Surgery Tomorrow

[Kelleytoons]

Okay so this is my first (and most likely, last) post in this sub-forum, but I wanted to thank ALL the wonderful folks here who have helped me SO much in my kratom journey. Every single one of you who replied thoughtfully (and especially those of you who PMed me and ESPECIALLY the two who sent me free stuff in the mail): just can't thank you enough.

Tomorrow I go in for knee replacement surgery, nothing life threatening but ANY kind of procedure that involves you getting sleepy and them cutting into you purposefully (and then taking months to heal) can be dangerous. I hope to be back here ASAP, at the very least in two or three weeks as I start my kratom again (I've been off it for a week and for the next two weeks I'll be doing "traditional" pain relieving drugs) but if for some dire reason you never hear from me again know that I truly cared a tremendous amount for nearly all of you (even the ones I've had some disagreements with :>).

I don't know what I would have done without such a supportive community - I was getting my "garbage" kratom from a bulk supplier and while it was *okay* it was no where near the quality I was able to get when I started coming here. Even better, I learned so much more about how to use it properly, and then got honored to get memberships in some very exclusive "clubs". Hopefully I'll be around to keep using those perks.

In the future I'm looking for using my kratom for more of a joyful experience than just trying not to scream due to all the pain I'm currently (usually) in - that will be wonderful. But no matter what, I can't imagine life without kratom in it in some capacity. Thanks again to all here, and I wish you all the best of luck in your own kratom discoveries.

[IndelibleDotInk]

I'd trust your surgery goes smooth like butter, but it's the recovery that is a PITA. Are you doing both? I heard clients who plan to do them separate often decide to skip the second knee since the pain of rehabbing is so great.

I think you'll do well, you are a great asset to our place here, sharing wisdom and wit. Let us know if you could use some help somehow in some way.

Aloha

[herbalhippie]

Best wishes, Kellytoons! I hope you have a quick healing and then no more knee pain!

[Lokey]

Hope all goes well in your surgery and recovery and see you back here soon!

[Kelleytoons]

I'd trust your surgery goes smooth like butter, but it's the recovery that is a PITA. Are you doing both? I heard clients who plan to do them separate often decide to skip the second knee since the pain of rehabbing is so great.

I had my left knee completely replaced three years ago. Yes, it's painful - the first two weeks are absolute hell, but it keeps getting much better after that. But my right has gotten so bad I can't even sleep WITH kratom so it's time. And this time it will be a partial (I asked my doc "Will it be less painful than the first?" and he said no, about the same. I said "Is rehab less time?" And he said, no, the same. And I asked "Then what's different?" and he said "it's a lot less work for me" :>)

All seriousness aside, the partial is the best fit for this time, and this time they DO have a new device I get to take home that pumps pain meds into that leg via computer control for five days. It's supposed to reduce pain by around 80% and given that last time I didn't have it and managed I'm very hopeful this time (and also many, many drugs are coming home with me :>).

I had to quit tennis over a month ago because I just couldn't move - so if I can get back onto the court by summer I'll be thrilled.

[froggy33]

Good luck and best wishes with your surgery Kelley. Follow Drs orders and all will be well. Wishing a great outcome and tennis in the future for you.

[mowgli]

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery. See ya here in a couple weeks.

[Loveandpeace]

Well, the Lord just takes em too soon, sometimes!!

You have been a verbose pleasure Kelleytoons. Good luck with the surgery, it seems you got it covered. The DW must be applauding this change.

I send you warm and fuzzy emotions -- the good kind

I hope you are back soon, if not... I think everyone here understands the importance of a good break.

[IndelibleDotInk]

it sounds like you're a surgery veteran, but lemme get my suggestion in... put some tunes on your phone so you can listen to it as you go under. It'll all go fast, maybe you'd hear up to five seconds, but it could set the mood, and if it's on during your recovery, it may help. people tend to go nutty when they wake up.

[Kelleytoons]

Yeah, I'm not *quite* sure how that would work (I'm having a spinal block which doesn't get put on until I'm in the operating area - I'm *pretty* sure they won't allow me to bring my phone in there :>).

Prior to that they will give me some happy juice in my IV to kind of prepare me while they wheel me in, but (based on last time) I'm pretty fully awake until the actual block is inserted. Supposedly there is retrograde amnesia, but I pretty well remember most of the start of the operation last time (trust me, I'd be fine not remembering :>).

Good news about doing it this way is I'm never really "under" - because it's not a general you tend to wake up fast and pretty refreshed (and not at all sick). I had done a LOT of research about this for my first knee and wanted the spinal and actually had to argue the anesthesiologist into doing it (his position was "we don't do those in this hospital"). Lo and behold for THIS surgery it's now the norm because of all the advantages over conventional general (the older I get the more I discover you need to be proactive for your health and not let doctors push you around).

