TKR Sewhat's 2nd Recovery thread LTKR

[Carole4815]

I am glad you are getting plenty of sleep, @sewhat ! It's good for us and I think plenty of sleep helps us to heal. I have been sleeping a lot lately because I have been taking more pain pills than I did at first. Thanks for mentioning pills because I forgot to take my pills (other than pain pills) until I read your post, and I need to arrange my pill packets too. Good for you to be remembering your pills; especially that Parkinson's medication, which sounds pretty important.

For me, the knee bend seems to depend a lot on how much swelling is going on and on how much time has passed since the surgery.

I think most people have bruising, although in my case I don't see much. Just one, maybe one inch by two inches, located about six inches to the left of the incision and it is faint and mostly gone; just looks like a little dirt that I need to wash off, but it doesn't wash off.

 

[sewhat]

I awoke several times during the night, but was able to go back to sleep. Hubby went to church, so I'm on my own for the first time. I even managed to get my Ted hose on.

I want to sneak upstairs for a few things. I need a lamp by my bed, and my electric shaver, Going up won't be bad, it's going down that's scary.

 

[Carole4815]

I awoke several times during the night, but was able to go back to sleep. Hubby went to church, so I'm on my own for the first time. I even managed to get my Ted hose on.

I want to sneak upstairs for a few things. I need a lamp by my bed, and my electric shaver, Going up won't be bad, it's going down that's scary.

If you haven't done it yet, maybe wait until Hubby gets home from church? He can do it so easily and safely, and it will let him feel needed. Also, meanwhile, you can just nap and recover.

 

[sewhat]

I didn't go upstairs. My granddaughter came over and got the lamp for me. Now I need to find an extension cord.

I somehow missed a pain pill this morning. I went 3 hours over. I can't believe how different this knee is from the other one. I can almost ditch the walker. l

 

[Carole4815]

I'm glad your granddaughter got the lamp for you, from upstairs. As for the surgery being easier, did your surgeon mention giving your knee a big pain shot during the surgery? Mine did, and said it would wear off in a few days. So if yours did, then maybe that is the difference. Or.... it could just be an easier surgery to recover from, like you said. Either way, that's so nice to hear! I am sincerely so glad you are not going through any extreme suffering.

I'd suggest not ditching the walker until PT says you can, just to make sure it's safe to do so.

 

[sewhat]

I had a nerve block with both surgeries. This time though, I had so much ROM right away. 3 hours after missing a pain pill I did start having some aching in my thigh.

My skin feels so stretched over my knee. I want to put some lotion or something on it.

 

[KarriB]

It feels stretched because of swelling I’m sure. Try icing to see if that tightness goes away.

 

[sewhat]

Didn't sleep much last night. This morning my leg has burst out in glorious technicolor. It was a bright fushcia all around my knee. Now I have a dark purplish gray on the back of my thigh. I've had my shower and dressed. PT isn't until this afternoon.

 

[sewhat]

My Parkie guy wasn't at PT today. I had another guy that I've never had before. He didn't know what to do with me. He kept talking to my daughter, so I went through the ankle pumps, circles etc. He'd glance at me and say, "Do 10 of those." He measured me at 117. He put me on a bike. I have a recumbent bike at home and I told him I was unable to make a rotation. Well I did on this bike. He kept moving the seat up and it would be like sludge.

This knee is nothing like my other knee. He had me work at the bar awhile, piece of cake. He was at a loss as to what to do with me. So he put me in a room with a Game Ready on me and my daughter watched me.

I took a nap when I got home. I don't seem to be any worse for wear.

 

[sewhat]

It's always nice to get all settled into bed for the night and suddenly your phone goes off with a tornado warning. How am I supposed to sleep after that? I've been up prowling around without walker or cane. Took my pain pill, now I'm playing solitaire until I get sleepy again.

 

[Carole4815]

It's always nice to get all settled into bed for the night and suddenly your phone goes off with a tornado warning. How am I supposed to sleep after that? I've been up prowling around without walker or cane. Took my pain pill, now I'm playing solitaire until I get sleepy again.

