TKR Recovering from December 2, 2019 Left TKR

[Suz]

Suz, just a little tidbit of info I discovered when using my ice machine. We always emptied it out, cleaned it a bit and refilled it in the mornings. When we filled it for the first time each day, we added four frozen water bottles (I had at least 12 in rotation) some water and then some ice to the fill line. Then during the day we changed the bottles when needed. This meant the water was very cold from the start, didn't use much ice at all, and also it meant the bottles melted more slowly so we didn't need to change them as often. It also meant it stayed really cold for up to 7 or 8 hours as I recall, so it stayed cold all or most of each night, and since I slept well from day one, it meant I didn't have warm water on my knee after 4 hours or so, and I didn't have to wake and change it out or take it off. Oh, and make sure to remove the labels if you haven't already so they don't gum up the machine.

Thank You Kim! I will certainly pass this along to my husband! We used bottles in the beginning but moved over to ice because it stayed colder longer. But not as long as what you've reported!

 

[pamsknees]

Hi Suz
I agree - I will do what it takes to make recovery as good as possible . I’ve ordered an adjustable bed & am trying to figure out what all will be helpful. I looked at your ice machines website & couldn’t figure out if there was an option for bilateral. I’ve read a bunch of the articles & am having a hard time figuring out which ice machine to go with- so many choices! Esp since my surgeon didn’t offer a recommendation beyond ice packs.

 

[Suz]

Hi Suz
I agree - I will do what it takes to make recovery as good as possible . I’ve ordered an adjustable bed & am trying to figure out what all will be helpful. I looked at your ice machines website & couldn’t figure out if there was an option for bilateral. I’ve read a bunch of the articles & am having a hard time figuring out which ice machine to go with- so many choices! Esp since my surgeon didn’t offer a recommendation beyond ice packs.

That's great about the adjustable bed Pam! I hope you will have plenty of time to get use to it prior to surgery. Make sure getting in and out will be as easy as possible. My bed sits high and as much as I love how quiet it is in my room, it was uncomfortable getting in my bed when I got home. Simple things like the following. We have a memory foam pillow top matress. I practiced getting in and out of bed prior to surgery by scooting. That wonderful pillow top hindered my sliding in without using my left knee easily. So I tried a satin bottom sheet and I was able to slide across the mattress easier! I kept the cotton flat sheep between me and the quilt because it's cold in the NC mountains in Dec!

Another thing I found different than what I had planned for was toiletring. I bought a new portable seat riser for our toilet. My surgeon recommended a portable 'bed-side toilet' but I didn't think I would need it. Because I knew official PT would be quite limited and getting around the house would be a good substitute. When the social worker came in to discuss discharge, the bed-side toilet along with a walker was on my 'discharge list' covered by insurance. Due to once again getting cut off to effective pain medication, the trip to the bathroom has been extremely painful in the middle of the night. Even though it's literally feet away from my bed. I can't tell you how much I love knowing the portable toilet is right by my bed during the night when everyone is asleep! And I use it proudly! If I were having both of my knees replaced, even more thrilled I would be with the added 'recovery detail'!

The more prepared you can be with daily living requirements, the better.

I had advanced notice like you on my surgery date. I found myself in a huge 'nesting' mood a month before surgery. I stayed busy with my house to replace anxiety.

As to which ice machine. Doing the research will build your excitement and more improtantly, your confidence in it as a recovery aide. I told my husband just tonight if I had to choose between the medication I've had to beg for or an ice machine, it would be a decision! That just says how much I love the comfort my ice machine brings me.

Keep us posted as you how you prepare for your surgery. It helps others here that will follow you!

Also, be excited that the ice or frozen bottles for your machine doesn't require a prescription!

 

[pamsknees]

Thanks Suz ! I so appreciate you sharing what has helped you. I move next week from my farm to a new home in town - having good internet & restaurant & grocery delivery services will be nice. Once I get moved, I will gear up to getting my supplies assembled for knee replacement. I may need a bedside toilet too - having had prolapse surgery 5 yr ago, being able to get to the toilet quickly enough has been a concern.

 

[Suz]

Thanks Suz ! I so appreciate you sharing what has helped you. I move next week from my farm to a new home in town - having good internet & restaurant & grocery delivery services will be nice. Once I get moved, I will gear up to getting my supplies assembled for knee replacement. I may need a bedside toilet too - having had prolapse surgery 5 yr ago, being able to get to the toilet quickly enough has been a concern.

I'm blessed with a hyper-sensitive bladder so yes, the portable toilet has been a dream! Nothing worst than dozing off only to awaken to the urge to 'go'! We're not going to roll out of our recovery beds and run to the bathroom! I'm able to get up and on the portable potty without unhooking the cable from the ice machine to my knee! The Ossur has a nice long water cable!

