Revision TKR Sondrals’ Revision

[sondrals]

Yeah everything is kinda angry this morning. I ache all over I’m trying to take it easy and ice and elevate. I can’t seem to sleep at night and I just feel all around icky. My dog is fine, my bf took her but I went because she’s kind of a mess. Her nail fell completely off in the waiting room and they trimmed it back and bandaged it. Our house looks like a crime scene though, their dang nails bleed like crazy.

 

[sondrals]

Over emotional today, probably lack of sleep and pain. I ache all over today, a deep bone ache. Celebrex helped a little as did Tylenol, but it’s just kind of a constant and I’m not digging it.

I also think my new heated blanket is causing both knees to swell. Which sucks because I’m freezing to death all the time. Maybe I can just wrap it around my top. I’m currently icing the old one and the other is going back and forth in the Cpm. Talk about an exciting Saturday night!

 

[Helizabug]

For staying warm, have you tried wearing a hat or a good warm vest? I added two old-fashioned, scratchy wool blankets to my arsenal of various weights of covers, so I can adjust my warmth. Sometimes, the sheer weight of all those blankets can be too much for my leg, so I add a pillow by my leg to bear the weight. It’s a little like a complicated contraption at that point, but what else have I got to do during this slow recovery?

 

[sistersinhim]

Try not using the cpm for a week or so and see if your knees calm down.

Are you putting the heated blanket directly on your knees? That could cause them to swell. Can you apply ice while under the blanket?

 

[Jockette]

it was just a end of the month report that needed done. To be honest it was brutal,

And as a topper to an already kinda bad day I’m now sitting at the emergency vet with our dog

You have given your knee far too much activity for so early in this recovery and the result is:

Over emotional today, probably lack of sleep and pain. I ache all over today, a deep bone ache.

I know things happen out of our control, but your knee is not ready to handle these outings and you will pay for them with pain and swelling. Your knee doesn’t care about the reason for these activities, it only cares that it can’t do it.

 

[sondrals]

Are you putting the heated blanket directly on your knees?

well I draped it over me and turned it on so, yeah. I slept without it last night and both knees seem less swelled. So no more heated blanket for now. I’m back to my layered blankets at night.

 

[sondrals]

@Helizabug i hate hats they make my head itch. I wear a hooded sweat shirt most the time. I went back to my two blankets in the bed. It works for now but it’s a bit like putting a fort together in the bed.

 

[Macknit]

My Goodness @sondrals!!! What a weekend you've had!? Now you just have to do your resting, icing and elevating, nonstop!!

I ran into issues with my electric blanket early on also! Now I can turn it to low or #2 for the night and the knee is ok with that. You are so much newer with your second one, I'm not surprised that you had issues with the blanket...on top of all your other activities! I hope all goes peacefully for the rest of the week ahead and that your dog is doing better!!

Hang in there and please take care of yourself!

 

[sondrals]

@Macknit thanks so much! It seems like things have settled down, our dog is no worse for the wear. I was really sore and miserable yesterday but I’m feeling a bit better today. I discontinued using the heated blanket for now. A little sad about that but it made both knees swell. Mostly I’ve been icing elevating and resting. I almost got 5 hours sleep in a row last night! Other than fixing myself something to eat and walking around a little I’ve not done much else today at all. In reality boredom is my biggest problem right now. I have some work I can do from home but that might get saved until tomorrow.

 

[Macknit]

Oh yes, the boredom activity! What do I do now??? I still run into that because of my need to I & E! Not as bad as the early weeks, but I think it will be around for a while!

My OS told me that I'd really notice a shift around Valentine's Day, which will be a tad after 6 months for me! We'll see... if that comes to fruition!!

Yes save the work for tomorrow!

 

[Starsfan22]

@Macknit boy I sure hope your surgeon is correct about the 6 mo. prediction. Today at 5 mo. I'm beginning to think I'll never be better. So much stiffness and pain....still! I obviously overdid the holidays and honestly did very little. Wonder how long I should expect to recover?

 

[Sara61]

I have an electric underblanket (this goes under my bottom sheet) as my knee also swells up I put a pillow under my knee so that only my good knee plus my back stays warm whilst my operated knee stays cool usually I ice it at the same time
Early stage boredom was my biggest problem especially only having my dogs for company daytime but time does fly quickly and soon we will be running around and boredom a thing of the past.

 

[Macknit]

@Starsfan22 I sure hope my OS is correct also

I understand that's why we have been told a year or even 2 years for maximum improvement.... I was surprised, but he was going on eyeballing my knee and some positive reports from the PA. I think overall I'm seeing improvement,
but it's just creeping along

Who knows, at some point the busy holiday season will be behind us (We are having a late Christmas party on January 10th!!!) We'll settle down and suddenly a year will be behind us

 

[sondrals]

Oh my god it feels like 100 bees have landed inside my leg and are stinging me non-stop I know it’s a good thing sorta because my nerves are coming back but holy wow does it hurt

 

[sondrals]

Eek hit 93 degrees at pt today under my own volition. We mostly worked on massaging my hamstrings and back of my knee as they are really sore. I walked across the room with walking sticks. I am not ready to end my relationship with my walker yet, we’re still in a long term relationship

 

[sondrals]

Happy New Years everyone! Here’s to a better 2020! We started out with a warm up to 48 degrees and rain and ended at 15 degrees and 6-8 inches of new snow. Now it’s about 6 out. I didn’t hardly sleep at all last night between our dog being terrified of the fireworks and my inability to get comfortable. I really wish I had a solution to the not sleeping thing, especially since at 7-8pm I was almost falling asleep on the couch but once I got into bed nothing, wide awake again.

Did some laundry today, emptied the dishwasher and broke down some boxes for my bf to take out to recycling. Pretty sore after all that so icing and elevating again.

 

[sistersinhim]

You are doing a lot for less than a month out. Be sure and baby that knee the rest of the day.

Lack of sleep is, unfortunately, a common problem with this recovery. I'd sleep an hour or so in the recliner, then go to bed to sleep an hour or so. Then, after an hour of so, back up to the recliner. I slept where I could and when I could. That meant any time in 24 hours. You need to do the same thing. Sleep is important to your healing. If you get sleepy, no matter what time it is, let your body sleep.

 

[Helizabug]

I have found that listening to lectures and non fiction books helps me relax, and, even if I don’t sleep, I feel like I’ve gotten something out of the time. I pay to use Audible, but most libraries loan audio books for free.

I’ve been listening to The Great Courses series of lectures on Particle Physics! I have to replay lots of it many times to actually follow what’s going on, but what else am I doing?

 

[sondrals]

@sistersinhim i managed about 3 hours in bed, then tried to do my cpm machine for. But but it was irritating the back of my leg so I moved out to the recliner and ended up sleeping there for 2 hours. Then worked on my laptop while icing and elevating. I guess I’m just frustrated because my bf has to be on a schedule and I don’t want to keep waking him up

 

[sistersinhim]

Do you have another bedroom that one of you can sleep in until you are less restless? Many have had to do that for a few months.