KNEE ARTHRITIS - Total Knee Replacement :
I have a new knee!!!! :o) - - Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 30 December 2002
Hi Everybody,
I've been away for so long--lots going on here, some good and some not so good. (Life goes on...)
I had my left TKR on 12/16 as scheduled--it took a bit over 3 hours and my ortho was terribly surprised to find a lot of unexpected damage in there. Given all of the pain I've been living with, I wouldn't have been surprised if he had found the Eiffel Tower in there....
They did use a general anestehsia for me--and gave me a long standing epidural for pain. I felt nothing on Monday, until my right knee locked up while I was in bed. yuck. I exercised it the best I could and got rid of that unfun sensation--never had it lock up at rest before, one for the books.
The hospital was overrun with patients--and some orders got messed up--my anesthesiologist wanted to cut back on the meds in the epi gradually--but that didn't happen. I couldn't stand up because I literally had no feeling in my left leg at all, it was wobbling in every direction and there was no way I could control what I couldn't feel. He repeated the order for Wednesday, and again it didn't happen (??) so the method of handling it was to remove the thing cold turkey. I can't even begin to describe how that felt about 2 and a half hours later. It took anothger day to get my pain managed--pills followed with a shot in 2 hours-then pills again 2 hours after that. They tried morphine, might as well have given me water, it was tordol and lortabs that finally did the trick.
I was up Wednesdzy afternoon, even with the pain and walked 100 yards with a walker--yippee. It was surprising it didn't hurt more than pre-surgery, it is certainly more predictable. By Thursday, I was up to 200 yards and crutches and on Friday, I walked 400 yards, climbed some stairs too.
The down side was my body started doing a few unpredictable things--filled two cath bags with blood. Tests showed a lot of internal stuff off whack--liver function, blood sugar, enzymes, iron count...got me my second transfusion and more antibiotics.
I have some interesting roommate stories to tell...and the how I'm doing now part. I'll start another thread for that. My ortho visited me Friday evening and asked about me going home after the weekend--and suffice it to say, I begged for "yesterday" so got out on Saturday.
More to come--thanks for being here, hope you have had good holidays. I've got aq lot of catching up to do...Take care, Sylvia
Posted by Linds (Linds), 30 December 2002
Congrats on making it through the surgery Alright Sylvia, hope that your few little body issues...have resolved themselves. Glad to hear that you are well on your way. Take care and hope you continue to recover well.
Hugs
Linds
Posted by Rich_NYC (Rich_NYC), 30 December 2002
Way to go 
Congrats on the new knee. I would dance in the streets but not on my knees 
Best wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Rich
Posted by Lbliny (Cari), 30 December 2002
Sylvia,
Nice to hear from you ! I am glad the TKR went well ( excluding the epi problem )
I hope they sort out the other issues they discovered so you can just heal away and get srong !!!
I sure hope you feel better soon.!! I do have some Rommie hospital stories also from my 4 day TTT stay !! One day we will all post a string about them !!
Feel better and rest and heal !!
Happy new Year !
Cari
Posted by Iona_-Uk (Iona_-Uk), 30 December 2002
Sylvia
I am glad to hear that the TKR has gone well for you.
I hope your other problems get better soon, theres no substitute for resting at home, sounds like you are coming on very well post op.
What a great christmas present for you.
Take care
Iona x
Posted by Helen_uk (Helen uk), 30 December 2002
Happy crimbo and a happy new year lets hope you go from strength to strengh and get better really quickly.
Loads of love and hugs H xxx
Posted by sha22 (Sharon), 30 December 2002
Sylvia,
I'm so glad that the TKR went well other than the epi problems! I hope you got the other problems sorted out and taken care of. I'm glad to hear that your recovery seems to be going well so far and hope that they continue to go well! Good luck and keep us posted on your recovery!!
Have a Happy New Year!!
Sharon
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 30 December 2002
Hi!
