TKR think, think again.

Hi Renee Iam okay, have been to doctors, Iam lucky gave a great GP.

the thing is I just think people should be more prepared and have more knowledge of all the side effects you can suffer following this gruelling surgery.

its clear from reading so many messages on this forum they were not, you really do think it's just the knee you have to get over.

Due to my personal situation I really did research it, I have Lupus, and Iam the only carer for my husband who has Alzheimer's, so I really had to know what was ahead.

My brother had a TKR recently, he is strong and in good health, and plays loads of golf, but he has found it a shock, in fact he said he feels like a invalid, but it is early days for him yet.

thank you for your good wishes, but I was keen that other people should be aware of what's ahead, I thought I was, but I was no where near, because no one said any thing about your hip, back, etc could be affected

be because your body has to realign it self, I do realise every one has a different journey, some better then others, but really do think a bit more could and could nots be maybe talked about.

iam really okay, have to be, my hubby more important then my knee, just makes life a bit harder.

wish you well.

x

Thank you. I pray for you and your husband. Do you have help? Maybe you've been overdoing it. Best wishes.

Alison i really appreciate your input and saying how we should be made more aware of the "after" TKR journey because i too am not really noraml since mine was done almost 9 months ago. I read you metioned, hip, back problems etc. That's my case too and i didn't have these problems before. I take more pain killers now, not because of my knee which seems ok but because of the terrible hip, thigh and back pain. No one explained any of this to me. Just kept telling me i would have a new life. Well yes i can walk more than before but only when my back lets me. I really hope you get on better soon. I am now on anti depressants which o help me to see over the rainbow. God bless you

Pam

I'm six months p.o. and I still only have a 75% bend. Straight is good but extreme pain when i bend. It was imobile due to an accident for two years so I am hoping that is all it is. I am going for xrays Jan 4. I am only 48 but feel like an 80 year old most days. I still have to get the other knee done but until this one bends he won't touch it. So frustrating. Still on percocet. But have cut way down to one a day. Just for Physio. I even bought a physio machine for my home and can't get it to bend. I could scream. The good news is I have no more pain at rest or walking in the knee. Just bending. The bad news I live in Canada where one slip and I'll never get up. Thanks for listening. Advice and encouragement most welcome

Hang in there Tracey.  I rely on the word "hope" now n much help from the big guy upstairs. Two more days to go to my surgeon to see what that big guy has to say 😏😂.  Boy we all share a lot of issues.  Thank goodness we all have each other, sounds crazy that we should even have to go thru this painful long po, but it is what it is. Some are a little more fortunate and get out fairly easy, but always remember there are those of us who don't have it so lucky and have us to rely on. We r truly the only ones who understand the po trauma ... Stay encouraged and "hopeful" n ofcourse keep up w those exercises, best to all for the new year, k p..... 🍀🌬👼??🌈

Hello Cheryl.,

before the surgery I had extreme pain in my right knee.

after surgery you know it's dreadful but you have to get through it, I had researched it and knew it was gruelling surgury so was as much as possible prepared for it.

i did not expect it to be so bad though, also the extreme fatigue, loss of

appetite, and feeling bit low, but was getting on with it all.

What has bought it to a head is a dreadful back ache, a big problem with my hip, and a tear in my glutus minimus in my left hip, my operation was on my right knee., how on earth could that have happened.

the pain is agonising, I've had a injection but it has not in any way helped, so I do not know what can be done about that, so yes I really do wish at this moment I had just gone on the live with the very bad knee pain, at least it was only in one place, now Iam a invalid, and really finding it hard to look after my husband who gas Alzheimer's.

wish you well, take care.

kind regards

You would have probably had the back pain the hip pain plus the worsening knee pain.

You have dealt with the knee, it will get a lot better, believe me.

I have severe spinal problems, nerve damage, hip arthritis, plus had to have both knees done, separately, I couldn't walk without severe pain and dislocation.

I can't walk far now, but the knee pain is a lot better, mainly stiffness.

Then on top of this, this year had to have a prolapse repair, major surgery, plus an ovary and cyst removed.

I too have an ill husband, with RA, diabetes,heart problems, had a quad bypass, 

Life throws all this at you and you have to look forward, you would be more of an invalid had you not had your knee done.

Live day to day, let time pass, and cope as best you can, there isn't an alternative.

We don't all have an easy passage through life.

This year has been the worst thing I could have gone through, so far....

Hi Alison!

Oh boy do I get what you say about extreme pain in the knee before surgery! I had been dealing with throbbing, radiating pain in my knees for years, but in May 2015 things got increasingly worse. At one point it felt like a SWORD going in the back of my left knee and out the front. Never ever had stabbing pain like that before! For me, THAT was my wake-up call to revisit the possibility of surgery to fix my problems.

