Right TKR soon; great hopes!

TKR was my very first surgery, so I had no idea what to expect at all and was pretty much terrified going in. Even with what followed (an infection) I was and still am happy I had my TKR. I’ve never been more active than I am now at 62. I walk every day, swim laps, ride a bike and travel. None of that would be possible without my TKR.
 
@KarriB , that is so wonderful! I am so sincerely happy for you that your TKR gave you such great results, even despite that infection. My TKR will be the most lengthy surgery I have ever had, I am sure. I had my gall bladder removed 26 years ago but that's about all. Like you, I have no clue about what to expect. I guess I will learn more at Joint Class and the pre-surgical interview by the hospital, both of which are on this coming Tuesday.

After reading on this site, I decided that even though I normally avoid addictive pain medication, recovery from TKR surgery is exactly the type of situation for which it is needed and very appropriate. So, during recovery I do plan to take it as prescribed.

I am not a nice person when I am hurting, so just a few minutes ago I was explaining to my sweetie that I may be difficult to get along with for a couple of weeks or more after surgery if I am both in pain, and also stoned on pain medication. He says he knows. :rotfl:

I don't expect immediate or even quick results, but eventually I'd love to walk every day like you do and I'd love to go to the gym again. We used to go for an hour three times a week, and I loved how much stronger and healthier I felt when we could do that.
 
I’ll be honest, I was worried when I was still taking oxycodone at 2 weeks post op. I wasn’t here on BoneSmart so I had point of reference, but my best friend who has had numerous surgeries explained how I needed the pain meds and needed to take them on schedule so I wasn’t chasing the pain. I’m glad you recognize the need. They did make me feel weird and unable to concentrate, but the energy drain was what surprised me.
 
I think I am just about all ready for my surgery a week from Tuesday. Since I will probably be prescribed Oxycodone or some other strong pain medication for a while after surgery, I decided both for convenience and for safety's sake I should cook and freeze some healthy dinners for the early recovery period. (Cooking while under the influence of opiates is not a skill of mine,:heehee: but this way I won't have any reason to try it). I had already done four, and today I cooked and froze another week's worth so I now have dinners for the first week and a half. I should probably should cook and freeze at least one, maybe two more weeks worth later this week. Just ten more days until surgery.
 
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@Carole4815 If you go to the social room, there's an article on pre-surgery meal prep, if you're interested. Also, feel free to leave any ideas you have, along with recipes. The time will soon pass and you'll be on the other side!
 
Cooking and freezing is a good idea, because you won’t feel like standing to cook for quite a few weeks and your knee won’t like it either. I was able to do easy breakfasts (toast) or lunch, but didn’t actually cook a dinner until the 4 week mark when I threw chicken in a crock pot. My best friend brought dinner quite often.
 
What is joint camp?
I guess I meant joint class (?). Anyway, it's a class given by the hospital to those scheduled for joint replacement surgery, to educate us about it I suppose. I'll let you know once I have been to it because I have been told nothing whatsoever about it. :)
 
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Cooking and freezing is a good idea, because you won’t feel like standing to cook for quite a few weeks and your knee won’t like it either. I was able to do easy breakfasts (toast) or lunch, but didn’t actually cook a dinner until the 4 week mark when I threw chicken in a crock pot. My best friend brought dinner quite often.
I have a tall barstool and could sit on that and use my InstantPot, but I doubt I'll want to do that any time soon. My sweetie(boyfriend) has brought me take-out for lunch about 2/3rd of the days lately and I am sure he will continue to do that after surgery, plus I may be able to get him to bring me some dinners as well. Or, I could have him bring double portions of lunch and save some for later. I am already at the point where I can't stand very long so I can relate to what you are saying.
 
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I guess I meant joint class (?). Anyway, it's a class given by the hospital to those scheduled for joint replacement surgery, to educate us about it I suppose
That’s what I thought but I wanted to make sure.

My joint class was excellent, it explained all that would go on while I was in the hospital and gave me confidence.

I had a wonderful hospital experience, and I hope you do, too.
 
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Tomorrow is my last appointment before surgery with my surgeon. He said it would be my chance to ask any last minute questions. I can't think of anything to ask. I probably have the same questions as anybody else, but just haven't thought of what those questions would be.

Surgery is a week from Tuesday, 9 days away.
 
Did you ask about pain meds? What he’ll prescribe, how long or how many refills and will he (the OS) handle all pain meds or a pain doctor.
 
