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PKR The Knee Replacement Train Rehab Station

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Been very mindful of not over working my quads. Doing a few lifts throughout the day seems to be decent.
I'm usually the busiest of people and worked 40 plus hours a week standing all day on a concrete floor lift ing heavy stuff non stop...right up til surgery. ..so this sitting is what's going to drive me insane first lol.
Daytime tv is down right despicable.
Thankfully I have a stack of books :)
Basically I'm a slave to my polar pack!
No matter how times I read on these threads to !!elevate!! constantly, I am unable to do so.
Sometimes I think things on here should be worded with "if you can".
For me personally, elevating makes my entire leg throb and ache beyond belief within 10 minutes. So I do not elevate it at all any more. I have spoken to my dr and my pt about this and they both fully agree that elevating is not always the best answer. Anyway, that's just my observation. I think med schedule and ice have far more beneficial results for some.

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glazed151 said:
No matter how times I read on these threads to !!elevate!! constantly, I am unable to do so.
For me personally, elevating makes my entire leg throb and ache beyond belief within 10 minutes
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But were you elevating with your knee totally straight? That's an extremely uncomfortable way to do it and stresses the muscles and ligaments at the back of your knee tremendously.

I know lots of medics say don't elevate or don't put pillows under your leg but what they really mean is in here Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

To rest your knee properly you have to have a little bend in it and that's not going to cause any problems. Knees have to be elevated in order to manage swelling. Absolutely must.
 
@Josephine
No I was not elevating totally straight. I was actually following the directions to the T.
I was in the hospital for 12 days and never elevated once and I keep hearing from all my pt how awesome it looks.
That's my point. I am complete proof it's "an absolute must" is not a fact. No 2 people are alike and quite honestly I was feeling pretty bad about things because I wasn't finding relief from elevating and reading on here how I was wrong wrong wrong!!!
For a few days I honestly felt my being a part of this group is pointless. Now I am doing what works for me which is icing and meds :)

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Certainly listen to your knee. If you're elevating correctly and it just isn't helping or is making things worse don't do it. Just be sure you are taking time to at least rest--maybe lie down without elevating.
 
@kneeper
Oh I am! I spend the vast majority of my day in bed or laying on the couch. I get up to do things every few hours...my exercises, food etc.
I am 3 days from my 1 month post op anniversary and I seem to be doing about what I should be according to the literature. Today I am hoping to get up the gumption to make it to the grocery store once hubby gets home from work. No more than a 20 minute trip.
I really did try every suggestion about proper elevation. No one wanted it to be beneficial more than I. I just decided being frustrated at feeling like I was a failure wasn't okay...so I'm done doing what does not help.
I have grown to really enjoy this site and reading everyone's stories but I still stand firm in my belief that we are all different and may need different things.
Maybe next week elevating will feel great...I don't know but if my dr and pt are ok with it, I am happy.
If a different way of doing things isn't a welcome point of view on here then perhaps I am not in the right place.


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Sounds like you're on the right track.
 
Woke up feeling like I have been run over by a...motorcycle? Achy all over and just generally not myself. Took temp just to be sure I've no fever which thankfully I do not. A few times in the past 2 days though, I've broken out in horrible sweats and chills after doing hardly anything. Literally, walking to the bathroom. So I am assuming that I am either coming down with something or I've already got a slight touch of it. So today I am doing absolutely nothing. Ice, meds and tv for me.
I will not feel guilty! Right?! Right!!
I did read in the library about meds causing sweats and all but I would think this isn't the case as I've been on the same meds for a month now with nothing like this.
Of course, we are in the middle of winter and flu is all around. Been am exceptionally bad year here for it. I was sort of glad to be house bound for a huge chunk of the season, but who knows what we come into contact with at pt or anywhere else really.
Who else is stuck in a snow covered area? We have about 2.5 feet on the ground now with a Nor'easter breathing down our necks for the coming week. Crutches in the snow now is a blast! Another 2 feet...why not! Hahahaha!


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@Josephine
Thought you might smile at knowing I decided to try elevating one more time today. And....it's been up for quite some time with no pain. I did not do anything different than in any other attempt so I am not sure why today I didn't feel the horrible pain within minutes of elevating.
At any rate....I hope I can continue it. I'm almost afraid to move...lol in fear if I do the next time it will not be ok.
I hope you know how appreciated your advice is.
Thank you.


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One thing I've learned from this is that just when I get used to the "ways things are", it changes!

Hang in there!
 
glazed151 said:
For a few days I honestly felt my being a part of this group is pointless. Now I am doing what works for me which is icing and meds
Click to expand...
That's the perfect thing!

@glazed151 You need to check that there is no space between the @ and the person's name. Just check after you've posted if the name has turned into the blue link. If it hasn't, the it's not tagged the person. Just edit the post to correct it.
 
