THR Other side for Tamra!'

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Glad to see a great report! Like @Miss Muffet I think we are just hard on ourselves. It's way early! lol Your very blessed to still have a 94 yo grandmother :loveshwr: and hey, turtles can outrun us, we don't care. LOL Chin high, (remind me, also) think of the spring, my favorite season and summer and how well we will be! woohoo! I can't wait, so slow we go. We got this! :)
 
@Postalgal lol love your posts Debbie! I was just telling ouch! that when I see dishes in the sink (overflowing btw) I just try to think harder about next summer with no pain on my adventures! Hibernating will be worth it! And yes .. my grandmother is an inspiration and a blessing. :yes!: and i got no problem with the turtles lol

Hope you are feeling well and rested today. I am a Cubbie fan (so is my grandma) so everyone is happy here :yay::dogwalk::catbutterfly:
 
@tamra I love yours as well! We are all in this together, isn't this forum great??? Everything I look up on google comes right back here to bone smart. I watched the Cubbies as well, even though I am a dedicated Cardinals fan, lol! I couldn't go any farther past the 10th when the tarps came out, the eyelids fell! I am so happy for you all and glad their 108 year curse is gone.

Feeling much better as the leg cuffs are OFF today, woohoo! How do you learn to just relax? Up and down and right now have the door open while it is still cool. Enjoying hearing the birds. I think the big thing for me is planning a trip out with husband this weekend to the grocery store. Makes me go HMMMM??
 
@Postalgal So glad you got the leg pumpers off! Use that pillow nest method to not roll over. Works for me and it is comfy.

Sounds like your weekend is going to be like mine. My son is having anxiety issues about going shopping. We ran out of catfood yesterday and instead of going to walmart to get more (I thought he had agreed to do that) he gave the cat a can of tuna .. oh no no no! That cat and tuna do not MIX! I realized that as well as Eric has been doing he still gets easily overwhelmed between the TBI (traumatic brain injury) and PTSD and he has reached the overwhelmed point. So I am going to make him go to the store .. but I will go too and ride in the cart rider thing. Because since the cat had tuna .. going to need a lot more cat litter .. ugh. Not sure he has been in Walmart in five years .. at least he will be worrying about me which will keep his mind off his own issues! I see this as therapy for him.

Two tours in Ramadi, Iraq as an infantry Marine, it was rough on the poor kid. I have to remember sometimes that he is not near as well as he looks.
 
Two tours in Ramadi, Iraq as an infantry Marine,
That's so tough. Do feel for him, and you. And precisely for what I wonder? He deserves to have a full and happy life. I do hope he is having help. Warmest thoughts to you both.:console2:
 
So glad it was a good report at your post op appt. :) I hope you are doing better this morning.
 
That's so tough. Do feel for him, and you. And precisely for what I wonder? He deserves to have a full and happy life. I do hope he is having help. Warmest thoughts to you both.:console2:
Aw thanks. Yes he has the VA and is on 100% military disability. And he has ME! When everyone was giving up on him .. he still had me. He is so much better than he was 7 years ago when I was afraid I would come home to him dead every day. Slow recovery there but at least he wants to live again.
 
@Postalgal Have enough pillows to kind of tuck yourself into them. Heard some of the other ladies talking about it. I have four pillows and some smaller ones on my bed and it worked pretty good with those. Having even little pillows at your sides keeps you from rolling.
 
So .. pt visit today for assessment. Apparently my right quad muscle is not firing well which is preventing me from lifting that leg at all from hanging to upright (if sitting with legs out on counter). It makes it hard to get in and out of bed too .. but I didn't know it was so weak or not working right. PT says never seen that before. Whole leg was really numb and swollen till 4 days ago. Swelling going down but right leg numbness is lingering around knee. When i touch my knee it stills feels like it is made of wood.

Anyone else have quad weakness like this after surgery? Apparently it can happen with anterior but mine was lateral. Like I said .. pt not seen it before.
 
Hmm...no one has assessed my quad muscle. I can tighten it and move my leg side to side but couldn't do a straight leg raise to save me (but then I couldn't do those before the surgery either--too painful). I still have a bit of log leg getting into bed but it's getting better. I'm trying to picture what she was asking you to do and can't quite get the image.
 
Hmm...no one has assessed my quad muscle. I can tighten it and move my leg side to side but couldn't do a straight leg raise to save me (but then I couldn't do those before the surgery either--too painful). I still have a bit of log leg getting into bed but it's getting better. I'm trying to picture what she was asking you to do and can't quite get the image.

Sitting normally in a chair .. quad would raise your lower leg up so the knee is straight. My right one won't do that. It is firing .. but so little I can't even hold leg up if someone else raises it.
 
Aha! Got it. I hope you get some answers to why this is happening--or start to feel that muscle fire.
 
So .. pt visit today for assessment. Apparently my right quad muscle is not firing well which is preventing me from lifting that leg at all from hanging to upright (if sitting with legs out on counter). It makes it hard to get in and out of bed too .. but I didn't know it was so weak or not working right. PT says never seen that before. Whole leg was really numb and swollen till 4 days ago. Swelling going down but right leg numbness is lingering around knee. When i touch my knee it stills feels like it is made of wood.

