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TKR Puffin is soaring into the sky

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I have an ice machine and haven't used it. The hospital sent me home with a fist full of Precept premium cold packs, a type of ice bag - they were very good and comfortable - you can tie them together and the weight isn't on the scar. They are on Amazon but lots of hospitals use them. They don't last more than a few weeks though.
My husband bought me a very cheap icing bag from the pharmacy - it's a thickish plastic with an opening like that on a hot water bottle but slightly larger. You just pop ice into it and it sits on your knee like a little round cushion. Oddly enough it seems much colder than anything else and it stays cold for hours. The shape distributes the ice around nicely. Its much better than the ice packs you refreeze.
If we lived nearer my machine would have been yours! :hairpulling:
Try not to worry about your sleep pattern. You can nap during the day and in a few weeks you will probably be getting a better sleep at
night.
It's great that you can put your leg flat and you don't need your brace! :)
No flying around or soaring just yet Puffin - let mother nature do her healing first - thats six days gone by already!
 
1ELISEA
Yes at the hospital they were paranoid about infection risks. The standard system was for TKRs to have 2 dressings - one put on in the sterile operating room and then replaced with a fresh one on the day of discharge.

However my knee was not very cooperative and it was hard to get the bleeding under control. So even by the time I left the recovery room 4 hours after surgery my dressing had completely filled with blood and despite them putting extra waterproof support tape round the edges it had sprung a leak by the time I got back to the ward. So 2 members of staff got dressed up as if for surgery with scrubs and face masks and replaced the dressing - I was even told to try and breath away from it:yikes:

Then 4 hours later the same happened again - blood-filled dressing so I had my 3rd dressing within 8 hours

However my knee was less than amused at being pulled about 3 times - especially ripping off the old tape - it always seems to be so well stuck!

Now I have to leave it on until June 24th when I get the staples out
 
Hopper
Such a strange feeling to have my leg flat on the bed as I have not been able to do this for years - it was also strange coming home from hospital with no brace. BUT - and it is a butt :rolleyes: - I find that I have achy butt muscles from stretching these muscles that have not been stretched out form almost 3 years

I seem to have trouble sleeping when I am on morphine - for some bizarre reason it makes my hyperwakeful and when I do nod-off for a nap I wake with a painful jump just a few minutes later
 
Josephine

I was wondering whether you could help me with my medication - my OS seems very keen on slow release/long acting tablets that are taken just a few times per day. However I seem to find the final 1-2 hours agony with a huge increase in pain as was wondering whether there was anyway of breaking up the doses into more frequent but smaller ones -and if it was possible whether you think it would help with pain relief

My current medication schedule is :scratch:

8am
1 tablet - omeprazol (not sure of size - like Lanzo for stomach acidity)
2 x 665mg paracetamol
6 x 10mg Dolcontin (long acting morphine)
25 ml lactolose

2pm
2 x 665mg paracetamol

8pm
2 x 665mg paracetamol
6 x 10mg Dolcontin (long acting morphine)
2 x 110mg Pradaxa (blood thinners)
25 ml lactolose

Thanks for your help
 
Puffin, dearheart, we all seem to have those sleep issues. I know I did exactly what you are experiencing..could not sleep, and then would doze for all of 15 minutes and wake with a start.

I think it is due to being uncomfortable , trying to sleep in positions we usually don't sleep in, our body focusing so much healing,and of course the pain meds!!

Those pain meds can and do mess with our sleep cycle. Yes, they can make us hyper alert, make us loose our appetites, make us dizzy, nauseous, the whole lot.

Don't feel alone in the sleeplessness!! Most of us have that issue.
 
Hmmm... Maybe you can call your Dr. And see if he/she can give you a rapid acting pain med for breakthrough pain.

I talked to my Dr, and he is going to give me a long acting pain med ( OxyContin) and Percocet, for breakthrough pain.

