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Right TKR scheduled for May 27th

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@lovetocookandsew yeah - hubby thought I should not have any pain 2 months after ctr too. I went to doctor and he said it was nerve related and it could take 12-18 months to completely heal. I guess especially since it had started to atrophy. Dr said 2 months was WAY too soon. So if a relatively minor surgery can be like that, I can only imagine what TKR can be like, so I will need to remind myself to take it easy and not overdo. I AM hoping I will feel up to doing a little SOMETHING, though. I get bored just sitting around the house.
 
How long before anyone felt up to eating out after TKR? Hubby likes to eat out at least once a week. I'm thinking I won't really want to for a while. Or be able to.
 
The first time I used a walker for several weeks. The second time about one week. I just used the plastic grocery bags and looped them over my wrist to transport things.

As far as eating out it's hard to say. If it is something quick and you can put your leg up in a booth maybe in a few weeks, however I never had much of an appetite for a full meal before about 4 weeks at the earliest either time.
 
lol............or "hubby" can eat out by himself while you eat whatever your tummy will tolerate until YOU feel up to going out. I would not have wanted to eat out for quite a while between loss of appetite, pain, total sleepiness, lack of showers/baths, no desire to do anything to make myself presentable for public viewing, a big fat ugly knee, etc.
 
@lovetocookandsew
That's the way I am leaning. I already have difficulty handling booths, and that's what he likes over table. Didn't think about showering, looking presentable, etc. That's a good point. Knee already looks swollen, but I keep it covered up.
 
It was hard to cover up my knee after the surgery-all my pants were too tight and my dresses/shorts weren't long enough. I wore a lot of baggy capris, but still felt uncomfortable in public. Your knee will be the boss for quite a while and tell you what to do. Listen to it-not people who, while well-meaning, aren't your knee.
 
Yes, getting ready will take so much energy you'll have none left for actually going out. When I was seeing my docs twice a week we did go out for lunch or breakfast after the appointment. But I always sa in a booth with my back against a wall and my right leg up on the seat. Your knee will not like being down for any length of time and putting it up gave me the opportunity to do some "normal" things.
 
[The arthritis in your knee will be taken away, so you'll no longer have that pain. After your knee has recovered from the operation, it should be pain free.
That's a good thing about having a TKR - while the pain of arthritis gets worse, the pain of having a knee replacement will be getting less all the time.]

@Celle
Back in October 1989 I was told by a rheumatologist that I in NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM had arthritis. I always vowed I would scream in the ears of the first doctor that told me I DID have it, because everyone else just knew that's what it was. So when I was finally told I had arthritis I looked at the doctor and said "you're the one who gets to hear me scream in your ear!" I could have been treated for 20 years but was ignored. Can't tell you how many doctors I went to, and I finally stopped going to doctors for ANYTHING for 10-11 years. I'm glad I have found my current doctors.
 
OK - so for whatever reason, I am very nervous about things today. Have the joint class tomorrow. Got a call about what medications to stop and forgot to tell her about a new one. Oh well. I just stop everything 5 days in advance anyway - no problem. But feel like I can't slow down for anything. Called former PCP to fax EKG results to new PCP because they found an abnormality last month and didn't have a baseline EKG to look at. Hope it looks ok and that they really do fax it over. Trying to BREATHE! LOL Not so good at that.
 
It's usually the pain medications and the anti-inflammatories that they want you to stop. Ask about the new medication, if you can. Especially, don't stop any meds for high blood pressure or anything to do with your heart.
 
@Celle
Yeah - they said to only take the carvedilol; definitely not the diruretic! I usually take nothing, but then I've been back home before lunch time and take it all then. I think it will be after lunch this time, so I better take the carvedilol. I hate not taking the pain stuff 'cause the pain gets so bad. They really like to make us suffer, huh? LOL I can actually take one of the other medicines, but it is a huge capsule (taking 2 at a time) and needs too much water to get it down, then food, so I skip it, because they say to take only a sip of water. The new one is a muscle relaxer. It tends to make me dizzy for 1 1/2 hours in the AM but has no effect on me at night! Go figure! Tylenol does nothing for me.
 
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It's fairly well known that Tylenol doesn't help with pain from osteo-arthritis so, as you've found out, it doesn't work pre-op. However, strangely enough, Tylenol does work well for post-op pain.

Lots of people here on BoneSmart wean down to Tylenol as their recovery progresses, and they find it works well. There are even a couple of people recovering right now who can't tolerate narcotics, but who are using Tylenol, and it works for them.

The important thing when taking Tylenol post-op is to take an effective dose. You need the extra strength pills (500 mg) not the usual pills (350 mg). The effective dose is 1,000 mg 4-6-hourly, to a total of 4,000 mg in 24 hours. If any other medications you take contain Tylenol (acetaminophen) you need to factor their dose into your daily dose calculations.
 
@Celle
I bought the arthritis strength 650 mg tylenol for my hand surgery. Debating whether or not I should get some more to tide me over. I noticed the oxycodone had tylenol in it. I apparently have a stomach of steel for aspirin, but I don't think my liver wants to tolerate the tylenol as well. I used to use exedrin until they took it off the market, but when it came back out, I didn't go back to it because of the caffeine.
 
The 650 mg tabs are the wrong dose, too. But you could combine one of those with one of the 350 mg strength, to get a 1,000 mg dose, post-op. (650 +350 = 1,000)

4,000 mg of Tylenol in 24 hours shouldn't hurt your liver, but you shouldn't take Aspirin as well. Like the anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS), Aspirin affects the platelets in your blood, making you more inclined to bleed. That's why they don't want you to take them before your surgery.

I believe that, in the US, it's recommended not to exceed 3,000 mg of Tylenol in 24 hours. That's because they are afraid that people will not include the Tylenol in other medications (such as Oxycodone) in their calculations.
 
@Celle
Good point. I did read the oxycodone label, so I didn't take anything else with it. And I only took it for about 2-3 days. Then I think I finished up the tylenol, then switched back to aspirin. Haven't taken the aspirin in about 3 weeks much. Trying to stay off it as much as I can. Knee has actually been behaving pretty good until today since the dr drained it again. I'll probably need to take something soon as the fluid builds up again. But so far, so good. I've also been cutting back drastically on sugar and caffeine. Figure it'll help. Thanks for the help and talking to me. Sometimes I feel confused and sounding it out with someone helps straighten things out.
 
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