Oh my Knee Hurts!

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  • leehljp
    The Full Monte
    • Dec 2002
    • 8552
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    Oh my Knee Hurts!

    I had a TOTAL knee replacement this past Tuesday morning (14th). It still hurts! My most unexpected thing was the pre-surgery bacterial prevention and meds BEFORE the surgery. I had several pre-op meetings and ran back and forth to the pharmacy for different meds and vitamins (Vitamins- I already had those and take them regularly). This was the same knee that I had 3 ligaments re-attached 45 years before laparoscopy type of reattachments were done,. Doc said he didn't know how I stood NOT getting a knee replacement sooner.

    An interesting and somewhat frightening thing occurred last Thursday (9th). Linda and I had been to the main pre-op meeting about where to park, what time to be there (5AM), (Memphis Methodist University Hospital) what to bring, what to expect, full timeline of procedures, and they stayed on it for the most part. Also - I would be walking with full pressure on my new knee before leaving and I would probably be released by 3 PM or 3:30. They taught me how to use the potty with the brace on. After the 1 1/2 hour pre-op meeting we went to our pharmacist for a couple more meds. Then to Walmart in the pharmacy neighborhood.. At Walmart, I get a call from my Doctor's Assistant. She said "Hank, the surgery is off. We just got your A1C report from you GP (General Practitioner) that you had taken on Dec 16. It was 7.7, which is too risky for you since you had a heart bypass a year ago. I was stunned. Then she asked "is there any way you can come by and let us take it again?" (BTW, I don't know what the A1C cut off point is.) I replied "I am 15 minutes away." Linda and I rushed over and I told Linda that we needed to pray while we traveling. We did. I didn't worry about it from that point on.

    We went straight in, and the Doctor's assistant had a nurse (that we knew) prick my finger and take the sample into the lab. About 7 or 8 minutes later, the nurse went walking by the door rather fast to the doctors office. Then she came back and said, "I need to do it again because something wasn't right. I said sure. She took from the other hand. About 7 or 8 minutes later, she want walking by our door rather fast again. Then the Assistant came in and said, "Well, the surgery is on again. Your A1C was 7.0, which is acceptable for you." The doctor came by and said, "I don't know how you did it that quick but I will see you next Tuesday morning."

    My GP does not do the A1C but sends it to a lab. So I don't know if they made a mistake or my A1C came down .7 point in 4 weeks, which is highly unusual, especially considering that between Dec 16 and Jan 9, We celebrated with eating cake and sweets for Chirstmas, New Years and my birthday. I give God the full credit.

    It still hurts, but I am walking without a brace. At my first PT yesterday, I was able to pull my knee/leg to being flat on a table, which was good. I also was able to bend it to 85°. I probably could have made 90° but I would have been crying and screaming!

    I need to get a couple of knee cold packs today for the pain and keep the temp down.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!
  • LCHIEN
    Super Moderator
    • Dec 2002
    • 21459
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999

    #2
    Getting old is heck.
    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

    Comment

    • d_meister
      Established Member
      • Feb 2009
      • 221
      • La Conner, WA.
      • BT3000

      #3
      Glad you made the move on getting it fixed. My late wife had the knee replacement and had the same experiences with post-op and PT. She worked diligently through the pain to achieve range of motion and it paid off with better recovery and a fully functioning pain-free leg afterwards. A friend of hers had hers done at the same time and didn't make the effort, and the outcome was not satisfactory. Hang in there!

      Comment

      • Jim Frye
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2002
        • 1073
        • Maumee, OH, USA.
        • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

        #4
        My wife had both knees replaced last year (one at a time!) and the time post surgery was indeed painful. We had a cooling machine to help with it . I forget the name of the apparatus, but it consisted of an ice and water filled reservoir and a pump with a fitted recirculating wrap for the knee and connecting tubing. It was good for about eight hours on a fill. The osteoarthritis has my knees down to bone on bone contact and I was going to get one of my knees replaced this January, but the orthopedic surgeon talked me out of it since we hadn't exhausted the injection routines yet. Sorta glad I did now . A neighbor a couple of doors down had his one knee replaced due to a bone chip in the joint. He developed a post op infection in the knee, has had the replacement replaced and is still in a wheelchair. He's a few years younger than me (and my wife) and was extremely active prior to the surgeries. Take care and good wshes.
        Jim Frye
        The Nut in the Cellar.
        ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

        Comment

        • leehljp
          The Full Monte
          • Dec 2002
          • 8552
          • Tunica, MS
          • BT3000/3100

          #5
          The first week after surgery was painful. MUCH worse than bypass surgery. Then at day 5, I began to have a little more swelling, I was supposed to have Physical Therapy that day but it snowed about 4 inches and 14°F, and I did not trust my wife to drive me 30 miles to PT in that kind of weather, so I called and cancelled that day. On day 7 the knee was swollen even more, and I was back at PT. They took me to a warm up machine and told me to do light exercises. I asked them to look at my knee. He did and went to get the head nurse over PT. She looked at it and went to the adjoining building to get the doctor's primary nurse. She came and looked and called the doctor/surgeon. He came and looked at it and said: "You have a strong latex allergy" (part of the bandage). I never knew that. A prescription was sent to the pharmacy and it took a week to clear that up. The skin was like football leather for several day and I got whelps in several places and it ITCHED!

