Re: Knee Surgery

colleena · ‎03-27-2010

@monicakm How are those motorized wheelchairs to get around in - kind of look cool to me. I volunteered at a charity event several years ago which was a run through one of our parks & was glad to see several dozen woman on the motorized wheelchairs having the best time overtaking the runners & laughing all the way.

chiclet · ‎03-19-2010

My husband is on day 4 of TKR and he said it gets a little better each day. Of course he took 7 days of pain pills in 4 days. If the doctor does not refill he will be crazy and so will I. I do pretty much everything around the house anyway, cleaning, taking care of dogs, yardwork etc. but he did the cooking and grocery shopping. Waiting on him is wearing me out plus cooking and grocery shopping. In the 30 years of marriage I cannot count the surgeries and medical problems he has had but this is the first time I really had to wait on him. He hates it and tries to carry plates, drinks, etc while holding onto the walker but I tell him spilling stuff causes me more work than just asking me to get what he needs. He eats and drinks constantly. I think some of it is just boredom...Now today starts trips to rehab. It is his driving leg so he won't be driving for a while so I will be doing that. This surgery is hard on the patient and the care giver so if you do it, please be considerate and grateful to your spouse. My husband so far has been nice to me but it will be a long haul. I am sure we will both run out of patience before this is over and then there is the second leg........

monicakm · ‎03-16-2010

@chiclet

I couldn't ask for a better caregiver. My husband still works so he's only here in the evenings and weekends. He's been doing the cooking, vacuuming, making quick grocery store runs (I use WM pick up for regular shopping). He does all the driving. Anything I can't do and more, he'll do. Even things I tell him I can do, he tells me to sit and he'll do it. I think he thinks he owes me for nursing him back to health when he had open heart surgery. He says "that's what marriage is all about...in good times and in bad". I'm hoping to get a surgery date as close to the weekend as possible. Then he'll have the weekend, a week and another weekend to stay home with me. He plans to take off for a week. We're self employed. We've been living with this for over a year. Dinner meals are quick and easy, paper plates, clean as we go. We have a yard man so that's taken care of. My parents can come over and our daughter is about 25 minutes away. We plan on doing some deep cleaning and cleaning out the fridge, loading up on food items, bottled water, we always have an "overflow" box of bathroom and grooming supplies. We're set. Just in line for the actual surgery which won't be till Jan.

smoochy · ‎03-10-2010

@chiclet wrote:
My husband is on day 4 of TKR and he said it gets a little better each day. Of course he took 7 days of pain pills in 4 days. If the doctor does not refill he will be crazy and so will I. I do pretty much everything around the house anyway, cleaning, taking care of dogs, yardwork etc. but he did the cooking and grocery shopping. Waiting on him is wearing me out plus cooking and grocery shopping. In the 30 years of marriage I cannot count the surgeries and medical problems he has had but this is the first time I really had to wait on him. He hates it and tries to carry plates, drinks, etc while holding onto the walker but I tell him spilling stuff causes me more work than just asking me to get what he needs. He eats and drinks constantly. I think some of it is just boredom...Now today starts trips to rehab. It is his driving leg so he won't be driving for a while so I will be doing that. This surgery is hard on the patient and the care giver so if you do it, please be considerate and grateful to your spouse. My husband so far has been nice to me but it will be a long haul. I am sure we will both run out of patience before this is over and then there is the second leg........

Re: using 7 days of pain pills in 4 days. Yep that's how it was for me too- and I was even trying to hold off. The first few days are bad. And to keep ahead of the pain instead of chasing it, is recommended. But unfortunately the docs aren't allowed to give you as much as you need, so you're screwed. I would be interested to see if you hubby can get a refill. In my case it was only a partial (just a few pills) and that was it for opioid pain meds. Best wishes to you.

MICHIGAN STATE MOM

50Mickey · ‎05-21-2010

@monicakm There are always those who will give you the worst case scenario. It's kind of like years ago listening to women telling expectant mothers about the horrors of child birth. Please don't let this scare you. If you are in good heath and want your life back you probably need this. Like I have said before I have two good friends who have had both knees done and two of my neighbors have had knee surgery one of whom lives alone and all came through this with no terrible problems. While yes you may need pain meds. for a week you will be fine and glad that you had this done. Just don't take a week's worth of meds. in 4 days.

monicakm · ‎03-16-2010

@50Mickey

Thank you for the reassurance I will want to stay as far away from pain meds as I can. It's been decades (or more) since I've taken prescription pain meds. Some of it is my warped mind set from Major Trent...aka dad (anyone taking pain meds must be weak), some of it is having a brother addicted to drugs (used to be street and now it's prescription) and some of it is side effects I know I'll have from pain meds. Even prescription Ibuprofen is evil (major constipation). Will probably just have to cave and take the pain meds with a glass of prune juice and Castor oil lol

kaydee50 · ‎02-07-2011

I haven't had knee surgery or any other surgery for a very long time but if it were me I would want to get out of the hospital ASAP!!!

monicakm · ‎03-16-2010

@kaydee50

I hear ya! Maybe by Jan things will be better. I've had Covid and am fully vaccinated but I know that's not 100%. If it wasn't for that, I'd gladly stay as long as they'd let me. I'm that person who has alway had good experiences in hospitals with over the top excellent care/doting. It's been 25 to 30 years tho. Things might not be the same. I've always chosen a not for profit catholic hospital where my baby was born. They have a 5 star rating for TKR. Just found this. I was a little put off by my surgeon's bed side manner the first time I met with him. The 2nd and 3rd times were a lot better. LOVE his surgical nurse! I think she'll treat me like the baby I am

monicakm · ‎03-16-2010

LOL, I'm glad they felt comfortable and didn't let their imobility stop them from having a good time. I'm wanting to go back to Vegas sooooooo bad but there is so much walking. My phone said we walked 6 miles the first day and we didn't get checked into the hotel till nearly noon. I didn't notice them but DH said he saw lots and lots of people in those motorize scooters. I don't know if I could let myself enjoy myself in my favorite city. The way I buzz around WM in those things, I'm sure I'll run into a few people and objects Christmas in Vegas. My wheels are turning.