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Questions About Preparing for Recovery

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Gringo

senior
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Mar 28, 2009
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74
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Providenciales, TCI, BWI
Well well....Reading through all these posts is making me think about all sorts of things I had not considered when I agreed to go ahead with all this. For example, my OS has said that I should not be flying back home for several weeks after the surgery, so wife and I are going to be staying in one of these extended stay motels in Houston. I notice I have a choice of one Queen bed, or two full size beds. Which would you experienced tin-knee folks recommend? Am I going to need a bed of my own after I get out of the hospital?
 
Re: Sleeping on Side

I would recommend it and your wife might thank you for it!
 
Re: Sleeping on Side

Me too, Gringo!!
We have a King & I know I kept my hubby up
Many a night just trying to find a place for myself!
:)
 
Re: Sleeping on Side

Gringo, DEFINITELY go for the two beds. You might be moving around a lot during the night. Some of us actually had to get up and walk around at all hours.....laps with the walker....oh boy! If the room is small, you might even be tooling up and down the hallways. There was a group of us recovering at the same time last winter and we would write to each other in the middle of the night....night stalkers!

And now that you mention your plan to stay in a hotel, here are some things to consider purchasing. You will need a means to ice your knee frequently. If your room will have a full size refrigerator with a freezer, you could purchase 4 of the large gel packs at WalMart or a drug store. I used two at a time on my knee with a towel in between the pack and your leg (so you don't overchill your skin). Or....you can purchase a machine that pumps ice water to a pad that velcros around your knee. Polar Care and Aircast Cryo Cuff are two brands. You can get them new or on eBay. Just be sure they come with all the parts you need if you purchase on eBay...and that the cuff is the right one. You can use cubed ice in them, but they work better with large chunks of ice like a Cool Whip container filled with water and frozen into a giant cube. If you have one of the machines, pack some type of container to freeze the blocks. Some hospitals provide the machines for their patients, so you might check on that. They can be a little expensive. If you don't have a full size frig in your room, your wife is going to be really busy getting ice because you will need it a LOT. I kept those gel packs on my knee all night long.

With knees, I'm not sure you'll be given a special pillow. But you'll be making full use of all the ones the hotel provides! You must elevate your knee above your hips and heart throughout the day and night. You might consider purchasing a body pillow (again, that's something you can get for about $10 at Target or Walmart). It's a long narrow pillow that you can literally wrap your body around. Many of our Kneesals swore it was the greatest thing ever to get comfortable sleep.

I'm a side sleeper too and could only make it on my back for a few nights (with lots of drugs). After that, I placed a pillow at my side (near the lower back) so that I could be on my side kind of and yet lean back into that pillow. You'll need to experiment and find out what works for you. It's not that you will do anything to your new knee joint by sleeping one way or another. It just may be painful for a while to sleep on your side. I found I could sleep on my operated side easier by not having my knees one on top of the other. You'll move around a lot anyway and you do need to be elevating your knee at least part of the time your asleep.

The hospital will likely provide a walker or crutches. You'll have to decide which is more comfortable for you. If not, they can be rented from a medical supply store or many drug stores (or WalMart, I think).

If you go straight from the hospital to the hotel (no re-hab facility), you will likely need the services of a visiting nurse and possibly a physical therapist. You might want to ask some questions about how that might work since you will have a hotel instead of a home for them to "visit." I don't think there will be any problems, but it would just be good to know that.

Since you mentioned you were staying in an "extended stay" hotel, I hope it has a kitchen too. Having a microwave and stove will help your wife as there will be times you will want or need a little something to eat at odd hours. You don't want to have to rely on room service all the time. Especially at first, things like Jello, pudding, soup, mac and cheese.....all those comfort foods tend to sound good.

I'll keep thinking about it.....may have more ideas for you. Your situation is definitely different from most by having to come back to the USA for the surgery.
 
