Catalien45
senior
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2021
- Messages
- 363
- Age
- 78
- Gender
- Female
- Country
-
United States
Hi, everyone....I’m a “ newbie”. My husband set this up for me, & I’ve been reading posts from other members, & learning So much! My right knee has been bone-on-bone for quite some time now, pretty much constant pain unless I was sitting; even sleeping was regularly interrupted.
I’ve been resistant to surgery. - as many excuses as I could come up with, and, the big one, our 6-year old grandson. He has been staying with us for 2 days & 2 nights every week so his parents could have a couple of full days to work their full time jobs from home. I decided to “ tough it out “ until he started 1st grade this fall; I just couldn’t bear to miss any of the time with him.
In early August, we saw the surgeon & set my TKR for Oct 6. LOTS of information; exercises to be done twice daily; it was stressed that this would be very important to my recovery from Surgery, so I worked hard on being faithful to that regimen. Really did help when I got home, another set of exercises to do, & most were the ones I’d been doing , only less reps! My Dr & his PA were very upfront, & stressed that the 1st 2 weeks are Tough, there Would be pain, & they had a multimodal approach to deal with it - not pain Free, but manageable. They strongly encourage you to take what you need to keep pain under control. I think my epidural probably helped keep meds to a minimum at first.
There have been some challenges since then. Some nights I don’t sleep well, & I’ve had a couple of nights with pain in my thigh, I think muscle. The muscle relaxant does not seem to work for me, but I think we have established an effective combination of Tylenol and Tramadol; the oxicodone & my stomach don’t get along . I see my PT tomorrow- she is Great! She may very well have suggestions.
A side note I think some of you might relate to. I grew up in the 50’s. My Mom had bone cancer,with a lot of intense pain. She was a nurse, & was well aware of the dangers of addiction. She only took her Percodan if she HAD to. We know so much more about safe pain control now, but I still struggle with that attitude of “ pushing through pain”; fortunately, my husband is very good at helping me to see when I do need to take something.
Also, to Rest when I need to. I’m a very active person, we have a serious garden each year ( bumper crop this year!) , I make peach preserves., love to cook & bake. - so like some others I have read, feel really lazy. But reading those posts makes me realize fatigue is common with this - don’t fight it. And I’m blessed with a loving & supportive family. And the Best medicine yet this past Saturday... a visit from our grandson!
I will close this on that note...I truly appreciate all that I am learning from others on this site, it has really helped me. Hoping maybe some of my experience might help someone else along this journey- it really is just that - a Journey, & I guess we are all travelers, meeting one another along the way, different experiences, different goals...but all of us, new knees! My big goal?... joining my husband on daily neighborhood walks!
I’ve been resistant to surgery. - as many excuses as I could come up with, and, the big one, our 6-year old grandson. He has been staying with us for 2 days & 2 nights every week so his parents could have a couple of full days to work their full time jobs from home. I decided to “ tough it out “ until he started 1st grade this fall; I just couldn’t bear to miss any of the time with him.
In early August, we saw the surgeon & set my TKR for Oct 6. LOTS of information; exercises to be done twice daily; it was stressed that this would be very important to my recovery from Surgery, so I worked hard on being faithful to that regimen. Really did help when I got home, another set of exercises to do, & most were the ones I’d been doing , only less reps! My Dr & his PA were very upfront, & stressed that the 1st 2 weeks are Tough, there Would be pain, & they had a multimodal approach to deal with it - not pain Free, but manageable. They strongly encourage you to take what you need to keep pain under control. I think my epidural probably helped keep meds to a minimum at first.
There have been some challenges since then. Some nights I don’t sleep well, & I’ve had a couple of nights with pain in my thigh, I think muscle. The muscle relaxant does not seem to work for me, but I think we have established an effective combination of Tylenol and Tramadol; the oxicodone & my stomach don’t get along . I see my PT tomorrow- she is Great! She may very well have suggestions.
A side note I think some of you might relate to. I grew up in the 50’s. My Mom had bone cancer,with a lot of intense pain. She was a nurse, & was well aware of the dangers of addiction. She only took her Percodan if she HAD to. We know so much more about safe pain control now, but I still struggle with that attitude of “ pushing through pain”; fortunately, my husband is very good at helping me to see when I do need to take something.
Also, to Rest when I need to. I’m a very active person, we have a serious garden each year ( bumper crop this year!) , I make peach preserves., love to cook & bake. - so like some others I have read, feel really lazy. But reading those posts makes me realize fatigue is common with this - don’t fight it. And I’m blessed with a loving & supportive family. And the Best medicine yet this past Saturday... a visit from our grandson!
I will close this on that note...I truly appreciate all that I am learning from others on this site, it has really helped me. Hoping maybe some of my experience might help someone else along this journey- it really is just that - a Journey, & I guess we are all travelers, meeting one another along the way, different experiences, different goals...but all of us, new knees! My big goal?... joining my husband on daily neighborhood walks!
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