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Totally in the dark

Posted , 13 users are following.

judy17487
judy17487

I'm 3.5 weeks out fm TKR.  I opted to go to treatment facility AKA nursing home.

i was there for 20 days, and during that time I was given an ice pack a total of 3 times.  Every day PTs would work with me for an hr or 2.  My knee never got loosened up.  Measuments stayed the same even tho I was doing the process.  It was very disappointing and discouraging

 Home health PT coming next week also home health nurse. In the few hours that I spent with them I found out more things that I did not know and should have known. I feel like I was done a disservice at the facility. One thing was I couldn't get my pain medicines  in a timely manner. Sometimes I had to wait an hour and a half just to get one pill. I would not recommend this to anyone I feel that I would do much better at home with the PT people who will be focusing on the areas  that need a in-depth attention. I spent a lot of time doing arm exercises riding a bicycle and putting puzzles together while I stand while I stood at a table. I am no further along than I was the day after surgery except that my knee is healing thank God. 

 I am very disappointed in my doctor in the facility and with the therapists who really I don't think I understood the severity of the swelling that I still have in my leg or should say knee.

hope I'll be able to straighten my leg again someday 

1 like, 31 replies

31 Replies

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  • vaughanpk
    vaughanpk judy17487

    Posted

    Hi Judy - so sorry you had a bad experience - I wnet into the hospital and was discharged after 3 days, in hindsight l should have stayed in for a few more days, its been 4 weeks and 2 days since the operation. I had lots of physio in the hospital but am really struggulling now at home, with a session weekly at the hospital. The biggest problem for me is the pain - l am living on pain killers and cannot do enough exercises because of the pain. 

    I would really try and avoid the operation in the future and would rather survive on pain killers with my existing knee..

     

    • joyce09338
      joyce09338 vaughanpk

      Posted

      I wish i could go back & just live on pain killers too.   Surgery was ungled from the beginning strarting wih the wrong KNEE!..... MONTHS later  I'm so swollen it looks deformed.  Pain & a Bad Limp for a week.now.  Called for help but was told to give it more time.  So I guess I will. this page is hard to type on!

    • mgood812
      mgood812 vaughanpk

      Posted

      Ice was and sometimes still is my go to tx for the pain. I'm 6weeks out from complete revision.

    • Mary026
      Mary026 joyce09338

      Posted

      Hello joyce

      I'm so sorry to hear your story.

      I'm due to have a right knee replacement in January.

      Did you have an MRI scan prior to op.

      So they could measure your old knee and use the cutting blocks during operation.

      I really feel for you and am now wondering if I should go ahead.

      I live in England

      Sending get well wishes to you joyce

      Regards

      Mary

  • dave63380
    dave63380 judy17487

    Posted

    Hi Judy really didn't mean to post that twice! I had RTKR 2 years ago, the first one, and I went to one of those rehab facilities/ aka nursing home/ the physical therapy where I was wasn't that bad. I can't believe they kept you there for 20 days. I got out in 5 but they didn't really want to release me. Hadn't milked the insurance company for enough yet was the only logical reason, although they tried a few others like oh it's the weekend, doctor has to sign release, wait til next week. Bunch of bs, my wife made it happen. The good news is your only 3.5 weeks and your really just ready for out patient physical therapy.

  • dave63380
    dave63380 judy17487

    Posted

    Judy what you need to do now is get very busy with some real physical therapy. How is your pain level?

    My stay at the rehab facility did include 4 hours a day on a CPM machine (Continuous Passive Motion) which you can get at home / seemed to be beneficial. Also stationary bike which is good for bending that knee / something you need to be doing aggressively. Other than that they just gave me a bunch of pills and would have happily kept me there for who knows how long.

    My knee was swollen for months so you really are very short time. I spent a year at a sports rehab facility with an excellent PT. 3 Times a week and this is where your recovery really starts. Hopefully you have good insurance coverage for outpatient PT. Your knee has had some time to start healing so you are OK. The range of motion is what you really need to work on, much easier in the first 6 weeks is what I was told. This is not a quick fix, it takes months to get strength back in that leg, and then exercise to maintain it. You will be fine, you just need to get to work on your recovery.

    • judy17487
      judy17487 dave63380

      Posted

      Hello Dave,

      thanks for the encouragement.  I truly believe that home therapy is going to be the ticket.  I should have come to this site first.  I probably would not have had the surgery had I investigated a little deeper.  No more surgeries for me.  Thanks again

    • dave63380
      dave63380 judy17487

      Posted

      Judy, Out Patient PT is much more thorough at a facility with all kinds of useful equipment. Do you have access to this or transportation to and from? This knee surgery you've had should be a good thing, best thing but I ever did but then I couldn't walk anymore. You are not done, therapy is just as important as the surgery, and it's not weeks it's months. I have to walk the dog which I thankfully can do now.

    • judy17487
      judy17487 dave63380

      Posted

      Dave,

      now that I'M managing the Meds, pain is between 3 - 4.  I can bend very well, walk without walker and can tolerate standing..  Can. Shower and dress myself and can cook easy meals.  Main issue is leg won't stay straight. My goal is to have it match the other leg, drive and get on with the process of living.  I'm used to pain, and it's controlled with Percocet for past 6 or 7 years now via Pain MGMT clinic.

      confused

  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 judy17487

    Posted

    That is really a shame. I have gone to a true rehab facility (not a nursing home in disguise) 3 times and found a completely different outcome. Then advancing to a couple of weeks of home health I was ready for the rigors of outpatient PT. Even though its too late to help you, this type of situation needs to be reported. Chances are, your hospital and Dr are aware of it and allow it to continue. I am assuming two things....you're in the US and on Medicare. With that in mind look at your annual Medicare publication and get the phone # for the Medicare advocate or go to your state office for aging and get the information to them. Essentially, you and the system are victims of fraud.

    • judy17487
      judy17487 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      Hi OFG

      you are correct about Medicare and being in USA.  I had 30 days bc of having Blue Cross Federal, but I felt like I was going to lose my mind.  I'm going to let my surgeon know what a travesty it was.  . I'm going to do my best, and I'll live with the consequences.  I'm also not used to being down, and I might impatient.  thanks for the good advice

    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 judy17487

      Posted

      This surgery does teach patience but it doesn't have much of a margin for oversight and neglect. I'm in the Kansas City area and go to the University of Kansas Medical Center. This of course is a teaching hospital. I have a rare tumor that are up my knee originally and unfortunately is still there doing its dirty work. I've had to have 11 total surgeries and 5 complete rehabs. They are all different even though its the same leg. I started this 6 months before my 66th birthday and now am 4 months before that famous reference of A. Lincoln, 4 score. This is a process that you can't rush and miss a step or you have a chance of slipping backwards. That being said, you sure as hell don't need someone's negligence giving you a shove to start the slide. We all get that occasional feeling of one foot in the grave and one on a banana peel .....we sure don't need incompetence adding to the problem.

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