Re: Sleeping on Side

Gringo....just had a brain flash. You will need to pick up an ample supply of stool softeners. They are critical when you are on pain meds....not a laxative...something different. You might also need prune juice or (if you can't drink that), they make orange and lemon flavored dried plums (Sunkist) that are really good and do the trick. Just don't eat the whole package at once or you'll never get out of the bathroom!
 
Re: Sleeping on Side

Well well....Reading through all these posts is making me think about all sorts of things I had not considered when I agreed to go ahead with all this. For example, my OS has said that I should not be flying back home for several weeks after the surgery, so wife and I are going to be staying in one of these extended stay motels in Houston. I notice I have a choice of one Queen bed, or two full size beds. Which would you experienced tin-knee folks recommend? Am I going to need a bed of my own after I get out of the hospital?

Definitely 2 beds! I'm a hippie & posted on this topic on the other side of this forum. I used our guest room for 3 weeks even though we have a one-story house & I didn't have to worry about stairs--for both my sake AND my hubby's! Not only am I married to the world's worst snorer/thrasher, we have a 120-lb dog who is convinced she owns at least 1/3 of the bed if not half! So not only was I spared the likelihood of being bashed or pushed by either one in the middle of the night, I also spared THEM from being awakened as I shifted around trying to comfortable (it's a s-l-o-w process!), turning on the light to read, getting up with the walker to make a bathroom trip, etc.
 
Re: Sleeping on Side

Yikes! Poor You, PR!!! It must be very tough falling
Asleep with all that going on in bed! Have
You tried those industrial strength ear plugs
That construction workers use???? :)
 
Gringo --- I add my vote to the 2 beds. I slept downstairs on an opened futon in the living room for the first 10 days. You need the space to find positions you can be comfortable with. I found a way to sleep the way I always do -- on one side or the other; I can't sleep on my back. You will have to work it out too; it's just a matter of getting as comfortable as you can. Before you get to Houston, be sure you know exactly what to expect post surgery at the hospital, rehab or "home" Phys. Therapy, any prescriptions you will need to fill. And find out from the extended stay hotel where the nearest pharmacy is and fill your pain med prescription(s) ahead of time if the surgeon will give it to you. Also you should know if the hospital supplies your walker, crutches and cane and if your insurance pays for them etc. Usually a hospital has a checkout department with a nurse who makes arrangements for PT, walker etc, and visiting nurse to check the incision etc. My nurse at the hospital gave me a box of sterile gauze pads, anti-infection stuff to paint on my incision etc; enough to last the 2 weeks until I went back to get my staples out -- and also an extra pair of TEDs stockings which most surgeons want you to wear for blood clot prevention. (I asked for the extra TEDS having been warned to do so by another patient). The checkout nurse should arrange everything you'll need and usually there is someone from that office who visits you in your room before you leave the hospital to be sure everything you need is there and arranged for. So just ask as many questions as you can think of BEFORE you leave home and also so you can bring some favorite "comfort" things (like your computer) with you :)
 
Yeah, Gringo!!! The last thing you want to say/hear is.......
"Houston......we have a problem!!!! :)
 
Another two bed vote--absolutely no doubt on that

..and be sure to get a handicap accessible room so you can manage the bath. Even then you will probably need a toilet riser seat (about $20-25). Definitely stool softener--over the counter ducosate sodium..take it even if you think you don't need it...you will!
 
Yep, stool softeners are critical. Back a year ago when we had a group of us recovering at the same time, we'd be up late having a pity party cuz we couldn't sleep and we'd just be poppin' those orange and lemon prunes! We were a strange group back then (drugs were involved at that point in our recovery). Some of those folks are still around on the forum now and then.....amazingly we all recovered and are doing fine now in our new, more active lives!
 
Gringo,
My advice? Definitely get the 2 beds & request lots of extra pillows and a
Handicapped room if available. Most provide a shower seat for the shower if you request one in advance.
Definitely have your SO purchase a high riser toilet seats as hotel toilets are unusually low.......
A bedside table is an absolute necessity. I used a TV tray in my living room for weeks! I also slept in my recliner for about 2 months....
Best,
Crystal
 
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