u/DogMamaLA

Hi all,

I was regularly getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night pre-LTKR. Now I cannot get more than 6 hours total. I get to sleep fine - the CBD/THC/CBN gummies help that - and I sleep great for 6 hours - then promptly wake up and cannot go back to bed, no matter what.

That means if I go to bed at 10:30 pm, I am wide awake at 4:30 AM. Will this ever shift back to what it was, pre-LTKR? I typically used to get up at 545 or 6 and start work at 7, but getting up at 4 and 430 is getting old!

I'm only 4 1/2 weeks post op but the "6 hour rule" as been the norm lately. The first 21 days were the worst b/c I had to wear those DVT devices at night and those always caused disruptive sleep. At least I am getting more REM/deep sleep now, albeit I wish I could get more than 6 hours.

Thoughts?

Why didn't anyone tell me about heel slides on the wall before? Did that tonight in PT and it did not hurt! I got to 108 flexion without anyone pushing.

On my back with heel slides? I can barely get to 101 on my own. I get to 107 by being pushed but it hurts like hell.

Wish I'd known that was an option to measure before! My regular PT person is out of town so I had another rep and honestly liked her style and approach alot better. She also did cupping on my knee and that helped the inflammation and pain.

I may see if I can change over to this different PT rep for my remaining appts.

Yesterday was the first day where I went out and did stuff other than just PT appointments. Met my inlaws for lunch, went and dropped off a few things for a relative, and ran a few other errands before returning home.

Y'all are definitely correct in that, after a while, having my leg on the ground and not elevating gets bothersome. I was out for about 3 hours total and it wasn't painful but definitely uncomfortable as I got closer to home. Got home, elevated and iced off/on for about 2 hours and took some tylenol. It helped.

I am officially off the Oxy. Side effects, esp constipation, got the best of me. I was on multiple meds to combat it, eating prunes daily, drinking water daily, and all those approaches took forever to work. No longer worth the benefit and am not in much pain anymore.

Took a THC/CBN/CBD gummy last night and wow - whoever recommended those from Wyld - thank you! Helped a lot.

My doc added a muscle relaxer to my regimen but not sure if I will take it or not. (Methocarbol?) For those that are taking one, has it helped? My calf has been cramped at times but honestly, I think that is from having to wear those dang puffy things at night to prevent blood clots.

PT moves to 2x/week starting this upcoming week and I return to work for partial days starting Thursday 10/1. I work remote and can be in a recliner while elevating/icing but other than that, I am ready to get back to some form of routine. I stay at partial days for a week and then return to full time.

Sleep is still kinda iffy but I am now getting more REM and deep sleep per night, based on my fitbit analysis. Still waking up by 5 am but it is not as bad as in the beginning when I was barely getting 6 hrs total.

Thx again for all the input/wisdom here!

PT did not go well tonite. My ROM went from 76 to 91 this week, and she really pushed to get it to 96 tonight but I was ready to scream obscenities.

Now they tell me I'm supposed to hit 105/110 by my 2 week post op??? Isn't that effing aggressive???? I was not doing well today anyway. Feeling tired, emotional, and not very cared for by family. Now I feel like I'm failing at PT and I will never make 110 ROM by next week. Left me feeling utterly useless, lonely, scared, and pissed off.

Is this normal? The PT practice is part of the surgeons practice so it is supposedly aligned to what the surgeon wants. But I was in pain today as she pushed and I finally yelled out "no no no, no more!!:

Feeling like a lone failure. This sucks.

Hi all and happy Friday!

Day 9 post op and doing good. Have PT later today and have been listening to what my body needs this week. It mostly needs naps!

Day 7 was hard mentally. I got tired of trying, tired of sleeping oddly, tired of using a walker, just tired of it all. I still know my sleep is not the best and that I'm more vulnerable right now. I've managed to avoid a few arguments with family due to being aware of this.

Glad it's the wkd and I will get 2 days in a row of not having to leave the house for PT. Still doing home exercises but not having to go out for 2 days straight will be nice.

I plan on just using the shower chair going fwd. The transfer bench was a bust and caused a huge mess. I can sell it on FB marketplace once I'm better and driving. The walker basket has been a huge help to carry food, big drink cup, ice packs, etc.

Hey all,

Got a transfer bench off Facebook marketplace since we dont have a walk in shower. My question is, how to best shower without making a mess everywhere?

I have a hand held shower head. I pulled the curtains back. My bandage is waterproof and med team said don't submerge but I could flow water over bandage.

Shower and washing my hair felt amazing...and then got out and there's a lake of water all over the bathroom. Wondering the best way to avoid this? Any tips?

Hi all,

Day 4 since LTKR. Only had stiffness and tightness most of the time, but last night at midnight, sharp pain happened. I woke up, took Oxy and Tylenol, and went back to sleep. It was better by this morning, and I've been icing/elevating today.

