barely see my right foot when I look down while standing. Weird, huh?

 

[Chihuahuan]

I was curious about the cabbage leaves --lots of articles on the internet https://learnandlivewell.blogspot.com/2011/04/cabbage-leaves-relieve-pain-and.html
The area above my knee was swollen too--its from where they separate the quads to access the joint. I have been gently massaging the area up towards the thigh and I keep up the ice and elevation. It gets better every day. My PT uses a TENS (STEM) unit on it also.