Revision TKR Shells 2nd Revision Recovery

[Jockette]

@Jockette They kept saying it was for me to get better and build up muscle.

Like you need to build up muscle hours out of major surgery. I repeat, I’m so glad you’re home!

 

[shells35]

Does this look infected? The bumps are filled with liquid and are painful

 

[NavyGunns]

@Josephine is the best person to make that call. Have you called you OS or at least your primary care doctor?

 

[shells35]

No I haven’t. My daughter just noticed them right before I posted the pic.
My friend is a nurse and he should be here shortly. I am going to show him.

 

[shells35]

@Jockette right the muscles need to heal as well. Thanks it is so good to be home. I am so glad I decided not to go to the rehab center.
Before My daughter leaves in the morning she hooks me up for when I am in my bed.

 

[Celle]

Does this look infected? The bumps are filled with liquid and are painful

I think those are fracture blisters. They are the result of swelling and they should go down by themselves as your swelling decreases.

Because of the way they are situated, they could also have been caused by a reaction to the dressing or strapping that was securing it.

If any blister bursts, cover it with a sterile, dry dressing.

 

[Josephine]

No they're not fracture blisters @Celle They are too uniform and confined. What they are is tension blisters from incorrectly applied Steri-strips. This has happened because when who ever put them on, applied the other end and then pulled the strip across before sticking it down. This means it was applied under tension which is clearly stated in the user's information sheet as a thing NOT to do! A Steri-strip should be lightly laid across the wound and just patted down. No tension applied at all!

The result is that the patient gets these tension blisters. I know this because I had them myself! I didn't think to photograph them at the time because as you can see from this photo (which is my knee!) there are two rows of pink scars either side of the scar which were originally blisters not unlike yours!

To deal with this, you first need to removed the Steristrips immediately and let the blisters be exposed to the air. Your wound is perfectly healed so you really don't need them!

 

[shells35]

Thanks @Celle and @Josephine. Sounds right. I was thinking they were from swelling where the strips were. But I do see how applying them with too much tension would cause that. Thanks so much for the replies

I was over reacting for a minute there worrying about infection and freaking because I really don’t think I can go through another revision. Well, I know I can but I certainly don’t want to.

I have forgotten how much all these meds make me sleep. I know it’s the Percocet somewhat but the Neurontin is really knocking me out. That’s why I wouldn’t take it when the pain clinic prescribed it to me. I had to be able to function. But now that I am at home I can take it. Makes me feel lazy but, I need this rest and am going to enjoy it while I can. I sleep solid through the night no waking up at all. During the day I doze off waking up with jerky movements like I was surprised. That restless kind of rest. Unless I lay down to actually take a nap then it’s good rest.

Pain level is still tolerable. For now since I am not doing a lot of activity I decreased the Percocet from 6 times a day to 3 times a day. When my activities increase my pain pills will probably increase as well. I will have to see I might not need to...

I still haven’t had a BM since Sunday evening. Yesterday my friend brought me over everything to make homemade ice packs including pink food coloring so they can be pink ;) and she also brought me Metamucil and prune juice. She warmed me up eight ounces of prune juice then added three heaping tablespoons instead of teaspoons of Metamucil. No results yet. I am about to go take a few laps around my house to see if moving around can get things moving

Sorry for all the rambling but I need to get it all out while the “ fog ” is lifted. Sometimes I want to post but it feels like to much work.

Hope everyone has a lovely day!

 

[shells35]

My son is silly. He made me keep his gun since I am laid up and home alone. I kept it because it makes him feel better about leaving me home alone. I don’t really think I need it though.

Before my surgery we used to go to the range at least once a month and he makes me load, unload and practice taking it out of the holster periodically.

 

[sistersinhim]

Unfortunately, constipation is a normal problem while taking these pain meds. I added mixed nuts to my daily diet plus the Metamucil 3x a day. That helped me to go easier!

 

[shells35]

@sistersinhim
Thank you for the tip on nuts. I will ask my daughter to bring some home with her. Can’t hurt! It’s not painful yet I think because I am passing gas but if I don’t go soon I know I am going to miserable. My cousin thinks I should use Milk of Magnesia but I really don’t know the difference between them because I never have to use them as I am very regular

 

[sistersinhim]

Have you tried Craisons? They're flavored dried cranberries. They also helped me. Oh, and stool softeners are a big help.

