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MUA Oct 2017 TKR - Hematoma - MUA - Finally past 90!<

@funkymuse - you will see that I have moved your post with the question about Tramadol from another thread to your own thread.

By putting the above post in her recovery thread, you were disrupting her thread, which should be about her own recovery.
Forum etiquette: being polite when posting

Please post any updates or questions about your recovery in your own thread. We will see them there, as someone checks all the new posts every day.
If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.
How to tag another member; how to answer when someone tags you

If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.

Just in case you couldn't find your thread, here are the instructions on finding your thread,
How can I find my threads and posts? . Many members bookmark their thread, so they can find it when they log on.

I know it's not easy when you're a newcomer, but this area may help you
How To Use This Forum - lots of helpful "How to . . . " articles there!

I have changed your thread title again. I used the title about the ice machines, so you would see that your question had been noticed.
 
Now, to address your question about Tramadol:

First, it's only 10 days since you had major surgery and it is probably a bit soon to be reducing your pain relief medications. Don't worry about becoming addicted - it's not common after this surgery:
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

The time to start cutting back your meds is when you find you are forgetting a dose and not feeling any increase in pain.

Tramadol is a useful step-down drug. It's a synthetic narcotic, less strong than the heavy-duty opiates. Your own doctor (PCP) can prescribe it.
It works well in combination with Tylenol.

Like the opiates, it can cause constipation, but there don't seem to be many side effects.
However, when the time comes to stop taking Tramadol, you do need to wean off slowly, to avoid having withdrawal symptoms.
 
funkymuse said:
My concern, which is a big one and is scaring me, is that my surgery was last Tues and it's over a week now and I have barely done any PT!! Please let me know if I need to be fearful of the dreaded scar tissue building up since I'm starting this PT so late!
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We actually recommend members to not do any PT or exercises! I never even did so much as a single heel slide for either of my knees and got excellent results both times. It really isn't necessary and the scar tissue (more properly known as adhesions) are not caused by doing or not doing exercises! In fact, exercises can cause inflammation and heat which will itself encourage adhesions!
funkymuse said:
Which ones are highly recommended?
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funkymuse said:
No brand names anyone? I'd love to know a couple of the brand names so I can take a look
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Have a look in here Ice to control pain and swelling. You can find a lot of information in the Forum Library.
funkymuse said:
Tramadol! I was wondering if that will work as good as Oxycodone. Any side effects with Tramadol?
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It's used pretty routinely for knees in the UK. We rarely use anything like oxycodone which I think is a bit severe. I used Tramadol for both my knees but I used it with paracetamol (Tylenol) for enhancement. I also worked out this routine which was very effective for me.

[Bonesmart.org] Oct 2017 TKR - Hematoma - MUA - Finally past 90!<
 
I'm so sorry... i definitley have the NEWCOMER fumblings!
 
It's OK. :friends:
We were all new at one time. I still make mistakes occasionally.
 
My thought on this just my own experience. About 15 years ago I had surgery on both knees within 1year of each other for meniscus repair. The first one is when I got my ice machine recovery on those went great. Then 4 years ago I had my RTKR, at the time my sister had had one about 6 months before mine. She had a therapist tell her that the ice machines were not that great and she didn't recomend them, so I let her influence me not to use it. I had terrible pain very slow recovery. This time I got home form the hospital first thing I did was put my ice machine on. I use it often through out the day. 8 days out of hospital I am doing great off the hydrocodone, recovery going great. Due to ice machine maybe, maybe not. But don't think I will stop using it to find out.
 
There is some controversy about the use of ice. However, most articles, including the one you found, above, @funkymuse , are talking more about sports injuries than a knee replacement. Contrary to the advice in that article, icing your knee will do no harm, as long as you keep some material between your skin and the icing medium.

Many, many people on BoneSmart have found that icing not only helps to reduce swelling (and so improve ROM) but it also decreases pain. No one has experienced delayed healing due to icing.

It's up to you whether you ice or not - your choice - but the vast majority of people have found it helpful.
 
I had a great pain reliever with ice and my swelling stayed under control. I iced the whole time I was sitting or in bed, for hours at the time. I just had the cloth between me and the baffle. It allowed me to get off the pain meds early. I hated the side effects!
 
Good morning everyone.. hope you are all feeling like you've had some 'recovery' overnight. I feel like my Hematoma is making miniscule progress. I've read all I can about it on the web but would like some personal experiences of healing. I would like to know if I should just continue to lay here with it up, icing it 4-5 times a day or if I should also begin some light PT...like heel slides, front of thigh tightening, etc. I don't want to make it worse.... so. In truth I've had this Hematoma since last Friday, the 20th. I had bumped my knee right above the scar line. It hurt but I had no idea that a Hematoma would form as I didn't even know what a Hematoma was! So the first crucial 48 hours I did not ice it or do all the things one should do in that time frame to facilitate a good response. But I began to have that awful searing pain upon standing and trying to walk. By Monday night I finally went to the hospital only to be told it was an infection and sent home with antibiotics. By Wed when I went to my doc.. and he said, 'you have a hematoma, not an infection,' it had been 5 days! Now it's Sat again and since Wed I've been sitting here with it up and the only thing I've been doing is getting up to go to the bathroom and doing heel pumps. The swelling overall seems to have gone down and it looks pretty good but it's still squishy from the scar line in a circle that's abut the size of the top of a regular size coffee cup.