Anyone else have quad weakness like this after surgery? Apparently it can happen with anterior but mine was lateral. Like I said .. pt not seen it before.
@Josephine advice/info on this Josephine?
 
Only if you answer some questions for me, if you don't mind, and it would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually - numbered as I have done - in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine)

2. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

3. how swollen is your leg compared to these?

grossly-horz.jpg


4. What is your ROM - that's flexion (bend) and extension (straightness)

5. are you icing your knee at all? If so, how often and for how long?

6. are you elevating your leg. If so how often and for how long?

7. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

8. what kind of PT exercises and exercises at home are you doing? How much and how often?
This is the most crucial question so please help me by using the format I have left as an example
(which means please make a list and not an essay!)

Exercises done at home: (how many sessions each day)
enter exercise then enter number of reps and sets
etc., etc.

At PT (how many times a week)
enter exercise then enter number of reps and sets
etc., etc.
 
@Josephine this is about it. I didn't take meds before surgery except Aleve. Pretty much no real exercising yet. Just now getting where I can move my leg at all in the last couple of days.

1. pain: 3 overall with meds

2. Norco 5/325 one every four hours ( two on first dose after midnight)
toradol 10mg twice a day
Enoxaparin sodium injection 40mg daily

3. swelling: medium since about Tuesday (it was way worse before that)

4. ROM - Not sure what you are asking for but can straighten it all the way. Bend more than 90% easy

5. The whole leg is being iced in at all times i am down. Use a cold pack machine, just move it around when I get up which is about every hour or two, knee included.

6. elevating: Keep it above hip level when down most of time up till today

7. activity level: taking care of myself is about it .. lot of walking because 120 steps to bathroom

8. exercises
-Walking with walker as necessary
- foot flexion (up and down) at least once every two hours 10 reps both feet.
Exercises at home: none
exercises at PT: None

Been a hard recovery so that is it so far. PT gave me exercises today but haven't done any yet.
 
@tamra Hope this gets straightened out soon. I was sent home with the basic exercises of the leg and soon was able to use the quad, that's one, holding it tight 5 secs, 10 times, moving leg outward and back, was very impossible at first. I don't understand why they didn't give to you as well?? Hopefully Josephine will shed some light.
Don't get worried though over pt saying that. We don't know how many hippies she has had. Chin up!
Anniversary today. Going to venture out tomorrow, first time!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
Just now getting where I can move my leg at all in the last couple of days.
That's about right for 10 days out.
1. pain: 3 overall with meds
Good but do you know what it's like without pain meds?
2. Norco 5/325 one every four hours ( two on first dose after midnight)
toradol 10mg twice a day
Enoxaparin sodium injection 40mg daily
Enoxaparin isn't a pain med.
Toradol is only an NSAID and not a pain killer
Norco 5/325: one every four hours is inadequate for this period in your recovery.
Given that the maximum acetaminophen (Tylenol) per 24hrs is 4,000mgs, at present you are only taking 2,275gms. Thus you could safely up this to help. But you need to be taking two tablets at least two or three more times a day. Just keep a tally on the acetaminophen as you go.
3. swelling: medium since about Tuesday (it was way worse before that)
I'll bet but medium will still cause pain and block your ROM
4. ROM - Not sure what you are asking for but can straighten it all the way. Bend more than 90% easy
Did I not explain it clearly enough? "ROM - that's flexion (bend) and extension (straightness)" In any case, your ROM (range of movement) is pretty decent for only 10 days out. I'm impressed!
5. The whole leg is being iced in at all times I am down. Use a cold pack machine, just move it around when I get up which is about every hour or two, knee included.
6. elevating: Keep it above hip level when down most of time up till today
Hip level isn't enough. You need to have it, as the saying goes, 'toes above nose'! Like this

elevate 2-horz.jpg


7. activity level: taking care of myself is about it .. lot of walking because 120 steps to bathroom
That would be about right.
8. exercises
-Walking with walker as necessary
- foot flexion (up and down) at least once every two hours 10 reps both feet.
Exercises at home: none
exercises at PT: None
Foot flexions (also known as ankle pumps) are just an anti-clot exercise. Once you get more active, you can stop them.
Been a hard recovery so that is it so far. PT gave me exercises today but haven't done any yet.
And I suggest you don't. I did no exercises for either of my knee surgeries and had really good outcomes both times. You can read my thread from my signature. But the real point is that many others here have followed the same protocol and they also had terrific outcomes. In my opinion, these exercises do far more harm than good. I suggest you read this BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
 
With the norco wore off when i get up in the morning sometimes .. pain is maybe 5. I do take two norco once or twice a day. Pain only hits three when up walking mostly because the leg length difference is so profound. About 3.5 centimeters according to PT but my OS wanted it like that. My hips must have compensated a lot. Was true bone on bone.

My right kneecap was actually being pulled funny by the quad the first few days so wondering if that muscle is adjusting and not firing well now because of that. Probably the most painful area while i am not walking is down the front of my thigh. Kneecap looks more normal now so maybe everything is sorting itself out huh?

Thanks Josephine for input. If I need more Norco I will take the second one. Maybe when I do start pt. I am up and walking as well as I can with walker every couple of hours. Long way to bathroom lol.
 
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