Knees down Mother Brown!!
Posted , 11 users are following.
Joking apart - it will be 11 weeks this coming Saturday that like a lamb to the slaughter i undertook to have TKR
and except for a few good days at the beginning which must have been to do with the anaesthetic- I have slowly deteriorated- this morning I went to Marks and Spencer and had to use a crutch. Bought one thing and had to go and sit down in their cafe feeling really poorly. It's pointless going to my own doctor because he just wants a to send me to A&E which are practically closed and all they want to do is X-Ray the knee - what for??
I had it done NHS Direct at a private hospital and of course their attitude is also go to your own doctor or A&E.
I can't seem to get the measure of how I'm recovering. I just feel so run-down - anybody throw some light on this please.
1 like, 25 replies
sue37592 mary12001
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mary12001 sue37592
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She told me to come in which I did the next day and nobody knew anything about it.
All they did was send the anathetist to me and he wrote out the times for me to take the painkillers.
I have since seen the consultant but all he says is it takes time. When I mentioned my painful foot to him which has started since the op and also the pain in my lower back - he implies I have to see my own GP or A&E because it could be arthritis- the arthritis was only in my right knee - why should it suddenly appear in my foot and lower back.
sue37592 mary12001
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Mkhp mary12001
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sueisobel mary12001
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I'm sure I have asked before... What meds are you taking??
11 weeks and using a crutch is fine, try a walking stick, get one that is the right height for you (there is no such thing as one height fits all) it is much better for you.
If your doctor wants you to go to A&E and have an x-ray why dont you go? It is just to check that the join is ok. Surely that will give you peace of mind.
The measure of your recovery is that you are depressed, you are in pain and the cold weather is not helping.
Go to your doctor and get them to prescribe strong painkillers (and maybe some antidepressants, you don't need to take them for long, just enough to buck you up). This is not some routine surgery you have had. This is serious and you need some serious medication to cope with the pain of your bones knitting toether, the nerve ends rejoining and everything else that has been tampered with settle down. The more you walk around the way you are, the longer it will take for you to recover. It is not fun being in your situation, but you can, to a degree, help yourself.
You need to be positive, if you cannot do this by yourself, then get some help, it is no use talking about it and reminding yourself that you are in pain. You kow that already. Go to the doctors, tell them to are in agony and you're finding it hard to cope, there is nothing wrong in admitting this. Get a prescription, run a hot bath with smellies in, sit back and relax, get a good nights sleep and start afresh in the morning. Your doctor can not help you if, you dont do as they ask, and, you don't tell them how much pain you are in. If push comes to shove wear a brace, just don't wear it all the time as that will defeat the purpose of recovery.
You have another 41 weeks to go before you will be 110% recovered. Give yourself a break, go see the doctor, have the x-ray, it doesn't have to be at one of the main hospitals, some of the smaller old style hospitals have x-ray departments and lesser waiting times
debbie171066 mary12001
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You are probably having a bad week you have probably caught a virus but i would perhaps go to dr if you think you have or else it will stop you improving! Keep your chin up mines down to! X
mary12001 debbie171066
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Things at home are not to great for recovery.
Both my daughter and 16/yr old granddaughter think I should be recovered after six weeks.
They won't even get me a drink and it's my home.
It was like that before I had it done. Now I feel extremely vulnerable.
I think I have caught a virus but it's a bad time to be sick with the doctors strike etc.
Will keep you posted xx
debbie171066 mary12001
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sue37592 debbie171066
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debbie171066 sue37592
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sue37592 debbie171066
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Yes we will win it debbie, I can't believe the difference from before surgery, getting stronger daily but get tired very easily and roll on sleeping a full night...bliss x
sueisobel mary12001
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You cannot let your family rule your life in such a way that you can no longer cope. The pain you are in is over powering. Go get the antidepressants and the pain killers, do I sound like I'm nagging?? Yes I am. Pain is invisible, it not like a period pain or migraine or a sprain from the sports field, it is long term and if you have had it constant for a period of time it is classed as chronic, and whilst you have to pick yourself up from the depths of depression, you don't have to do it alone. Get a bundle of books, magazines, if you have a tv in your bedroom; get some DVDs, a box of wine and snacks, and slum it in the bedroom. You have not caught a virus, you are at the end of your tether. If you are able to drive, go somewhere peaceful, for me it's the beach(better still if it's stormy) if there is one within reasonable distance to you, go, the ozones will do wonders for you, better than any tonic. If you have to use both crutches, do so. Forget the hospital doctors strike, your own GP should be trained and wise enough to recognise someone struggling. But on the other hand you do have to tell them everything. Tell them you cannot cope at home and you have a family that is selfishly dependant on you, the doctor will not be too impressed to hear that, but they are there to help. They took an oath when they qualified, so hold them to it. It's no good demanding anything, they'll just put you down as a difficult patient. But if you have to crawl there on your hands and knees do so!
You still have to retain a sense of strength somewhere as you will not recover. Depression is also a side effect of the operation, not everyone suffers, you are. There are most probably times when you think the tears won't stop, they will. You can fight it! Rant as much as you like, if it make you feel better, then good. But fight you must. You know you are not alone, even when you are lonely. You have already made the first step. Now keep going, just never ever think you wish you hadn't gone through with the operation. You have a new lease of life, make it work for you
mary7663 sueisobel
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This is forum is our very own Group Therapy.
sueisobel mary7663
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Mkhp sueisobel
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sue37592 sueisobel
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sueisobel sue37592
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sueisobel Mkhp
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Thank you for your kind words x
mary12001 sueisobel
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If I pay you will you come to my house and tell it as it is to my daughter and granddaughter
I just wish you were here.xxx