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TKR SeptemberZen's Bionic Journey

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I used heat on the muscles around the knee but not on the knee. I did notice with my second knee I needed ice for a shorter period than with the first knee.
 
Can't seem to get comfortable today. Knee is achy and I'm getting those little pings you get when the nerves start waking up. Sciatica is flaring, maybe because of the dampness (yep, we're in the middle of yet another snowstorm), so my hip and thigh are achy. I'm warm one minute, feeling chilly the next, tired and grumpy. Argh. Just took a Percocet.

Haven't had many days like this; hope this is temporary!
 
Hang in there! There can be some ups and downs in a TKR recovery as I'm sure you now know. Just listen to your knee, try not to overdo (uh, if you read the last entry in my thread you'd probably say how can he say not to overdo.....:unsure:) and be patient. You are only a little more than a month out from your surgery, the recovery journey does take time.

Best of luck!!!
 
Sorry to hear you're having a bad day. Hope tomorrow will be better for you. This is the first time I've been on for awhile.i've been reading all your post that I've missed out on. I liked what you said, September that slow & steady wins the race. It think that's true much of the time. It's funny how those sharp pains hit out of nowhere at times. Pretty odd sensations at times that are hard to describe...not as much now as in the beginning.
actually think I'm turning another corner. I have't taken any of the pain meds the doctor prescribed for the past three - four days. I've been taking Tylenol PM at bedtime and that's it. I'm going for a PT appt. in the morning. I'm thinking maybe I should take one then. I'm wondering if that was helping make my stomach queasy. We had our grandsons for a few hours Friday evening ( the oldest spent the night) got up early Sat. Morn for the youngest last basketball game and then went and got a haircut. My sister picked me up and we went to a friends daughters baby shower. I think that was the best medicine for me. I felt like I was among the living for the first time, actually felt good. I think it took my mind off of everything. Here's to brighter tomorrow's for both of us!
 
Thanks, you guys. I'm sure it's a mixture of healing, achiness, pain meds, cabin fever, boredom, etc.... but knowing that doesn't always help, does it? :shrug: Just been feeling draggy and uncomfortable lately and I'm getting a bit crabby too. Luckily my guy has the 'patience of Job' when I get crabby.

Doc refilled my prescription for Percocet but wants me to start to transition to Extra Strength Tylenol (acetaminophen) by the end of the month. Haven't done it yet but will start soon because yes, ConnieJo, some pain meds can cause stomach upset, and the Percocet also makes my head a little woozy. I take Celebrex and Percocet in the morning and usually have an Activia yogurt or some crackers right afterward to keep my stomach happy. I just hope the Tylenol works on the pain as well as Percocet does.
 
Hope you're having a better day today! I went for my PT visit this morning.he thought I was doing okay with my bending of the knee, but He said we need to work hard the next three to four weeks to try to get the leg straight. I admit the last week, I probably haven't been working it as much as I should have because I wasn't feeling well, and my messed up routine from not sleeping at night and then sleeping part of the day has hindered this a bit. He gave me a few more exercises to try I was asking him about the Heat & Ice after reading what you had posted September. He said the heat could help with loosening up. From what he said, I guess it won't hurt us to do both. I'm icing right now, but before I get ready to do some more extensions, I will probably use the heating pad for a few minutes. I'm going to see if I can tell a difference .
I still have quite a bit of purple color in my knee and he said that's a good thing. He said that means there is good blood flow in that area that will help with working to get it straight. He's a little concerned with me being eight weeks out from surgery and the short window of time left to work through this scar tissue for the straightness. I did take a pain med about an hour before my appointment and I was glad that I did!
Just think....Spring is just around the corner. Hopefully things start looking up for both of us! Hope you're having a good day....take Care!
ConnieJ0
 
Glad it went well, ConnieJo! I think I've decided that both heat AND ice can be beneficial. Yesterday I noticed that the area around the kneecap felt very tender, felt hot to the touch and was stiff and swollen. I iced it for about 20 minutes and it felt much better. So I'm thinking that the specific situation will determine which one I will use, and I think heat works best above the knee, on my thighs and ice works best on the knee itself. That's what I'll do when I'm home; the PT can do whatever he thinks best when I am there! :-) My first appt is on Wednesday and I agree -- taking pain meds 1-2 hours before the PT is probably best.

Thanks for the good thoughts!
 
That's a pretty sensible approach!

The usual advice is to avoid using heat on the knee itself in the early days, because it could cause more swelling. Most people still find ice is helpful after that, but some people find that heat is more soothing.
Heat is better for warming up your muscles.