 

[skigirl]

The hospital nurses recommend Milk of Magnesia as a laxative. Metamucil is a fiber which helps to bulk up the stool. I think that mild of magnesia is regarded as quite mild.

 

[Kiwigirl62]

@shells35 , know how you feel, but its not a biggie, took me 7 days but was never uncomfortable. Between drugs, fasting and probably not a lot of eating since op it takes a bit to build up. I took fibre drinks and prune pills days 4 -6...nothing. then had breakfast of whole oats, prunes and apples. That did trick....then continued with this every second day until i dropped the heavy duty drugs. Now have 2 x weekly while on panadol.

 

[Jockette]

They gave me a information booklet to read on knee replacement from the hospital and I am not too happy with that either. They have group therapy and we are expected to be up, bathed, and dressed in our own clothes and in our chair by 8am every morning

So did they try to enforce this after your surgery?

 

[Cementless]

@shells35, I used Miralax twice a day plus Colace twice a day and it worked really well!

 

[shells35]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions everyone. I really appreciate every one!

@Jockette Yes, they did try to enforce it. I did not follow their rules. Neither did my roommate.Lol

I had the BEST roommate ever. A lovely 80 year old woman named Joanne. She was truly amazing. This was her second thp and the only meds she would take were Tylenol for both procedures. They tried to get her to take more she refused and said she was fine. She amazed me she was zipping around like she didn’t just have a hip replacement. She has to get both knees done next.Joanne is a feisty lady and I totally adored her. We talked for a long time every day.
When I was in so much pain and the nurse was being rude and condescending Joanne jumped up out of her bed grabbed her walker and came and got in the nurses face and said don’t you speak to my friend like that she is in so much pain she is crying. You go get her what she needs or find someone who will.

We exchanged phone numbers and we have spoken everyday. She said if she doesn’t hear from me that she will calling me to make sure I am ok. We plan on meeting up for coffee or Lunch when we are feeling up to it. I will definitely be going to see her when she gets her knees done and stopping over when she gets out because she lives alone. She was so sweet when she got discharged she came over and kissed my forehead and said we are friends now so you make sure you let me know if you ever need anything. I feel lucky to have met her.

 

[shells35]

I love ice on my knee. One of the Pt’s I went to years ago had the huge ice packs that are the length of your leg and wrapped around and had Velcro to close. They were kept in a deep freezer. Man I loved those things. Sure would be nice to have one of those.

Anyways, my point is I LOVE ice on my knees I would keep it there 24/7 if I could. I have a script for a cryo cuff but everywhere I have called says insurance doesn’t cover it. I have hap through my work and Medicaid. So that really bummed me out.

So, ice on my my knee is no biggie but, my knee seems to hurt more when I elevate it. Is it just me? Am I a weirdo? I stagger the pillows like the article shows that I found on Bonesmart.I have tried more pillows, less pillows, smaller pillows,and larger pillows nothing makes it feel better when elevated. Do I have to keep it elevated? I know we only “have” to do things we want and that make us feel better but I don’t want to make it worse if elevating makes it better somehow.

 

[Celle]

So, ice on my my knee is no biggie but, my knee seems to hurt more when I elevate it. Is it just me? Am I a weirdo? I stagger the pillows like the article shows that I found on Bonesmart.I have tried more pillows, less pillows, smaller pillows,and larger pillows nothing makes it feel better when elevated. Do I have to keep it elevated?

It's often a matter of trial and error to get the most comfortable position. You've been trying that and I think you'll hit on something before long.
You aren't trying to keep your leg completely straight, are you? That can be painful. It's OK to have a little bend at the knee.

I found that fewer pillows was more comfortable at first. It's not ideal, but any degree of elevation does help to reduce swelling. I know we say "Toes above the nose" but really as long as your toes are higher than your hips, it's going to help.

No, you don't have to elevate, but it's better if you can.

 

[Jockette]

That’s is so awesome you met Joanne! What a blessing.