@Josephine
Sorry, I typically post from my phone and the settings for the forum are vastly different than on the desktop computer. Looking from my phone, I am unable to see that there was a space between the characters but on the desktop now, I can. Odd, but good to know.
I was able to elevate a lot last evening, and I am noticing it feels a lot less tight this morning. :)
I have PT this afternoon and again tomorrow and Friday. I am hoping that neither of those appointments will be cancelled, but it remains to be seen as there is a lovely storm bearing down upon us. If it does what they say it will, we may see yet another 12 inches of snow on top of the already 2 feet on the ground. I love Maine, in February on crutches :rofsign:
 
@Nana moon 27, @DogLoverx3 , @Ellejay , @Yorkshiregal54, @yiayia3 , @Josephine

Hey all, have a question. Are any of you spending time massaging your scar(s)? I have read loads of info on how it is said to help quicken the healing and end results of scar appearance. I myself, have been doing it for a few days now. I scoured this site to find any and all posts I could on it, and did find many posts, although none were in the Library. I did read quite a few of your replies Josephine, so I think I know your view that it is not a necessary thing to do, but won't hurt anything either, unless that opinion has changed since the last post I read which was dated a few years ago I believe??
Anyway, I am trying the massage, and if nothing else it does make my leg feel really good. I also use Arnica cream 3 x a day, which is wonderful. I was quite pleased that my doctor agreed that there is a lot of benefit to homeopathic remedies.
I am at the tail end of my 30 day supply of the Lyrica that my OS prescribed. I am wondering what changes I will notice (if any) once that is stopped in 3 days. After that is done, I will only be taking Tylenol, Tramadol, 1 asprin and my high BP meds daily. I am so happy that the Tramadol is working excellently at pain control.

I know many of you are in the UK and I am still amazed at how vastly different the medical views are on everything. Right from the get go all the way through recovery! Quite a few of them seem far better than those here in the USA. The number one thing that jumped out at me, was that many of you speak of having attended a pre-surgery class of sorts on what to expect from the whole ordeal and aftermath. Nothing like that was offered to me, and I so wish it had been! Also, the methods of pain control seem a lot different as well. Just curious I think! :what:
Anyway, as always, your comments and thoughts are always needed and welcomed. I truly appreciate each and everyone of you and the way we have all come to rely on each other!:martini:

Caryn

P.S. Please feel free to tag any other members that you think would be of benefit to the convo, forgive me, but the names of us all is a bit overwhelming :)
 
@glazed151 and friends . I'm here in the uk and I've noticed the big difference .i went to 2 prep sessions for bloods, ECG etc then admitted 3 weeks later . After op no cpm or morphine pump , pain relief was hard to come by - nothing regular voltarol and paracetamol when I asked . No catheter . It's now 3 weeks since op and no physio yet ! Xx
 
Hi Caryn, I'm not massaging my scar particularly, but because of the dreaded TED stockings (I still don't know what TED stands for) my legs are very dry and itchy, so I do massage body cream in twice a day, so the scar is getting some attention as well. I just hate these stockings, just one and a half more weeks and I can stop wearing them, I can't wait! I am four and a half weeks post op now, and I'm quite happy with my scar, it's already just a pale flat line. A friend saw it today and thought it looked "very neat".
Lyn
 
ThromboEmbolism Deterrent hose!
I didn't have cpm or morphine pump or catheter. I left hospital with a list of exercises to do. I did eventually persuade my GP that I'd like to see a physio, just to make sure what I was doing was correct. I did have tramadol and paracetamol regularly for about 3 months. I also rubbed my scar with moisturiser to stop it sticking underneath and because it felt good!
 
Thank you @speccybecky , now I know about TED.
I have just 4 PT group sessions, starting three weeks after the TKR, I'm quite enjoying them , but I do have to be driven about an hour away from home.
 
@Ellejay I was told initially 6 weeks for the teds but on my discharge letter said 4 weeks . I take them down everyday and moisturise my legs .x
 
Again, such different treatments! I wore the dreaded TEDS only in the hospital for the 12 days I was in there. They did not send me home with them, so I haven;t worn them since. Truthfully I did not mind them so much on my operated leg, but they were awful on my other.

As for the pre-surgery class stuff, I had one visit to the hospital the week before the surgery for blood draw and a quick 10 minute meeting with the pre-op nurse to go over my med list. Nothing else. I received a letter from the hospital the other day asking me to reply and rate my experience, which over all was excellent, given the circumstances, lol. I think I will suggest they begin a class for pre-op patients.
 
glazed151 said:
Are any of you spending time massaging your scar(s)? I have read loads of info on how it is said to help quicken the healing and end results of scar appearance. I did read quite a few of your replies Josephine, so I think I know your view that it is not a necessary thing to do, but won't hurt anything either, unless that opinion has changed since the last post I read which was dated a few years ago I believe??
Click to expand...
No it hasn't changed, quite the reverse in fact! I still maintain it is unnecessary if the only reason you are doing it is because you think it's the only way to get a nice scar! If you want to do it because it feels nice, that's a different thing. You've chosen to do it. But it's not necessary as the body is perfectly capable of creating a 'nice' scar all on its own without any help from us!

Here's a couple to show you what I mean - neither have had any lotions, potions, oils or massage at all!

[Bonesmart.org] The Knee Replacement Train Rehab Station
 
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Great scar example photos! I am hopeful that my scar will look just as wonderful as time goes by. The 4 scars on each knee from my scopes are faint white lines, and my c - section scar the same so I do seem to heal well.
I don't massage the scar a lot, and it was just this week that I was actually able to touch it without feeling queasy, lol.
Massaging lotion or Arnica onto it does seem to make it feel less tight though which is nice :)

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