Something else I failed to mention is that allot of these units comes with different pads, depending on where on your body you have surgery. Mine has a 'universal' pad that's bigger than the knee pad. I learned from the reviews the universal is a better pad to use for knees! It's bigger and enables you to cover more area. It doesn't wrap all the way around my leg. I don't have a huge leg, haha, but the pad is big length wise- not in width. It's really easy to reposition to the back of my knee by slidding it around without removing it. I use an ace bandage to take care of the pad cover others say is easly worn by the strong velcro straps that come with the unit.

You may want to check with your Insurance Company to see if they might cover an ice therapy machine. Ya never know! My insurance covered a portable potty that cost $392.

Congratulations on your new home in town! AWESOME!! We are currently 2 blocks from main street in our little mountain town until our farm cabin is up. It's NICE to be so close to everything and have great internet connection!

 

[pamsknees]

Thanks Suz! I never thought about checking with insurance on it or on the potty. I will check on that. Is a prescription needed for it?
im super excited about my new home- I did the farming for 15 years & it was fun but a ton of work & ties me down. I’m ready to travel once I have knees that can walk

 

[Suz]

Since I feel like I've turned into a commercial for ice machine therapy, I thought I would show a picture of my 10-day post-op Left TKR and the swelling I don't have!

In the next two photos I want to share what 'I think' happened during my first PT session, 10-days out from surgery. I don't think the bruising came home from the hospital with me. One of the BS experts here may correct me however!

I started my first PT session with the understanding there would only be 'passive', uncomfortable but not painful, movement. I may have got caught up in wanting to impress by how well I was doing. I don't know. I had taken my pain reliver an hour before she arrived and also been on ice- so my knee was pain-free & relaxed while she was here. All I know is that I have paid dearly since with the worst pain I've ever felt in my left knee. Ever!

I learned my lesson, again, but wanted to share this in hopes it helps others early in their recovery. You can so avoid the pain I've suffered because of 'show-off' PT! It sure won't happen here again!

 

[Helizabug]

That looks brutal, Suz! A good cautionary for the rest of us, for sure!

 

[sistersinhim]

Wow Suz. It looks like you have very little swelling. Good job on controlling that.

 

[Macknit]

Our insurance covered the Ossur ice machine...we wake up from surgery with it around the knee...... but not any type of commode is covered!? It does make you wonder who does their research!?
And my swelling was very minimal! I think it is the ice machine!

 

[Helizabug]

I went home with an ice machine too. Ever grateful. My swelling hasn’t been negligible, but not awful, either.

I just don’t get how they decide what best practices are. Everyone should go home with an ice machine because it’s good for the patient, and it’s so much easier for the caregiver to maintain!

 

[marieltha]

I couldn’t deal with juggling ice packs. Used my old Aircast Cryocuff gravity feed. Works great, but will get an electric if I ever do surgery again.
Also, in my knee and shoulder threads I describe my adventures with pain meds and adjustable bed, which helped me.

 

[tlfiore]

@Suz I wasn't completely sure but I HAVE been faithfully following your recovery. Now, I have you marked as "follow," so I will not miss any of your posts.

Your left knee looks GREAT, it really does! You seem to show very little edema, or swelling! It's amazing how icing helps. I must tell you after reading your recovery posts, especially your comments about your Ossur Cold Rush Icing Machine, I decided to pull my Cryo Cast Icing Machine out of mothballs and give it another whirl. My entire knee and surrounding areas were way too sensitive for the pressure and texture of the Cryo Cast KNEE cuff immediately after surgery, so I iced with a standard dual ice-pack system. But now that I'm at a different healing & recovery stage, I can actually tolerate the knee cuff with a barrier and some padding between the cuff, the velcro straps and my knee. I DID purchase the Thigh Cuff for next time (surgery on my left knee come 2020) and moving forward with my right TKR. You also mentioned the comfort of using a "full-pad" versus a knee hugging cuff.

I also did not have much luck with placing frozen water bottles inside my Cryo Cast Machine. Seems like doing so never got the water quite cold enough. So, I purchased a bunch of these little Pillsbury 2-cup disposable plastic containers from a local store and I fill these with water, freeze them. I take the frozen water chunks from the containers and manage to place about 3 into my Cryo Cast machine. I top everything off with the required amount of water and a bit more crushed ice...place the little enclosed insulator piece on top.

One nice thing about the Cryo Cast is that the ice and the circulating water remain cool for upwards of 4 hours. So, I only have to change out the ice & water a few times each day. At this point in time, I've returned to icing about 3 times daily. I've been changing out the ice/water accordingly.

Keep your spirits high! Seems like you are recovering nicely!

 

[Suz]

I wasn't completely sure but I HAVE been faithfully following your recovery. Now, I have you marked as "follow," so I will not miss any of your posts.

