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Nana moon 27
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@Josephine thank you so very very much x x x
Revision TKR Woohoo I'm starting to feel better!
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Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
Ann, you have to remember that 9 weeks out is still VERY early in the recovery process. You will still have pain and are likely to for another 6 weeks or more.
Have you reread this article lately? Pain management: importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart. You also had a revision which is often worse than the original replacement. I think you still need pain killers. I took painkillers for 4 full months after my knee replacement - and needed them! This is why you are in difficulties at night, not because of any problems with the morphine but because you are not medicating your pain adequately.
So my advice is:
Listen to your GP who knows you.
Stop being afraid of the morphine - it's just a pain killer, that's all.
Remember you are still in pain after your surgery and need it.
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Nana moon 27
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@Josephine what is worse is that my left knee needs replacing. Im leaving it as long as I can, as he said at best as an option all he could offer me was an arthroscopy but really it needs replacing. The problem is as the morphine reduces, I feel the pain in the left knee quite badly. In hydrotherapy, last Wednesday, it really hurt at times, especially when I had to wear flippers and do individual leg kicks with them, the physio said to just go a bit gentler but to be honest it still hurt. It also hurt me on the step exercises in the water but it turned out I was doing them the wrong way round. I should have been using my right In a certain way not my left as well. The left is being reviewed in January when I go for the check on my revision xx
I tried swimming at around 13-14 weeks and I can tell you leg kicking hurt a bit. So I didn't swim or at least not with much kicking for several more weeks. Also, unlike last time, I didn't get pushed into doing too much strengthening too early. Slow and steady seemed to do the trick for me. Hopefully that will for you too.
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I am still taking Norco at bed time and again in the middle of the night, and I ice frequently, though less that a few months ago. Ice is the best painkiller, you just have to be careful to have a cloth between you and your skin.
In the pool I just do a gentle program, much to my surprise my cardio has improved with this program.
I am glad Josephine has been able to help with your recovery.
In the pool I just do a gentle program, much to my surprise my cardio has improved with this program.
I am glad Josephine has been able to help with your recovery.
skigirl
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Ann, here is a good reason why it is good to split your thread---I did not know that you were only 10 weeks out from a revision. Of course you are in pain!!! and, of course, you are not a drug addict!!! I could not agree with Jo more about this issue. My husband has terrible back pain and takes meds on a daily basis for his pain. He is so far from being an addict that it is not even something to talk about.
Your doctor has had many years of schooling--my husband had 8 years of college and medical school,plus two years of being an intern, and 3 years of being a resident. I think you can trust him.
I mean seriously, no one here---including me, for that matter---knows more than your physician!!! If you don't trust him, then you do need to find a new doc that you do trust. No one should talk about reducing your pain medications when you are 10 weeks out from Major Surgery. Last time I looked, you are a grown woman who has a qualified, board certified physician---you do not need any help from others here about medical issues no matter how well meaning.
Recently a friend came up to me and told me something that another person had said about me. it was not a complement, of course---others rarely rush to tell you complements---she did it in "my own best interest>"
I called my other friend and it was just as I suspected--- it was a remark that she made in jest---but was brought to me as a statement. In this case the person who ran to me with the story "for my own best interest" was a gossip who probably does not like me at all. She was interested in making HERSELF look good to me. But, I saw her as an interfering woman with her own agenda. We all say things about one another that do not need to be said---but, so what. The person I mostly suspect is the one who comes running to me with a juicy tidbit--hoping, I suppose, that I will get mad at my friend. Her real agenda: she wants to cause trouble.
I trust Jo completely----I hate to say it, but she has never been wrong since I have been on this board. I would listen to your health professionals about your health and recovery. The rest of us can tell you that you need to slow down and rest more. You need to ice more!! We can tell you that your body does NOT manufacture pain so that you will take pain meds---but medical decisions should be made between you and your doctor.
Your doctor has had many years of schooling--my husband had 8 years of college and medical school,plus two years of being an intern, and 3 years of being a resident. I think you can trust him.
