Bilateral TKR Scheduled for bone scan of TKR and worried about timing

Maybe since I'm now off aspirin and just about off Fentanyl, the pharmacist will say I can use Aleve instead of Tylenol. That might help.
Aleve is a NSAID - an anti-inflammatory. It's not a good idea to use NSAIDS long term and Aleve will not have as much pain-killing properties as Tylenol.

I have heard of several people who use Tylenol and say it doesn't relieve their pain. Often, that's because they are not taking the correct dose. The correct dose is 1,000 mg (1G) four times a day, to a maximum of 4,000 mg in 24 hours. You need to check, to make sure that there is no Tylenol (Acetaminophen) in any other meds you're taking. If there is, factor that into your calculations of the maximum daily dose.
 
Ohhhh.....apple pie moonshine! That sounds delicious.
Good luck with the cookies, I will probably bake with grand daughters, ages 5, 4 and 3, the week of Christmas.

Will you have some "just in case" pain medication for your trip?

There are just certain nights that I use the saran wrap too. Now starting to message scar with cocoa butter and have quit PT.
I can do it all at home, including recumbent bike!
 
@Glamg: have you tried Bio Oil on your incision? It's supposed to be even better on our incisions and helps to even out coloring. I had some trouble finding it but stumbled upon it in a CVS and have been using it since allowed. My pt had wrapped my left knee to bring down the swelling but I unwrapped it so can try Saran tonight.


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Glad you will be able to make it to Florida in comfort. I will roll out the welcome mat!
 
Forgot about Bio Oil, it is supposed to be good stuff. Will check my CVS and see if they have it. Thanks.

Is PT wrapping your leg in an ace bandage? I have thought about wearing a compression sleeve but don't think it will be too comfortable.
Gerri
 
Glamg, the wraps are called kinesiology are are used to bring down swelling in our knees. They're easy to do with regular pt tape and there are several YouTube videos. My pt cuts 2 of them and applies them. They look like octopus but really help to bring down swelling naturally.

Tried the Saran Wrap on my colicky left knee last night and it really helped!

Celle, am trying your suggestions on Tylenol. Will see how it helps the pain.
 
Met the new pain mgmt doctor at my OS's to get a fluoroscopic-directed hip injection. My OS thought a lot of my left knee and now leg pain might be coming from my arthritic hip which needs to be replaced. Fingers crossed it works.

I asked this pain mgmt specialist who has phenom credentials about the drilling, nailing and cutting pains that I get during the night and asked him if there were such things as phantom pains as those experienced by individuals with amputated limbs. He said he has significant experience with patients with amputations but little with patients with TKRs. But he believes my nighttime pains are mental and are a result of my unconscious mind reliving and remembering some of the pain and sensation from the surgery. I told him that we often rub hand cream on the knee and wrap it in Saran Wrap to get rid of the pain which intrigued him. I had loaded my iPad with meditations and healing music but wasn't permitted to take it into the OR because it might get lost/in the way. Now I'm wondering if they shouldn't have allowed me to hear the music rather than the surgery sounds... Anyone's thoughts?


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I am so sorry you are having those pains and memories. My father was an amputee and he very definitely had nightmares and phantom pain, so I do believe you could be having those. After all- the ends of the femur and tibia are amputated and there is a great deal of carpentry work done.

The taping you are talking about on your knee for swelling - I am not familiar with it. Does it take the swelling out with it only to return the next day or when you are on your leg or??

Prayers for you to find relief. I wish they had allowed you to listen to your meditations. I listened to meditations in the week before surgery to calm my anxiety about the surgery.
 
@Timetolive: the wrapping doesn't take the swelling away. It interferes with the knee's ability to feel the sensation of pain. There is a YouTube video a man has shared that many of us have watched and used where he demonstrates how to do this. Search with keywords YouTube TKA night pain and you should be able to find it. From my personal experience I needed the thick hand cream -- the thinner body lotion didn't work. And the thicker plastic wrap (Saran Wrap) worked for me whereas the thinner plastic wraps did not.


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I waited until after all my incisions had completely healed and all the tiny staple scabs were gone. The guy on the video says you can do it earlier if you first wrap your leg in a paper towel, but I would be hesitant to put any product near any open incision. I waited until after everything was healed.


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I've lost 25 of my own pounds without trying since my BTKR October 7th plus the 10 pounds of fluid I gained over the 6 days in the hospital. (My sodium bottomed out the day after surgery so they really plied me with IVs.) I've even continued to lose weight after going off the pain meds. Not that I would EVER recommend this as a great way to lose weight...


