ORTHOPEDIC KNEE SURGERY - POST OP

I'm entering my six weeks of Post Op Surgery. Am I glad I did it? Yes I am. Were there painfull moments? Most definitely. Was it worth it? Yes it was. Am I fully recovered? Nope, not yet, but well on my way. Did I have answered prayers? Most definitely.

Post Surgery, as I was coming out of the spinal block, I felt pretty good, until it wore off. Unfortunately, the nerve block they give you did not work on me. I was in a lot of pain. It felt like a vice was clamping down on my knee. A pain unlike any other on my knee. It took a couple extra hours of pain meds to finally get my pain and blood pressure under control.

I went home about 5 hours after surgery. The next couple days were painful, but controlled by pain meds. One thing I will tell you, (and someone told me this) take the pain meds as directed. Don't be a hero and don't wait for the pain. You need to be ahead of the pain.

I will say that the nurses at Kaiser Pre and Post Op were awesome. They were so patient and caring.

The first two weeks I had physical therapy at home. The therapists I had were awesome. They were patient and encouraging. Gave me some great pointers. Remember to ice before and after therapy. Also, take your pain meds prior to therapy. Both will help make therapy less stressful.

I'm at my fourth week of therapy at Kaiser. Again, I have had three therapists who have been amazing. I am walking with a cane, but also on my walker for long distances. The goal for straightened knee is 0 and I met that last week. The bent knee goal is 120 and I hit 118 last week. One thing I can tell you is to be patient. I'm a very competitive person even with myself, so I overdid it toward the end of last week and definitely paid for it. Take your time and pace yourself, so you don't experience a setback. By the end of last week I was hurting because I had tried walking too much with my cane and not using my walker. (I had to learn the hard way.) So I am having to rest this weekend and give my knees some love.

The best recommendations I can give you is:

1. Start an exercise program prior to surgery. It is important to get the muscles ready for the rehab program. The stronger the muscles are prior to surgery, the better the rehab will progress. (I couldn't straighten my knee prior to surgery, so I had to work on it with exercises.)

2. Follow all instructions post surgery and don't poo poo pain meds. They and Ice can be your friends. Also, make sure to massage your knee and scar.

3. After your staples are removed, it is important to massage your knee and to use oils for healing. I used Vitality Essentials Frankensense and Skin Envy to promote healing and at 5 weeks my scar is healing well.

4. One thing I found helpful prior to each PT session was to apply heat and massage to my knee. Physcical therapists often recommend heat before stretching or rehabilitation exercises to enhance flexibility and blood flow. I did this with my IR Knee Massager that you will find on my Product Review Page. (This product also helps prior to surgery) I saw the difference when I didn't use it. I was more stiff and less flexible.

5. BE PATIENT! Don't try to be the hero and beat the record. (Yep, speaking from experience) Recovery takes time.

6. DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE PAIN. Women, do you remember your birth pain? No. because it was worth it right? .you'll forget this pain also, as it is also worth it.