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TKR Rodney's TKR recovery

That sounds better!
It does leave you with a gap without pain relief during the night. I hope you'll be OK with that.
 
Yes, I take a BIG pile of stuff to get to sleep, mostly naturals, as well as prescribed ones that must be taken in the evening.
 
I Did It Again, so think we should create an "IDIA" Club.

I woke up feeling good against all the great advice from Caryl, skipped a few doses. It's now evening here and I'm still paying for it!

I've iced, I've elevated, I've I've gone for walks, stretched to full ROM, I've even put a lidocaine patch on it. Ugh! Looks like it might be extra sleep meds again tonight. At least those are natural!
 
Today, after some really serious diarrhea yesterday and overnight, headed for the local walk-in clinic at my usual medical haunt, to talk about extending the Dilaudid. The PA-C put me in my place in a really big way, with things like:
"You cancelled an appointment to do your Chronic Opioid Therapy care plan." Huh? First I've heard of that!
"Your swelling is way too much for 2 months." Uh, OK.
"The diarrhea is probably from your body in withdrawal from the narcotic." Ooh, never thought of that!
"Have you looked at using a brace to contain the swelling?" Huh? Got tons of those at home, happy to try that.
"Have you thought of using a Lidocaine patch?" Yes, we just got some of those this week. We'll keep that up.
And the inevitable icing, elevation, rest, yadda, yadda, yadda. (Wait, what? Can't I go for a walk? Just as well I didn't mention our first ever Water Walking session at the local YMCA today.)

This lady took everything I already knew, added to it, and put everything in perspective!

She also came up with an interesting slant on the Tylenol usage. "Alternate Tylenol with Advil, whatever dose you need, on a 3 hour rotation. One works on the pain, the other works on the swelling. We'll see how that pans out. At least I feel better tonight and at least I had SOME things right!
 
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All in all, that sounds like a very good appointment yesterday! Be careful with the Advil, it is an NSAID and can bad for you. Make sure you have something in your tummy before taking it.
 
It was and duly noted. The daily routine suggested starts with Tylenol at 6am, so by the time for Advil at 9am, I should have had breakfast. From here on, I will make sure of it.
 
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:wow:
What I have learned from this experience is:
Nothing is normal.
Everything is normal.
If it hurts, do something.
If it doesn't hurt, do something.
Walking is good.
Walking is bad.
It's OK if your pee is yellow.
It's OK if your shoes don't fit.
It's OK if your shoes do fit.
You have to ask before you get an answer.
 
I love your sense of humor!
 
OK, folks, it's nearly 9 weeks and my knee is still swollen. Two days ago, it looked like I was making progress, and now this. I do still have my wonderful ROM though.

[Bonesmart.org] Rodney's TKR recovery


What am I doing wrong? Or am I being impatient? Not icing enough? Walking too much?

Until now, my icing process has been: Put a light weight towel over the leg and knee. Drop the cold pack on and wrap its pillowcase around the leg. Heave the leg up onto the elevation pillows.

Unfortunately, after a few minutes, my Restless Legs Syndrome decides to kick in and create a severe ache (think about a 5-6) and I have to move the whole setup, bend the knee or whatever it takes, and start again.

As of today, I am considering: As above, but cover the knee more than the leg. Put up with the aching, bending, etc. Once the cold pack has mellowed a bit, remove the towel and place the pack directly onto the knee area. Allow the area to get nice and cold before removing the pack. Is this a good idea?

I have also been walking quite a lot lately. Think wandering around a Walmart store. It ends up being a long way! Is there such a thing as walking too much?
 
That knee is telling you YES there is such a thing as walking too much! You should always keep a protective barrier between your skin and ice packs to prevent frost bite, not a complication you want to add @AussieRodney. You do need to keep the ice applied for 45-60 minutes to be effective, sounds like that's tough for you but it will help more that way. Try backing off the activity and icing as much as possible.
 
Swelling is not unusual at 9 weeks, as it can last a long time, and yes, too much activity will increase the swelling. Walmart is not the place for you with a knee that looks like that, as it is a big, big store!

I was blessed with a Target that was even closer than Walmart. My Target is a smaller one, but actually has an excellent grocery section. On my shopping trips I went to my Targent as there was much less walking involved, and not as crowded as Walmart. A win-win situation for me!
 
Thanks to both of you. Just a few days ago, Julie mentioned that she could see that it had gone down quite nicely. I should have taken a picture then!
 
I agree that it looks and sounds like you are doing too much for your knee. All that walking is adding to the inflammation. You can see that in its swelling. I'd say to cut back at least 2/3 of it and let your poor knee calm down. All that walking is not helping it, just making it mad.
 
@AussieRodney - No one else has mentioned it, but it's a good idea to ice the back of your knee as well as the front.
You'll need to use two ice packs at a time, and don't forget to protect both front and back of your knee from frost bite, with material between your skin and the ice pack.

And yes, it is possible to walk too much. The fact that your knee swells up is an indication that you're doing more than your new knee is ready for you to do.

You're only 9 weeks into a year-long recovery. Your knee is healing, but it will need lots more time before it's completely healed.
 
When I was icing, I would put a heating pad on my lower back and snuggle into a blanket. The heat soothed me and took my mind off the leg and any restlessness.
 
AussieRodney said:
remove the towel and place the pack directly onto the knee area. Allow the area to get nice and cold before removing the pack. Is this a good idea?
Click to expand...
No! Please don't ever ice with the pack directly on the skin. You risk burning yourself. Alway have some type of cloth between your skin and the ice pack.
 
@Jaycey Ah. I didn't express that well. My packs are the gel-filled ones that come out of the freezer, so they have no ice inside. At some point later in the process, the pack has often lost most of its coldness. It's only then that I would consider putting in my skin, and even then, carefully.
 
Great detailed recovery process. Thank you, Rodney!
Did you have conventional TKR surgery or Mako surgery?
 
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