I mean seriously, no one here---including me, for that matter---knows more than your physician!!! If you don't trust him, then you do need to find a new doc that you do trust. No one should talk about reducing your pain medications when you are 10 weeks out from Major Surgery. Last time I looked, you are a grown woman who has a qualified, board certified physician---you do not need any help from others here about medical issues no matter how well meaning.
Recently a friend came up to me and told me something that another person had said about me. it was not a complement, of course---others rarely rush to tell you complements---she did it in "my own best interest>"
I called my other friend and it was just as I suspected--- it was a remark that she made in jest---but was brought to me as a statement. In this case the person who ran to me with the story "for my own best interest" was a gossip who probably does not like me at all. She was interested in making HERSELF look good to me. But, I saw her as an interfering woman with her own agenda. We all say things about one another that do not need to be said---but, so what. The person I mostly suspect is the one who comes running to me with a juicy tidbit--hoping, I suppose, that I will get mad at my friend. Her real agenda: she wants to cause trouble.
I trust Jo completely----I hate to say it, but she has never been wrong since I have been on this board. I would listen to your health professionals about your health and recovery. The rest of us can tell you that you need to slow down and rest more. You need to ice more!! We can tell you that your body does NOT manufacture pain so that you will take pain meds---but medical decisions should be made between you and your doctor.
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Nana moon 27
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Thanks @skigirl x
The trouble is with me I overthink. Especially since this lengthy recovery I've had nothing better to do. In a way I have been over dependent on this site but that's because I'm lonely. My best friend is in the same state as me but her stress is from our job. She's off work. Trouble is she can't drive as she's on heavy meds now too. My other close friend lives in Wales. My other friends permanently childmind their grandchildren every day. The one of the group lost her husband this week. It's come as a massive shock. It was unexpected although he'd got cancer. He had part of his liver removed, he was due to have the rest of his op this week and had two massive heart attacks that took him. The funeral is on Friday coming. My daughter has said she will take me. The crematorium is ten mins from my house and the place where they're having the wake is literally round the corner from my house. So it's all close and manageable. I have to be there for her.
I completely agree with the icing which I've started to do more of now and oh yes it helps. My other problem is that although I had the major surgery on the 22nd September, in my head it was done last January. For some reason it keeps blanking out no matter how many times I mention it. However, this may have more to do with my mental state at the moment x
Chat soon
Love Nana moon 27 xoxox
The trouble is with me I overthink. Especially since this lengthy recovery I've had nothing better to do. In a way I have been over dependent on this site but that's because I'm lonely. My best friend is in the same state as me but her stress is from our job. She's off work. Trouble is she can't drive as she's on heavy meds now too. My other close friend lives in Wales. My other friends permanently childmind their grandchildren every day. The one of the group lost her husband this week. It's come as a massive shock. It was unexpected although he'd got cancer. He had part of his liver removed, he was due to have the rest of his op this week and had two massive heart attacks that took him. The funeral is on Friday coming. My daughter has said she will take me. The crematorium is ten mins from my house and the place where they're having the wake is literally round the corner from my house. So it's all close and manageable. I have to be there for her.
I completely agree with the icing which I've started to do more of now and oh yes it helps. My other problem is that although I had the major surgery on the 22nd September, in my head it was done last January. For some reason it keeps blanking out no matter how many times I mention it. However, this may have more to do with my mental state at the moment x
Chat soon
Love Nana moon 27 xoxox
skigirl
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Ann, the world is changing every minute. When my doc told me that I had to have a revision, I completely lost it, I did not want to rehab this knee again!! Jo and Jamie were great friends to me during that time. I laugh because a nurse in the UK and a woman in Kansas were my main support!!
The people here on Bonesmart are mostly kind and caring----supportive. You have a great touch for reaching out to folks in a sincere and friendly way. That is a wonderful trait---it has caught my attention more than once as I go through posts that you have a very nice style when you post.