When I had inflamed tendons after a sprained ankle, my PT advised using ice and heat alternately, and that worked.
 
Hi September zen, if you are like me you have bad days and good days. I had one last week too. How is your blood pressure? I had to start taking my blood pressure medicine again since cutting back on the percocet. My OS said I had cut back too much too soon though because I had cut down to 5 mg once or twice a day. He refilled mine too but didn't offer anything less nor did he give me a time frame. I do have trouble falling asleep so I will take one before bed. I would like to not take so much and have been trying to experiment to cut down. Did your OS tell you to transition off you meds at the end of March or February?
I think because we can't pick our leg up high enough, it does affect the periformus and other muscles.
I hope you feel an upturn soon.
 
BP is OK so far. I take Carvedilol 2x a day and I check my bp every so often. It's been normal to low-normal ever since the surgery, oddly enough. Went out to the market this afternoon and took two extra strength Tylenol instead of Percocet and that worked out OK....and it had better work because I only have enough Percs for another few weeks. :-)
 
I guess I should check my blood pressure tomorrow. Now that I'm back to taking my two pills a day, I'm thinking it's back to where it was, but I don't know if I checked it at all last week.
I did the ice & the heating pad both today. I really didn't use the heat on top of the knee, but on the bs k & a bit on the side. It's been bothering me a bit tonight, and it think I have more swelling, but I think between the PT this morning and me being more active today and working it more....I'm paying for it. Gurr...feel this is the two step forward, one back thing going on. Guess I'll see what tomorrow brings. I took 2 Tylenol PM about an hour or so ago and still a little achey. Toying around with the idea if I really want to take a Hydrocodone now, before bed. I'm thinking I may need it, but I really feel so much better being off the darn things.
 
I generally take a Percocet (5/325) before bed as well. I almost always wake up in pain in the middle of the night. Sometimes just getting up and moving around relieves the pain but sometimes I'm too tired to do that and I need to take another Percocet. I've been getting by with only one or two Percocets during the day so far and I guess I'll start subbing Tylenol instead.
 
Be careful taking too Tylenol PM. Consumer reports magazine reported in an article in the last issue (maybe the the month before) that if you take it for too long it can cause insomnia.
 
You have a link for that opinion, @janmont ? Because I've never heard of that and I'm pretty sure it's not true of regular Tylenol. It was more likely referring to Tylenol PM which contains diphenhydramine (Benadryl), a sleep aid.
 
SeptemberZen said:
I've been getting by with only one or two Percocets during the day so far and I guess I'll start subbing Tylenol instead
Click to expand...
You're only weeks out yet. Maybe a tad too early to be trying to cut back on the pain meds. You should do that as you find yourself forgetting to take a dose, perhaps in the morning or afternoon. If you're not doing that, then continue with the prescribed dose until you do. Plus, if you do start using Tylenol instead, do make sure you use the proper working dose which is 1,000mg (take up to 4 times a day).
 
Hi @SeptemberZen - I had a lot of those achy, bored, crabby, depressed, uncomfortable days! I so desperately just wanted to get up and move, take a walk or even stretch my leg out fully and I just couldn't. Super frustrating, but it slowly passes. It's an amazing thing when you start having more good days than bad days! :ok:

I am 11 weeks out and though the stiffness and heaviness still bother me, and I definitely have days that I have to rest & relax, I find that most days I feel pretty good and can get out & about without too many issues. I used to wake up every couple of hours in pain, too, even when I was taking 12-hr extended release OxyContin at night. I didn't take naps during the day, and that helped with sleeping at night - but I've been sleeping really well for probably 4 weeks or so. Good thing I didn't have to go to work - I was kind of a zombie for those first 6-7 weeks!
 
Thanks. Josephine, that makes sense!

Lunula - 11 weeks and you still have stiffness and heaviness? I'm sorry to hear that but I'm so glad to know that what I'm feeling is normal at this stage. On another thread, I confessed that I was feeling a little defeated and depressed reading about people who had their surgery AFTER me and were walking for miles or biking when all I can do at this point is shuffle along with my cane like a 100-year-old woman - LOL! I know, I know, I know - don't compare your recovery to anyone else's - but some days you have a weak moment and you can't help it..... just being honest! Thanks for writing.
 
I posted a reply/ link on my thread.
 
Click on my name, then pick profile, then pick posts, scan the right side and look for the word thread. It is there.
 
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