Ugh, how unnerving; those warnings are so LOUD. I hope the tornado isn't near your home. I love playing solitaire just before going to bed.

Sounds like your knee is doing great so far! That's so good to hear.

 

[sistersinhim]

Those warning are so terrifying. No wonder you had a hard time getting to sleep. I end up in my closet with a pillow over my head and a blanket over the rest of me when we have the warnings. It takes me quite a while to calm down.

 

[sewhat]

More bruising coming out today; back of thigh, front of knee, shin and heel. I'm finding that I use the walker less and less. I can't carry ice bottles or anything with it, so I leave it.

Tomorrow I have PT and Speech Therapy. I had thyroid cancer and when they did surgery they messed up my vocal chords. I don't know if they can help that at all.

Hubby is down again. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is back.

 

[Carole4815]

If you want to carry ice bottles with your walker, I suppose you could use a plastic grocery bag looped around the handle and put them in that. I have a basket on mine that I got for $12 on Amazon. If you go to Amazon and type in "drive medical basket for walker" it's the first one.

That's a lot of bruising! Wow. None on mine, really. I posted a photo of my knee after the staples were removed, on the knee scar photo thread if you are curious.

Hope your PT goes well, and that you don't catch what your husband has.

 

[luvcats]

I hate those warnings! So loud. And is it just me, or do they seem to only go off at night? Nothing like a loud blast to mess up your nights sleep. Normally I keep my phone on the charger downstairs at night. These days I turn the sound off at bed time to prevent things like that.

I'm sorry your husband is down. RMSF is scary.

 

[sewhat]

@Carole. I won't catch RMSF from my Hubby. You get it from a tick bite.
I don't really use just water bottles. I also use the big, square peanut "jars". They are so heavy they would break a grocery bag.
I was up most of the night. My thigh hurts. I don't know whether it's the bruising or the bike in therapy. I've been elevating and icing all morning and my knee is still swollen. I hope therapy doesn't make it worse. Then I have to sit through speech therapy.

 

[Carole4815]

I had forgotten that ticks cause RMSF! So glad that is apparently not a danger to you and your new knee.

Sorry you were up most of the night! Sleepless nights are tough when we are in pain.

Be sure to tell your physical therapist about your painful thigh and swollen knee, so that he/she will be gentler with it. My PT lady has been so kind and seems to have an intuition about how far she can take my knee, to get the best advantage without causing a lot more pain. Usually I have found that PT with her helps a sore swollen knee to feel better, instead of worse.

I have never had speech therapy but it sounds hard, to me! Good luck with that.

 

[sewhat]

I told my PT about the pain and he got some heating pads. That helped a lot. I did the bike, some standing at the bar exercises, and then we did some heel slides. He measured me at 118 today and 0 extension. Then he put the Game Ready on me.
Speech therapist wants my esophagus scoped to find out why I've lost my voice.
I came home and ate lunch, set up my ice machine and took a nap.
My daughter from Colorado called. She's coming next week with all 4 kids. She homeschools them so they'll be busy.

 

[newlybionic]

I’m glad the heating pads helped. You’re range of motion is very good. Make sure you schedule some down time for yourself while your daughter is visiting. Perhaps a time to nap or at least sometime to be able to sit and just rest for a while.

 

[Carole4815]

I told my PT about the pain and he got some heating pads. That helped a lot. I did the bike, some standing at the bar exercises, and then we did some heel slides. He measured me at 118 today and 0 extension. Then he put the Game Ready on me.
Speech therapist wants my esophagus scoped to find out why I've lost my voice.
I came home and ate lunch, set up my ice machine and took a nap.
My daughter from Colorado called. She's coming next week with all 4 kids. She homeschools them so they'll be busy.

So glad your PT did some things to help! You are doing wonderfully for Day 8 after surgery. Completely mind blowing how much you are doing already, and I am SO HAPPY for you. You are working hard at your recovery and seeing some great results. What an inspiration.

How is that Game Ready? I have heard it's fantastic. Hope you, daughter, and grandkids have fun together when they arrive. Hope the speech therapist finds a reason why you lost your voice, and I bet he or she will and will figure out how to get it back.