Of course you are lonely---when we work, many of our friends become those who work with us. In the winter, I am in the locker room every day--chatting and laughing---so, in the spring when I return to my studio with myself and books on tape---I also feel lonely. it is the change that is hard.
I have also lost a few friends to child care. I sometimes wish I could be the kind of grandmother who WANTS to take care of the children--but I am not. I like to spend a week with them and since I am so active, I run them to the park and playground every chance we get. But, at the end of the week, I am happy to return to my quiet studio where suddenly, I am no longer lonely!!
Of course you have to go to the funeral for your friend's husband. But, be smart about it. Ice before hand, take your meds, wear support hose if you have any and sit whenever you can. Write a card to your friend too and drop it into the box. I have done that the last few times I have been at a wake and I am surprised when I meet the folks later and they comment on how much the cards meant to them. The widows tend to read the cards later, after the funeral, when they are lonely and sad. The card is a good way to remind them that you care.
Also don't forget to have her over on a few Sunday evenings. Yes, we have to take care of ourselves--but it is good to think about others too. The Dahli Lama says that we cannot live a life that is self centered and be happy---that we find happiness when we do things for others. Perhaps these long months of strain--a revision is a strain, and focusing on your knee have pushed you to your limits. Now it is time to look outwards a bit more. Have friends over, rest. Cook for a friend, rest. My doc told me for every hour that I was up, I should spend two hours in bed with ice on my elevated leg. Here are the library articles
Elevating your leg to control swelling and pain
Using ice
Take care of yourself and others. When we are ill we become more needy---we don't always trust ourselves. That is one reason why is it so important to have a doctor who you trust and who will listen to you. But, you are a woman who has accomplished a lot so I don't think you are inadequate in any way. I think you could cook if you use the alarms on your phone to remind you of the food!!! I use the alarms on my phone all day long to remind me of what I have to do next. Like you, I have changed my life. I have moved from an abusive childhood to a happy home with children who were not abused by me.
And yet, I was so, so so bummed when I had to rehab that knee again!!! I did not want to do it, It was like I was two and all I could say was NO!! I "forgot" my PT appts and in general acted like a spoiled brat until finally my PT said---look this is YOUR knee not mine---I am not going to work harder than you are. Well, that brought me back to earth---I was hoping other people would take care of me and magically cure me while they were at it.
Instead, plain old time and serious work did the trick and now I have the same rom I had before the revision. Ann, trust yourself.
The people here on Bonesmart are mostly kind and caring----supportive. You have a great touch for reaching out to folks in a sincere and friendly way. That is a wonderful trait---it has caught my attention more than once as I go through posts that you have a very nice style when you post.
Of course you are lonely---when we work, many of our friends become those who work with us. In the winter, I am in the locker room every day--chatting and laughing---so, in the spring when I return to my studio with myself and books on tape---I also feel lonely. it is the change that is hard.
I have also lost a few friends to child care. I sometimes wish I could be the kind of grandmother who WANTS to take care of the children--but I am not. I like to spend a week with them and since I am so active, I run them to the park and playground every chance we get. But, at the end of the week, I am happy to return to my quiet studio where suddenly, I am no longer lonely!!
Of course you have to go to the funeral for your friend's husband. But, be smart about it. Ice before hand, take your meds, wear support hose if you have any and sit whenever you can. Write a card to your friend too and drop it into the box. I have done that the last few times I have been at a wake and I am surprised when I meet the folks later and they comment on how much the cards meant to them. The widows tend to read the cards later, after the funeral, when they are lonely and sad. The card is a good way to remind them that you care.