I don't think it was the nerve block wearing off - I really doubt the nerve block would have worked for 96 hours, but felt the first "OMG PAIN" moment at midnight. Glad it's better now tho.

Been doing sponge baths and today is time for a shower. Looking forward to that. Will be going to PT 3 times this next week and I know that will be challenging, so I'm preparing myself.

I'm a side sleeper and still able to do side sleeping while setting my left leg onto a wedge pillow. I originally thought I'd be forced to sleep on my back but am able to do some side sleep which helps. Averaging about 6 hours sleep per night, with very low REM and deep sleep times, but still, that's better than 2-3 hours per nite which is what I expected. When I do wake up in the morning and can't go back to sleep, I start doing my tightening quads/heel slides in bed before getting up. (The yoga strap for 9.99 on Amazon works amazingly for heel slides!)

The med team gave me Colace and Senna to help with constipation, and it worked. I have also been drinking tons of water and eating 5 prunes daily to help prevent, and it appears to be working. That's a huge relief. I am also on a GLP1 but really cannot afford to get constipated since I have had diverticulitis issues in the past.

Working on my upper body strength pre-surgery, along with some prehab with the knee/leg, has really made a difference. If you are waiting on a TKR and have a few months, work on upper body strength and prehab - it has been a big help.

Will continue to keep y'all posted! Thanks so much for all the wisdom this community has!

Other prior day links:

Day 3 - https://www.reddit.com/r/Kneereplacement/s/dqcxBL5e2S

Day 2 - https://www.reddit.com/r/Kneereplacement/s/m95ppBeGyO

Day 1 - https://www.reddit.com/r/Kneereplacement/s/rqqWdRnbnR

Day 0 - https://www.reddit.com/r/Kneereplacement/s/uYmzyvKnE3

Day 1 of LTKR. Am staying on top of pain meds and all other meds. Did my home PT exercises today and that helped to stretch. Still walking every hour, elevating, icing. Started home PT exercises to do and first official PT is tomorrow.

I called my med team and told them that the "toes above nose" concept of elevation is really painful to the side/back of my knee, and they said to do that method a few times per day, but the rest of the time, I could just elevate normally where it won't ache as much.

Didn't nap as much as surgery day. Only took 1 nap and otherwise been reading, watching movies on my laptop, etc. Wearing those compression things at night to prevent blood clots are not bad. I took off the ace bandage, not much bleeding or bruising at all thru the official bandage.

Main issue is just feeling a bit stiff/sore and I think part of that was IT band pain I had before the surgery.

Tomorrow is my first day of PT. Will take a pain pill and ice before and after to make it hopefully go well. My quads are still firing and doing okay.

Definitely glad I meal prepped for 7-10 days, did prehab, and got all equipment like ice machine, raised toilet seat, that yoga strap to move my leg when it feels heavy, etc.

Tomorrow is another day!

Thanks so much to everyone in this community who have helped me tremendously the last few months, as I have been in full research/what to expect mode since I made the 9/9 TKR appointment back in June (surgeon had a few months wait, which gave me time to research and do prehab).

Tonight will be the last of my prep, bringing laptop, phone charger, etc. upstairs so I can officially "live" up on that level for at least a few days before attempting stairs to the main kitchen etc level. My hubby can bring me food that first day or two. I have walkers for each level of the house, have the ice machine/pillow wedge for elevating ready to go, all meds and the schedule to take them by my bedside, will pull up rugs in bathroom tonight after doing that Hiberclens shower.

I am anxious, but know that this is normal. I will post about my recovery here and thank you again SO MUCH. This is one of the best communities on Reddit that I have been a part of. Y'all rock!!

Hi all,

I set up and did a trial run of my borrowed ice machine last night. Felt so good! Based on a suggestion of someone in this sub, I used a pillowcase between my skin and the knee pad and it worked well.

Why is the typical advice 20 minutes on/20 minutes off? After setting up the ice machine, doing all the coordination around the hoses, etc., why would you not just keep it on for about an hour or however long you need it? Is it b/c they don't want your skin being exposed that long? But I'm using a pillowcase so it's not hurting the skin.

My TKR is in 2 days and just wondering about this...

My insurance may or may not cover and Romtech can't tell me either way. Best case to meet out of pocket max it is 500 to 600. Worst case is cash pay but at 24 mos no interest for 1260. I am torn on if it is worth it or any benefit. 

Seems a no-brainer if insurance covers but at 500 to 1260 out of pocket and only for 6 weeks, I am overwhelmed and not sure. If I could keep it, then maybe. But 6 week rental?!?!? That's alot of $$ and I already have a high OOP max and am spending 3000 + so far.

I know that this is the best decision. I have advanced osteoarthritis, am basically bone on bone, have been in multiple levels of pain for 2+ years, and had several instances where it is excruciating to walk.

But the pain has been better lately and I am still second-guessing myself. I will definitely do the surgery and all the PT etc, but just beginning to feel anxious knowing it's 1 week away now.

