TKR Zombies Love to Dance<

Zommom

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my surgery was Jan 29th all went off without a hitch. Which was one of the coldest days in ND .My plan of coming home the same day didn’t work out but was home about 1:30 on the next day (30th) I’m glad I did it when I did because some of those scheduled on the 30th had theirs canceled because an air vent in the surgical area froze up! I have been dealing with a lot of nausea,swelling and getting my blood thinners back to a therapeutic level. The nerve block wore off late on the 2nd day home. Was told by os and pt not to worry about exercising because of all the swelling: I am able to put my full weight on it and walk around the house. I mastered my 2 stairs easily. My biggest issue is this nausea which makes it hard to eat. I get light headed quickly. Everyone was so worried about constipation and giving me colace and prune juice but I have the opposite issue so many trips to the bathroom! My pain has been manageable with elevation, icing, extra strength Tylenol Celebrex and in the evening 10/325 hydrcodone followed up with 50mg tramadol a couple hours later: sleeping well for now. My follow up is Feb 13 as well as first session of PT . Even though what I am going through is tough. I even came to while they were stitching me up and let them know rather loudly and in the next couple of seconds I was out again. I had a great nursing staff that was very attentive. Bottom line is waking up without that arthritic pain is wonderful and this too shall pass. Thanks to all my bonesmart groupies for the wonderful advice now and for the days to come!:elevate::eeeuw:
 
Welcome to Recovery!

Awesome that they told you this! Right now you need to rest, let things settle down and address the swelling with ice and elevation. All those walks to the bathroom are plenty of exercise for your knee right now.

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Knee Recovery: 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
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for

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 the 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 the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
You’re on your way!! Congratulations

So glad you were able to get your surgery before the hospital vent froze.
 
Wow! Can I express my major envy? I'm at 4 weeks post, and I am just starting to put full weight on my leg/knee. I'm using a walker, and I'm not allowed to even use crutches until 6 weeks.

I found elevating was the most comfortable, and I still spend a lot of the day elevating. I hope you continue to have a successful recovery!
 
Wow! Can I express my major envy? I'm at 4 weeks post, and I am just starting to put full weight on my leg/knee. I'm using a walker, and I'm not allowed to even use crutches until 6 weeks.

I found elevating was the most comfortable, and I still spend a lot of the day elevating. I hope you continue to have a successful recovery!

I’m between you both - and can safely say I’m still very compromised, spending a large % of the day in bed trying to get comfortable and ice. Nights are the worst. Let’s see how we go. Early days, they say.


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Tramadol gave me terrible nausea after surgery 10 years ago. I was switched to Diclofenac and had no trouble afterwards. It sounds as if you're doing well otherwise.
 
@Didot I am most comfortable on my back with the Lounge Doctor and a small towel roll for the small of my back. I now sleep with a body pillow, because I'm a side sleeper. It only works for me on the left side - new knee on top. Night time visits to the washroom are the major interruption now. Before, I would wake up, on schedule, to take my 3 am meds. Now I can sleep for 6 or 7 hours without them. I still wake up to get comfortable, but then go back to sleep.

It reminds me of having babies, and thinking that I will never sleep through the night again. This too shall pass. Just keep in mind that everybody's different, everybody heals differently, everybody has different underlying problems going into surgery.
 
@Lindylee - I took Diclofenac for years. It kept me walking. It also ate out the lining of my stomach. Before my surgery, I was taking it via suppository, which still worked. I hope to go on it again, when I go off the hydromorphone, because I have one more very painful knee to get replaced.
 
I took Diclofenac for years. It kept me walking. It also ate out the lining of my stomach. Before my surgery, I was taking it via suppository, which still worked. I hope to go on it again, when I go off the hydromorphone, because I have one more very painful knee to get replaced.
@SnowHare - unless you're going to take Diclofenac by suppository again, you are the last person who should be contemplating taking it.

Diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory (NSAID). All of that type of medication can cause bleeding, sometimes severe. It's already damaged the lining of your stomach. Take it again and you could get catastrophic stomach bleeding.
Not only do NSAIDS tend to damage the lining of your gut, but they also prevent your blood from clotting properly.
Medications: acetaminophen (Tylenol, paracetamol) and NSAIDs, differences and dangers

In addition, recent studies have show that NSAIDs can increase the risk of heart disease.
NSAIDs Diclofenac. ibuprofen increase risk of heart problems: new study
 
The worst of my nausea has eased today. Last night I took a Tramadol and Tylenol PM also took an anti nausea medication previously prescribed. Slept about 6 hours and woke up feeling pretty good. I think it’s mostly digestive so I also took a little pepto bismul. Today it’s elevation and icing in the recliner. I had to have blood drawn yesterday to check on my blood levels, it was quite a journey to the clinic to have blood drawn, but I managed with my walker but was not pleased leaving my nest. :censored:Of course the INR levels were too low so along with warfarin I have to give myself those nasty lovenox shots.:blackcloud: Since I am on blood thinners Advil or Aleve is a no no for me. I just Sent my hubby on a few errands to get him out of the house. I am not used to having someone hover over me. cabin fever has hit him harder than me. Bless his heart ❤️ he is out of his element trying to nurse me :snork:
 
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Wow! Can I express my major envy? I'm at 4 weeks post, and I am just starting to put full weight on my leg/knee. I'm using a walker, and I'm not allowed to even use crutches until 6 weeks.

