Questions regarding preparing for pre & post surgery

[DianeJ]

@DianeJ before you buy an ice machine check with your doctor, a lot of people get one at the hospital paid for by insurance. Freeze little soda bottles full of water to use in the ice machine to save on your icecubes. The ice machines are great, but if you are to be by yourself remember you will have to carry them to empty them and refill them with ice (if you try doing it by yourself it could be difficult, expecially with stairs).

@tiredwife Oh, good point! I have to call the OS's nurse today to ask some questions, so will add the ice machine to my list of questions. That is also a good point about freezing pop bottles for the machine as I don't have an ice maker on my fridge. Since I am by myself, that is something to consider about toting the ice machine around. I don't have stairs, so that is a good thing.

 

[DianeJ]

@midwest girl and @DanaDelight I very much appreciate your helpful tips! I love knowing ahead of time what has worked for other people and what has not been necessary. I definitely don't want more stuff than I will need, but still want to be prepared!

Another question: I have a fallen arch and OA in my left foot (right knee is the one that will be new). My podiatrist wants me to wear stable shoes with a good arch, so wondering if I will be able to get my tennis shoes on by myself? I know probably not right away, but maybe by the time I go to my post-op.

 

[tiredwife]

@DianeJ My hubby just tied his shoes really loose so he could slip them on and off without untieing them. Probably not the best thing to do, but it works for him. Oh, be prepared, you might have to buy new shoes. Your old shoes have worn to match your old way of walking, and you will be walking differently after surgery. You don't want your old shoes to cause problems.

 

[DianeJ]

Good news! I talked to my OS's nurse today to ask my list of questions, and I did ask her about the Polar Ice machine and she said, yes, I will be getting one of those at the hospital! It will go to rehab with me and then I get to take it home! That's one thing I don't need to worry about buying! I also bought one of those plastic chairs from Walmart today to use in the shower.

I was curious about how long the surgery would take and she said they plan on about an hour, but it could be longer. That seems really fast! The less time to be under anesthesia the better, if you ask me. Is that about average?

 

[midwest girl]

I had no problems getting my shoes on. I wore tennis shoes. You could always get a long handled shoe horn (Walmart) to help you and athletic stores sell elastic shoe laces that you could put on your shoes thus never having to worry about tying the laces. Just use the shoe horn. I bought both because it was suggested I would need them but I had at least a 90 degree flex in my knee before I left the hospital so I had no problem with my shoe laces. Ended up returning the elastic laces. For my surgery I went back to the OR about 6:40 am and was in recovery at 10:00 am and stayed in recovery for an hour before being moved to my room.

 

[tiredwife]

@DianeJ Glad to hear you get the ice machine and have your chair.
My hubby's surgery was 3 1/2 hours because the doctor had to work on getting his leg straight. It really varies, depending on the doctor, etc. You won't know though because you will be asleep. You will feel like minutes have passed.

 

[BigBend]

In addition to the colace my doctor prescribed, I drank prune juice mixed with water and pomegranate juice and ate bran muffins I had made and frozen prior to surgery using Fiber One. I had very little problems with constipation!

I bought the elastic shoe laces when I got tired of asking friends to help me put on shoes and socks! But I could dress myself right away after surgery. By the time I needed shoes and socks to go outside, I pretty much could handle them.

My best aid was a bedside commode. I didn't use it bedside as I was able to get to my bathroom. I did use it on my toilet to both raise the seat and provide grab bars. At 3 months out of BTKR, I'm only now able to do without.

 

[caridgway]

My doctor did want me to take iron before surgery, then stop while I was taking narcotics (which WILL cause constipation), then resume after stopping narcotics for 2 - 3 months. He recommended a kind of iron called "easy iron" which I ordered on-line -- said that many patients told him that this form of iron did not cause constipation. That has been my experience. I am now done with narcotics but still taking a one-a-day-multi with iron at lunchtime, and an easy iron tablet with dinner. I drink about 3 oz. of prune juice and a tsp of metamucil with 2 glasses of water and have no constipation at all.

Anemia is a real possibility with TKR because there is usually loss of blood. My blood iron levels were pretty good before surgery but while in the hospital, my levels were definitely in the anemia category. However, I recovered very quickly and my PA said that it is normal for levels to be low right after surgery, and that this blood loss is one of the reasons for such fatigue after surgery.. (I went through some very severe anemia in early 2013 which required a blood transfusion so I know first-hand what the symptoms feel like. I never had these symptoms after surgery, except for feeling so tired. But that subsided after a few weeks.)

 

[DianeJ]

@caridgway Thank you for that information! I will definitely look for 'easy iron'! I am also glad to know that you quit the iron while on narcotics - I was thinking that both at the same time would be a double whammy! I'll ask my OS about this. From what you have told me, I now understand one of the reasons for the fatigue after knee surgery. I am so glad to get all these great tips from those that have been through this! I looked for prune juice while I was at Walmart yesterday, but believe it or not, they didn't have it. I know my little local grocery store will though.

 

[DianeJ]

@BigBend I do have Colace on my shopping list & that is a great idea about making bran muffins and freezing them. Ditto for the Fiber One. I want to be prepared with a lot of different methods to see what works the best for me! Thanks.