TKR Putting my best foot forward

[kneeper]

I am going to leave a message today and hope that someone calls me back.

Call back if you need to. Don't mess around with chest pains.

 

[Jamie]

I agree. If you are experiencing chest pains, you need to have that checked out immediately....even if that means a trip to the Emergency Room. Please don't wait until you hear back from a doctor's office if you experience those pains again.

 

[simryg]

We got a wheelchair and wentbto the gift show that was heldvin the LA convention center.
I literally shopped till i dropped!
Was great beyond words, to be out, all dressed up....
I spent all my time at the jewelry booths.
What great purchases i made!
The prices were so fantastic that i stocked up a bit and will make a mini sale when get home!! How great that there are so many jewelry variations today, and we dont have to spend hundreds and thousands of dollars anymore.
One problem though, want to keep one of each for myself!!!!!
Was great distraction but came at very steep price
Wheelchair definitely not the type needed for someone with leg injuries.
Leg cldnt extend as the parts were too short. And sitting w knee bent so long aggravated my already painful knee.
Was a long night!
My foot swollen to a new degree!
But i did have great time!
Now gotta take it ez, especially that had therapy session today as well.

 

[KarriB]

Get that ice out! Sometimes you just need to take that step, even though you know it'll bring some pain. Getting out is good for the soul.

 

[simryg]

I remember reading in one of the threads about gel packs specific for knees. Did I read right? Is there something like that available, and if yes what is it called?

 

[brianm]

I remember reading in one of the threads about gel packs specific for knees. Did I read right? Is there something like that available, and if yes what is it called?

This is what I use. It's 9x12, and not specifically for knees, but it wraps around my knee nicely. Scroll up a page to see the company's other offerings.
broken link removed: https://www.accurategelpacks.com/product/9-x-12/
This is where I get mine - in the South Bay, a bit of a drive for you, so you could likely find a closer source:
https://sportsmedpt.com/

 

[Raffs]

Sounds like you had a lovely day. @KarriB is totally right - getting out is so good even if you know it will cause pain later. Good to hear you sounding better.

 

[simryg]

Had the mother of all spasms earlier.
The pain had me arching my back and grinding my teeth.
I'm upset my parents saw me this way. I took robaxin, took a while to kick in.
The pain triggered palpitations and chest pains. Under dr's direction, took Xanax which is also used to ease palpitations. My parents waited around until I felt bit better.
Let's hope night goes smoothly

 

[KarriB]

Here's a photo of a gel pack from Amazon.

 

[simryg]

I ordered this from amazon
Like fact that straps on
Will let u know if works for me

 

[susie09]

@simryg - it's hard to tell on my mini iPad, but is that one of the "frozen peas" products? If it is, I used to have one and I liked it but...I only used it 2-3 times before the seam started to give and little chemical "peas" started leaking out. Not sure how toxic they are for dogs but I didn't want to take a chance. I tried wrapping it with Saran Wrap but I threw it out after a few weeks. I hope you have better luck than I did.

 

[Angel1978]

Hi. I see your around same age area as me. It's hard for Parents to see us in pain... My mom is 82 and she saw me and i could tell it hurt her. Hang in there. I have spazims to..it will get better... Xxx


FaithMitchmommy
PKR December.1,2014
TKREV MARCH.2,2015

 

[brianm]

I ordered this from amazon
Like fact that straps on
Will let u know if works for me

This doesn't look promising. It's hard for me to believe there's enough gel here to get cold enough and stay cold long enough to do much good. And I'd say the last thing you want is a hole where the kneecap goes. Your kneecap wants to be cold too. I found that I needed something to wrap around the sides of the knee, not just the proximity of the kneecap, with enough gel along the sides to keep everything cold. (See my previous post.)
The most effective way I found to strap a gel pack to my knee was with a couple of ACE bandage strips about 3 feet long with VELCRO bits on the end. I can send you a photo of the lashup if you're interested.
Glad to see you're experimenting, though. I think that's the path to success. I had to go down a couple of blind alleys to find what worked.
Here's an example of one of my blind alleys:

Isn't it a beauty? Looks like it's just made to wrap around a knee. First, there's nowhere near enough gel and it doesn't cover nearly enough area around the knee. Second, the plastic is so think and stiff that it won't adapt to the contours of the knee and its surroundings. Third, it costs 3 times the price of a garden variety gel pack that works. In case you can't read the label:
Covidien uni-patch
heavy duty cold pack reusable
23 inch REF MH71097

 

[simryg]

@brianm thanks for info and pic
'Twas middle of night, my ice packs kept slipping off, so I ordered blindly......

 

[brianm]

'Twas middle of night, my ice packs kept slipping off, so I ordered blindly......

Finding a way to attach these gelpacks was indeed a bit of a chore. Here's what worked for me:

A couple of ACE bandage strips about 3 feet long with VELCRO patches on the ends. One above the knee, one below. This holds the gelpack snug against the knee all around, keeping everything cold, and it seems to tolerate my rolling around at night.

 

[simryg]

Necessity is the mother of inventions!

 

[simryg]

My dr switched me from oxycodone to hydrocodone
My knee resents the switch!!!
It hardly carves a notch into the pain.
I don't know if things worsened as well or its only the pain management, but this weekend was definitely a downhill trot for me. Everything was harder. Getting in and out of bed. Sitting, walking really digressed....
It's about a week since we switched, was no fun at all! Not that any of it has been....

 

[bluejuju]

Maybe it's all this humidity in the northeast,@simryg that's giving us more aches and pains. I would call your MD back and get back on the oxycodone..maybe Just take a lower dose?

 

[Raffs]

I agree with @bluejuju that you should see if it's possible to go back onto the oxy for a while. Last weekend was like that for me, felt like I'd gone backwards a week. Hang in there, you'll see progress again soon, especially once you get your pain under control.

 

[KarriB]

Did the dr. say why he changed your meds? I was on oxycodone for quite a while.