Rockgirl4
Former BoneSmart staff member
It's finally over!!! I'm pretty out of it, so forgive me for any typos and weird sentences.
Surgery Tuesday morning went well and my hospital stay was mostly pain-free except in the night, as the dressing was way too tight. Once the nurse loosened it, I could sleep. Everyone was shocked how well I was doing moving with the walker and lifting my leg on/off the bed. We were home by 1:00 yesterday. All of the good stuff ended last night though.
Most of yesterday was spent trying to use the restroom. After 11 other joint surgeries, I've never has this big of a problem. The stool softeners and Miralax aren't cutting it. Horrible gas pains have been a common occurrence. We're trying something new tonight.
The knee is awful----very swollen and blistering. Home health wasn't too concerned, but the Home Health PT wants us to be super cautious,especially if the blisters open. They both can already tell I'm going to bruise horribly.Elevating it is brutal right now too. They both told me to alternate times elevating if it's too painful. Just be sure to DO it though.
The best part is my surgeon wants me to do super light PT, limited standing/walking. He is well aware of my past history with scar tissue/adhesions following aggressive PT. He insisted I have to be treated with the gentler approach. He cut out huge chunks of scar tissue thanks to my brutal ACI (cartilage implant) PT regimen in 2015/16, and he agrees we need to find a balance He gave me free reign to keep the PTs in line--he even said when they want 2 sets of exercises, just do 1. There was a PT at the hospital Tuesday evening who said the only way to get the bend was to let them crank on it. I politely told her no, and Dr. Martin agreed. Luckily my husband was with me too, so he told her the whole discussion Dr. Martin had with us about this NOT being a standard TKR recovery. She was still a little put out, but I told her this is just the way it's going to be.
Lastly, 1 Percocet-5 just wasn't enough. I've tried twice and just lay here and cried. We already called the surgeon's office, and they're mailing out a new script. Good old Memorial Day Weekend in the US just HAS to be this weekend. Thankfully I have spare pills left over from 3 yrs ago if we start running out. I seriously don't know how anyone can do this without Narcotics. I had the ropivicaine/torodol injection into the knee post-op, but those wore off by last night. My surgeon doesn't do spinals or nerve blocks, so here I am, hoping these next few days fly by.
My heart goes out to all the others who had their TKRs this week. I look forward to following the other recovery threads once I can think straight again. [HASH=159]#arthrofibrosis[/HASH]
Surgery Tuesday morning went well and my hospital stay was mostly pain-free except in the night, as the dressing was way too tight. Once the nurse loosened it, I could sleep. Everyone was shocked how well I was doing moving with the walker and lifting my leg on/off the bed. We were home by 1:00 yesterday. All of the good stuff ended last night though.
Most of yesterday was spent trying to use the restroom. After 11 other joint surgeries, I've never has this big of a problem. The stool softeners and Miralax aren't cutting it. Horrible gas pains have been a common occurrence. We're trying something new tonight.
The knee is awful----very swollen and blistering. Home health wasn't too concerned, but the Home Health PT wants us to be super cautious,especially if the blisters open. They both can already tell I'm going to bruise horribly.Elevating it is brutal right now too. They both told me to alternate times elevating if it's too painful. Just be sure to DO it though.
The best part is my surgeon wants me to do super light PT, limited standing/walking. He is well aware of my past history with scar tissue/adhesions following aggressive PT. He insisted I have to be treated with the gentler approach. He cut out huge chunks of scar tissue thanks to my brutal ACI (cartilage implant) PT regimen in 2015/16, and he agrees we need to find a balance He gave me free reign to keep the PTs in line--he even said when they want 2 sets of exercises, just do 1. There was a PT at the hospital Tuesday evening who said the only way to get the bend was to let them crank on it. I politely told her no, and Dr. Martin agreed. Luckily my husband was with me too, so he told her the whole discussion Dr. Martin had with us about this NOT being a standard TKR recovery. She was still a little put out, but I told her this is just the way it's going to be.
Lastly, 1 Percocet-5 just wasn't enough. I've tried twice and just lay here and cried. We already called the surgeon's office, and they're mailing out a new script. Good old Memorial Day Weekend in the US just HAS to be this weekend. Thankfully I have spare pills left over from 3 yrs ago if we start running out. I seriously don't know how anyone can do this without Narcotics. I had the ropivicaine/torodol injection into the knee post-op, but those wore off by last night. My surgeon doesn't do spinals or nerve blocks, so here I am, hoping these next few days fly by.
My heart goes out to all the others who had their TKRs this week. I look forward to following the other recovery threads once I can think straight again. [HASH=159]#arthrofibrosis[/HASH]
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