Your left knee looks GREAT, it really does! You seem to show very little edema, or swelling! It's amazing how icing helps. I must tell you after reading your recovery posts, especially your comments about your Ossur Cold Rush Icing Machine, I decided to pull my Cryo Cast Icing Machine out of mothballs and give it another whirl.

One nice thing about the Cryo Cast is that the ice and the circulating water remain cool for upwards of 4 hours. So, I only have to change out the ice & water a few times each day. At this point in time, I've returned to icing about 3 times daily. I've been changing out the ice/water accordingly.

Keep your spirits high! Seems like you are recovering nicely!

Thank You for your uplifting thoughts & compliments @tlfiore! I've had a low energy day and it was so nice to read your post just now!

I really believe the icing has kept my swelling at a minimal. And at 2wks post-op I'm hooked up pretty much 24/7- lol! Because it feels so good and keeps my knee more flexible. I do turn it off a few times a day but mine lets me turn the water flow down to low and it's great!

My husband uses both 6oz soda bottles, labels removed, as well as bags of ice from our neighborhood Burger King. We can get a pretty large bag for $1. He puts distilled water up to the blue fill line and fills the rest w/ that ice. It lasts for about 5hrs., longer if I run the water flow on low! I'm able to get about 5hrs of sleep at a time which is so nice! But we also like using the small frozen soda bottles, similar to what you're doing, because they're free! We get 4 in at a time.

I can't tell you how happy I am you pulled your Cryo Cast out again! For my first replacement back in 2016 I had the manual gravity fed Cryo Cast Cooler. I had no idea there was an automated version. I was thankful at the time for the icing it gave me in addition to the pads!

Tomorrow, my staples come out. YAY! I'm so happy!

Thank You again for your encouraging words! I'll be following your informative posts too!
Hugs, -Suzie!

 

[Helizabug]

Yay for the stapl-ectomy! Removing the stitches on Thursday gave me some added mobility, I think. (Maybe not, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

 

[sistersinhim]

Tomorrow, my staples come out. YAY! I'm so happy!

Oh, I felt so much better when my staples came out. I bet you will, too!

I iced like you did, close to 24 hours a day. It kept the swelling and pain down.

 

[Suz]

Yay for the stapl-ectomy! Removing the stitches on Thursday gave me some added mobility, I think. (Maybe not, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

@Helizabug I read this just now to Celeste, my PT 'employee'! She loved your term, 'stapl-ectomy'! I've been sharing the BS forum with her, (gives her something to do other than abusing my baby knee), lol! She is pretty impressed with us here!

My flexion today is at 84*s, exactly 2wks post-op! My extension received a 'great' from her but she forgot to tell me what it was. We do exercises on 'my terms' now and are getting along great! Perhaps it helps I'm old enough to be her Mother, lol! I'm pleased with the flexion after recalling it was only at 50*s 6wks post-op from my 2016 replacement. ICE*ICE*BABY!

My stapl-ectomy will happen tomorrow. The Home Nurse wasn't able to make it today but said she would be here tomorrow.

One day at a time, we recover!

-Suz,-----------> keeping the faith!

 

[Suz]

Hello Friends,

Ugh, it's been a rough past few days. I've missed being here.

I was relieved to get my staples out yesterday. But the relief was short-lived. I've definitely hit the energy-zap, or whatever it's called. Oh yes, energy drain. That's it.

Early yesterday I felt my surgical knee area getting more stiff by the hour and very painful. It continued to worsen throughout the day, radiating up and down my leg. It was so bad I couldn't find a comfortable position at all.

Then today it hit me. BAROMETRIC PRESSURE ATTACK! We had a sudden temperature drop yesterday due to the winter storm coming across the US.

Being recliner bound and in the middle of Christmas certainly hasn't helped. I'm fighting not to feel sorry for myself, but come on. It's such a special time of year.

The Biltmore House is only a few hours away and, sniff-sniff, I love so much how they decorate the Biltmore Village. Victorian beauty on display. This holiday season, The Biltmore House is hosting Downton Abbey: The Exhibition.

@Celle, for me, Downton Abbey ranks up there close to Outlander, LOL! No, it's not the same, but a similar emotional attachment for me! I have the DVD's and plan to start the series here in my recliner on Christmas Eve. But I would so love to see the Downton Abbey Exhibition, for Christmas.


Anyway, I hope you are well this evening. I hope to get caught up reading your posts tonight.

Hanging In here but so bored in the North Carolina mountains. Even though I know recovery will come, it sure feels like I'll never move away from the walker freely again.

Thanks for allowing me to vent. Hopefully my mood is on the mend!

-Suzie





LOL.

