TKR Recovery #2

[Layla]

My day consists of moving around house looking at all the things that I can't do and the messes hubs makes I do that when moving from recliner to bed.

Boy, do I remember this! Hubs was really a saint about caregiving, which I will admit surprised me because I was a bit worried to be left solely in his care. How do you really know what your spouse is going to be like playing nurse until you actually experience it? Back to the point...the mess! Hubs used our kitchen center island as Command Central, everything he needed was there, now this includes every empty bag from the store every empty carton or container he had opened, most every kitchen cabinet door was open and dirty dishes teetering on the edge of the counter by the sink. The first time I saw it my heart sank. You feel so helpless and wonder when you'll be able to dig in. Thankfully my mom and sister came to the rescue one day and vacuumed, dusted, gave the bathrooms some attention and CLEANED the Kitchen. It was wonderful! Thankfully you have a cleaning team on the way. I hope you have a good day, beachy!

 

[beachy]

@sistersinhim
Yes, it was heavenly! Simple pleasures, right?
Just finished another shower. I have a small bar of handmade glycerin soap with a small loofah on the back of it. Gently loofahed (new word LOL) my left side shoulder to toes. Then lotion. Feeling human!
Sounds like you washed yourself and bathroom floor!
My shower is walk in. Maybe a 2" lip to step over, but no biggie. I did notice how much easier it was today to maneuver in shower.

 

[beachy]

OMGosh @Layla! I'm married to your husband!!!. We're sister wives

Don't get me wrong, I feel beyond blessed that he is taking care of me. And he is doing his best.
I don't function well in clutter. Not a control freak...I can roll with the mess since I can't fix it.
I manage to keep my "nest" areas organized and clutter free. And this is all temporary.
I think I just gave myself a pep talk hahaha

 

[hawk2go]

I think I just gave myself a pep talk hahaha

... and me and probably several others

 

[beachy]

@hawk2go
Anytime, just holler. Its not like I have anything else to do.

 

[Susie-Q]

Hubs spotted me. And got a thrill Or so he said

Couldn't get that one cuz the 8 lb furry terrorist would fall in between and get squished.

Also

It's really hard to just sit and watch things not get done. (at least it was for me) I'm terrible, I want it done now and not next week and if it didn't get done then I would get up and try to do it myself. (don't do it!!) I wish someone would have given me a pep talk then, clearly I couldn't give myself one.

 

[beachy]

@Susie-Q
It is hard but, this is temporary. That's my mantra. Trying to keep my mind occupied (what's left of it) with things I want to do when I can.
My left tkr was so successful that I look forward to rightie being strong!

 

[beachy]

Groundhog day #7. Or 8.
At 12:30 today my knee will be 1 week old.

Lounge Doctor is back in my life. So is the ice machine. I stopped using them several days ago. Went to ice packs and pillows. They were uncomfortable for this new knee. We were inseparable for left knee.
My knee is still quite swollen and the pain is really uncomfortable at times even with the meds. I have used Tylenol500 and ibuprofen 350 in between pain meds occasionally.
I tried taking meds 2 every 5 hrs yesterday and was super uncomfortable by yesterday evening.
Seems I can't get past 4 1/2 hrs.
So, today's plan is more elevation and more icing than I have been doing.

I read my recovery thread from first tkr and everything seems the same.
I'm really looking forward to week #2 of recovery. I should be able to lift my leg by myself during the upcoming week. Its still a log. With a ham attached to it

How's everyone doing today? Are any January Jackpots here?

 

[sistersinhim]

You probably already know this, but just in case you don't, here's where you'll find those that had knee surgery in January: January Jackpots.

I hope the extra icing and elevating help to calm down your knee better today.

 

[Tino2You]

Hi @beachy. I think i will follow your posts as i am 3 or so days behind your TKR. I am Day 1 today. One comment you made (a TMI one) was stool softener. I wanted to start those the morning of surgery but my RN nurse disagreed. I still think I should have. I started last night and hopefully will be ok.
Stay positive.

 

[beachy]

@Tino2You
Welcome to the other side! Happy to have you following! I'll be following your recovery, too.
Sounds like your surgery went well.
Most surgeons recommend taking stool softeners to counteract the constipation effect of pain meds.
I took them 2x day for a few days. Depends on the kind you're taking to see results and how much to take. It can go the other way if you take too much. You're lucky that your wife is an RN.
Good luck with your recovery. This first week is...interesting.