Also don't forget to have her over on a few Sunday evenings. Yes, we have to take care of ourselves--but it is good to think about others too. The Dahli Lama says that we cannot live a life that is self centered and be happy---that we find happiness when we do things for others. Perhaps these long months of strain--a revision is a strain, and focusing on your knee have pushed you to your limits. Now it is time to look outwards a bit more. Have friends over, rest. Cook for a friend, rest. My doc told me for every hour that I was up, I should spend two hours in bed with ice on my elevated leg. Here are the library articles
Elevating your leg to control swelling and pain
Using ice
Take care of yourself and others. When we are ill we become more needy---we don't always trust ourselves. That is one reason why is it so important to have a doctor who you trust and who will listen to you. But, you are a woman who has accomplished a lot so I don't think you are inadequate in any way. I think you could cook if you use the alarms on your phone to remind you of the food!!! I use the alarms on my phone all day long to remind me of what I have to do next. Like you, I have changed my life. I have moved from an abusive childhood to a happy home with children who were not abused by me.
And yet, I was so, so so bummed when I had to rehab that knee again!!! I did not want to do it, It was like I was two and all I could say was NO!! I "forgot" my PT appts and in general acted like a spoiled brat until finally my PT said---look this is YOUR knee not mine---I am not going to work harder than you are. Well, that brought me back to earth---I was hoping other people would take care of me and magically cure me while they were at it.
Instead, plain old time and serious work did the trick and now I have the same rom I had before the revision. Ann, trust yourself.
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Nana moon 27
alpha
Hi @skigirl I was given a lot of advice with the revision. I was told to treat it exactly the same as a TKR. So your advice for an hour standing elevate for a couple. I've been clearly overdoing it.
It is not that I don't trust my GP it's the fact he won't consider other options for me which i think @DogLoverx3 and @dogwheels were on about. They've listened to me for the last 11 months moan about the effects of this morphine. They both know how bad the effects of hallucinations, unusual bizarre behaviour, falling asleep sittin up and talking to people out loud but they are in my head constantly asking me questions. I don't know peace of mind let alone sleep. All I've wanted to do is get off them. I did it twice and got told off by the GP the second time. There is no way that I'm going to be able to get off morphine straight down to paracetamol (Tylenol) especially with the way my other knee is acting.
I'm not coping very well with the isolation, the way my life has been turned upside down and worse still the effects this is having on me mentally. I want the GP to give me something else to try but obviously until I get back down to 30mg I can't see this happening x x x I cannot get lower than 50 mg x I've not driven for twelve months now and if I don't soon that will be something else gone. I need to try to get back to work to improve my mental health. I've always used my jobs as a escape route.
anyway take care and thank you x x x
It is not that I don't trust my GP it's the fact he won't consider other options for me which i think @DogLoverx3 and @dogwheels were on about. They've listened to me for the last 11 months moan about the effects of this morphine. They both know how bad the effects of hallucinations, unusual bizarre behaviour, falling asleep sittin up and talking to people out loud but they are in my head constantly asking me questions. I don't know peace of mind let alone sleep. All I've wanted to do is get off them. I did it twice and got told off by the GP the second time. There is no way that I'm going to be able to get off morphine straight down to paracetamol (Tylenol) especially with the way my other knee is acting.
I'm not coping very well with the isolation, the way my life has been turned upside down and worse still the effects this is having on me mentally. I want the GP to give me something else to try but obviously until I get back down to 30mg I can't see this happening x x x I cannot get lower than 50 mg x I've not driven for twelve months now and if I don't soon that will be something else gone. I need to try to get back to work to improve my mental health. I've always used my jobs as a escape route.