I just got home from therapy--wow. My progress had slid back a bit from leaving the hospital on Saturday the 21st until Mon the 23rd. I guess that is not uncommon. My two big goals are extension and flexion--and they seem to need the opposite kinds of work to achieve. I left the hospital with 100% extension and 82 degrees bend. At therapy on that Monday, the extension was in place, but he only could get 64 degrees of bend. By the next day, I was having trouble extending, lots of (new) pain and a bit of frustration as well. It turns out that all of this is part of the process--new scar tissue is tightening up the back of my knee to limit extension and so on. I have worked hard, got it up to a 70 degree bend by Friday and can extend with a lot of effort...It als o turns out that the tissue and muscle in the knee has "memory" and since I was so limited and stiff before the surgery that it will take a lot of work to move beyond where I was.
Anyway, back to today. My day yesterday was a stinker in many ways--my dad had another heart attack, my family (not my children but my siblings and mother) are at each other's throats...and I had been awake with a fair amount of pain most of the night--I finally hurt so bad that I vomited (one of my less than charming reactions to pain) and then realized that I didn't have enough pain meds to hold me through the weekend. I called the hospital because I'm having a big problem with wrist pain and the arthritis in my foot and was trying tio decide if a trip to the ER was warranted and they thought waiting until I see my ortho tomorrow would be appropriate. "Just ice them and elevate and wrap them--and keep taking your pain meds." OK--so I told her I was going to run out and she told me to call my doc and get the on-call person or whoever to order more. To make a long story short, that appears to be a major crime and I got my fanny chewed out and the doc begrudgingly called in 4 pills (2 doses). I have been working this out overtime to get it moving...and yep, I ran out of those 2 doses of pain meds during the night. I thought about waiting, but that seemed dumb since I had it.
So I called the office this morning for meds--and they told me they would get them called in--and they did but not until AFTER I had therapy. The good news is that I got up to an 84 degree bend with 100% extension today--the bad news is is that this is really miserable. A TKR has some out of this world pain--and the only way that I am coping with it is to take my pain meds and to keep reminding myself that at least there will be an end to this...
As always, I have too much on my plate--look like the poster child for some kind of violence with wrist wrapped, knee with staples, bandage, ted hose, orthotic to walk with, walker, crutches and heaven knows what...BUT, I AM GETTING BETTER!!! for the first time oin over 2 years, I am comfortable enough to say that. It probably hurts as much now as it ever has--can't sit up for more than 5-10 minutes tops...swelling is going away and hope to get half if not all of these staples out tomorrow. I am getting better--that is such a good thought.
Funny thing, the parting comment from the therapist at the hospital was "I'll see you later." That caught me off guard and I asked her about it--her aswer was "when you come in to have the other one done."
OK--enough rambling for now, I need to free up the phone and check on my dad. (I can't sit at the desk and am having to use my laptop with my telephone for internet access.)
Take care and thanks for the warm welcome and good wishes! Sylvia
Posted by admin (The KNEEguru), 30 December 2002
Whew, what a long road you have travelled with this knee. And it is always hard to manage at the best of times over the festive season. Keep on at the physiotherapy and I am sure that you will find that the eventual relief of pain has made it all worthwhile.
KNEEguru
Posted by Lbliny (Cari), 31 December 2002
Sylvia,
First let me say I hope your Dad gets better !!!!!!!!
From a friend of mine who had a TKR she has told me it is the worst pain she ever had BUT....it gets better with time and it is "good" (healing) pain as opposed to diseased pain!
Hang in there and Happy New Year !
Cari
Posted by Tizzy953 (Tizzy953), 31 December 2002
Sylvia,
I am really happy to hear that you are healing and steadily gaining on your ROM. As for them not perscribing you enough medication and then reacting like you were some kind of addict, maybe they should try just 2 hours in your shoes and then they won't be so hard pressed to fill your prescription.
So you said you had a story about your lovelly roommate that was sent to the psych floor. Do tell, could use some cheering up. I can only imagine what it was like.
I am truly sorry about your dad, I hope he gets better soon. It isn't good for your siblings to be at each others throat, you all need each other at this time. My dad's family was the same way when my grandmother died and they still regret it now. They were there to cherish her memories and life and they virtually ruined it by who was going to do what and who was going to get what. It was really bad.
I hope everything, in terms of you knee, continues to get better, and I hope everything with your father settles down. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Kenzie
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 31 December 2002
Hi!
