Questions galore! & Second Thoughts

[Deedles8]

I've always been a side sleeper - but it's not comfortable yet for me....so your body will rest when it's ready to rest (with the help initially of meds for me so far). I'm sure in time we'll be able to sleep as we have comfortably prior to surgery.

I'm lucky and my shower has seats and safety bars, so I would say they have certainly been very useful for me. I also have a wide raised toiled seat and that's been a life saver for me! (Big hips are an issue...I was blessed with hips instead of patience!)

 

[My way]

Hi, Jsankowski After having a BTKR I found the raised toilet seat a must. A bath transfer bench is the next most important item. Speaking for myself these two are needed! I also purchased a long handled bath puff and a long handled "grabber" at a dollar store.
Have you attended a pre op joint replacement class? They will give you lots of great advice and info at this class.
Keep reading the posts, the articles Jo gave you and ask as many questions as you want. We love to help.
Wanda

 

[maddoxsmama]

If you have any additional questions that aren't answered in your reading, feel free to ask us. That is what being a Bonesmartie is all about--sharing and encouraging others in any way we can through this surgery and recovery.

 

[maddoxsmama]

Where you are right now is the hardest place to be in. Trying to decide what to do, second guessing yourself, wondering if your knees are "bad enough", limiting your daily activities, etc. We have all been there. I did this to help myself decide. I made a list of all the things that I could not do because of the knee pain--the changes I had made in my life not because I wanted to but because I had to. Then I made a list of all the things I would do if I had two good knees and didn't have to worry about the pain. Deep down I knew the answer but seeing it written down really helped me to make my decision. It is a very hard decision to make and once made, you will still second guess yourself. Once I made the decision, I even second guessed that decision early in recovery, but now I know that decision was probably one of the best things I ever did for myself.

Only you can decide when you are ready--we are here to help answer any concerns. We have been where you are right now!

 

[Lovestoread]

I'm a side sleeper and although it hasn't been exactly easy, I've been able to manage ok. I've never been able to sleep on my back ....even after abdominal surgery, so I just figured out a way to be somewhat comfortable. I keep three different pillows next to the bed that I use (at different times) during the night. Sometimes under the leg, sometimes between, but somehow it works.

 

[Brithael]

I'm a side/stomach sleeper and the first few weeks, I slept in the recliner. With enough pillows and a pain pill before bed time, I slept quite well. However, I've been transitioning to the bed, and last night slept all night in the bed and managed to sleep on my left side and even on my right with the correct positioning of pillows. I'm at my 4 week anniversary this Weds.

Because of my husband's disabilities, we already had grab bars, hand held shower, and a bath chair in the tub, so those have been invaluable to me. I haven't had any trouble lifting my leg to get into the bath, but truly enjoy sitting in the bath chair with the hand held shower. I haven't been cleared yet for a bath, but will be looking forward to that, although I wonder about getting up and down out of the bath.

If you can't do permanent grab bars, the stick-on kind can work, just remember to check them each time before you use them as they can lose suction.

 

[referee54]

Welcome to the forum! You have asked some great questions and have had some excellent answers put forth! AS others have said, yo will be taught how to use the stairs in OT before yo leave the hospital, and you will be able to go up and down them---not quickly, and with some effort, but you can do it. You will not likely going up and down the stairs very often.

I used a shower chair and just sat in the shower and let the hot water loosen up my quads---my first shower after my BTKR was one of the most wonderful things that I have ever experienced. Others have used them and shown them to you---I urge you to look into one, too.

As for sleeping, to be honest, my recliner was my fortress for a while. I am, by nature, a side sleeper, but for this event I just slept on my back in the recliner. The pain meds helped to knock me out, so I really did not mind it much.

Please take a look at those articles that Josephine has listed---they have great information in them and the more informed you are, the more prepared yo will be.

We are certainly glad you found us and look forward to hearing from you again! Keep those questions and concerns coming---we will be here for you!

 

[referee54]

I am really not in a lot of pain now and I do not take any medications at all.

I think that many of us believe that we have to be in absolute agony before we need a TKR or a BTKR. This is not the case---many folks, after a TKR or a BTKR, have said, "Why did I wait so long?"

I am "bothered" daily by my knees. If I sit for a movie, fly or drive any long distance and try to walk afterwards I look like I am 100 years old. I can not squat AT ALL. When I ride a bike I have to put my seat at the highest setting because my knees hurt when pedalling at the normal position. My patella will slide out of position and lock up and cause a sharp pain. Most nights my knees ache and they keep me awake, sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and soak in a warm tub with Epsom salt.

To be honest, look at what you have written---you contradict yourself. Is it normal to be bothered daily by your knees? Is it normal to walk like you do after sitting for a long period of time? Is it normal to ride a bike that way?

From what you have written, over time and very slowly, what is dysfunctional has become functional and normal. It happens so slowly and so insidiously, that you do not recognize that what you are going through is not normal. Is it normal for somebody to feel this way and have to go through these activities?

I, too, at times by very painful knees---it felt like somebody, at times, was driving a gutter nail through both of them. Let me ask you this---is that normal? Don't you think that you deserve a good night's sleep? Shouldn't you be sleeping instead of soaking them in Epsom salts?

Please take a step back and look at how you are living your life right now. Don't you think that you can and deserve a better life without pain?

Life is to be enjoyed---it is not to be endured.