I was pleasantly surprised that surgery ( both times) felt better and less painful than what I had been dealing with PRIOR to surgery. I had nerve blocks for the first 24 hour period of each surgery which worked GREAT. Medications like Dilaudid and Oxycodone made me VERY LOOPY. I was off the Dilaudid after one dose and took Oxycodone for only two weeks. After my two weeks of the blood thinner shots I was then able to take Ibuprofen. That worked MUCH BETTER for me with zero side effects.

My pain tolerance must be pretty high. My tolerance for feeling loopy is, well, ZERO! I was and still am SO THANKFUL that my surgeries DID remove that terrible pain I had endured for so long. I would actually get dizzy, light-headed, and nauseated from the pain in my knees which would radiate to my waist and also from my knees to my feet. After surgery I had swelling and six months of PT with the two separate operations, but at least that awful throbbing pain for me was GONE.

I would find myself dropping off to sleep frequently those first couple months. I'm sure it was my body TRYING to heal, but it also was from EXHAUSTION! Sleep deprivation is NOT for the meek! Not sleeping well can produce real problems for the whole body! It was about 12 weeks until I slept five hours in a row. That was an amazing thing for me.

Stay as positive as you can. Write down daily victories in a journal, and read them over as you progress. It helped me to realize how far I had come.

One of my first journal entries the morning after surgery talked about the PT asking me to "march" my knees up and down while seated. When I tried this, the best I could do with my surgical leg was MOVE MY TOES OFF THE FLOOR! This got me giggling. The PT was surprised and didn't really know what to say. (He was a young guy, and I am OLD!) I told him that for THAT session, my best was marching MY TOES! He looked at me in a strange way, wrote something down on his clipboard, smiled, and said that we were done for the session. I suspect he probably wrote: "Patient is not cooperative" or "Patient is reacting strangely to medication." I still laugh when I think of how ABSURD it was for him to even THINK of asking me to "march" my legs! (My left leg felt like a tree trunk filled with cement!)

Anyway, LAUGH as much as you can. Put on a good comedy. ANIMAL House does it for me. I laugh, and I feel better. Laughter increases endorphins, and endorphins lessen pain. Really!

Take care, and keep us posted on your progress. You will be OK.😊

Cheryl your post cracks me up!! What a wonderful, positive attitude you have. Love how you told the PT your toes were marching. And I love Animal House too. God bless you and Happy New Year! I'm still smiling lol. Thank you.

Awwwww! THANKS, Renee!😊

My recovery was filled with HILLARIOUS moments. The second night with my first TKR ( the tree trunk filled with cement), I needed to use the bathroom every 20-30 minutes. (No BEDPAN allowed after day one in Ohio apparently).

Anyway, TWO RNs and an aide were required to help patients to the in-room bathroom. The aide was in charge of the IV pole. The two nurses were in charge of my right arm and left arm. Together the FOUR OF US made our way to the tiny bathroom. I had tubes and cords everywhere. The side did an awesome job of seeing to it that none of us tripped or strangled ourselves. They would get me seated, close the door and wait for me. Then I would pull the cord and they would come for me. It got more and more HILLARIOUS as the night went on. We were ALL laughing! GOOD TIMES!😁🙌😊😁

Omg I can just picture it lol. Four people in a tiny room going from the bed to the bathroom!! Was your gown open in the back too so you were exposed every time? Lol. I'm sure they dreaded it every time you rang the bell. You're so funny Cheryl. I'm laughing cause I can picture it so well. I was in the hospital for 5 weeks with a lung cancer lobectomy. Lung wouldn't stay inflated . I had a huge chest tube actually in my side attached to a stupid box. Then they had to add another one right in my chest. So every time I got out of bed and moved around the stupid tubes would twist together. And I moved around alot cause I felt fine. Anyway one day it was so twisted my husband started spinning me around! There were two nurses and two aids. I had a room full watching and someone started sing Do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around hahaha. It was hilarious. And I was getting dizzy too. So finally the respiratory therapist came up with an invention to encase the two tubes so they didn't twist together. We even named the invention. I can't remember what it was now. We were gonna take it on Shark Tank. Thing was that chest tube in my side caused so much pain when I moved around I was on shots of Dilaudid every 2 hours and pills every 4 hours. So when my hospital nightmare was over and I came home I only had the pills. I started going through withdrawals. That wasn't fun at all. Just sharing. Just picture me doing the Hokey Pokey!! Take care.

Goodness! You went through A LOT in those five weeks with your poor lung! I hope all is well with it now. Scary stuff!

Your husband sounds like a very practical and logical guy! Spinning YOU was actually a BRILLIANT idea when all those tubes got twisted! I can see MY husband doing that!

