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TKR Sewhat's Recovery Thread

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traveler1 said:
@sewhat Sorry you didn't get much sleep. Do you elevate your leg at night when sleeping? I found it really helped me at the beginning. I know you take Benedryl at night but have you tried Tylenol ZZZ? It helps me sleep through the night. You should probably check with the pharmicist first to make sure it won't interact with anything you are currently taking.

Hope tonight is better for you.
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I've been sleeping on my side, but my sleep only lasts 90 minutes or so. Last night I slept on my back with my leg straight since I had PT today and they want to work on my extension first. I finally slept after doubling my pain pills and adding Benedryl. I was still sleepy at PT and took a nap when I got home. I only got 40 pills to last me until my appt with OS on Monday afternoon. There's a couple of PT sessions in there too. I wish it wasn't such an ordeal to get something for pain.
 
sleep is a problem for most of us in the first weeks. Good idea to take a nap--that's totally normal and the rest is good for you.
 
I slept from pill alarm to pill alarm last night on only 1 pill + Benadryl. Best sleep I've had in months. I built a ramp of pillows for my operated leg and slept on my back.
 
I used the same strategy, but didn't sleep as well last night. Today was PT #3. I had a different therapist today. I had had her before when I had back problems. No little room today. I got to go in the big room with all the toys. I started off on the bike just pedaling back and forth. I was very stiff. Then over to do some standing exercises. The rest of the time was spent on the big table. She worked on extension first. It was 10 when we started. She put a bolster under my ankle and massaged my knee, giving gentle little pushes. It seemed like we worked on it forever, but she got it to 6. Then I did some heel slides and she measured me at 78, same as last session. Then she had me lie down with my feet going up the wall. She'd mark the point I could slide down to and then I'd try to beat that. I actually liked that one, gravity helps you some. After doing several of those, she measure me again at 96!!!!! That's more than the physical terrorist at the hospital got! Yippee! and it's Friday too, two days off.
 
How are you feeling today?
 
When I got home from PT yesterday, I changed my ice pack and took a nap. The ice pack I used is one my hubby made with alcohol and water. I think he overdid it with the alcohol. It grows snow on the outside of the ziplock. I fell asleep and awoke with a burning feeling on the skin of my knee. The ice pack had leaked or sweated on me and my pants and the towel I use between the icepack and my skin were wet. I took it off and used the bathroom, which was cold because the door had been closed and we heat with wood pellets. I was sitting there shivering, teeth chattering, when my granddaughter came to check on me. She went and got hubby and he helped me to the woodstove to get warmed up. This has happened to me three times now...every time I have PT. hmmm. Later, after supper, I felt feverish. I took my temperature and it was 100.8. My discharge info said 101.5 was when to call the doctor, so I just kept an eye on it. I slept real well last night, pill to pill, and even after breakfast I went back to sleep for 3 hours. I feel pretty good now, not sore from yesterday like I was afraid I would be. I haveen't exercised yet today, and it's almost like me knee is wanting to, wanting that stretch. My daughter put my bedding in the washer for me, so I guess I'll do my exercises, shower, and take another nap.
 
@sewhat the leg coming down the wall is great. My pt showed it to me to do at home. I tried to exercise twice a day but don't always get in twice. If I am out and about and have done a lot of walking I will only exercise once. It helps keep the knee limber. Early on I would get chills right before my meds were due. It was sort of like an internal alarm clock.
 
@sewhat, I love your user name. I have developed an avatar that I thought you might like to use. It is already sized to fit perfectly as I have tested it. On a PC, just right click on the attached picture and "save image as" in your picture files. Then hover your mouse of your user name at the top of the page and from the drop down menu select "Avatar". The click the browse button and find the picture in your files and double click it. Then click "Okay"and you are done. On an iPad, hold your finger on the image and you will be presented with the options to copy or save the image. Choose 'save the image' go to your user name, top of screen and select Avatar and then choose 'existing choice' and apply and bingo you have your new avatar.

[Bonesmart.org] Sewhat's Recovery Thread


If you are not interested, my feelings will not be hurt. I just enjoy doing this when the opportunity presents itself.
 
Thanks Traveler1, that's what I needed to hear.
And Thank YOU Bottomshollow, for the avatar. I tried to do one once before, but couldn't get it to work.
 
I'm in some knee replacement support groups on Facebook. I mentioned the fever, chills and teeth chattering and they all were urging me to go to the ER asap. They were posting articles about infection and losing my leg. It was a little scary, especially since a man in our church, a diabetic, was self-treating a sore on his foot and ended up losing half his foot and it's still not healed a year later. It started yesterday with the 3:45 pill, I was shivering then. I took the pill and then took my temp 30 minutes later. It was 100+. I took a nap and when the 7:45 pill rolled around, it was teeth chattering and shivering again. Temp was 101.2. It went down a bit, but came back up and I tried to call the ER. They wouldn't talk over the phone about it. I tried the number the nurse had given me for the Orthopedic nurses station. No answer. Then I tried the Rehab Nurses station and they got an Ortho nurse to talk to me. She said to keep monitoring it as I had been and to go in if the pain gets worse, I see redness, or the temp goes higher. At 9:45 it was still 100-101, so I took another Norco. It has Tylenol in it and should help bring the temp down. That seemed to work and I took the regularly scheduled pill at 11:45 and went to sleep soon after. The alarm woke me for the next pill and I went right back to sleep. I feel okay today, temp only 99. I have new/different pains in my knee, like a needle shooting through it. I think maybe it's nerves healing? I have an appointment with my OS tomorrow, so I'll see what he says about it.
 
