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Gee, the patient transport option with two, strong men to carry you up 15 stairs sounds delightful to me! However, I'm sure you will have a practice session getting into and out of a car tonight or tomorrow before they release you. I think you may actually be pleasantly surprised by your stair-climbing ability. I had 13 stairs to go up and though it was slow going and made my leg tired, it wasn't especially painful. Nothing like climbing stairs with the pain from OA.:SUNsmile:
 
I did the back seat slide w pillows as well for those first few car rides. By day 12, I finally was able to sit up front w the seat pushed way back.
 
Another skeleton crew day. Here it is Whitmonday, almost same importance as Whitsunday except on such a day many thousands go on pilgrimage walks or hikes, picnics etc. "Tradition, tradition!"

Had a very strange (for me) reaction to one of the meds: woke up at 4:45 with pain. Nurse on duty decided I should take the morning meds then. 2 hours later I felt extremely jittery and antsy and irritable as if I wanted to violently shake off the fuzziness all over my body. My nerves felt on edge! New nurse couldn't help: kept reiterating that I must tell doc on rounds. I then decided "ok must drink lots and lots" : flush it out so to say. After that , and Bfast w strong coffee just now feel more normal again. Wonder what if anything will happen. ...to be continued.
ETA: Station doc "mystified" why meds that have worked till now may have caused reaction.
Another doc was consulted. I'm to *not* take the NSAID at noon.
So much of medicine is experimentation.
Yours truly, guinea pig VW

@Jennszoo: re getting in and out of car: good to know that by day 12 it worked for you. I'm far from svelte and agile. It's the getting out part I'm uncertain of...with some semblance of modicum.
 
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I was dreading going up and downdtairs @VW54 but was amazed how easy it was when the physio at hospital taught me how to do it. For first week when I was home it wasactually harder walking along the hallway to reach the stairs than going up and down them. Now that I'm at the stage where I can go up and down foot over foot I sometimes find myself wishing I still had my cane as it was easier then, but I know I need to persevere to get back to normality.
 
I slid in backwards and my husband held my foot up until I was in. Then, to get out, he held onto the pillow and I scooched myslef out until I could bend the leg down (with his help).
 
DH was here for a couple of hours. I even ventured downstairs and outdoors! Am guessing 400- 500 steps to garden and back. Am now back reclining and icing.
Turns out that since our insurance will cover it, it would be best if I go home Wednesday afternoon rather than tomorrowTuesday afternoon as DH will be gone very early and for most of Wednesday.
Hospitals are no place to heal but if he feels better not having to worry about me, :chinstroke:then...unless they need the bed and kick me out, I'll be here for a complete week.:shrug:
 
Things are so different here in the states than there. Many tkrs are done as out-patient now. They'd never cover us for a week unless there was a huge problem.
 
It's half past 5 am as I write this. Been awake 2 hours. Pain woke me. Called for help got some foul tasting liquid and after a good cry, feel relief in body and soul. Feeling lots of zingers in what's otherwise a large numb area.
Had some strange dream snippets I can remember.
In one, women friends took me out for a surprise dinner to a pub called "Kneady Knees"
That made me laugh.
In another, I was kneeling down to retrieve something and suddenly realised "uh oh! Am not supposed to kneel yet!"
Before the pain woke me, I dreamt I had to find a loo and when I did, to my horror it was one of those hole in the ground kind and nothing to hold on to and I panicked!
 
You are not alone in the wild dream department, lol.
 
I'm going home this afternoon!:happydance::egypdance:
Station doc approved dramadol?sp? drops for pain at night. NSAID only 1x day instead of 2x.
That for 2 more weeks only.
Xray was taken. All is fine. Phew.
Clicking sounds still not explained.
Stitches out on 16th. (But maybe on 14th.)

Will ETA after physiotherapist was here showing me stairs. (15 to get to my apartment.)
Ergotherapist might be showing me and DH how to get in and out of car. Nurse has called to see if she's available when I'm due to leave.
 
Good news @VW54! Hint on getting into car: You will place your back to the car door, slide in backwards on your rear, and gently swing/lift your leg into position. If the car is small, and I believe you said it was, your best bet is most likely the back seat. The backseat will also offer more comfort because you'll be able to stretch your leg out completely, supported by the seat. In the front seat, your leg would be bent.
 
Congrats on being able to go home! There really is no place like home for recovery. The first time getting in / out of the car was the worst. It is learning a new method of going in rear-end first. The nurse and my husband were there to help guide me in. Now I can get in and out like a pro.


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Yippee, you're going home! That clinking or clunking sound is normal. People can even hear it, if they bend down close to our knees. Some knees do it and some don't. They said that it will get quieter as the knee muscles strengthen up some.
 
Congratulations on getting home, you will be far more comfortable there x
 
Am about to sleep in my own bed w icepack on. Meds for the night started to work.
There was a bit of a hiccup when we got to apothecary and I got heparin in needle format instead of tablets. I remember talking to internist and he promised tablets as I mentioned I am needle shy. Prescription couldn't be changed. It was close to closing time. Called hospital. They apologised but had no note from internist, so heparin needles by default. Grrr. Probably a doc w short term memory problems.
Someone convinced my DH it would be easy for him to give me them and he decided he was brave enough. It was that or we drive all the way back and nurse injects me...But that would mean in and out of car again.
It went well. I slid in the back seat. He held my foot as I slid back out.
We got store pizza which was easiest for him to prepare. I have to make a menu now of easy to make meals tomorrow.
I took off the stockings. I want to see what happens without them one night. I hope it's not a big mistake.
My knee /leg feels like it's bundled up with a really tight hose.
I noticed it gives way sometimes. like every 20th step or so, is that normal? Anything I can do to keep that from happening.?
 
Your muscles are very weak after the op, as you start to walk about etc the strength will gradually come back and it wont happen so often. Even at four and a half months out it still happens to me but only rarely. Hope you get a good nights rest, your own bed is always the best.
 
Yes, it's pretty normal for your knee to give out. As you use it, it will strengthen up. That's why you always need to use a walker or crutches until it gets more stable. You will see improvement as time goes on!

Enjoy that nice bed of yours. And good luck to your husband giving you the shots. I had to give a kitty shots a few years back and I had a hard time learning how to do it.
 
It sounds like your journey home was a good one, other than the heparin issue. I hope you enjoy a relatively pain-free evening and can sleep in your own bed! Just think, now you can ice and elevate to your heart's content.:SUNsmile:
 
At 11 weeks I still occasionally get that buckling when walking. This week seems to be much better with that than even last week. It's the little things you don't notice until you realize it's gone.
 
Thanks for the replies with reassurance that buckling is part of it.
I just noticed from reviewing the report they gave me that the medication I got while in hospital was much stronger, some double, from the ones prescribed to me. hmmm...
I'll write to OS if this won't do over next two days. Am willing to see if more icing elevation rest and slightly less meds works ok.
Slept without AT stockings; (anti- thrombosis) did OK but our niece, who is a geriatric nurse, recommended wearing them again, as I'm likely more prone than upright these next weeks. Glad I have two pairs for when it gets warmer outside.
(We have no AC) One pair will always be fresh.
They dry very fast.
Another question: is a walker or crutches better for learning to walk normal?
Walker is more convenient but...I'm wondering about weight distribution on operated knee.
 
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