Knee Replacement Surgery

Pain: 1/10
Swelling: 5/10
Bruising: 1/10
Movement: 6/10

For the first time since the operation I feel ready to do something today and so I cleaned the oven in the kitchen. I just propped up my crutches and then sprayed and wiped the hob, doors etc. Probably took 10 minutes in all but it felt good to have contributed something to the cleanliness of the house at last!

I have tried not to sit still for too long and keep getting up to fetch things and also to go upstairs every hour or so. I’m sure this will help the recovery.

I’m also making sure I put plenty of cream on the scar a few times a day to try and get it to heal as unobtrusively as possible.

Pain: 2/10
Swelling: 6/10
Bruising: 6/10
Movement: 5/10

Visited the physiotherapist today, and looking at my notes she tells me that apparently I have had a lateral release of the kneecap as well, which probably explains the pain I’ve been getting from it.

She told me that my knee looked as it should for 11 days post surgery and that she was pleased with my progress. Apparently other people are often ‘precious’ with their knees and try and protect them too much, but I’m being good and working mine. Yay me!

I can do a straight leg lift and can contract my muscles to pull my knee down towards the bed to straighten it, but I am completely unable to lift my foot off the bed once a small rolled towel has been put under my knee. It’s as if my knee has stopped talking to my brain – I’m willing it on but there’s not even a flicker. The physio suggested that to rewire the signals, I should contract my muscles as if I was about to do a straight leg lift, but then imagine I was going to lift it over my right shoulder. That would send the message to the right place.

As the staples are still in she wants to see me again on Friday when they’ve been removed.

Pain: 5/10
Swelling: 6/10
Bruising: 4/10
Movement: 2/10

Pain: 2/10
Swelling: 6/10
Bruising: 6/10
Movement: 5/10

Had a reasonable night’s sleep last night but made a mistake by trying to get into the shower this morning (ours is in the bath), and despite leaning on crutches etc like I did before, it was just too painful. It’s also made it hurt a bit more when I try my straight leg lifts which is annoying as I’m due to see the physiotherapist today and wanted to show off.

The bruising is finally starting to fade and nothing new has appeared so I look far less like a car crash victim at last.

I still haven’t got my appetite back yet which is probably a good thing as I could stand to use a few pounds. Several have crept on since I’ve been unable to walk regularly and combined with a sedentary desk job. I must try hard to shift a few more. Not fancying eating is a brilliant non-painful way of reducing calories – I’m all for it and hope it lasts a fair while.

Took my last antibiotic tablet today, so now am only continuing with the daily injections.

Pain: 2/10
Swelling: 6/10
Bruising: 7/10
Movement: 5/10

Had my best sleep for ages last night but woke up desperate to stand and move around as my knee felt so stiff. The tight feeling around my thigh is really annoying me now, as is walking everywhere using two crutches.

I’m consciously trying to heel-toe as I walk as  don’t want to get into bad habits now that I’ll have to undo later. I even tried walking without crutches at all today, and I managed it fine. My husband has persuaded me not to do it again until I’ve seen the physiotherapist tomorrow in case I do any damage. He’s worried about me as I’m getting quite a bit of pain on my shin bone to the touch. It’s very tender and seems to be getting worse but I’m hoping it’s just part of the healing process, nothing else.

The voltarol tablets are finished today so I hope that I can still sleep without them and pain doesn’t kick in. I’ll take paracetamol to bed with me just in case.

I’m finding it easier to straight leg lift today, but it hurts quite a bit behind the kneecap for some reason.

Pain: 2/10
Swelling: 6/10
Bruising: 7/10
Movement: 5/10

I woke up in quite a bit of pain with my knee this morning. I don’t think I’d moved for a couple of hours whilst asleep and it was very stiff and sore. After a bit of TLC and a walk to the loo it improved quite a bit.

In the afternoon I had cramp a couple of times (fairly mildly luckily), but it scared me a bit because I really, really didn’t want to have a full-on cramp. Luckily my husband took pity on me and rubbed my calf with muscle liniment which seemed to help although I was a bit reluctant to test it too thoroughly in case it hadn’t worked.

