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TKR Swmrgirl is Recovering

I'm glad that you are home and your knee looks like it has no swelling at all. I hope you continue to do well. It was so much easier with my revision following the bonesmart way this time.
 
I think I slept better with the first knee, so I'm just trying to nap when I can. My leg is very weak and tender, so it's difficult to find a comfortable position. I don't have a lot of pain thankfully! It's just heavy and uncomfortable. I'm going to see how I do in my recliner now. Thanks for checking in.
 
Hope it was a good night for you. Sleepless nights were the worst for me. :bored:
 
Last night was rough, and I didn't get much sleep. I can't seem to hoist my leg around on my own very well, so it's hard to find a comfortable position, and when I do, I can't stay in that position for long. I'm not in much pain though, the meds are doing the trick. I keep dozing off in the middle of writing, I guess it's nap time :sleep:
 
I took a shower earlier, and it felt so good! Takes a lot of energy though. I got right back in bed and fell asleep for an hour. Now I'm struggling to get my pain meds right. I'm taking 10mg oxycodone every 4 hours, which only seems to last about 2.5 hours. Icing helps, but the last hour or so is painful, like right now. I've added 1,000mg Tylenol, but it's not cutting it. Any ideas?


Julie
 
So sorry to hear you're struggling. I'll bet that shower felt wonderful, though. I don't have any ideas except try to stay ahead of the pain and make sure you take enough to get the pain under control. I'm sure someone with more knowledge than I will be along with advice. Take care, rest, elevate and :ice::ice::ice:!
 
Doesn't seem to be restless legs, I just can't find a position that's comfortable for very long. I'll call my doc on Monday, and ask about adding tramadol.

I have a lot better ROM with the left leg, but it's much weaker than the right leg was at this stage. Its also kind of crazy how much I've forgotten about my first TKR in only six months. How nice!


Julie
 
Oh goodness, you are just 4 days out, the worst! Hope you're able to get some sleep tonight.
 
I'm sorry that last hour and a half between pain pills is tough. Until you get that Tramadol you might consider adding Tylenol (provided that is not included in oxycodone, I'm not 100% certain it's not) Also, if you aren't opposed to anti-inflammatories (even though your swelling looks minimal) they could be added to get you through.

Those first days after the block wears off are the toughest. Thinking of you. Aren't you glad we only have two knees?
 
It's such a lovely spring day here. I stood in the doorway thinking I would go out and sit in the garden for a bit, but then decided it was too much to try and navigate the steps down, and then back up again, so I settled on sitting by an open window.

Today is our 28th anniversary. I baked a chocolate torte before I went into the hospital, so we'll have a little celebration this evening. I might even have a small sip of champagne. Our son goes goes to college in NY, and I had a nice long chat with him this morning. He said he's looking forward to coming and helping out in a few weeks before he starts his summer job. For a 20 year old, he's pretty good about calling home, and I can't wait to see him.

I had another sleepless night last night. I'm a side sleeper, but my leg is unhappy on the side, so I'm having to lie on my back most of the time. I have a weird sensation of falling when I start to go to sleep, and it jolts me awake. I'll be glad when this little annoyance is gone, as I'm actually quite fond of my sleep.

My left thigh is painful from the tourniquets used during surgery, which is something I didn't have with the first knee. I had lots of bruising, but very little pain. Other than that, everything is beautiful, so I think I'll take a nap.
 
Happy Anniversary! I hope you have a wonderful celebration.
I too am a side sleeper, for me, due to the problems that started somewhere around 6 months out, I've not been able to sleep well on my side either. I'm looking forward to hopefully getting this fixed, then losing the pillow I have to use either between my knees or under my knee when I'm on my back. But, for you, I'm sure you'll be able to soon sleep comfortably on your side again. Have a great day and enjoy the sunshine!
 
Wow! Your son is a long way from home. My nephew is stationed in Seattle/Tacoma area so I'm hoping to visit after school's out at some point. Does he come home for summers?