So, I'd LOVE to hear from some of you who have had Hematoma's and how it affected your healing and PT process and anyone in general who knows about Hematoma's. Thank you all so much.
 
When I had my first TKR, they gave me an Iceman which was perfectly fine. I used it 24/7 at the beginning, and afterward when I over did it as we all do, it was there. I lent it to my son and the pump burned out.

I asked my Dr.'s PA about an ice machine when I was setting up for surgery, and she led me to believe that I would be getting one, in fact, we talked about how great they were.

Fast forward to surgery, I get posted to my room and no ice machine. I ask my Dr.'s resident about it, and he says they don't use them on TKRs, only on shoulders. I say that I must have one, he goes to check, comes back, no ice machine. I say then, I'll have my husband buy one, but I will have one. In a little while, he comes back with the
Breg Polar Care Cube saying,"They'll never miss one." It works great, my husband freezes water in 12 oz plastic cups.

I don't understand the reluctance to give out the ice machines. They keep me from taking more medication.
 
No one ever mentioned any 'ice machine' to me and so I had no idea about these until I found this wonderful site. Mine is on order and I should have it by Monday! I can't wait! I have not read on negative review on the use of these for recovery so I'm excited.

On another note, I have been researching the mini-exercise bikes and most of the less expensive ones say that you cannot keep them stable, that they do not stay put and they wobble, etc. There is one that does not have that issue but it's over $100! I'd love to get feedback on these machines and which ones people have had luck with as well as 'when to start' to use them. I'm only 11 days out so...

Thanks everyone!!!
 
Hello again! I'm full of questions today! I've been reading and absorbing so much from this site this morning! At least 3 hours now... in that regard I came upon a link that would not work for me. So I hope you can direct me. Thank you! Here it is: Read this for more information Knee pain after sitting for a while

thanks much!
 
That link seems to work all right for me.
funkymuse said:
I've read all I can about it on the web but would like some personal experiences of healing. I would like to know if I should just continue to lay here with it up, icing it 4-5 times a day or if I should also begin some light PT...like heel slides, front of thigh tightening, etc. I don't want to make it worse....
Click to expand...
It's very early days and you don't need to be doing any exercises right now. Just walking to and from the bathroom is enough. Keep doing the ankle pumps while you're in bed, to try and avoid a DVT, though.

@KarriB was in a splint and unable to do exercises for a long time and yet her knee regained good ROM.
It's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.
 
Thank you Celle! :) As far as the link, when I click it, this is the message it takes me to:
Knee & Hip Replacement Patient Forum - Oops, something went wrong!
You do not have permission to view this page or perform this action.
 
I will make inquiries for you about the link.
 
Hi again, @funkymuse .

Apparently, the article you found has been deleted from the library. I have asked for its title to be deleted as well.
 
Yes, @funkymuse , due to an infection, emergency surgery and on going seeping afterward my revision specialist put me in an immbolizer for 2 weeks that grew to a month. The only time it came off was when I changed clothes. After the seeping stopped my doc said I could begin to take the immbolizer off when I was sitting, sleeping and short walks around the house. Then he ordered non-aggressive PT. I asked what that meant and he very gently pushed my foot about 2 inches. He also said to concentrate on bending when I walked around ththe house. It wasn’t until a month after the immbolizer came off that I got on a recumbent bike at PT and about 2 weeks later I got a full revolution. It took a while, but I was released with 109 ROM, now it is more like 125-130. The only thing I can’t do that I want is sit with my leg underneath me, so no surprise there. I now ride 8 miles a day on my recumbent bike and walk for an hour 4-5 days a week, weather permitting.

Concentrate on ankle pumps and getting the hematoma down. There isn’t anything you can do speed things up, patience is required for TKR recovery. I did get my own recumbent bike which sits in the family room. It was relatively inexpensive, about $200, but I use it daily now and it has almost 3,000 miles on it.

@Brithael we found that frozen water bottles were the easiest thing to use in the ice machine. We had 2 sets to change out when one set melted.
 
Stick with the Oxy for awhile if you can. The Tramadol doesn't work as well. At first, I too was hesitant to continue with the Oxy but I needed it and so do you! Doctor actually insisted. There is a lot of pain and, not to be discouraging just trying to be honest, it lasts for quite a while so it's important to be as pain free as possible for as long as possible. I'm 14 weeks post op and still using Tylenol for pain intermittently. So, for now, be as pain free as you can.
 
Hi don’t be concerned about lack of exercise I passed out week into my post tkr and ended up at hospital then sent home on bed rest so it’s been slower for me but you know just getting up to walk to toilet or from bedroom to lounge you are doing gentle exercise I am al post four weeks out now and it’s almost like knee starts to bend more and flex overnight one moment it’s stiff and next it is more fle able same with sleep I find my nights suddenly more restful
So just rest use this time to ice and elevate try something to take your mind off the knee it becomes our overwhelming focus I am doing jigsaws with husband something I can potter over too and work on for while using a perching stool for comfort
 
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