Bilateral TKR oh, my rattlin' bones

[annabella2]

Thanks, Stacy, you are right, the recliner helps. I'm willing to try pretty much anything to get some sleep.

It's been an interesting week.
I took ONE Percocet the other night, my first. I slept 8 hours straight, woke up with two concrete knees. My DH had to help me out of the bed. After he left for work, I began to feel progressively weirder...can't explain it, just...strange. Finally it got so bad I called him and said, I need to go to emergency room. Had to call a neighbor to come sit with me. I was seriously freaking out by this time. I ended up spending about 5 hours in the emergency room having numerous probably unnecessary tests- I was having a bad reaction to Percocet, plus my first ever panic attack. Only bright point, really cute Doc. Doc's diagnosis: don't take Percocet. I'd kinda already decided that one on my own.:rolleyes: I'm thinking this is my first and last trip to ER in local hospital. Next time, Doc inna box. At least their bathrooms will be clean.
Got home, and thank goodness, dug around and found a bottle of Vicodin from a couple of years ago. Wondering if I'll ever get off these darn pain meds.
Great thing I got this week: Velcro cold packs for both knees, $50 or so from Amazon, and soooo worth it! No more dripping ice!
Off to sleep, hopefully. Early PT tomorrow.

 

[Josephine]

Wondering if I'll ever get off these darn pain meds.

After only three weeks? Gee aren't you the impatient one! I was taking them for 3 full months and I only had ONE knee done!

 

[annabella2]

after my Percocet adventure, I am very leery of pain meds. Actually, any kind of meds. A well intentioned doctor can kill you just about as quickly as heal you if you are not careful about double checking on meds, etc.
However, my new Vicodin rx is ready, and I'm happy to keep taking them until the pain decreases more.
Yeah, I am naturally impatient, LOL.

 

[kneeper]

Yeah, if you tolerate the vicodin well it will be helpful to you for a while yet. You should probably be icing more as well. I iced something like 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off for most of the day while elevating. Ice and elevate pretty much whenever you're not doing exercises or walking around.

 

[Nomorepain67]

Hi annabella2
Sorry to hear about your scary experience with the percocet. Keep working with your OS to find what works for you, many people have documented reactions to various meds. Like Josephine, I am 3 months out from surgery (I had BTKR) and still use pain meds at least once a day. The times are farther between and I primarily use over the counter things, but I feel much better when my pain is controlled and I can live my life. You are so early in the process, I can promise you it will get better. I saw big changes about every two weeks. My saving grace for the down days was to keep a journal of the little things that got better - getting in the car, moving my legs onto the bed unassisted, etc.

All of us have had to readjust our idea of patience and progress. There will be up days and down days, but before you know the time comes and you are doing things unexpectedly. Just yesterday I crossed my legs for the first time, left my hotel room without my cane (oops), and navigated a flight of 20 steps without pain because the handicapped elevator to outside the hotel was broke and the idea of taking the escalator scared the heck out of me.

Hold on for the ride and find what works best for you. We are all here for you!!
Hugs
Stacie

 

[annabella2]

Thought I would report in- I am now 8 weeks post op. Only occasional Vicodin for pain, taking Aleve daily. Swelling is a constant problem. I don't mind reclining but the icing I don't care for...not sure how much difference it is really making. I find the biggest help is don't eat salt, which increases swelling.
But...I can drive my car for short distances,go up and down stairs, do my own laundry, make dinner if I have to, actually shop for short periods of time. I love stores who have the electric "cripple cart"!! It helps me so much....Only use cane occasionally, when I go in a store, and that is mainly to keep people and children from running over me. (a walker actually works better for this-) And I finally finished my physical therapy visits!
The physical therapist (who has a doctorate in it, so I assume he knows a little about it-) finally gave up pushing too much on my knees two weeks ago. I told him it just made the swelling worse, which restricted range of motion more. He finally agreed with me. So right now I'm at about 114 in both knees, sometimes up to 120 in my right one. I continue to try and stretch the knees to the limit a few times a day. The doctor and physical therapists tell me I have done amazingly well.
A lot of people have asked me how I feel about having both done at the same time. I think my GP was right, why on earth would I go through this misery twice?? However, I have no frame of reference and never will. I just tell people to expect four to six weeks of boredom and misery, and get it over with. Not happy news, but there it is. I can say that the arthritis pain is GONE, thank goodness. I also would say that if I had not had both done, that my Blue Cross might not have paid for in hospital or facility rehab. Unbelievable, but true.
Thanks to all of you who post your stories- I don't comment, but I do read, and it is all helpful. Bless you all, and have a great holiday season-