 

[beachy]

Wow! My doc's office is really good!
I called at 8 am for pain med refill. Hubs is picking it up now from pharmacy. That's really fast! The "chain of command" is interesting. Stacy, the office angel (she's really sweet so I call her an angel), told me she will send the message to the PA. But, he's in surgery with doc. When he has a break he will be the one to send order to pharmacy. I thought it would be tonight before it was ready.
It feels like this combination of Lounge Doc and ice machine is going to help my ham. I can't figure out why it was so uncomfortable the first few days when we were inseparable for last knee

 

[beachy]

@sistersinhim
Thanks. I guess a lot of people don't make recovery threads. Its so helpful, tho. We had a lot of fun with my first one. We encouraged and helped each other through it.
And, yes, the extreme I and E are bringing some relief!

 

[gia2cats]

Just got on to check on how you’re doing, Beachy. Sounds like another successful recovery.
I found with the second knee, I was a little more laid back in my recovery. Kind of like, been there, done that. You know what to expect.
And thank goodness for orthos who aren’t stingy with pain meds. I remember the info from Dr McK. Said there was no problem getting meds refilled over the first 8 weeks. I just gradually increased the dose and time between doses.
Keep up the good work!

 

[beachy]

@gia2cats
Good to hear from you and thanks for checking in!
You are absolutely right about being laid back this time!
Dr McK's office was wonderful. I never had a problem getting refills in a timely manner. I didn't know what to expect with this new surgeon. So far, its been great. And the hospital experience was amazing. My new doc knows Dr McK and spoke very highly of him and I agree. It was just a really bad hospital experience.
When you say increase the dose do you mean keep it at the max dose (2 tablets in my case) and increase the time in between? Because that's what I plan on doing. Went from 4 hrs to 4 1/2. Next will be 5 hrs.
Did you ever get that cortisone shot?

 

[Susie-Q]

You have a great attitude, @beachy. I know you're a pro at this since it's your second one but I didn't learn until knee #2 about Smooth Move tea. It worked great for me while on oxy. As long as I had at least one mug a day it kept everything moving.

 

[gia2cats]

@gia2cats
Good to hear from you and thanks for checking in!
You are absolutely right about being laid back this time!
Dr McK's office was wonderful. I never had a problem getting refills in a timely manner. I didn't know what to expect with this new surgeon. So far, its been great. And the hospital experience was amazing. My new doc knows Dr McK and spoke very highly of him and I agree. It was just a really bad hospital experience.
When you say increase the dose do you mean keep it at the max dose (2 tablets in my case) and increase the time in between? Because that's what I plan on doing. Went from 4 hrs to 4 1/2. Next will be 5 hrs.
Did you ever get that cortisone shot?

Well, I meant decrease instead of increase. My bad..
My first hospital experience was OK. I stayed overnight and they were a little slow during the night with my pain med. For the second surgery they were only doing patients who agreed to be same day discharge. Surgery was 10:30 am and I was in the car coming home by 3 pm.
The hip felt better for awhile and now it’s acting up again. So I’m going to wait until closer to our cruise in March and go for the shot. At least that’s the plan.

 

[beachy]

@Susie-Q
I heard about Smooth Move (gotta love the name!) on bonesmart too, but never tried it. I've never heard of anyone who said it DIDN'T work.
I use Movical. I had a registered dietitian for awhile who was Australian. She told me about Movical and Calm. Calm is great for sleep. You shouldn't take them together because you'll sleep thru "the big event"
LOL not a pro! Professionals get paid. I just laugh about my joint replacements.

 

[Susie-Q]

Ok, I've got to tell this funny story. When I was much younger I used to sell Longaberger baskets. The company would have a convention every summer in Columbus, Ohio and once I went. A few of us consultants roomed together at the hotel and it happened to be a year when the summer Olympics were going on. As many of us know, you can get a bit blocked up when you travel and we would joke when one of us finally went that we had our "Olympic Moment".

"the big event"

 

[beachy]

@Susie-Q
The Olympic Moment brought to you by Smooth Move Tea