I guess I meant joint class (?). Anyway, it's a class given by the hospital to those scheduled for joint replacement surgery, to educate us about it I suppose. I'll let you know once I have been to it because I have been told nothing whatsoever about it. :)

LOL - I called it joint camp too - not as much fun as the name implies :)
 
Today I had my last appointment with my knee surgeon before the surgery. I asked all my questions and got my answers. I found out that I will be his second surgery on the morning of the 13th, so I am to get there at 7 AM (although the surgery scheduler will call me the day before and confirm or let me know of any changes).

He said that the PT guy will be coming to my house the first couple of weeks, and after that I can go to the PT guy. He mentioned a machine in the hospital which I gather is the CPM machine, and I told him that I would probably not be able to tolerate that at all. Loved his reaction which was that it was OK if that was the case.

Best of all, no more obstacles between me and this surgery arose. Whew!!

Tomorrow morning is joint class, followed by the hospital's pre-surgical interview. I'll be meeting with the anesthesiologist, answering questions about my medical history and what prescription drugs I regularly take, and so on. They will go over my lab tests, maybe do more lab tests, answer questions, etc.

I am so glad my sweetie is going to all of these appointments and meetings with me for support and to help me remember everything that is said. I told him I thought that was the nicest thing anybody had ever done for me. I can be pretty tough, and I suppose I could do it without him if I had to, but it's still nice to have somebody to lean on. OK, there's an earworm. :snork:
 
Progress report: Today I went to the following:

1) "Joint class" (educational class for joint replacement patients). It was pretty useless but they gave me a spiral bound booklet with all the information in it and I will review it later to make sure I didn't miss anything.

2) Nursing staff interview: The joint class was followed by a private interview by a nurse taking down my medical history and each family member's medical history, plus an explanation of what to expect at every stage, plus just everything else imaginable.

3) Anaesthesia interview: Next was another private interview by a nurse anaesthetist, wanting to know in detail about things like prior experiences with anesthetics, seizures, allergies, any removable dental appliances (I had none), and so on, blah blah blah.

4) Lab work: That was followed by lab technicians doing even more lab work on me. I thought I had had it all done, but there were a couple of tests that had been missed. Plus, they measured my height and weight so that they could compute my BMI. I was thrilled to see that my weight was a couple of pounds lower than I had expected, but not so thrilled that my height, which has always been 5'9", is now 5'8". I guess this means I am officially older than dirt.

All of this took four hours, and between each I had to walk several times the maximum distance that I can walk with this crummy knee. All this walking was in hallways in the same hospital building, but more than once I had to stop and sit in my walker to rest at random hallway locations before continuing. They offered me a wheelchair but like a fool I refused to take them up on it. I was so glad that my sweetie (boyfriend) was with me every step of the way to give me courage and strength. If I had been alone I think I would have just dissolved into tears of exhaustion and pain (being basically a total weakling).
awww.early_retirement.org_sk_forums_images_smilies_cry.gif


By the time we got home, my pain was through the roof
awww.early_retirement.org_forums_images_smilies_peace.gif
but I DID IT and as exhausted as I am, being done with all these requirements is a glorious, victorious feeling - - - because now, there is no reasonable chance of further obstacles keeping this surgery from happening as scheduled.

My sweetie drove me home, got me into my recliner, got my ice machine going for me and handed me the part that goes on my knee, and then brought me lunch. What a man! Wow. We've been "going steady" for almost 20 years, and he still never ceases to amaze and impress me in so many ways.

One week from today and I will have a new knee.
 
Great that you're ready to go! Soon it'll all be behind you and you'll be recovering. Good luck and see you soon on the other side!
 
My ice machine felt so good that after hooking it up and starting to use it this afternoon, I accidentally napped for an hour and a half with it on. I don't know if that's advisable but I don't even care. It was the most delicious sleep! I think knee pain can cause some chronic sleep deprivation for some of us, and it was really nice to remedy that. :)
 
As long as you have a cloth between the wrap and your skin, you can ice as long as you like. I used to leave mine on all night, every night, plus all the hours I iced in the daytime. It was a great pain reliever for the little pain I had after my pain ball was removed.
 
That ice machine will be your best friend after surgery. Mine had a timer on it which I hate. Hubby disabled it so I can wear as long as I want. Are you using ice or frozen water bottles? Hubby already has big square peanut jars in the freezer. They last a long time.
I'm practicing for the sleepless nights after surgery. I've been up for a couple of hours. I can't stay asleep. The joys of Parkinson's. I'm going to go back to bed now. At least the bedroom is air conditioned.
 

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