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TKR on Dec. 27, 2017

So happy to hear how active you now are @KarriB! I hope I can be too! I am not looking forward to being off all my anti-inflammatories either. I expect that to be a painful time for me as well. What did you do to cope? Was Tylenol alone helpful?

@sistersinhim. I'm so happy you are able to do the things you love now without the pain. I don't think the new knew will help me be able to ride a bike painfree since it's my butt that oils me riding a bike! [emoji24]

It's starting to get real for me now. I got the call this morning from the hospital scheduling all the pre-op stuff. Nervous but optimistic as well hearing that both of you are enjoying your new knees.


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My knees were very painful before surgery. I put off surgery for so long, thinking it would be too hard to recover at home with my husband's 93 year old dad living with us and me being a caregiver. But dealing with the pain became too much. One day Mr. Shoes came home from work and I broke into tears and said I couldn't put off knee surgery any more. It was too hard for me. So I scheduled the surgery.

My surgeon wanted me off the anti-inflammatories that had been helping a little (though clearly not enough), and he didn't give me anything else to help with the pain. All he would allow was Tylenol. It wasn't any help at all. But one thing that did help my knees a little bit was ICE. I would ice my knees before anything that required walking, like going to the grocery store, and that made the trip bearable. But it was a pretty painful time. :bawl:

Maybe Tylenol will help you more. But do give the ice a try. And as your surgery gets closer, take solace in knowing your pain right now will soon be gone. Gone, gone, gone. From the first hour after my surgery, I was happy I had done it. Yes, I knew I had months of recovery ahead... but my new knees were already BETTER than the ones I had replaced. There was pain during recovery, but standing up was never again as painful as it was before surgery. Walking was never more painful than it had been before.

My knees are now pain-free and I walk as much as I want, wherever I want. It's amazing how much of a difference it has made. It's a year since I broke down crying in my husband's arms and my life is totally changed for the better. :loveshwr::happydance::yes!:

I hope yours will be too!
 
Tylenol helped me right before my tkr when off of the Diclofenac. I didn't think to try the ice. It sure does help after the surgery!
 
Ice did help me more than Tylenol. But I curtailed as many activities as possible. My sister did my grocery shopping and my colleagues transported my students around the school for me until my surgery. Any walking at all was painful and I was using a cane as well. Now my local Walmart does on line shopping which I’m keeping in mind for an emergency or my next TKR. It will be easier for my family that’s for sure!

You may want to put a few of your favorite meals or your family’s favorites into the feeezer. It’ll be a month or more before you’re likely to feel like standing to cook a full meal. My family and friends brought meals for the first 3 weeks. I was around 3.5 weeks when I threw chicken into a crock pot and ate at the dining room table, but someone else cleaned up afterward.
 
I had my nurse's phone call/interview on Friday. Took about 40 minutes to go through everything! They also followed it up with an email to download an app and go over it all again adding more detail online! Whew! @sistersinhim Tylenol will be all I can take for the two weeks prior to surgery. I'm not looking forward to that, especially over Christmas but a small price to pay for reduced pain and increased function in my knee in the long run!

My pre-op at the hospital is tomorrow! It's all coming so fast!


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@KarrieB I hope my family and friends bring me meals for a few weeks! [emoji6] but I have frozen a few meals and am looking into a prepared healthy meal service too.


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My family lives nearby, my sister/bff live in the same neighborhood as me. So someone always came by for a large part of the day and brought food. Because it’s just me it was easy to bring part of their meal. Sounds like you’re getting ready!
 
Not being able to take anything but Tylenol for a couple months before surgery (for me) was no picnic. Still we get through it! Kind of sets the stage in a way.

Looks like you have your meals taken care of. I relied on Mr. Shoes, who did his best, but we ate a lot of frozen fish sticks and grocery store pre-made meals. Fortunately, it was summer, and he is good on the grill, so we also had some pretty good burgers and steaks!
 
Went to the hospital this morning for my pre-op testing and meetings with a Case Manager, Pharmacy Tech, PT, and an internist. All went well, except they had me down for a RTKR vs a LTKR. [emoji853] a quick visit to my surgeon's office fixed that but still doesn't help my worries.

I wish I could have BTKR but my surgeon prefers to wait at least 6 weeks. Not sure why. I see it as just adding to length of time in the "misery" phase.


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It does kind of draw out the recovery, but you will get the same excellent result. Just be prepared for diving back into early recovery again right when you're starting to feel better from the first surgery. An extra dose of patience can be needed, but the plus side for the second surgery is you will already have learned a lot about how best to do some things.
 
After being prepped for surgery and before going into the operating room my surgeon came and not only verbally confirmed which knee, he wrote on it!

And I didn’t recognize him with his surgical scrub hat on, I had to ask, Dr T, is that you? :rotfl:
 
So good to hear @Jockette and @donebyme25! I hope I recognize my surgeon! Lol! Today I found out they do epidural anesthesia so I hope I know what's going on, but who knows!


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My surgeon also signed my knees. :heehee: I was having both done, so no possibility of doing the wrong one, but he signed them anyway. I’d only had abdominal surgery before. It was interesting to get signed like a document.
 
@SusieShoes that is so funny! I will make sure that I'm signed too then! Yesterday at the pre-op check in, they had me down for the wrong knee...but since I want them both done anyway, that could be a way to have them done at the same time. Hmmmm


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Oh, you did the right thing. There's no knowing what craziness would have happened had the error been discovered right before surgery. I can just imagine... "Um, Doc. Pretty sure you signed the wrong knee there." :loll:

No surprises. That's how you want your surgery.
 
I will be in surgery the day after you. I hope you do well. I'm quite a bit older than you, and have had a lot of pain. I messed my knee up many many years ago skiing. I've gone through orthoscopic, cortisone, synvisc, all putting off the inevitable. It is now time for me. I'm scared, but looking forward to being able to go for walks, and walking the golf course again. I miss that the most. I didn't ask what type of implant they are doing, but I do like my surgeon. I asked for a bionic knee, and he said he would put a Christmas bow on the one I'm getting instead.
 
@missyfit13 sounds like your surgeon has an awesome bedside manner. Tie it up with a bow! Gotta love it! So happy to have you as a buddy going through this at the same time. Like you I have been through a lot but mostly with the other knee. I messed it up doing gymnastics as a kid and my left knee had to compensate but physically they both have patella Alta or high knee caps in which my knees don't track properly, resulting in them coming out of place. It happened in a major way on the 4th of July and all the treatments can't get me back to where I was. I want to be more active and enjoy the grandkids and travel so a new knee (or two) it is.

I am scared, but I have a very supportive husband and excellent surgeon and this forum to help me through this. Now should I get NetFlix or Hulu or something else to help occupy me during recover???


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Thank you @SherrieT! I hope you are doing well!


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