Revision TKR Third times the charm- hopefully

[SusieShoes]

You made the right choice with the hotel. If for some reason your surgery is cancelled, explain your situation with the hotel room and see if they can't reschedule right away the next day. There may also be patients cancelling to create openings. Crossing my fingers that your surgeon and team make it in today!

What I enjoyed about my summer recovery was the ability to walk outdoors on a reliable basis. This winter has been a snowy one by me, too, and would have been a less active recovery. Of course, your timing is good because by the time you feel like walking outside, it will be spring!

 

[MSgirl]

Thank goodness you only have to go across the street. Hopefully, they won't cancel you.

My husband has slept soundly all night. Unfortunately, I didn't. I hope I can go home today and get in my own bed or recliner.

All of the major bridges are closed here on the Gulf Coast due to icing. Luckily, we live only 2 miles away and won't have to go over a bridge. Are your temperatures really low? You all may want to stay an extra night.

I said a little prayer for you. I know you will do great.

 

[jboles]

My husband has the room reserved for tonight. We have about 8 inches and still snowing. I’m afraid this leg is going to be a little more difficult. I have no feeling from the knee down. I mean none!! I could wiggle toes and move leg completely with the first one. Tha doc came by and said about 50 percent of the time that happens and the feeling won’t come back till nerve block wears off probably tomorrow. The good thing is no pain, bad thing is potty time....

 

[jaschembra]

Good to see your post! Now to let the recovery begin. Hoping all the roads are clear when it's time for your departure to home. I'm sure hubby is getting in lots of reading.

 

[jboles]

First potty trip, that was interesting on a leg that has no feeling. But my leg is straight, yeah.

 

[jboles]

@jaschembra and @MSgirl we currently have 8-10 inches of snow and it’s supposed to be around 15 degrees tonight but it’s supposed to be above freezing by tomorrow afternoon. We put out 2 cans of food and a bowl of dry food with water for my kitty, I hope she’s doing okay. My husband says he’s going home tomorrow afternoon. Probably Friday for me.

 

[MSgirl]

Hooray for surgery being over! And even with your leg that is still sleeping, you made it to the potty. Please post a picture of the snow.

 

[SusieShoes]

Yay! Your surgery went forward and you’re now on the other side. Hope all goes smoothly now.

 

[Jockette]

Yes, glad your surgery wasn’t postponed! Continued best wishes to you!

 

[sistersinhim]

Yay, you had your surgery and have already made a trip to the potty! It sounds like you're doing great!

Please be careful in that snow. You are getting what we got ten days ago. We ended up with a foot. This time should be only about 4-5".

 

[jboles]

It’s about 4:30 am.....Not a restful nights sleep, but it never is in a hospital is it. All the feeling hasn’t come back yet. But I can move my foot, and can barely feel the leg pump things that are wrapped around my calf. It’s better than last night when I had to pull blankets off to make sure it was working. Second trip to potty was much better, actually felt like a leg, first time, I could see it, but had zero feeling, very strange....No pain medicine yet, just Tylenol, haven’t needed any either. They key the ice machine going, but same as last time, keep your leg straight, not elevated. I never had a problem with extension last time, I was 0 from beginning, so I don’t think I’ll complain. Bend seemed to be close to 90 degrees this morning at 3am when I was sitting on side of the bed, pleased with that. Now if I can get a cup of coffee to help with this headache and figure out how I’m getting home in this snow I’ll be all good

 

[sistersinhim]

Your leg is coming back. Great! And 90* right off the bat is fantastic! Please be very careful. It sounds like NC got a lot more snow than we did.

 

[jboles]

This right knee/leg is really wanting to show who’s boss. I’m home and have the most excruciating pain I’ve ever had. I’ve had 2 children natural, one was 10 pounds, gallbladder surgery the old fashioned way-where the incision is about 10 inches, spinal surgery and a LTKR 6 months ago. This RTKR is kicking my butt. The pain is about 4 inches or so below my knee right beside shin bone, lateral side. Could it be ligament related, there was a lot of straightening done. Raising and lowering my foot makes it worse. The doctor said he put a bigger tibial component in this time, could that be the issue, or maybe it’s both. One Percocet doesn’t touch the pain, I’m going to take 2 next time.

 

[shelli22]

@ Jan. I just spent the afternoon reading your entire post. What an amazing journey you have just accomplished. Overall you first knee surgery was excellent and while you had numerous hurdles along the way you managed to remain mostly positive and upbeat. Well done and I hope the remainder of your recovery with your rtkr is just as successful. I will pop by to see how your doing.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[SusieShoes]

Well, I’m glad you’re home through all that snow, though dismayed to hear you’re having so much pain. There’s no question TKR is a major surgery and a painful one. It’s really no wonder with all the work involved. Still, you should be able to achieve reasonable pain control. If that Percocet isn’t touching your pain, call your OS and see what can be done. I’m crossing my fingers you wake up this morning and find the pain more manageable.

A knee that’s had more work done on it could have different pains than one that had less, or even than one that had the same amount of work but in different places. Right now everything inside the knee joint is unhappy and inflamed, so it could be anything —or everything— clamoring right now. Lots of rest, icing, and keeping on your pain meds will help until things settle down. There’s not much else to do when your TKR is being a brat.

 

[jboles]

@shelli22 yes it has been a journey. I never thought I would find out so much about myself on this knee journey. It’s been a long journey, my first appointment with a different OS was in November of 2016, so I’m ready to be able to put this all behind me and get on with my life and now 2 new knees.
@SusieShoes like you’ve said before, no 2 knees are alike, now I know exactly what you mean! My left one was painful, but one Percocet would work almost all the time. This right one, 2 Percocet are only lasting about 3-1/2 hours. So I’ve got an hour of pain at a level 8-10 before I get some relief. But this too shall pass.

 

[SusieShoes]

It will indeed pass. I've often thought if I had gotten only my worse (left) knee done first, I would have been quite unhappy with it and put off the right knee until later. If I'd had only the right knee done, I would have thought TKR was a walk in the park, and wondered what people were complaining about. Having both done at the same time taught me that knees really, truly are total individuals when it comes to recovery.

Early recovery is rough no matter what, though. Your right knee might become a rock star once you're through this first week!

 

[amymj]

Hang in there, jboles! It is so easy to compare when we've done two knees. This second knee I am finding is swelling more, more painful. I hope your pain gets under control really soon!

 

[MSgirl]

Jan, I'm on the same pain medication as you. Two percosets every four hours. It seems like they take almost 30 minutes to kick in and start to stop being effective after three and a half. That last 30 minutes isn't fun, is it? I've set an alarm on my phone and always hope time will speed up! You are doing so well. Keep doing what you are doing. It's working!

 

[Celle]

Hi Jan,
I'm glad you're safely at home.

Here is a new copy of the recovery reading for you - as a refresher:
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. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


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 a 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 history before providing advice.