But thanks for the kind words - I'm up at 3am here because my surgery got pushed up to the first of the day, and we are just about to leave for the hospital. My biggest concern is the IV - I've had issues in the past with them trying to start one, so I'm hydrating myself now (this is, once again, against their conventional wisdom of not having anything after midnight the night before but I did clear this with my doc first - he said as long as I did it reasonably it was fine. Again - you are told some things by the establishment but in the end it's up to you to do what you think is best). I actually had done this for my first knee WITHOUT telling my surgeon, but this time I thought I'd run it by him and he kind of laughed about it and said it was fine.

[AliJustali]

I just wanted to say good luck with your surgery! I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

[IndelibleDotInk]

i was in a stupor about half an hour after i got through with some procedure which pretty much put me out, babbling, and a middle-aged/older nurse had to deal with me groping her boob, saying, 'oh Michael' and being sweet and patient, and not slapping me, lol. I said, 'mmnnnffrrrnome,' and went to bed.

[IndelibleDotInk]

how ya doin?

[Kelleytoons]

I'm pretty fine, thanks for asking.

I wrote in the Daily thread about what I'm doing so I won't repeat it, but the nerve blocking meds are working great and I think a little kratom to supplement will be just the ticket for at least the days the pump is available. I will have to switch to the (very heavy) opioids they gave me after that I suspect, but I'm still shooting to be back on kratom only in two or three weeks (they think I can drive in about four weeks).

Someone on this thread talked about getting both knees done at once and I wanted to elaborate for any of you considering this. Recovery time with a "good" leg to help is MUCH faster. You can't believe how much that good leg can support your body getting in and out of beds, chairs, on the toilet, and just in the walker. I've seen folks doing both knees and in every single case in PT they were MONTHS behind me - took them three months what took me five weeks or so.

Of course, the catch is that one of your knees needs to be "decent". If they are both so bad you are wheelchair bound (or even heavily relying on a walker) then two might be the only option. Otherwise I have complete confidence in recommending one at a time. And with the modern stuff they now have (like this nerve block pump) and, of course, our kratom you should be able to manage things just fine (he says - we'll see how this recovery goes. The last one was painful but I've been lifting weights for over half a century and "no pain no gain" so it doesn't scare me at all).

[IndelibleDotInk]

I had both legs broken at once, but no one mentioned PT, and I never thought about it. (This was like, 1998) So, cluelessly, I just rolled around in a wheelchair (amazing how much you can do with them) instead of having a plan and working it (as I do now and both legs are fully functional and support my chubbiness, which is my current plan - to eliminate that belly). I did slowly go to a walker for a few weeks, then just the velcro wrap cast like things which I could walk in, but I should have been hyped by a therapist and worked and did rehab. ah, well, long time ago.

[Kelleytoons]

Hmm, 1998? I don't know why they wouldn't have been talked to you about PT back then but perhaps times *were* different.

I had major back surgery in 1989 (so about a decade previous) and no PT was even thought about. But nowadays it's like the number one thing they check on with you about almost anything. My wife broke her shoulder... PT. I dislocated my elbow... PT. I did the first knee and now the second and will be spending weeks getting rehabbed.

For some things it's *REALLY* important - with the knee you don't want to have reduced range of motion (the idea is to get to 125 degrees - I got up to 135 and they said it was the best they had ever seen). Otherwise the healing that takes place, with the scar tissue and such, won't allow you to bend your knee properly. So I can't imagine anyone getting either hip or knee (or shoulder) replacement without a LOT of PT afterwards.

It's truly very painful - imagine hurting somewhere a lot and then the idea is to move that part even further to get even MORE pain <g>. But, as I said, I lifted a lot of weights and the whole idea there is to cause yourself a certain amount of pain to grow. So I kind of enjoyed it (maybe I'm a masochist?").

[Catcrazy]

Hmm, 1998? I don't know why they wouldn't have been talked to you about PT back then but perhaps times *were* different.

I had major back surgery in 1989 (so about a decade previous) and no PT was even thought about. But nowadays it's like the number one thing they check on with you about almost anything. My wife broke her shoulder... PT. I dislocated my elbow... PT. I did the first knee and now the second and will be spending weeks getting rehabbed.

For some things it's *REALLY* important - with the knee you don't want to have reduced range of motion (the idea is to get to 125 degrees - I got up to 135 and they said it was the best they had ever seen). Otherwise the healing that takes place, with the scar tissue and such, won't allow you to bend your knee properly. So I can't imagine anyone getting either hip or knee (or shoulder) replacement without a LOT of PT afterwards.

It's truly very painful - imagine hurting somewhere a lot and then the idea is to move that part even further to get even MORE pain <g>. But, as I said, I lifted a lot of weights and the whole idea there is to cause yourself a certain amount of pain to grow. So I kind of enjoyed it (maybe I'm a masochist?").

