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TKR Two new knees....yes, please

My OS and other hospital nursing staff limit Tylenol to 3000 units a day. I see that yours recommends 4000. Again, I'm a bit fearful of causing myself future problems due to meds I am taking now. What are your thoughts?
 
The safe daily dose for Tylenol is 4,000 mg, divided into four equal doses of 1,000 mg.

The reason why some authorities recommend a daily maximum of 3,000 mg is because there is often Tylenol (Acetaminophen) in other medications you take, and they are fearful that you will not include those amounts as well, when making your daily calculations.

As long as there is no Tylenol in any of your other medications, it is safe to take 4 x 1,000 mg doses of Tylenol in 24 hours.
 
Thank you, Josephine and Celle, for your timely advice. It's almost 4:00 pm and so I will start the Tramadol/Tylenol routine you have outlined.
 
I'm so sorry you have another hiccup. Do you think you may have thrown up the Miralax because of everything else that went on through the day?
 
@crstysue you've been through quite the ordeal. I'm so glad that your faith is keeping you mentally upright.

I just wanted to share a bit about the business of "going". I suffer from an ongoing GI issue and my digestive system is thrown off easily. Add in the pain meds and forget it....things come to a stand still. My doctor suggested a half bottle of Magnesium Citrate two evenings in a row as my belly was dead quiet on examination. This was supposed to fix things but my ornery stomach laughed at that. So I fixed it initially by drinking a cup of prune juice mixed with 1/2 the Mag Citrate (and it worked like a charm).

Now I eat a serving of prunes a day and take a gentle laxative pill in the morning (it's by Dulcolax but I assume any brand will do). And I rarely have issues anymore. If I have any problems I try the following.

A serving of prunes (either juice or dried)
Magnesium citrate 1/2 bottle (sometimes mixed with the prune juice)
Dulcolax or CVS brand laxative pills
Smooth Move tea by Traditional Medicals in the evening (grocery or health food stores carry this)

My doctor has said that any combination of these is safe for me to use. Like I said I've been dealing with belly drama long before the hip drama started.

Miralax hasn't ever worked well for me even taking it twice daily. [emoji20] At any rate I just figured I'd share what works for me. Oh and always drink lots and lots of water!

Note: the taste of Magnesium Citrate as well as prunes whole or juiced are unpleasant for some folks but I actually enjoy it. [emoji4]

Hope you can get some relief...


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What an ordeal, I'm so sorry! I was warned many times before the surgery about the likelihood of severe constipation, but I don't think I was really concerned until I went several days with no "movement". My daughter suggested Milk of Magnesia and thankfully it worked. I still have to take a full dose every couple of days because I am not working on my own. I don't know if the Senokot the OS told me to take twice a day is doing anything but I am taking it faithfully. I admit I am worried about whether I will ever get back to "normal". I hope you find the right combination for your body soon so you can get back to healing.
 
I found I had to take an aperient containing senna for the entire time I was on narcotics, otherwise I got horribly constipated.
 
I'm sorry your struggling with your GI tract. I will send the poop fairy vibes your way. And, it is perfectly OK to feel totally frustrated at this point in time. I promise it will get better. Hang in there. One day at a time. Doing two knees back to back is challenging and very daunting. You will be so happy a few months from now with a pain free life. It is going to be OK.


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Hi all. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement regarding my rather personal constipation issues. I am doing well now, and things are "moving" well now. But I will keep all of your suggestions for staying on a good health path in this area. It was miserable, but I'm doing well now.

Just past two weeks post-RTKR, and feeling great. PT is going well, and I rode 4 minutes on the recumbent bike today....got around the first time I tried. Walking without cane or walker, straight and not limping. Feel tightness around my knee and of course that awful thigh pain from the tourniquet is still there...but it does seem milder than I experienced on my last knee. Flexibility is a 110 and extension a 3, and I feel pretty good about that. No problems lifting my leg or sitting at a table. I still sit a lot and ice/elevate, as I have no where to go except PT. This is my time to heal completely, and I have my sights on the long term outcome.

I'm only on Tramadol and Tylenol now, and will be reducing down each week. While I did have blisters develop around my incision, even from the steri-strips, my leg is healing up nicely. So all in all, I think I'm doing pretty well. This forum has been a life-saver in so many ways. I am thankful to have shared this experience with so many compassionate and caring people.
 
You ROM is great and with your incision problems also! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. Miralax was my life saver, once I took it and got things moving things progressed on their own (if you know what I mean :wink:).
 
Thanks for checking in on me, @sandi4213. Getting ready to go have lunch with my school Speech/Language Pathologist buddies from the school district I just resigned from in January. I have actually turned my medical leave into a full retirement, so I'm going to miss all the wonderful experiences and relationships made during my 23 years as a school SLP. I am moving slowly, but can sit at a table and enjoy conversation with friends if it doesn't go much past an hour. After that, I will be heading to PT, so I imagine I'll be ready for resting, icing, and elevating when I get home.

