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TKR The Knees and Me - staged

Are you planning to have Knee#2 done soon Rubyyarn?
 
Was reading about the carts you get to use at the stores. At first a bit mystified then it dawned on me: you mean the store provides motorized carts you can sit er...ride on and shop that way.
I have yet to see a store in Austria Germny France Italy Greece Portugal or Spain have such a service. Do stores in UK have them?
I have only seen people in their own motorized chairs shop at stores here and there. Never any carts provided by stores.
How many does a store have?
Some stores here in the city will, if it's not too busy, have someone help you if you ask ahead of time.
 
Yes, most large grocery or department stores in the US have motorized carts at the front of the store to ride on. I live in a small town and our large store has two or three. They are usually plugged in at the front of the store and hopefully they are all working so you just hop on one (well, not hop :heehee:) and go. They take a bit to get used to - steering, speed of acceleration, backing up, turning radius, so you are always hoping that you don't knock over the big display of toilet paper or potato chips that the stores seem to have right by the carts. The ones I am used to don't have a very big basket so if you are getting more than a few things you need someone with you with a cart. I did not use one for my TKR but a couple years ago I had foot surgery and was non-weight bearing for several weeks and it really was useful. [Bonesmart.org] The Knees and Me - staged
 
Goes to show you how long it's been since I did any grocery shopping in the US.
I think most of the shops here and in most of Europe are too small, with narrower aisles to have such carts. I may be mistaken...Maybe some at large shopping centres have some. (we avoid shopping for food at those places)
 
@SusieShoes, thank you for the kind words. At least I know to insist on my usual therapist after I get knee #2 done.

@Pheebs52, I'll be talking with the doc Monday and get a better idea. DH would like for me to wait until the middle of September or so.

Seriously, after the first knee I felt they would have to drag me kicking and screaming to get the other one done. But my left knee has been so cantankerous lately I am quite ready.
 
@rubyyarn, you certainly sound ready for Round Two! My *other* knee has been remarkably well-behaved during this whole recovery, so I just keep my fingers crossed and hope it will remain this way for at least a year. It speaks up now and then, but nothing like it did before my TKR; go figure, eh?
 
The PA to my doc said that with some people after the first knee is done, the second is an absolute angel for a long time afterwards. Not mine. It has done everything but send a ransom note.
 
Tried a day without Percocet, just Tylenol and ibuprofen. I made it through 24 hours, but I was not happy! Couldn't sleep, tossed more than usual, and felt ready to jump out of my skin. I've decided that Tylenol is the pits. Even 1000mg only lasted for 2 hours and not only my knee, but everything else ached like a sore tooth.

So back to the Percocet. I'm down to 2 in 24 hours now, with ibuprofen in between. Sometimes I forget the ibuprofen. Hopefully I can get just one more refill of the Percocet, even though I doubt that I will use it all.
 
Well that's not a good 24 hours rubyyarn; pffft! If you need the Rx meds, you need them. I hope you are able to get a refill. I know my OS will refill for 3 months, and that seemed reasonable to me.
 
Pheebs, I should be off of the Percocet within a week or so, at least I hope so. It seems that each doc has his own way of handling the opiates.
 
Saw the doc today. He seemed pleased with my progress and said my ROM was excellent. I asked about the other knee. After looking at the X-rays, he said the left knee wasn't as bad as the right, but it was on its way. I decided to go ahead and have it done...I do hate putting off what is apparently inevitable. Just get it done!

I was pleasantly surprised when the first knee went from 'what was I thinking' to 'this is pretty good'. It looks like the end result will be worth all of the grief.

Got some cocoa butter for the scar. Even though it is all red looking, apparently it is healed up enough to tolerate having stuff rubbed on it. There are times when I bend my knee it feels like the stitches will tear. They don't of course, but I could do without that feeling.

Knee #2 has its day on September 26.
 
Wow, bold move @rubyyarn and congratulations for setting the date! We'll all be here to cheer you on with Knee#2!:happydance:
 
Thanks, Pheebs! I so appreciate you and all the other Bone Smarties! This time I feel a lot more sure of myself :smile2:
 
Well, that's 'cuz you're a Pro now, lol! In many respects, it's probably good to just get it over with sooner because all of your recovery knowledge and experiences will still be fresh in your mind. You won't question every single twitch, pain, sore spot or sound. I think that has to be a plus! Just bear in mind, this time will not be a duplicate experience. But, the basics will remain the same, eh?
 
rubyyarn said:
Tried a day without Percocet, just Tylenol and ibuprofen. I made it through 24 hours, but I was not happy! Couldn't sleep, tossed more than usual, and felt ready to jump out of my skin. I've decided that Tylenol is the pits. Even 1000mg only lasted for 2 hours and not only my knee, but everything else ached like a sore tooth.
Click to expand...
It sounds as if you tried to come off the Percocet too soon. Maybe you need a step-down drug, such as Tramadol. Ask if your surgeon will prescribe that for you.

Tylenol works very well when you have healed enough, so don't give up on it entirely. The big trick is to take it on a regular schedule, so you keep up the levels in your blood. It also works well in combination with Tramadol.
 
Yeah, it's a knee being replaced. And the left knee's reaction to today's activities just confirms that it is time to do it.
 
Do ask about the Tramadol. I find Tylenol helps a lot but you might not be past needing something stronger. Before surgery, Tylenol didn't even touch my arthritis pain and I thought, "What a :censored: drug for pain!" And right after surgery, if I didn't lie about my pain in rehab (seriously, when resting--and the nurses always asked when I was resting, my pain was not 9) they'd give me Tylenol instead of OxyContin, and I thought, "Tylenol is for :censored:."

But lo and behold... Tylenol now does a really GOOD job of helping my stiffness and pain. I keep a schedule and I've come to appreciate it lots more. It's just not the right drug for serious, heavy-duty pain.
 
I just got my Percocet reupped so I'll keep working with that. I'm down to 2 pills per day. At some point I'll start cutting them in half.

And...don't you know...I'll get off of them just in time for my next surgery :banghead:
 
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