I am also a side sleeper, really struggled with sleep and had the same falling sensation while trying to sleep during my recovery. The jolt of waking up when I thought I was falling always hurt my knee. I also am a very active sleeper, moving from side to side, so that was impeded as well. I think I was 4 weeks in before I managed to get on my side to sleep and then I ended up back in the hospital. But even with the imbolizer on I figured out a way to put my left leg overtop of the imbolizer in order to sleep. Maybe a littl champagne will help you sleep? :martini: I know it's a martini emoji, but it's close!
 
He does come home for the summer and winter break, but yes it's far away.

I managed to get semi-comfortable for a nap on my side today... best two hours sleep I've had in awhile.

I decided to skip the exercises the PT told me to do do in the hospital. I only do ankle pumps a few times a day, and walk around a bit when I need to get up. Lo and behold! I have still have very little swelling. PT is coming to my house on Tuesday and I'll ask her to respect my request not to push the knee. I have the same woman I had last time, and she was great.


Julie
 
Hi @swmrgirl! Congrats on your knee being done and over with. I had the large bruise and thigh pain with my 2nd knee too, but not with the 1st. Smiled when I read you fall asleep and then jolt awake because I did the same thing only I awakened myself with my own snoring :heehee:

Afraid I am having a bit of the blues because I am sick of all of this and getting cabin fever. Seems that for the past 6 months it has been nothing but my knees.
Do realize I am fortunate that both surgeries have been successful and others have endured so much more but I guess the blues are just part of the process.
Isn't great when you can finally sleep on your side!
Wishing you only the best of recoveries!
 
Oh those sleepless nights! I didn't have many wakeful nights with The first TKR, so I mistakenly assumed it would be the same this time... silly me! When the BoneSmart experts advise not to compare recoveries with yourself or others, they are absolutely right. My knees couldn't be more different. This time, I was in and out of the hospital in 36 hours (half the amount of time as with the first knee, only six months ago). There wasn't time enough to get my pain meds adjusted to a comfortable level, so I've had to jump through a bunch of hoops from home to get better meds. I talked with visiting nurse, and told her my pain meds weren't adequate. She said she would call the OS office and ask for more/different meds, but I never heard back. I reached my home PT on Saturday and she got in touch with OS and was able to get additional meds for me. This knee is very cranky, and painful, but because I can tolerate a lot of pain, I thought I would just tough it out for a couple of weeks. My PT said "NO NO NO NO NO! We need to get this right!" OS gave me dilaudid in addition to oxycodone, and I am very comfortable. I feel groggy, but at least I'm not in pain, and I've been able to sleep a little better.

I have no doubt that it's in the hospital's best interest to send patients home as soon as possible, but I'm not sure it's in the patient's best interest to go home so soon after a major surgery like this. Having said all that, I still feel like I got excellent care for the time I was there.

I have have very little swelling in my knee, but my thigh is huge, and the entire back of it is blackish purple. Pretty!
 
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So important to get your pain under control before going home. I went down the hall and through a set of doors into transition care, so docs and nurses were involved for a whole week after surgery.
But the sleeping :gaah: I love my bed and look forward to hitting it when I'm tired. However during TKR I despised the thought of going to bed, because it meant hours of laying there, sleepless. Hopefully you'll get comfortable soon.
 
I've had very few full nights of sleep since my original surgery last July. I even haven't been able to sleep in my bed at all. No matter what I do I can't get comfortable. I'm glad you have pain meds now that are working well for you.
 
You are so right, this knee is so different (and the same) as my first one.

Maybe it is too early, but last time I didn't set a "take a pill alarm" for the middle of the night. I tried once, this time, and regretted it. I'm trying to stick with the lowest pain medication dose, but can't always.

We know, and the nurses know, this stuff is painful. I'm glad you figured out how to manage pain meds.
 
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