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TKR ... Nights and dreadful day with back jabs

Posted , 9 users are following.

31pebworth
31pebworth

Hello ... Have posted ad nauseam about the awful nights ... Last night, day 17 was as bad as alll the others and just pushed me over the edge. I had to go into hospital today to have a nerve root block to help the buttock and leg pain which have flared up since the knee replacement ... I had a three level lumbar fusion four months ago, I was warned a flare up could happen because of the angle of the leg during the op and the leg elevation in general. Back surgeon says it is more common in hip and knee replacements when you have had more than one level fused.  I ended up with two nerve blocks, a deep muscular steroid and an antibiotic. For the first time the sedation was not nearly enough and although they increased it, it was a very unpleasant experience. My back surgeon is great .. He sent me home with some Valium and said TAKE IT! GP very against it, but my BP was unusually high and he could see I am exhausted .. Grey, not really eating much (unheard of for me) and when he came in I started crying about everything. I am not give. To tears and have battled the bad back for years and consider myself fairly brave .. Said I just felt totally overwhelmed and back where I started straight after the fusion ... The first six weeks of that were devastating and this , though a bit more localised pain, is as bad becUse I am sleeping so little. I cannot believe I will ever get back to normality as I have barely bee able to function a normal life for so long now. Sorry to winge... Am so bashed and bruised from the leg, my back has bruised from the jabs, tummy from Heparin and I ache all over from exhaustion. Tomorrow ...... Please be better!

1 like, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • johnros
    johnros 31pebworth

    Posted

    Sounds like a rough time for you.

    my thoughts are with you and I am just thankful that so far my troubles are relatively few.

  • deb88473
    deb88473 31pebworth

    Posted

    I'm so sorry to hear what an awful time you're having. The knee on its own is enough for anyone to cope with without the added pain and exhaustion you're experiencing. It must feel very dark for you at the moment and when you're so tired you can't think straight everything seems a thousand times worse. I truly hope you get some sleep and a bit of respite and I will wish for a better day tomorrow for you. Dont apologise for getting it out there, that is one of the wonders of this forum, we've all done it and if it helps all the better. Thinking of you

    Debx

  • 31pebworth
    31pebworth

    Posted

    Wake up number one ... Slept nearly two hours. Ice pack on, writing this with the brightness turned low,  been fir a walk around the room and will try to sleep again. Thank for your kind responses .... The understanding we all have for one another makes such a difference. Nobody can truly describe their pain to others, so being with people who already know that terrible burning  pain or sensation ....
  • pam39536
    pam39536 31pebworth

    Posted

    So sorry, to hear this. I hope you start to turn a corner soon . I think you are about at the worse time for me . Good luck

    pam 13 weeks 

  • jennifer86104
    jennifer86104 31pebworth

    Posted

    So sorry to hear you're in such a bad way. To have bad pain elsewhere as well as the knee must be awful. I hope you have managed to get some sleep and the medication you've been given kicks in. All I can say is, as far as the knee goes, the pain does lessen after these early weeks. Sleep hasn't been a problem for me for 5 or 6 weeks now.  Take care. Jen (11 weeks post op). 
  • 31pebworth
    31pebworth

    Posted

    Well ... Still woke four times last night, but I got back to sleep a little easier and think I had about SIX whole hours ... Not perfect, but the feeling of sheer misery and desperation I felt in the last few days is less today and the days, even with pain, are always more bearable than the nights. My back is pretty bruised and aching, but I know that will ease in a day or two. Thanks everybody ... Only the dog to talk to at night and even he is getting bored !
    • jennifer86104
      jennifer86104 31pebworth

      Posted

      Glad to hear you feel a little better. It amazes me how everyone on this site seems to get through a bad time and then post something positive. Well done, you. Once your back improves you can look forward to the (slow) improvement in your knee. It really does get better 😊😊 Jen 
  • carol45436
    carol45436 31pebworth

    Posted

    I hope today is better for you. I feel the sleep deprivation is one of the worst parts. The nights are never ending but tomorrow is another day. All my thoughts are with you. xx

     

  • Tucks
    Tucks 31pebworth

    Posted

    Oh you poor, poor thing, I could cry for you. Seems to be never ending for you. The TKR is bad enought but to have these other problems must be sole destroying. I can't offer you any advice but I send you my love and understanding. I pray tomorrow will be a better day. Life can be so unfair. Love from tucks x
  • britta217
    britta217 31pebworth

    Posted

    my heart went out to you when i read your post.  this is a lot for your body and soul to cope with and it is totally understandable that you should get down.  i for one have shed many a tear - some of self-pity, i will be honest - and i am sure most of us have.  but it sounds like you have a great surgeon and there are times when a valium is required.  i was given 2 in hospital as i too burst into tears when my surgeon walked in on day 2 post op as he bent my leg to 90° 4 hours after the operation.  i was petrified.  i have seen that you are sleeping a bit better and if you are like me, life looks completely different once i have caught some much needed zzzzz's.  whinge as much as you like here, we are all on your side!!

    my mantra is: this too will pass - this too will pass - this too will pass!

  • 31pebworth
    31pebworth

    Posted

    Hello kind people .... Update, the good, the bad and the ugly!

    KNEE .. Still hot, but just under boiling point most of the time now. Scar is clean and dry and the bruising, especially in the shin and calf marginally better. Walking and weightbearing pretty good. Hydrotherapy on Monday which felt fine for the first ten minutes or so but even in the water I could feel it getting hotter and hotter up to the half hour mark and at home the rest of the day and during that night it was pretty nasty ... Because I had had the back injections only three days previously the physio said he was soft on me! Will have to open my mouth on Monday and say STOP if necessary.

    sleep has remained my worst problem ... Still up four and sometimes five times a night and it is a mix of back and knee heat/swelling/pain .... Today my GP prescribed Zopiclone so I will take that in a minute and hope to at least get longer stretches of sleep.

    the nerve jabs for my back left me very battered and bruised and so far have not much difference .. So hip pain remains which I think is mostly from the knee realignment ...and the base of my spine is still bruised and painful, but not too much sciatica, thank goodness.  Hope most of you out there can reassure me this will go.

    goodnight all and hope we all get at least six hours before dawn tomorrow!

    • carol45436
      carol45436 31pebworth

      Posted

      I do hope you get some sleep tonight, With sleep we can face anything. I had restless legs last night on top of the usual discomfort. It was the early hours before I slept. You are going through so much more than most. but it will pass. By Christmas you'll be dancing!smile
  • 31pebworth
    31pebworth

    Posted

    Well ... Thanks to the Zopiclone I did have a much better night. Today I decided to pull myself together ... Had a walk up the road a little way and back. By mid-afternoon I was knackered and I dozed off a couple of times .... Whatever I watch on tv after 8pm I never see the end of and have to find it on catch-up .... What a lucky generation we are!

    Back injections are still not working but have had reassurance today from my back surgeon ... Wait a bit longer.

    In bed for the night, icing my leg before I try and sleep, painkillers taken ...

    goodnight to everybody and wishing you restful sleep!

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