It's good that you feel better, but definitely report to him what you told us about the temperature.
 
Yesterday was a warm day here, and I actually had the ceiling fan on. I didn't experience the fever and chills. I was alone a good deal of the day as hubby was at church. Daughter came over and put on my Ted hose. I got in some good naps. When hubby was home I tried the stairs. I used my cane and went up one step at a time. I made all the way, 16 steps. While I was up there, I tried the wall slide exercise using the bed. I did several and then went back downstairs. I'm not ready to sleep up there yet as I am up and down a lot at night getting ice and going to bathroom. Hubby wouldn't get any sleep.
I have PT this morning and an OS appt this afternoon. It's going to be a busy day, so why did I wake up so early?
 
What. a. day. When I awoke at 4:00 for a pain pill, I couldn't get back to sleep again. Today was a busy day and I was hoping for a couple more hours. I lay around listening to my Mp3 player to try to get sleepy. Around 7 I fixed an English muffin sausage sandwich for breakfast, then took my shower and dressed. PT was at 9:15 this morning. We went to the hospital and hubby dropped me off while he went to get a blood draw for a med he is taking. I got another different therapist today. Terrorist would be a better word. I told her I had been having fever and chills and was somewhat sore and please go easy on me. She checked out my knee and decided it wasn't infected and put some heat on it. It felt good and the pill I had taken just before leaving home started to kick in. Then she put me on the bike to loosen up, just back and forth for about 10 minutes. We went back to the torture chamber and she started working on extension, pushing down on my knee. I grabbed my knee and told her she was hurting and she said she'd be gentler, but she still was trying to make the back of my knee touch the table. I was crying out and I couldn't hold back the tears. She kept doing more exercises, mainly for extension. My knee was really hurting and I was watching the clock. Usually the sessions are one hour. She dragged it out to two and I had to keep asking for tissues. I thought of leaving, but she had my icepack in the freezer. Then she brought ice and a tens unit. Another ten minutes. I couldn't stop crying, not out loud, just silent weeping. She actually pointed it out to another patient that was walking by. Finally she brought me my icepack and I limped out to my hubby. He could tell that things hadn't gone well. We grabbed something to eat in town an I took another pill as soon as I got home. Hubby had to go back to town, so I took a nap. Before I did, I called Rehab and told them I did not want that therapist again and why. They changed my next appt to the girl I had on Friday that was so good. It took awhile for my muscles to settle down so I could sleep, but I got a nap in before it was time to head to my OS appt. That went better. I got my staples removed and replaced with steri strips and when I told him about the fever and chills, he sent me for labwork to rule out any infection. Now I'm back home with ice and hubby has gone to get my prescription filled. I'm getting 60 pills this time, so I don't have to worry about refills so often and I can take two when I need to. I'm going to take another nap now while hubby's gone.
I know you all said don't let them hurt you, but how do you stop them? strangle them with a gait belt?
 
Hmmm, I thought I'd get chewed out after last post. Maybe no one is reading this.
I overslept the first alarm last night. I had forgotten to change it to a.m. yesterday when I took my pill after therapy. I only overslept by 30 minutes and when I awoke, I was drenched in sweat. I hadn't been running a fever yesterday afternoon or evening. I took a pill and went back to sleep. I awoke again 3 hours later, again drenched. I sat up for awhile, waiting for pill time and then went back to bed. The next time I awoke hubby was sitting here watching tv with the sound muted. The smell of him cooking breakfast hadn't even awakened me. He brought me my breakfast and left to get fitted for some diabetic shoes. I'm not feeling any worse for wear after yesterday's PT,which surprises me. I'm stiff, as usual, and am really looking forward to a shower, but I think I had better wait until hubby gets back, just to be safe.
 
Yesterday I didn't do much except ice and elevate. My granddaughter, 1, has been sick, throwing up. She slept from midnight until 2pm and awoke with a dry diaper. I told my daughter to take her to the doctor. She was mildly dehydrated, but still isn't eating or drinking, so she's back at the doctor today. Poor baby.
Last night I didn't sleep well,(surprise, surprise). My calf was throbbing. I don't know why I didn't take another pain pill so I could sleep. I awoke for a pill at 4 and was drenched in sweat again. Tried stretching and massaging my calf, but it didn't help. Finally ate breakfast and another pain pill and slept for two hours. I have PT today, I hope that goes better than last time.
 
How did you PT go today?
Hopefully, it was very gentle.
 
1ELISEA said:
How did you PT go today?
Hopefully, it was very gentle.
Click to expand...

PT was great today. I had the therapist that I had last Friday, the one who will massage and coax your muscles, not force them. We weren't able to get last Friday's 96, but we did get an 80. I had a 1:00 appt, the first one after lunch. There evidently was a meeting at lunch time because all the therapists were there. I don't know if this was a regular meeting or not. My hubby was in the waiting room and he said he saw the therapist I had the other day leave. Don't know if any of this has anything to do with the other day or not.
I came home and lay down for a nap and the phone rang. It was my youngest daughter with news. I am going to be a grandmother again. This will be #14. I tried again for a nap and next door daughter came over and wanted me to go outside. It was 77 degrees and a beautiful day. I sat out in my reclining lawn chair for about an hour watching the kids playing. It was nice to get outside.
 
I slept really well last night, from pill to pill. My knee doesn't look too swollen this morning, and it's a nice day outside. Yay!
 
My first "event" tonight. My granddaughter's school spring program. She had a solo in the Jackson 5 song ABC.
Of course that was the last group to sing. It was two hours long. I hope I don't pay for it at therapy tomorrow.
 
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