 

[referee54]

My Ortho said I am bone on bone and I have arthritis in the heads of the Femur and Tibia. So here is my question for all the veterans of TKR should I wait until I am in unbearable pain? I have good insurance and my employer has agreed to pay me while I off because I can work from home when I am able.

It is not going to get any better---bone on bone---Why wait---do you really want to let yourself hurt even more? Or do you want to start living your life instead of dealing with the issues of both knees that will not get any better?

IT sounds to me like you are in a great position to allow yourself to move forward---not only with a BTKR, but with your life, too.

 

[Jsankowski]

Thanks for all the advice, it is interesting in the last several days other people have started to question me and they actually helped me become more resolve in my decision to go ahead and do this! I was asked "did you try everything?" and was told that I do not walk like a person who needs their knees replaced (they did not see me try to walk after sitting). I did not post in my previous message my Ortho told me "I had the worst knees ever seen". I said "really the worst"? He said "okay maybe not the worst but the worst thus far this year!" This weekend I went bike riding and could not lift my lower leg up over the bar to get off my bike (boys mountain bike) and almost fell I had to prop myself up against my car. I noticed when I sit on the commode I kinda drop on it. Like you all have pointed out I am not living a normal life for a 51 year old, I have learned to accommodate my knees. Considering my pain threshold if I get to the point I am in unbearable pain I more that likely would not be walking or moving at all. So the decision is final I am doing IT!!

 

[referee54]

I congratulate you on your decision to move forward. You worte this---very well worded:

I am not living a normal life for a 51 year old, I have learned to accommodate my knees.

Life is not about accommodating---it is about experiencing.
I do believe that once you get throgh recovery, you will be amazed at how great you feel and how little---if any---accommodating has to take place.

 

[medic4355]

Jsankowski
Let me share a little with you about what happens if you wait or at least for me. I am not a knee patient but I am a hip patient. I broke over 20 bones in an accident and I have had 14 surgeries so I completely understand the high pain tolerance. IF you have had surgeries and you are like me one of my struggles is wondering just how much a surgery will help me. I have come to realize that I will never be the same as I was before my accident but every little bit helps. That accident was in 2009 and we have discussed hip replacement since that time. I have a rod and two pins in my hip. For three years I thought the same way. Ill have the surgery when I just cant stand it anymore. Well that day has come and I am now in the process of trying to get help. I wish I would have done it 3 years ago but I had doctors who told me I was to young and I could tolerate it with pain meds. After three years I refuse to take pain meds anymore so now is the time for help. What you have to consider is the quality of life you are living now. I have a 10 year old daughter and I now see that she misses out on a lot because of my stubbornness. Think of what you were able to do 5 years ago and what you cannot do now. Think of how it effects your family. After all that consider the pros & cons of having TKR. You may still decide to put it off for a while then again you may not. Either way you will still have the prayers and support of Bonesmart people. I encourage you to rely on the opinions of those who have been through this. I have high hopes because of what the people here have to say. Still every situation is different. Good luck and my prayers are truly with you.

 

[Jsankowski]

Life is not about accommodating---it is about experiencing.

Going to use that in my blog I am starting!

 

[Jesse for the Fight]

Hi Janis!
When I got to the point where you are now with your knees, it was only a matter of weeks before I could barely walk at all. I knew I needed BTKR and my biggest concern was how long the implants would last as I am 20 years younger than you, I could be facing up to three revision surgeries! I found the prospect rather terrifying. However, being the recent graduate that I am,I researched and researched and researched the new materials that the knees are made of as well as modern bone grafting and bone growing technologies as that is the primary concern with revision surgery, the building up of the bones around the implants. What I found was rather encouraging. The knees I have are called "the thirty-year knee" as it is projected to last that long and beyond. My partner is a biochemical engineer and he works with some of the new materials they're using to help grow new bone right inside of patients using nanotechnology. It is all very encouraging and if you were to have your knees done now imagine the amount of testing they will have done during that time. Orthopedic technologies seem to be making leaps and bounds these days. I recommend reading the article on knee replacement materials on this website. It help me choose my implant which is an Oxinium knee.

I hope your feeling a bit more focused and empowered in your decision making process. I truly believe knowledge is power both in the form of scientific articles written by scientists and surgeons as well as the first-hand experience written by the recipients of the replacements themselves. Combined these types of knowledge can give a very comprehensive idea of what to expect from your new knees.

I'm eight days out and I'm already amazed at the gain of motion!

Take care
Jesse

 

[Jsankowski]

Oh dear what do they do for people like me who itch like crazy from pain meds? I can take Vicodin, Tylenol 3 and Percocet but I might be more irritated by itching it causes!

 

[kneeper]

They'll probably give you an antihistamine.

 

[Lovestoread]

I'm itching today, too. Started during the night. I didn't have any itching after my left knee was done in June. The nurse is supposed to call me today and I'm going to ask her about it. I assume it's from the meds.

 

[Jsankowski]

I'm itching today, too.

Besides itching how are you doing?

 

[Lovestoread]

I think I'm doing quite well! The itch isn't that bad and I have very little pain today....maybe a 1 on the pain scale. I'm icing, elevating and keeping on top of my meds and it's working!

 

[Jsankowski]

I went camping this past weekend, did some biking and a 1.5 mile hike. We have a popup camper and I could not sleep because I could not get comfortable and could hardly walk by the time I came home today! Made me realize how ready I am for my surgeries!