It's weird how we humans can see humor in serious situations! It really DOES help, though! The Hokey Pokey is a GREAT song and fun dance. Sounds like a PERFECT way to diffuse the seriousness of your issue with your lung and the twisted tubing!😊

For years I was in charge of roller skating parties at my school. We walked to the rink after school, I helped lace skates for what seemed like HOURS, and then joined the kids on the floor in my skates. There usually were first graders who had not skated before. I'd have one on each arm, and we'd bungle our way around the floor. The rink did all kinds of fun skating events throughout the session-- TopsyTurvey Trios where you must change direction a number of times during a song when the skate lady boss told you to over the microphone, Double Skates, the Chicken Dance etc. my favorite always was THE HOKEY POKEY which came at the end of the evening! Imagine about 150 kids and some adults holding hands in one big circle on the skating rink floor TRYING to "put your whole self in" then "put your whole self out". Imagine 150 kids and adults doing "turn yourself around". We were all laughing so much by the end of HOKEY POKEY we could hardly stand up! (Many DIDN'T stand up! It looked like a WAR SCENE sometimes!)

Oh, the HILLARITY of it all!🙌😁😊🙌

I hope your lung is good now, and congratulate your husband for his innovative and effective tube management!

Laughter. Sometimes the very best and only way to go!!

Happy New Year!🎉🎉😁🎉🎉😊🎉🎉🙌

That's hilarious Cheryl. The Hokey Pokey on skates!! Omg. Yes sometimes you just have to laugh it off. Now I can picture all those skaters and have a good one. Thank you! Oh the stories I could tell about that stay. There was a lot of crying too. And anger because it was supposed to be a 3 day stay. I had a couple temper tantrums and trashed my room! My poor husband never knew what he was gonna find when he came! One day I got it in my head I was going to leave. So I packed my bag. Was dressed with my coat on and my purse and my little box with the tubes attached still! He shows up and sees me and says where are you going? I said Home!! You can't. You have chest tubes. I said I'll go to a different hospital then! Omg. The insanity of it all! I ended up collapsing on the bed having a total meltdown. I felt like a prisoner. And it was Christmas time. But I got through it somehow. met some really good people and some really really bad people. There were only 4 nurses who could take care of me. The rest I had to fight with to get my pain meds and my prescriptions. I pity the people who can't stand up for themselves in the hospital. They're at the mercy of some pretty incompetent people!

I can TOTALLY understand your frustration with a five-week hospital stay! Even a few days can feel like several WEEKS!

Yes, you really DO have to stand up for yourself when you are in the hospital. Some caregivers are wonderful, but others...well, not so understanding.

I hope all is OK with your lung now. I think that would be a very scary experience!

Thank you Cheryl. It's weird but I wasn't scared. I just wanted it out! The surgeon made it sound like removing a wart!! I had all my decorations up for the holidays, made a giant grapevine wreath for my house the day before the surgery! He never mentioned taking out half a lung! Well we both know how surgeons are lol. I gave him a run for his money. He said he never had this happen to a patient before and was stumped. They had suction on the lung and they would get the lung inflated then immediately drop the suction level in increments of 20 and it would collapse again. After this happened over and over for 2 weeks I finally took charge and told him STOP doing what you've been doing!! Leave the suction high for 4 days and then lower it in increments of 10. He was dumbfounded. Said that's not done in the "thoracic surgery world". I said " let's dare to be different" lol. Well it worked. It took a while. Even the nurses said they'd never seen the suction level at 10. I was ready to go home before Christmas and one night a fill in nurse who was an idiot was screwing around with valve in my chest and accidentally opened it. The lung collapsed and I was back to square one! Doc was p*ssed. He taped it so they couldn't touch it. I was devasted and ended up staying till New Year's. Long story. I'm fine now. Thank you for listening. At the end the idiot nurses ganged up on me and said I was sabotaging myself and they took my curtain down so they could watch me. There were 5 people in my room. I gave them an earful. Demanded they leave my room. Slammed the door and proceeded to start taping a sheet over my window lol. It was crazy. I called the doctor and got my curtain back. Got out the next day lol. Fun times.

Oh, Renee! What a time you had!

How much do you want to bet that your doctor writes up "his" NEW TECHNIQUE in the AMA Journal??!!!!

The nurse messed with the valve...In your CHEST?😱 Then a march of solidarity from the nurses SUPPORTING the valve-puller?😵

You know, it makes you wonder how many people REALLY DIE of "natural causes!"

I'm sure the majority of nurses are awesome, but you didn't get any of THEM! So sorry to hear of all you had to deal with on this!

I'm glad you thought to call your doctor! There was a lady in the news awhile back who CALLED 911 from her hospital bed when nobody was answering her call button! I admire her style!!!

We all must SAVE OURSELVES from bad/scary/ridiculous situations!!!🙌😁😊🙌

I hear u, looking toward to a better new year and praying for the same for all.. K. P. .   👼👼🍀🍀🌈🌈😇😇