 

[tlfiore]

@Suz I've read through your posts again. You are such a kind, sweet and insightful woman! I really enjoy reading your posts 'cause your spirit leaps off the pages and helps me (so many others, too for sure).

Well, sounds like you are right where you should be. You are going through a similar isolation period as I am. I've decided to (once again this year) take the "Christmas pressure" off my shoulders and just let it be...trying to live in the "true meaning" of it all.

It's hard and I feel guilty, isolated, Scrooge-like. Of course, it started with a vengeance last weekend with a request from my husband, "Hey...why don't we decorate a bit...a few lights here, garland there, blah, blah." Yeah...right...why don't "WE" decorate means let "TONI-LEE" decorate and I'll critique & criticize. No thanks.

I nearly lost it. No, no and heck no.

It's "easy" for me (I suppose) to pass 'cause we have no children, no grandchildren. We have zero family nearby...it's not like we're disappointing others with my bah-humbug mood...but I'm just not feeling it this year.

Frankly, I am just not feeling well enough to decorate, or do much. My intention is to give a little something to the few who have REALLY factored into my life this year. Now are you ready for this:
~my dear neighbor/friend Barbara, who has been so helpful
~my neighbor Barbara's 3 dogs (always do gifts from my dog, Ernie to the neighbor's dogs)
~my PT person/friend, who is also our realtor (it's a very small town-lol)
~a dear friend of mine, who lives in Australia
~my mail gal (I love her and I do 99.999999% shopping online)
~my UPS guy (see above...yes I am intimately acquainted with my mail person, UPS, FedEx guys)
~husband (it's Christmas for both of us 24/7/365 in the gift giving/receiving department)
~maybe a few other folks

And before I forget, I just posted about my last OS visit...not good. Your ROM history gave me GREAT hope! Thank you for posting that! I definitely needed to read that today!

Hang in there. You are doing great. Be easy on yourself. I'm always saying, "Let Christmas be 365 days a year...not just one...kindness, charity, giving, respectfulness, love, prayer, gratitude, compassion...let it be 24/7/365...gift giving/receiving 365 would be nice, too

 

[eliza61nyc]

Hello Friends,

Ugh, it's been a rough past few days. I've missed being here.

I was relieved to get my staples out yesterday. But the relief was short-lived. I've definitely hit the energy-zap, or whatever it's called. Oh yes, energy drain. That's it.

Early yesterday I felt my surgical knee area getting more stiff by the hour and very painful. It continued to worsen throughout the day, radiating up and down my leg. It was so bad I couldn't find a comfortable position at all.

Then today it hit me. BAROMETRIC PRESSURE ATTACK! We had a sudden temperature drop yesterday due to the winter storm coming across the US.

Being recliner bound and in the middle of Christmas certainly hasn't helped. I'm fighting not to feel sorry for myself, but come on. It's such a special time of year.

The Biltmore House is only a few hours away and, sniff-sniff, I love so much how they decorate the Biltmore Village. Victorian beauty on display. This holiday season, The Biltmore House is hosting Downton Abbey: The Exhibition.

@Celle, for me, Downton Abbey ranks up there close to Outlander, LOL! No, it's not the same, but a similar emotional attachment for me! I have the DVD's and plan to start the series here in my recliner on Christmas Eve. But I would so love to see the Downton Abbey Exhibition, for Christmas.


Anyway, I hope you are well this evening. I hope to get caught up reading your posts tonight.

Hanging In here but so bored in the North Carolina mountains. Even though I know recovery will come, it sure feels like I'll never move away from the walker freely again.

Thanks for allowing me to vent. Hopefully my mood is on the mend!

-Suzie





LOL.

Hey Suze, let me just say your post are so upbeat and encouraging. Don't worry about your mood, girlfriend you have such a positive attitude. this too shall pass.


LOL would you believe one time I got a young PT who did not believe the effect of weather on joints. lol. He was really sweet, fresh out of college and just finished up his clinicals. Kept trying to tell me the science wasn't there. luckily I have 3 college age young men myself so I'm a professional at dealing with the "I know every thing because I'm young and you know nothing" syndrome "giggles" he actually was a very good PT because he listened to every complaint I had.

anyhoo I so empathize with you at this stage. It sucks not being able to get comfortable because it's a vicious loop. can't get pain under control=can't get comfortable=no sleep/rest=depressed/irritable.
rinse and repeat.

Keep posting here, we'll be your virtual cheering section.

now for the holidays. take small steps. I had my left tkr on 12/6/16 and like others I read bonesmart for months before in preparation. so I knew I wasn't going to be my normal Jolly elf around Christmas. give yourself permission to wing it this christmas. NO guilt. I actually lived in my recliner and binged on all my holiday movies. lol My kids got what we call the "Charlie brown" christmas tree from a lot on the corner.