Forgive my late post, being on Spring break, I'm getting caught up on these posts, and I'm sorry I didn't send you well-wishes and prayers on the day of your knee surgery.
Praying that you continue to heal, continue to be positive... pain is good, as they say, sounds like an oxymoron. You have a wonderful, positive and optimistic attitude about your recovery, and that's half the battle!! Praying your recovery continues to improve and your pain decreases rapidly. I have enjoyed your responses, experience and comments of kratom!! Be well and patient with your recovery!

[Kelleytoons]

Thanks - and if your name reflects your life you'll understand that our own three girls here have been helpful so far in my recovery (they know SOMETHING is wrong and they want to snuggle to make me better).

As I said above, this isn't my first rodeo and I am alive and recovering and in a few weeks all should be relatively well (the first two weeks are the worst and after that it gets better *really* fast - and now I have kratom to help me and that will be great).

[e_poison]

Glad your surgery went good! My mom just had knee replacement done on one knee this past autumn and she's doing the other this spring. It was about a 5 week recovery for her but you're right - the first 2 weeks seemed to be the worst of it and then the recovery went super smooth and fast. She felt better and better each day that went by. She's now pain free in that knee and says it was totally worth it. She's looking forward to getting the other one done now.

Rest up and feel better soon!

[IndelibleDotInk]

good cats take good care. got pics? mine are passed away, couldn't find my most recent.

[Kelleytoons]

My current fave is Molly who loves me more than her mom (unusual - in our house the cats nearly ALWAYS prefer her). Molly is my sweetie and last night gave me GOOD cuddles.

Here's a (fairly) recent pic of our three girls, with Molly the Grey/White on the right:

Ah, this forum doesn't allow uploads for images, and I'm not in a place where I can make a host site. Perhaps some other time.

[IndelibleDotInk]

Resized_20161130_183635_001.jpeg

Mei's back recovery was so fast, we barely figured out how to adjust the wheelchair to the right size before she didn't need it, like one or two times.

The smoky smaller cat is Levi, he won my affection when my mom went to the mainland, Colorado, for 3.5 months, to help my sister, her hubs, and the best nephew. By that time Max and Mei had passed, and Levi needed someone to cuddle, so despite not usually being a real touchy all night, he won me over. He's lucky he got a good long time to get reacquainted with mom when she got back, cause i would eject him from my bed halfway through the night.

[IndelibleDotInk]

hey pops (in hawaiian everyone is 'uncle' or 'aunty,' unless they are elderly and in a teacher role, then it's kupuna.) I hope you are doing well, good to hear people are being kind and generous to you, perhaps you will gift us back with a truckload or storage locker (lol, i'm sure by now you've heard the story?) full of pills?

wishing you have had a good holidays, st patty's/my mom's birthday and the upcoming hawaiian holiday for prince kuhio.

[Lokey]

Thinking of you too Kelley, hoping the pain is manageable and you're getting better every day

[Kelleytoons]

Thanks for the kind words, folks.

Two weeks (exactly) out from post-op and pain is... manageable. However, I've been taking a LOT of opioids, far more than I ever wanted to take again in my life. Today, for the first time, I'm trying my kratom to see if I can manage without anything else (it helps in that this is not a PT day, although I still have to do my exercises three times a day).

For those in the know, my rotation is 105, which is exactly 10 degrees more than last week (they want to get it to 125 - neither of the two therapists I've worked with want me to get it further, although I got to 135 on my left knee in record time). There are, essentially, three goals in post op - reduce swelling (lots of icing, compressing stockings, and a DVT machine), make sure you can "lock" your leg backwards (solid lock means you've got full extension in that direction) and rotation forward (or backwards, depending on how you look at it, but bringing the foot back up into the thigh) of 125 degrees. Reaching all three goals means you are done.

Honestly at this point I think I'm at least halfway there - which is a definite difference between my full knee replacement (I did all of it in about six weeks but usual time is 8-12 weeks). If I can keep on this path I *could* be released from PT in a week (but doubt it - they kind of hate to lose the money and always find excuses as to why you need to continue to see them). For me the big deal is being able to drive - I seem to be able to do all I can to help my (now) invalid wife EXCEPT drive (so we get friends to drive us). Once I can drive all will be as well as it ever can be until SHE'S fixed (sigh).

[Lokey]

Someone posted recently on FB about their partner who no matter what could not take kratom because it made them sick and throw up, reminded me of your wife. She had tried every way possible to mask the taste and it was torture for her to watch him suffer in pain because he just couldn't stomach it....until now. She said Happy Hippo came out with flavored kratom that masks the taste so well you can't tell it's kratom. Just wanted to pass it along.