I've just got out of hospital after having a total knee replacement - not too bad 2 days post op!!
I had the other knee replaced 5 years a go - so now have two new knees!
I had the knee replaced under a spinal but needed a GA when I started to misbehave in theatre - coughing & not breathing!!!
The first night was agony as was yesterday however last night I had a good sleep & managed to walk much better to day with a lot pain.
Hopefully being at home will help my recovery!
Oh poor you with the coughing , at least the op would pass quickly when you were asleep!
Rest up and get well sick of daytime tv between physio bouts as allowed !
That was one big scar you posted Pauline!! So glad you're home and it's going well Rx
Hope you have a speedy recovery. Try to do your exercises so that you can enjoy your new knee xxx
Wishing you a speedy recovery Pauline, take care though, Rie x
going in on Monday myself would you recommend a spinal ? did you have some thing to relax you ? could you have had a full anesthetic , only had the phone call today thought I had another 6 weeks to wait , not that im complaining but completely scared as I don't want to see my leg in the air or smell or hear a thing .x
A spinal is good as the recovery is quicker, I think you can ask for sedation. you are numb for several hours, the worst bit is having to use a bedpan!! Take wetwipes in with you as they are not always good at offering washing!!
You could always take earphones with you to wear in theatre.
I would also suggest taking in 2 lots of meds with you, one for the ward & 1 to keep for you just in case they "forget" to give you your usual meds!!! The fist night I didn't get my RA meds until midnight, 6 hrs after I usually have them!
Don't be afraid for asking for pain relief especially for the first day as the pain is worse then, the next day is much better. I had access to a pain nurse who suggested stronger meds not that the message was passed on to the drs!!! so don't be afraid of pushing for pain relief, don't suffer even though we are used to pain!!
Good luck & let us know how you get on! Do pm me if you want to chat! x
Pauline, seriously you had problems with washing and getting meds! That's atrocious I think. M1 please make sure you ask for the ward manager or nurse in charge if anything like that happens to you, just not acceptable at all! And I would be ashamed when I was nursing If I heard that from one of my patients . Ax
Hi Allanah as a retired nurse I was pretty horrified as well. I did speak to the ward sister & she was very grateful for my comments & was going to highlight them to the staff. As a nurse I felt I needed to do this as "joe public" don't like to make a fuss! It's no wonder that there are high levels of infection in hospital!!!
I'm also going to send their "comments" card back with a few suggestions on it!
Good for you, it's amazing how hings appear to be now, we would have been marched in front of matron or not washing or giving tablets !! How are you okay, you recovering or is the bruising coming out , ouch , feel for you but hope it really helps in the long run.
What area were you in nursing?
No bruising yet well apart from the cannula! I;m sure my leg will have a huge bruise soon from the tourniquet! Before I took early retirement I was nursing in a children's hospice, what about you? I certainly wouldn't go back to it now!!!
Ye gentle things those tourniquets! I was theatre sister then manager, itu sister then manager, chest unit nurse, health visitor for ten years and the project lead nurse for COPD ! Quite varied, my favourite was ITU as the team were amazing, worst health visiting because of the worst team lol!! But loved the mums and babies and dads! And I discovered I don't really enjoy management ha ha ! I would have come own like a ton of bricks if patients weren't number one! And if there was a quiet period I expected the staff to go brush patients hair, chat, do nails etc! Oh I know I sound old lol, cos I am! Xx
I agree! Nursing is not like it used to be!!! It was a real shame when it got to degree level, so much better when you had EN's & SRN's!
Agreed! It's just cos on the degree at the beginning there was less on the ward experience whilst we were there full time. I had a staff nurse come after qualifying and I said sh could be in charge until I discovered she had no idea how to bandage a wound, she hadn't been shown but she was amazing at arguing techie points with docs! It needs to be taken back more to practical and choose people for their caring attitude not necessarily their a level results. Oh well it's nice to put the world to rights !
Hope you make a speedy recovery! I wish I could get my knee done, but they're saying I'm still too young.... (31) xx
Thank you! That's tough not getting it done - I had my first one done at age 55 but still older than you! 
I'm 56 and he has only mentioned it in passing at 1 of my appointments I'm gonna mention it too him again when I go back in 3 months as I am not having anymore arthroscopys now as this is the 4th I've had on this left knee just had my first on right on tues
It does seem a bit crazy not to offer it to you! They are supposed to last 10-15 yrs but which time they should have been improved significantly! My consultant that convinced that my mobility at my age was more important than waiting until it got too bad!
The first knee I was lucky to be covered by private health insurance this time it was on the NHS with a different consultant.
Let me know how you get on!
Going in on the 18th for a new knee. Had a spinal for my last op, and hopefully will have one this time. Hope you continue to do well, I'll be interested in your progress! M x
Hi Pauline, good to hear you are up and about. Are you going to rehab? Im sure there is a long way to go before you are bouncing off the walls olympic style instead of hyrdotherapy post TKR but give it a week or two 
Good luck with the recovery!
the NHS only offers a couple of sessions of physio, although they do give you some exercises to do! I shall book some private physio/hydrotherapy sessions & have bought an exercise bike.
At the moment it's still quite sore, especially as other joints are suffering because of it.
That sounds good... I'm impressed at your having an exercise bike to ride. Understandably you are still sore, its early days. Yes you will have to watch those other joints, make sure they dont get overused or used inappropriately. I just had a sling on for a few months and it was enough to flare the arthritis in my spine because I was trying to counter balance by always tilting to one side whilst leaning on my stick. Anyways take care, I hope the pain lessens soon and you are back to riding that bike in no time.
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