Knee Update
On Monday I went to the orthopedic surgeon's office to have my staples removed. I did much better than I thought I would with that...didn't pass out! Yay! I wanted to for a minute or two, but was able to keep it away.
I let the doc know about the pain in my calf. That was horrible pain and was making it harder and harder for me to walk. It stunk since I was just beginning to walk with one crutch okay by the Wednesday or Thursday after the surgery. This calf pain seemed to be making me regress a bit.
The orthopedic surgeon sent me immediately to the hospital to have a vascular doppler to check for blood clots and wanted the results faxed to him. I had the doppler completed and sure enough I have deep vein thrombosis (blood clot). The radiologist called the doctor rather than fax the results and I was sent to the ER to be admitted to the hospital.
My mom and I waited forever for me to be seen in the ER. I think it was about 5 hours from the time I arrived in the ER to the time I was actually seen by a doctor. I was given a shot of Lovenox in my stomach and told I was to be on strict bed rest (not sure how that works with physical therapy...). Then, I sat on a gurney for 3 hours before I was taken to a room. Finally arrived at the room about midnight. My roommate, a lady that I had seen in the ER, arrived about 12:30. It was a rough night for both of us. The nurses were in and out non-stop for both of us. I got up about 4a to go to the bathroom and the pain was so intense I began to cry by the time I got back to the bed. It was the worst pain I had had since the surgery, and it was the calf, not the knee that hurt.
Tuesday was an okay day. The hospital doctor came to see me and I was to get Coumadin that evening. I was told I would learn how to give myself the Lovenox injections and would take Coumadin in the evenings. The orthopedic surgeon came by to see me as well. He was concerned about the blood clot but still wants me to work to be able to lift my leg on its own and to be able to bend it. In other words, wants the reconstruction surgery to work for me. The DVT has the potential to set me back in my recovery period. My mom spent most of the day with me and a friend came by that afternoon. And, we had pizza!! So much better than the hospital food I had been made to eat. My friend left about 7:30 or so. It didn't take me long until I was snoozing. They had to TRY and wake me up for shift change and vitals check. I remember sticking out my arm from under the covers and that was it. I woke up at 4:30 and asked for pain meds and to have assistance to go to the bathroom. The nurse was horrible. Gave me my pain meds. I had to ask her for the crutches to be able to go to the bathroom. She left the room before I was even out of the bed! Glad I didn't fall or anything.
I barely woke up the next morning for vitals checks. The doctor came in and said that I could go home. That was at 10:30. I think I was finally discharged and out of the hospital by 4. What a process!! But, the swelling in my leg had gone down some. That was good. I came home and immediately went on the hunt for my meds. Found out the Lovenox had to be special ordered and it took about 24 hours to get it. Then realized that the script had the wrong name on it!! OMG. We called the hospital and were told to call the doc. That office said to have the pharmacy call. So, we were off to Target to get my scripts filled. Quite painful. I think I stayed in bed the rest of the evening. And, pretty much since then. The swelling is going down and the bruising looks better. I am back to being able to walk with one crutch part of the time. I can bend my leg a bit; and can lift the leg to the bed and am able to get off the bed on my own now and with minimal pain. All good signs in the healing process.
I had lab work done today and will go back on Monday for more. After that, I am not sure how it will work. My blood levels need to get to a certain point before I am able to stop the Lovenox injections in my stomach. I guess it is a good thing that needles don't bother me and I can give myself shots. I will be on the Coumadin for some time. I will have another doppler in 3 months to see how the DVT is doing. I guess the course of treatment will go from there.
I think that is about it for now. Hoping that my recovery will continue in forward motion and that I will be able to begin the physical therapy soon.
I let the doc know about the pain in my calf. That was horrible pain and was making it harder and harder for me to walk. It stunk since I was just beginning to walk with one crutch okay by the Wednesday or Thursday after the surgery. This calf pain seemed to be making me regress a bit.
The orthopedic surgeon sent me immediately to the hospital to have a vascular doppler to check for blood clots and wanted the results faxed to him. I had the doppler completed and sure enough I have deep vein thrombosis (blood clot). The radiologist called the doctor rather than fax the results and I was sent to the ER to be admitted to the hospital.
My mom and I waited forever for me to be seen in the ER. I think it was about 5 hours from the time I arrived in the ER to the time I was actually seen by a doctor. I was given a shot of Lovenox in my stomach and told I was to be on strict bed rest (not sure how that works with physical therapy...). Then, I sat on a gurney for 3 hours before I was taken to a room. Finally arrived at the room about midnight. My roommate, a lady that I had seen in the ER, arrived about 12:30. It was a rough night for both of us. The nurses were in and out non-stop for both of us. I got up about 4a to go to the bathroom and the pain was so intense I began to cry by the time I got back to the bed. It was the worst pain I had had since the surgery, and it was the calf, not the knee that hurt.
Tuesday was an okay day. The hospital doctor came to see me and I was to get Coumadin that evening. I was told I would learn how to give myself the Lovenox injections and would take Coumadin in the evenings. The orthopedic surgeon came by to see me as well. He was concerned about the blood clot but still wants me to work to be able to lift my leg on its own and to be able to bend it. In other words, wants the reconstruction surgery to work for me. The DVT has the potential to set me back in my recovery period. My mom spent most of the day with me and a friend came by that afternoon. And, we had pizza!! So much better than the hospital food I had been made to eat. My friend left about 7:30 or so. It didn't take me long until I was snoozing. They had to TRY and wake me up for shift change and vitals check. I remember sticking out my arm from under the covers and that was it. I woke up at 4:30 and asked for pain meds and to have assistance to go to the bathroom. The nurse was horrible. Gave me my pain meds. I had to ask her for the crutches to be able to go to the bathroom. She left the room before I was even out of the bed! Glad I didn't fall or anything.
I barely woke up the next morning for vitals checks. The doctor came in and said that I could go home. That was at 10:30. I think I was finally discharged and out of the hospital by 4. What a process!! But, the swelling in my leg had gone down some. That was good. I came home and immediately went on the hunt for my meds. Found out the Lovenox had to be special ordered and it took about 24 hours to get it. Then realized that the script had the wrong name on it!! OMG. We called the hospital and were told to call the doc. That office said to have the pharmacy call. So, we were off to Target to get my scripts filled. Quite painful. I think I stayed in bed the rest of the evening. And, pretty much since then. The swelling is going down and the bruising looks better. I am back to being able to walk with one crutch part of the time. I can bend my leg a bit; and can lift the leg to the bed and am able to get off the bed on my own now and with minimal pain. All good signs in the healing process.
I had lab work done today and will go back on Monday for more. After that, I am not sure how it will work. My blood levels need to get to a certain point before I am able to stop the Lovenox injections in my stomach. I guess it is a good thing that needles don't bother me and I can give myself shots. I will be on the Coumadin for some time. I will have another doppler in 3 months to see how the DVT is doing. I guess the course of treatment will go from there.
I think that is about it for now. Hoping that my recovery will continue in forward motion and that I will be able to begin the physical therapy soon.
posted by Sarah | 8:14 PM
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