anyway take care and thank you x x x
susanne
post-grad
@nanamoon @Doglover@dogwheels, while we may not be medically trained, we know how are bodies feel and re act to pain needs. I can't nor will I ever understand how a dr can prescribe morphine for so long. Case in point during the 60s and 70s my dad had 5 heart attacks 2 open heart surgeries and back surgery for spinal stenosis. His will to live until his death at 84 was sheer determination to do the thing he loved the most. His family and golf. To say he was not a functioning drug addict would be an understatement. He lived on Valium, Seconal, Percocet other pain drugs along with various heart meds. He owned a successful business and still worked up until his death, we knew when he had some mood swings he was overly medicated, so blood tests were done to check his levels every 3 months. That was over 45 years ago. Medicine and drugs have come so far since those days. Especially surgery. I don't know how it is in your country, but here we have choices, choices to pick our drs, to do research on their practice, and knowledge of drugs. I don't want to stir up any more trouble than I had before, but @nana moon @ dogwheels @Doglover we have been thru this journey together for the past 11 months and supported each other in any way we can. No one is accusing anyone of being an addict, but for a patient to ask her dr to change meds,while becoming totally incoherent is obscene. There are many other drugs to use To help with pain. Believe me I'm watching my sister battle stage 4 BONE cancer. A disease that won't go away her pain is unbearable and she's tried every kind of pain med to help her. This has been going on for the past 4 years, my heart breaks for her and all this squabbling about replacement pain will eventually go away. As a survivor of 4 body part replacements it's not easy, when you think it's over and you're told another part has to be replaced. So as I've said before, and I'll say again we are here to support one another not to bash each other for support we may give to one another that one person may not like
Ann, I'm sorry for bringing this all up again but I just had to say something again.
Susanne
Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
Ann, I'm sorry for bringing this all up again but I just had to say something again.
Susanne
Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
Please can we stop the discussion about the pain relief that Ann needs at the moment? Right now, she is recovering from a revision, still in the early days, and she needs the pain relief. Now is not the time for her to worry about reducing her medication and it's not the time to add to her worry about that medication.
What happened in the past is past. We don't know all the facts and we don't know why her doctor has chosen the drugs for her that he has.
Can we just concentrate on helping Ann to move ahead? She is doing well, increasing her mobility and getting out more.
Well done, Ann!
What happened in the past is past. We don't know all the facts and we don't know why her doctor has chosen the drugs for her that he has.
Can we just concentrate on helping Ann to move ahead? She is doing well, increasing her mobility and getting out more.
Well done, Ann!
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Nana moon 27
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By the way my rom is now better than it's ever been. It's straightens beautifully it never did that before and it bends although tight xxx
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, another words, great report.
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Nana moon 27
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![[Bonesmart.org] Woohoo I'm starting to feel better!](https://data.bonesmart.org/attachments/23/23059-29eca7e909379c8560c44ce5a67c6a88.jpg?hash=Keyn6Qk3nI "[Bonesmart.org] Woohoo I'm starting to feel better!")
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Nana moon 27
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Awesome!
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Nana moon 27
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Well I had a hard time staying awake this morning. I'd had a dreadful night. Anyway, this afternoon I had my Sunday lunch, sat on the sofa and fell asleep. Unbeknown to me my hubby out his fluffy dressing gown over me and I slept for four hours. He said it was nice to see me getting a much needed sleep x
Pain hasn't been too bad apart from when I woke up on the sofa. It was pain in my TKR that woke me up. I got up and walked around. Took some paracetamol and it told the edge off it.
Catch you later x
Pain hasn't been too bad apart from when I woke up on the sofa. It was pain in my TKR that woke me up. I got up and walked around. Took some paracetamol and it told the edge off it.
Catch you later x
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Nana moon 27
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Knees. Hubby reminded me about the parcel that was delivered wrongly here. The couriers coming today to collect it. It's quite big. I shouted down to him it was in my room. I came out of the bathroom to find he'd gone out and the parcel was still in my room. Curses. I had no choice but to pick it up and come downstairs which are steep and narrow very gingerly. I couldn't see round the parcel or even my feet because of the weight and the size of the parcel. Obviously I could hold the handrail either x Now both knees are killing me so I'm off to sort out my ice packs and elevate them. Ouch and double ouch.
I hope everybody is ok. This thread is for all things knee related or health related now x my coffee shop in the social room is for chat. There is also a craft thread, where you're most welcome to display anything you may make leading up to a christmas.
The sweat is pouring off me agin and I have to have another shower x x x
Catch you later x x xx
Love Nana moon 27 xoxoxox
skigirl
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Ice and rest should take care of this---but good for you that you could do it!!