I'm still having a tough night. I finally got my pain meds--but after pushing things to the limit at therapy my knee was out of control. Then, a different doc prescribed my meds--same thing--lortabs, but instead of 2 every 4-6 hours, this said one every 6 hours. I took only one and--well, nothing. i did finally fall asleep, but not good, woke up intense--took another pain pill, no good and figured the heck with it qnd took my second. It is just now coming under some control--after having been out of meds for almost 24 hours. I see my doc tomorrow, this goes on the discussion list. i want to get off of meds, but I can guarantee that no more of this cold turkey stuff like when they pulled the epi out...
I started a new thread and shared my roomie story...it's a doozy. I'll bet we have a lot of equally bizarre experiences from others...
I'm hoping to get in some exercise and movement on this knee yet tonight before I go to sleep, workied it so hard today that my gut feeling says to do nothinbg more will have some negative feedback in the morning, it is just about workable now...
Take care, Sylvia
Posted by eakt (eakt), 1 January 2003
Sylvia,
Congradulations on your new knee. Was yours a patella problem? My main damage is underneath my patella. I have had 9 ops with my tendon being moved 4 times. My OS tells me my biggest risk with a TKR is the tendon rupturing. Does anyone know if people with just the patella being damage are a good candidate for a total knee. My OS does not like patella replacement by itself. Thank EAKT
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 1 January 2003
Hi! My damage is in destroyed cartillage to the point of breakage on the underside of the patella and then that damage wearing holes in the femur. yuck.
I had every treatment around...cortisone, synvisc, scope, lr and debridement, physical therapy, asnti-inflammatories, brace, creams, pain meds, physical therapy, immobilizer...you have the idea...
The deal with my situation is that i am 47 years old and have heard many, many times that I am too young for a TKR--and we know that my right knee is in almost the same shape as my left knee.
Funny thing, the many folks at the hospital who dealt with me all pointed out that I was "so young to be having a TKR." How come I wasn't too young to have all of this mess?
Anyway, that's the short version of 28 months of knee stuff that ended in this tkr...Sylvia
Posted by kakeela (daisey), 1 January 2003
Sylvia,
Hope everything is coming along okay with the knee. I know it must be a relief for the surgery to be over. It must feel great to have goal to work towards in PT. You have been thru a lot and I know you cannot wait for the recovery process to be over. Stay strong and positive.
Hope everything works out with you father. And, as far as your family. Everybody deals with stress differently. Maybe this is how they are coping. Do not over do it. It sounds as if there is no more room on your plate.
Hope you had a wonderful holiday season, even with everything that has been happening.
Daisey
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 2 January 2003
Things just keep moving around me...
My brother is in town to visit my dad and we had a crazy time together yesterday--took the kids to a pizza place with video games for New Year's Eve. They had a ball and so did we--just silly stuff, him teasing the waitress and clowning--eg, wanted to see the manager because their ice was "too cold"--lol. He left her a bigger tip than our ticket--and so it had to made her day too...
We went together to see my dad as well and he seems to be showing some improvement. They cut back on the sedative and the amount of work for the ventillator--will remove the balloon tomorrow if his blood pressure is high enough. He's been on 100% life support since Sunday and they weren't expecting him to survive 24-48 hours. He still isn't great--in cardiac ICU, but is defying the odds. He was ceertainly aware of our silly conversations today and looking around. I tried very hard to tell him to behave and not to remove any of the tubes and stuff (again) so that he could get better quickly and tell them all off 
) My brother offered to get him a stripper to help get his BP up--I don't think the nurse much appreciated the idea, went on and on about how they not only needed his BP to go up, but to STAY up. Dad got the joke, believe me, he'd rather have his dog...
As for me, my knee is really stiff tonight--I've got one more time to exercise it to have 4 sessions in today, but I haven't went as far as I was going...I also went grocery shopping and for the walk at the hospital and all of the walking and messing around at the pizza place, so hopefully I'm keeping it busy enough.
My return to Bextra seems to be helping me to need a bit less in the pain med department as well. I haven't needed two pain pills except once today...hopefully I'm getting back on the right track.
This sure hasn't been an easy path for me, but I'm trying...Sylvia
Posted by Tizzy953 (Tizzy953), 2 January 2003
Sylvia,
You have been doing wonderfully. Just keep doing what you have been doing and you will get through this!!! Keep your chin up.
Kenzie
Updated Thu Nov 20 2008