In fact today was bit of a mixed day because by the afternoon I noticed my ankle had swelled quite a lot which meant I really needed to elevate my leg, but I also wanted to keep moving if I could to stop the cramp kicking in. The whole decision making process was exhausting so I went to bed and had a nap for an hour with an ice-pack on my knee as a compromise.

Pain: 2/10
Swelling: 6/10
Bruising: 6/10
Movement: 5/10

Well the bruises are looking abit better today. I actually slept for a full 5 hour stretch in the night but woke up with my knee VERY stiff and took a while to straighten it up again.

There feels like a wide elastic band around the part of my thigh about 6″ up from my knee and I would ask to have it loosened if there really was one there as it’s quite uncomfortable.

I was sick during the night – just all the water I’d drunk, but still not very pleasant, although I felt much better straight afterwards. I was also catheterised as I couldn’t manage to wee in the bedpan. That was another pressure off me and I was very happy to have it done.

I was awake most of the night but as you would expect, as soon as I finally dropped off, I was awoken to have a cup of tea and to be given all my medication. One of the nurses gave me a wash and propped me up for the first time since the op as I felt that I wouldn’t be sick if she did.

I still had an oxygen tube-thingy in my nostrils to raise my oxygen saturation levels and the machine that automatically took my blood pressure every 30mins.

The morning was spent just dozing and my pain was finally under control and very manageable. I think I rated it about a 5/10.

Then a nurse arrived and said she was going to remove the drain from my knee. I was told to breathe in and out deeply and regularly and to try not to hold my breath – and then she started pulling. It was uncomfortable and unpleasant but not too bad. But then she stopped and said that it seemed to be stuck. She pulled again but it wouldn’t shift, so she stopped and got another on duty nurse to try – who also couldn’t pull it out. They said they wouldn’t do it anymore, but that afternoon another nurse was coming on shift who was good at getting them out and she would do it for me. I can’t say I was looking forward to the experience.

A little later on a physiotherapist came in along with 2 nurses to get me to stand by the side of my bed. I knew this was going to happen so wasn’t surprised. One of them helped to lift my leg as I shimmied around on my bottom to the edge of the bed using my good leg as leverage. Then the moment came for me to lower myself gingerly to the ground and hold on for dear life to the zimmer frame.. I was then told to put my hands back on the bed, push up, take the weight on my legs and then hold onto the frame. I was scared but my leg held up well and it wasn’t very painful at all. The physiotherapist then asked me to put all my weight on my leg with the new knee and actually lift my other foot off the floor slightly, which I did with some trepidation. Luckily it held (as they all knew it would), and then I was helped back into bed, which had been changed while I stood up, and now had lovely fresh sheets on it.

I felt exhausted after all that exertion and had a nice snooze again only to be awoken by the expert drain-removing nurse.

It’s my last day at work and I’ve got loads to do before I leave for 6 – 8 weeks or so. Still I’d rather have something to take my mind off things as I really am nervous now. Considering I’ve had 5 arthroscopies you’d think I’d be fine, but I’m really not and I’m not sure why.

Anyway I’ve collected all my nightwear, slippers, books, Nintendo DS, mobile phone and toiletries ready for going in the morning so there’s no mad rush. Last time I packed for a hospital visit I was giving birth!

As part of my pre-op assessment they discovered that my blood pressure was a bit high so the nurse suggested I see the doctor to get it checked out prior to ‘major surgery.’

I made an appointment and went to see him and when he took a reading it was 154/103 – probably a bit high! Anyway he said it was quite a short amount of time to get it sorted as it usually takes several attempts to find the right medication for an individual. He prescribed me some tablets and I paid £7.20 for them at the pharmacy. £7.20!!

I read the accompanying leaflet and scared myself with all the possible complications, but then found the list of complications of untreated blood pressure and decided to go ahead and take them. The normal dose is apparently 10mg per day but I’d been prescribed 2.5mg which I should take at the same time every day although it didn’t matter when.

As the complications included possible faintness and dizziness after taking the first dose I decided to take it before bed when I’d be lying down anyway. Happily I didn’t even know I’d taken it as I went straight to sleep.

The following Monday after I’d taken 3 tablets I went to see the nurse at the surgery who took my blood pressure again and it was 154/89 which she said was fine.

Thank goodness for that – one less thing to worry about.