I found elevating was the most comfortable, and I still spend a lot of the day elevating. I hope you continue to have a successful recovery!
Don’t be too envious it’s only for short period of time and my walker is practically attached to me.
 
I'm not on Warfarin but rather compression stockings and a baby aspirin twice a day, so I can take NSAIDs. I started with Celebrex but it caused me to have loose stools and feel nauseous, so I switched to Aleve. It sounds as if you are progressing just fine. BTW I too refer to my recuperation spot as my "nest."
 
@maryo52 Hey I’m on Celebrex too that may be causing some of my issues good to know. I also have these wonderful compression stockings that I have to wear for 6 weeks. I took them off to wash them and now my daughter has to help me get them back on. One good thing is it makes my legs look skinny and shapely. I had 2 2 hour naps already today got up walked around and started yawning again :yawn: geez this is the life
 
I just to love that naps that just snuck up on me. My first few weeks I slept very little at night, but would nap after breakfast, then after lunch, and then after dinner! They felt so good! I slept better in my recliner than I did in my bed. It doesn't matter where or when you sleep as long as you do! Get all of it you can.
 
@Lindylee - I took Diclofenac for years. It kept me walking. It also ate out the lining of my stomach. Before my surgery, I was taking it via suppository, which still worked. I hope to go on it again, when I go off the hydromorphone, because I have one more very painful knee to get replaced.
There's no way I'd take it again if it had that effect on me. I can understand that taking it via suppositories bypasses the stomach, but not sure how,it affects the body once the meds get into the blood system. I suffer from GORD now after taking ibuprofen for my knees some years back, so can't take anti-inflammatories any more. There is also an unusual family history of oesophageal conditions including two siblings with cancer and two with pre-cancerous conditions. The anaesthetist made sure it was all written on my records. Is there nothing else you could try?
 
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Glad to hear your nausea has eased. I was worried how my husband would cope, as he's not very domesticated, but he has impressed us all. He has been brilliant looking after me and doing the cooking etc, really taken on board the cooking and produced some lovely meals. He needs to work on his housework now though and learning to clear up after himself. He did find changing the bed a challenge, made me laugh. He couldn't understand why the fitted sheet was such a struggle when he hadn't fitted any of the corners to the corners of the mattress. Bless him. I'm letting him out for a bike ride with his mates today as he's been a good boy.
 
My hubby retired a couple of years ago and he pretty much took over the domestic part of things. He is not used to me not doing something I still work full time, involved in charities, take care of my 84 year old mother (who is very healthy), I love to shop (I have saved a ton of money ) I garden, I mow a couple of acres of lawn at home plus we have a cabin I sit on my zero turn with music blaring on me headphones ! All went by the wayside because of these knees. In September I had a stroke and he nursed me through that also needless to say I haven’t been the easiest person going through this . He tends to hover and not take care of his needs. So a gentle push to get outside and do something gives him a break from worrying. My daughters have been great stopping by and checking on me. My grandsons are across the state and in school so haven’t been able to see them since Christmas but they text me often. Last night was my first night sleep eluded me. I was expecting it but dang it’s frustrating. I finally fell asleep and woke up 2 hours later with my sweet Yorkie staring at me! Time to rise and shine and let me out! Looks as if we are in for another winter storm. Glad I don’t have to be out and about in this.:snow plough:
 
@Lindylee - I didn't know it was a problem until suddenly one night, I had excruciating abdominal pain. I've tried other meds that just don't work as well. The gastroenterologist blessed the use of the suppositories.

I have always tended to pooh pooh away pain, as I had it drilled into my head that any pain I had didn't hurt as much as I thought it did. The minute the surgeon told me how bad my knee actually was, my knee started hurting 10 times worse. He was amazed I was still walking on it.
 
@Celle
unless you're going to take Diclofenac by suppository again, you are the last person who should be contemplating taking it.

Trust me. I'm never taking Diclofanec again, except by suppository. Right now, I'm taking Pantaloc to protect my stomach while I'm taking huge amounts of Acetaminophen. The hospital started me back on it. As soon as the Acetaminophen is done, so is the Pantaloc. It's not a fabulous med to take long term either.
 
@maryo52 - I have 2 nests now. One is upstairs, in the spare room, and now I have one in the front room as well. The upstairs nest needs to be dismantled, as my sister and her DH are coming in 10 days. I don't really need an upstairs nest so much, as I spend my awake time downstairs.
 

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