          I had a small bit of relapse this past week. LOML and I both are overly conservative in some areas - We Don't take more medicine than what is absolutely needed. I was given about 40 oxycodone tablets and the same number of tramadol tablets. I was told by the doctor "Don't wait until it hurts to take the med. If mediocre pain - take tramadol; if quite painful, take the oxycodone, AND take one or the other EVERY night for about 3 to 4 weeks until you can move without much pain. Well, I didn't do that. I kept wearing the immobilizer at night to keep from twisting or turning and creating pain. This past Friday, after not being able to do what I did on Wednesday, the PT lady asked: "Are you still using the immobilizer during the day and at night?" I said "Yes." She also asked: Are you taking a Tramadol or oxycodone at night or when it hurts?" Me: "Not if I can help it!". Then she politely and gently lit into me: "The immobilizer is for the first week only". (I was told that at the hospital after the surgery) The immobilizer is not to prevent you from turning or twisting. That will slow down your rehab and increase the time needed to get back to normal. The Tramadol and oxycodone are not for 'when pain hits', but to hold the pain at bay while letting your muscles build back up. Take one or the other at night, every night to get some good solid rest and let your leg/knee be free in the night. If it hurts and throbs during the day, take one, but don't drive if you take one during the day." She told my wife too!

          I don't have pain during the day that much - EXCEPT in PT on Mon. AM, Wed. PM and Friday AM. because they push me hard . I can bend my knee to 118° as of last Wednesday. But I don't take meds before PT. I was released to drive this week, but chose not to. I Let LOML drive me, and will next week also, but I will drive to my part time church work on Tuesday and Thursday next week.

          The doctor wrote up a release for me to drive this past Monday (two weeks after the surgery) - because when he came into the room, I was setting on the side of the examination table with my left leg hanging down at 90°. He asked me to lift it and let it down and I did. He said most people can't bend their leg at the knee that much for 3 or 4 weeks. He said if you can do this, you can drive. (Of course it was my left leg/knee.)

          My left knee was bone on bone. I got a shot from the doctor last May did OK but not excellent; the 2nd shot in September did excellent and it helped me build up my leg muscles - that has helped in rehab after surgery.

          AGE and Knee replacement
          I was concerned if there was a point in which age would make rehab take too long. I wish I had done it a couple of years ago. I don't know if I want to have the other one done. If I were younger, I probably would. There is still space in my right knee and it has never hurt. I would caution anyone to not wait too long because at some point (and it is different with each individual) age will make it very hard to heal fast enough.
          Last edited by leehljp; 02-02-2025, 12:37 AM.
          Hank Lee

          Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

          Comment

          • LCHIEN
            Super Moderator
            • Dec 2002
            • 21459
            • Katy, TX, USA.
            • BT3000 vintage 1999

            #6
            When they did the rotator cuff surgery 5 years ago, they installed a 2 or 3 day pump that put pain medication directly into the area. After 3 days I had to withdraw the tube and discard the electric pump. Was prescribed Oxycodone but did not ever use it. Probably could have sold it to some black market but I eventually put into the local drug disposal bin.
            Loring in Katy, TX USA
            If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
            BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

            Comment


            • d_meister
              d_meister commented
              Editing a comment
              What did you make with the pump? :-)
          • LCHIEN
            Super Moderator
            • Dec 2002
            • 21459
            • Katy, TX, USA.
            • BT3000 vintage 1999

            #7
            Haha, I thought about it a while and could not think of a use so followed directions and disposed of it. Tempted though.
            Last edited by LCHIEN; 02-03-2025, 10:15 PM.
            Loring in Katy, TX USA
            If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
            BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

            Comment


            • Jim Frye
              Jim Frye commented
              Editing a comment
              My BIL had back surgery last year and the pain pump that was prescribed had a usage limiter built in. After the prescribed time, the unit shut down and would not restart to be disposed of.
          • Jim Frye
            Veteran Member
            • Dec 2002
            • 1073
            • Maumee, OH, USA.
            • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

            #8
            SPEAKING OF KNEES...
            I just spent the day pulling wrinkles out of carpeting in three rooms of the house. They were small humps about two to four feet long in traffic paths. Due to my arthritic knees, a knee kicker was out of the question, so I rented a power stretcher for the day. Not sure crawling around on the floor assembling and disassembling the various tubes was less strain on the knees, but I wore knee stabilizers and knee pads. Doubling up on the Tylenol and Ibuprofen tonight. The bumps are gone for nw and SWMBO is pleased. "Happy wife, Happy life".
            Jim Frye
            The Nut in the Cellar.
            ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

            Comment

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