Trying to focus on all the activities that are within my control: meal prepping, aqua aerobics/strengthening quad muscles, preparing my medication charts, preparing living space, etc.

But anxiety still lingers!

Hi everyone,

My LTKR is 9/9 - in 8 days! EEP!

I wanted to offer a positive aspect of my uber-planning & anxiety. In trying to make a spreadsheet for all my meds and figuring out which ones to take when, I noticed the drugstore SHORTED ME 2 days of meds in one prescription!! I went to the drugstore yesterday and explained and they gave me the remaining 4 pills. I'm glad it was not oxy they shorted me on, otherwise it could have been an argument but it was an anti-swelling medication that I'm supposed to take for 4 days after surgery and they only gave me enough for 2 days even tho the quantity said 4 days.

If I hadn't been anxious and overly prepping, I would not have thought to count every bottle of medication items!

Hi everyone,

I had my pre-op the other day and got all my (10!!) prescriptions filled. Pain meds, anti-swelling meds, anti-constipation meds, anti-infection meds, nausea meds, etc.

My spouse has the memory of a goldfish, so I would like to create some sort of spreadsheet or way to organize everything b/c keeping track of 10 different meds is a lot. Does anyone have any suggestions of what worked for them? I can set phone reminders and I just bought one of those "am/pm" pill containers, but I wasn't expecting 10 different meds LOL

Hi everyone,

I have a Polar Breg ice machine borrowed from a friend for my upcoming LTKR.

Question for those of you who use frozen water bottles instead of ice all the time - are you taking the cap off to let it kinda melt into the existing cold water? Or are you keeping the cap on and it acts like a mini ice pack to keep the water cold in the unit?

I had not heard of the frozen water bottle concept until visiting this subreddit so wanted to ask.

Thx!

I had a Fitbit Luxe for years that has died, and I got a Fitbit Inspire 3 to replace it. But I never wanted a Fitbit for texting or calls. I want it as a watch, step tracker, nutrition tracker.

How do I turn off getting texts to my fitbit?

Over the last week, I have seen 5 + posts from people who "don't feel anything" and so they want to take another shot, or add another 2.5mg to their already starting dose of 2.5, or take a shot every day till they feel something, or what have you.

WTF?

More is not always better. The meds build up in your body over time and each dose needs 4 weeks minimum.

Hunger is not the enemy. Today, someone posted they woke up hungry and they want to give themselves another shot. WTF? You SHOULD wake up hungry. Those of you who never want to feel honest, healthy hunger? You need to get yourselves into therapy to discuss your eating disorders.

A natural, healthy hunger is NORMAL. Food noise/obsession after having a nutritious meal is different, but waking up hungry after not eating since the night before is normal and should never warrant taking another shot.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be weeks you lose, weeks you maintain, and weeks you gain - even if you do everything right. That is called weight loss and it is normal. I do not know what stupid TikTok influencer these people are following that convinces them that MORE MORE MORE is the way to go, but stop listening to those shilling moronic idiots!!!!!! Those ppl would sell their mother for more ego likes b/c they have no self esteem to begin with.

This is a long term progression toward better health. Do not rush the process and do not be impatient.

I've had a Fitbit Luxe which I really like, but the thing is not reliable anymore. Randomly, the screen will go black and I have to hook up the charger just to get it to display/track steps/track sleep, even when the battery is at 90%.

The 1 thing I do not like about the Luxe is that it isn't waterproof, and I'd like to be able to accurately track calories burned/movement when doing water aerobics.

Suggestions?

Things important: waterproof, not over $150, tracks sleep/nutrition/heart rate/steps, would like a decent design like the Luxe but not a full dealbreaker. I don't want to look as if I am wearing a giant black box on my wrist either, though.

Things not important: any kind of text or calling with my watch. I have a phone for that. Don't need my watch to show me texts; could care less.

TIA!

I've had a Fitbit Luxe which I really like, but the thing is not reliable anymore. Randomly, the screen will go black and I have to hook up the charger just to get it to display/track steps/track sleep, even when the battery is at 90%.

The 1 thing I do not like about the Luxe is that it isn't waterproof, and I'd like to be able to accurately track calories burned/movement when doing water aerobics.

Suggestions?

Things important: waterproof, not over $150, tracks sleep/nutrition/heart rate/steps, would like a decent design like the Luxe but not a full dealbreaker. I don't want to look as if I am wearing a giant black box on my wrist either, though.

Things not important: any kind of text or calling with my watch. I have a phone for that. Don't need my watch to show me texts; could care less.

TIA!

My Fitbit Luxe is 4 years old and recently, it just blacks out. I can't press it to see the time or anything else, but the battery according to the app is above 90%. This is frustrating b/c I need to stop, put it on the charger for 5 min to light up and do its thing, and then it goes back to normal.

What gives?