My right knee, this time, is highly sensitive to touch, causing me to have some difficulty with sleeping, rolling from side to side and having the sheets and blankets rub against it. My left knee is 10+ weeks old and still has some numbness and also sensitivity in certain areas. Hoping those lessen over time.

No more constipation issues, for which I am so happy about. I feel like I have been sitting around for so, so long with two knee replacements back to back and 3 months healing from a stress fracture before that. I miss being productive. But I know it is a season, and I will be more productive in the end by letting this healing move at the correct pace. God give me patience, and give it to me NOW!
 
Hi @crstysue, I just read your thread from beginning to end. Wow, you went through a lot. Your positive outlook was a real encouragement. I hope you continue to I,prove each day. So many of the things you wrote about I related to! My second knee is in 2.5 weeks!:loll:I also learned how to add the emoji by reading your thread!
 
crstysue said:
I have actually turned my medical leave into a full retirement, so I'm going to miss all the wonderful experiences and relationships made during my 23 years as a school SLP. I am moving slowly, but can sit at a table and enjoy conversation with friends if it doesn't go much past an hour. After that, I will be heading to PT, so I imagine I'll be ready for resting, icing, and elevating when I get home.
Click to expand...
I think that just going to lunch with your friends will be enough activity for you knee. Enjoy that!
Going to PT as well could be too much. See how you feel at the end of your lunch.

For a long time after my TKRs, I found that just one extra activity a day was all my knees and I could handle. It wasn't just the knees, but the inevitable fatigue/energy drain that exhausted me.
 
So happy you got to go to lunch with your friends. Your life will be completely different after your recovery <3
With 2 good knees and lots of free time, your horizons will be limitless! Take good care of those knees when you get home today.
 
My TKR recovery was supposed to be my retirement experiment. I was going to see if I liked staying home, going to the movies, out to lunch, etc. But I didn't get to do much of that with my complications. Then I had an inexperienced substitute so I was in a hurry to get back. But so far retirement is good! :thumb:
 
Hi @becticu. You read my entire thread? Wow....I'm impressed. Yet I have done the same with other people. I glean so much knowledge and just a sense of comradeerie when hearing from people going through what I am. Reading threads before my surgery helped me to go in very prepared, and not too surprised by some of the ups and downs experienced during recovery. It's all part of the process. Anyway, I'm glad I could be an encouragement for you. My faith leads me to a positive outlook no matter what my circumstances are. Someone bigger than me cares about the big and small of my life, and I trust my healing into His hands.

I did enjoy lunch with friends, and still went to PT. I always let my body guide my next steps. So far, I have not joined the ODIC. Went to Easter service at my church tonight (5 services this weekend), and so many came up to tell me they were amazed to watch me walk around, not even limping. So yes, I'm doing pretty well for just under 3 weeks post-RTKR? But I am home with leg elevated and ice machine going. While my legs are improving each day, they are still sore and need to be rested and tended to. I still rest most of the day because this is a long journey and not a race I am in to see how fast I can get back to my old life. A friend of mine had a knee replacement 3 weeks before mine. He is still limping and walking with a cane. And you know what? That is just fine. Every knee is different and has its own timetable. I have tried not to compare my story with that of others (although that is hard sometimes). I will try to be an encourager to those who have gone through a knee replacement, just as people have been with me. And I am their cheerleader, whether their recovery is quick or slow. We just have to be that with each other!
 
@crstysue I just read your post from last night and I have to tell you that it made me smile. You are so full of optimism and encouragement. I, too, know that He is watching over and protecting me and it is so nice to see the strong faith of others. Thank you for being such an encourager on this forum and I wish you a very happy Easter Day!
 
Hi @crstysue, Happy Easter! I find myself reading posts, looking for advice, encouragement and comfort in finding that my recovery is normal and it will be okay. I didn't find this site until about day 9. I found myself not near as prepared as I thought I was. All the different struggles and then how you handled them was an encouragement to me. This week is my mother in laws Memorial service in upstate NY. She passed away in our home in TN after a terrible fall with a subdural bleed in her brain. We brought her home with hospice to pass. A lot of family came that week to say their goodbyes and because in was middle of winter in NY they set the Memorial for spring. It is a month after my replacement and I was sure I would be up to the travel.....another example of not knowing and being prepared! There is no way I can handle that travel and schedule that I would need to. I'm sad I can't go and a little nervous to be totally alone while everyone is gone. I do have good friends that will help with anything though. I think you said your husband was on staff at your church. Mine is as well. He is the senior adult minister. In other words he gets to play with all the old folks! They go on trips, luncheons and all kinds of things. Our church has their Easter service in a park down by the river. We had beautiful weather and the estimate about 8000 people that came. I was thankful I got to go, although I brought a lawn chair where I could out my leg up to ice! Well I wrote a little book. I hope you had a blessed Easter.
 
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