There is no reason for you to have to suffer dear one.
 
puffin said:
8am
1 tablet - omeprazol (not sure of size - like Lanzo for stomach acidity)
2 x 665mg paracetamol
6 x 10mg Dolcontin (long acting morphine)
25 ml lactolose

2pm
2 x 665mg paracetamol

8pm
2 x 665mg paracetamol
6 x 10mg Dolcontin (long acting morphine)
2 x 110mg Pradaxa (blood thinners) 25 ml lactolose
Click to expand...
The ones I've crossed out are nothing to do with your pain management. As fro the rest, there's not a lot one can do to juggle them! I would suggest you not use the extra strength paracetamol and take 1,000mg 4 times a day but that's not the answer. This clearly isn't suiting you - not all drugs suit everybody. Which brings me to the question, have you actually told him these aren't working for you? Have you actually asked him if you can have regular type medications? Failing that, can you approach your GP to undertake your prescriptions?
 
The problem is that this combination worked best of those tried at the hospital as I have an intolerance to Oxycontin which is the usual drug prescribed after TKR - however for the 24 hours I took it every bite of food consumed came straight through me as bright green diarrhea :sick: It was very stressful and made me scared to eat and drink and my life was dominated by toilet visits

I then had a 12 hour period with no strong painkiller which was the worst pain of my life as I refused to take the Oxy but nothing else had been authorised.

The Dolcontin dropped the pain to manageable levels but I still find that I am counting down the final hour or so to the next dose since I have been home. I think the difference is that when I was on the ward I had access to additional fast acting painkillers when I really needed something - however when I got home on Friday I realized that there was no prescription for these additional meds - so perhaps I need to get back to the doctor and get some of these - but perhaps they think I shouldn't need these

Not really sure what level of pain meds is normal - it is also a big problem that I don't react normally to many of the stronger drugs - in the past 7 days I have had wierd reactions
- I have had the green poo problem with Oxycontin :eeeuw:
- in the OR the sedative had zero effect (no sleep/no sedation) even though the anaesthiestist gave me a triple dose :rolleyes: - which meant a longer stay in recovery as my oxygen levels were supressed
- the morphine that I am currently taking makes be hyper wakeful and unable to rest :spin:

Perhaps I just have to accept that this is as good as it will get as most of the time the pain is managed - I really do not want to go back to the pain levels in the 9s and 10s that I experienced last week
 
puffin said:
however when I got home on Friday I realized that there was no prescription for these additional meds - so perhaps I need to get back to the doctor and get some of these - but perhaps they think I shouldn't need these
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. Quite often they just get missed off or forgotten. I should have a chat with your doctor and get an alternative regimen worked out.
puffin said:
Not really sure what level of pain meds is normal
Click to expand...
There is no "normal". It's what ever it takes to manage the pain and that varies from person to person and case to case.
 
Having a huge energy drain day - finding it extra tough as my knee is exhausted from getting in and out of bed 1-2 times each hour for toilet trips - it is still very tough not being able to get in and out of bed myself.

I have the enormous tourniquet bruise and swelling as well which is causing pain and loss of feeling in the muscles above my knee. I managed to get a GP to prescribe me a small quantity of Oxycodone tablets for breakthrough pain.

I have been wondering how much stretching I should do when my knee is so swollen and painful? - I have lost a little of my ROM since the tourniquet bruising swelled up so much. Should I force myself to do three sets of exercises even when it is very painful? Or should I rest it more? I am trying to ice and elevate as much as I can
 
Thank you for sharing your X-Rays - quite the shocker! No wonder you are having such a difficult time! I hope you are able to get some rest - waiting until the 24th to get your staples removed sounds like torture! I will be thinking of you!

Hugs,
Denise
 
:gaah: the pain from the swelling and staples is driving me nuts :gaah:

I cannot find a position that is comfortable for sitting or lying - am also stranded on the top floor of my house as not enough ROM to do the stairs
 
Oh dear, It seems both you and Diana are having a rough day. I'll send you a hug as well.:console2: :friends:
 
:iagree:

It is just so hard to judge as I think my ROM is going backwards at the moment as I have such huge swelling where the tourniquet was placed - there is a fist sized lump which is putting huge pressure onto my staples and making it very hard to walk
 
puffin said:
as I think my ROM is going backwards
Click to expand...
That does happen---recovery and ROM gain re not linear---they move up and down much like a stock market report.

I would ice that lump as much as you can---maybe call the OS's answering service to see what he has to say about it. Those tourniquet bruises are real boogers, though---remember those two very well!
 
I think I would call the hospital or my Dr. about that lump. Sorry! that sounded rather abrupt. :sorry:
 
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