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@Glamg1979 and anyone who's having a problem with swelling; try compression wrapping. I had bilateral TKR on Nov 25 and the swelling was excessive; tight, shiny, hard skin that felt like a water balloon about to burst! I couldn't do any exercise with the one knee at all because it was impossible to bend it. I iced and elevated but nothing was helping until I started reading discharge protocols from other hospitals and learned about using compression for swelling. Now I wrap my knees in tensor (or. "Ace") bandages . I use two on each knee, above and below the bend, so that I can still bend my knee when walking. What a difference it has made! When I started Pt my right knee bend was at 33 or something like that. After two weeks of wrapping and very little exersises it is now at 96. The compression helps the fluid back up to your lymph nodes so that it can then be absorbed by the body. I was nervous about using compression until o read that some hospitals actually send you home with tensor bandages or they use compression hose. The tensor is much more comfortable than the hose I think, and it's easy to adjust when needed. Hope this help!
Jackie
 
Jackie thanks for the tip!! I'm going to try it! Wake up and knee feels normal but within an hour the swelling starts. Saw OS today (8 weeks) and don't have to return for a year. Unfortunately I reminded him of the left knee and they are going to schedule me for March......here we go again ☺
 
Hi @BusterBeans! Sorry to hear you are reliving the sounds and pain from the actual surgery. Makes sense, sort of like my husband who has PTSD, he relives the scenario over and over and has no control over it. I would see if the OR has something available for you to use. They might have an iPod in sterile wraps that you can use.

P.S. After treatment my husband is doing very well now and is probably 90% back to his old wonderful self.

Gerri
 
Gerri, that is great news about your husband. My daughter dated a veteran who had PTSD. It can be bad stuff no matter what caused it.

March?? Oh my. You will be in my prayers!
 
I asked this pain mgmt specialist who has phenom credentials about the drilling, nailing and cutting pains that I get during the night and asked him if there were such things as phantom pains as those experienced by individuals with amputated limbs. He said he has significant experience with patients with amputations but little with patients with TKRs. But he believes my nighttime pains are mental and are a result of my unconscious mind reliving and remembering some of the pain and sensation from the surgery.
I'm sorry but I just don't buy this explanation. Pain is pain and it's not mental. Nerves and tissues were cut and it's not uncommon to get "zingers" from healing nerves. If you feel pain from bone cutting (which most don't ) that would be genuine pain too, not mental.

I know you said that you heard sounds during your surgery, but you would not have experienced any pain, because you had a spinal anaesthetic, which would have prevented you from feeling any pain. You had an epidural that lasted for 48 hours, too.

More to the point is how much activity are you doing during the daytime? It's only about 10 weeks since your surgery and you shouldn't yet be back to 100% activity.
It's not at all unusual for people who did a bit too much to feel no pain during the day, but for their knees to let them know during the night. It's almost as if the say "You did too much for me today and now I'm going to let you know about that during the night."

Are you still taking pain medication at night? in terms of complete recovery, it's still early days and you probably still need to take something.

I'm going to ask @Josephine what she thinks, too.
 
he believes my night time pains are mental and are a result of my unconscious mind reliving and remembering some of the pain and sensation from the surgery.
What utter BS! Never heard such nonsense.
the wrapping doesn't take the swelling away. It interferes with the knee's ability to feel the sensation of pain.
Actually, nobody knows the reason this works.
Search with keywords YouTube TKA night pain and you should be able to find it.
No need to search YT - it's in our Library Night pain solutions using moist heat and clingfilm
Does it matter how long ago you had your surgery to do this?
Not in the least. It will either work or it won't.
 
Hi @BusterBeans! Are you in sunny Florida yet. Can't exactly remember the date that you take the Auto train.
Safe travels.
I bet you win the scar contest, my scar is hideous! Using Bio-Oil 2x/day. Feeling good and building stamina. Just so sick of swelling! My OS said it would swell as long as a year out :shrug: So annoying!
 
Spent New Years Eve on the auto train from VA to Sanford, FL. We realized a few weeks ago I wasn't up for a 2 or even stretched to a 3-4 day drive. My bilaterals are now 12 weeks old. I had been doing extremely well with walking, stairs, pt, etc. but I wasn't forceful enough soon enough with pt that they were overdoing some of the exercises. For the last 2 weeks I've had a bad case of bursitis and tremendous stabbing pain in the same knee when at rest that sometimes went on for hours. The anti-inflammatories and avoiding pt have fixed the bursitis and someone advised me that the stabbing knee pain was probably coming from my lower back. After doing the suggested exercises, the pain disappeared. Amazing. I am so grateful for everyone sharing their knowledge and experience because the OS was baffled.

Looking forward to walking the beach and healing in Florida for 3 months. Away from the cold and dampness of the north and my winter allergies. I've found a gym that has several trainers who specialize in working with individuals who have just finished pt and want to develop safe and strengthening workout routines so I'll be headed there in a few days.

My husband and I have been taking ballroom dance classes for a number of years -- just for fun and I didn't say we were any good. I'm looking forward to being able to dance with him again in 2016. So far I've only managed a wooden slow dance but there's a nightclub two-step in my future. Happy 2016 everyone!


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