TKR SpaceGirls Road to Recovery Knee #2

[SpaceGirl]

@sistersinhim thankfully I was able to finally go. Still working on it, pushing caffeinated drinks, juices lol whatever it takes!

@Rick951 thanks, it def hour by hour right now.When sitting doing nothing knee is ok, but having to move it, painful! I can only move it side to side bu itself, not up/down. Pt has been great, no over doing it and measurements are fine.

@Wolvesfan yes sometimes it seems crazy to have to do both but I know since I had such a great outcome with my first one, this one will be worth it.

@JennyLynne yeah its been a rough start for sure! Hah! I think getting stuck there is just as bad as anywhere else. I was so worried this morning that I was going to pass out and hit my head on the metal bar and need another surgery!


———————————————

Okay so doing much better this afternoon. Was able to go to the bathroom once, still working on drinking more so I can continue to improve. I have not had any other dizzy spells since this morning. I even managed a short walk down the hall, yay! We did not want to push it too far right off the bat. I really feel once I get my pain manageable I will feel so much better. They switched me over to percocet 10, I’ve only had one dose so far, so we shall see how it does. I took almost a solid 2 hr nap this afternoon, which also helped.

 

[sistersinhim]

Yay for the bathroom use improvement! I'm sure that's a load off of your mind.

 

[Rick951]

Glad to hear you are doing much better!!! Not fun, but worth it in the end!!

 

[JennyLynne]

Much better report!
Hope the change in meds works. Perc 10 has been my magic med and maybe it will be for you too!

 

[JennyLynne]

Checking in... hope you had a better night! Will you get to go home today?

 

[SpaceGirl]

I am home, that was a process to get in/out of the van. Painful to say the least. The pain is really setting in now, can barely walk to bathroom at home, think we will have to rethink this. I only got to walk once at hospital due to blood pressure drop issues when I stood up. I am gonna rest the rest of today and will ck in tomorrow.

 

[Rick951]

Sending you energy! hoping you get better soon!

 

[Wolvesfan]

@SpaceGirl ... I remember being so happy to go home, but getting in and out of the car was torture and going upstairs to our bedroom did me in. Get some good rest!

 

[JennyLynne]

You will find your groove at home. Better days ahead!!

 

[SpaceGirl]

Thanks guys, I slept pretty good last night, only waking for meds or bathroom. Slept til 10 am, ate and slept again from 11:30-2 lol. Pt should be arriving soon, yipee :/

The pain is coming and going, left quad still dead lol can’t lift my leg myself, thankful hubby is home to do so. We moved a temp toilet chair to our master bath and that works better than our previous set up. The master bath toilet had a riser but has a wall directly in front and I can’t stretch my leg out or bed it far enough in yet. Maybe in a couple of weeks.

I will have some bruising this time, none last one. I will see if I can add a picture. Other than being super tight right now I can sit in the bed ok, getting up and walking not so great but I am trying to push a little bit more each time I get up, another step or two.

I think that is it for now, will check in after pt!

 

[SpaceGirl]

Pt went well, said I was doing great! Walking was good and other exercises I did well on too. Did not even do any measuring. He’ll be back Mon-Wed-Fri, so I get tomorrow off just resting, elevating and icing right now.

I feel a bit better this afternoon. I have slept a lot and will prob catnap here shortly before dinner. I have been eating something each meal, even if only half of the food.

 

[Rick951]

Glad you are doing better!

 

[JennyLynne]

Great update! Glad you have a bathroom solution- it’s so frustrating that the ONE thing you really need to do can be a challenge, lol.

Hope you have a nice restful day!

 

[SpaceGirl]

Last night was pretty rough, all the aches and pains, no matter how I laid, shifted, elevated and iced it hurt. Pain meds sorta helped because at least I was able to finally sleep. I cried a bunch off and on, hate the helpless feeling, on top of having a terrible headache (the meds helped it) it was just not good.

I am trying to do better today, am icing, using my tens unit for both pain and stim for my quad. You know I had said I was def bruising this time, as I did not have last surgery, I now know why my calf and back of knee are so tender.

Right now I feel ok, dozing off and on, prob gonna try to take a real nap. Hope y’all are doing good, need to check in with other recovery buddies.

 

[Rick951]

@SpaceGirl Hang in there. As you know the first week is the worst, You are already part way through it.

 

[JennyLynne]

Those bruises are something! I had very similar ones, only on the back of my leg. Isn’t that odd?

Im sorry you are having so much pain. These are the worst days... brighter ones ahead!!

 

[SpaceGirl]

@Rick951 thanks friend, I know it will get better but man when you are in the thick of pain, you just can’t focus on that.


@JennyLynne thanks, I am hoping they get better soon. As soon as you get an up day you think ok its time to turn the corner then that pita pain shows back up in the worst way possible!! Grrr!

——————————————————

Ok so last night was not a good night. I had pt yesterday, that went pretty good, he was pleased with my progress, took measurements but I already forgot them. Dang it. I wanted to track it better. Anyway I was on generally same pain as before pt, so I iced and took meds when time.

We called ortho office to ask about adding in more tyelnol, they said it was fine as I did not go over the max dose. I was only getting 1300 a day between the 4 percocets a day, so I have added in additional tylenol in between the percocet doses to help me, so basically every three hours I get something for pain, instead of 6 hrs, not counting muscle relaxers. I just started that yesterday so not sure its working yet.

So last night, I could not sleep, I was up atleast every hour on the hour and just could not get comfy. I do not have an alternate sleeping place so I am stuck. I am about to order a recliner though so I can have some where to move to. I was very weepy last night, said I wish I had not had surgery etc. just feeling hopeless right now. I am still having to rely on my husband to move my leg, pain is still pretty bad. I know it will get better, just having a painful day, regardless of meds, elevation, ice, no ice, no elevate. Ugh.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

It's entirely possible that you overdid the PT yesterday and your knee let you know it. If you're going to do PT, don't take meds specifically for the session as they will mask the pain and it's easy to overdo. Pain is your knee's way of telling you to back off, it's not ready for that yet.

I was very weepy last night, said I wish I had not had surgery

That's very normal after this surgery; it's a roller coaster with some days that you wish you hadn't done it, and other days where you're happy you did it. The good days will eventually outnumber the bad days, to the point where you'll have days you don't even think about your knee.

Spend some extra time icing and elevating for a couple of days until your knee settles back down some. Sleeplessness is very common in this recovery, but that too will pass.

 

[Wolvesfan]

@SpaceGirl ... I was so weepy on and off during the first month after my surgery! There’s a really good article on this site about post op blues, and it helped me, especially when I felt despair because I’d elected to have my knee done; unlike my husband’s heart surgery which was really the only option. Hang in there, and know you’re not alone. Reach out whenever you need a pep talk!

 

[Jockette]

I am so sorry that we didn’t give you the Recovery Guidelines again for this second knee!

Do check out the Post Op Blues, that Wolvesfan mentioned. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:

rest​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

don't overwork.​

3. Do what you want to do BUT

​

a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​

b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

​

the BoneSmart view on exercise​

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Activity progression for TKRs​

6. Access to these pages on the website

​

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.