MT work after total knee replacement
Posted By: mthanded on 2007-11-15
In Reply to:
I'm having a left total knee replacement next week and was just wondering if any one out there has had this done and if so, in what time frame did you return to transcription. thanks.
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I had a knee replacement....SM
five years ago. Worst experience of my life. I took narcotic pain meds for about two months, then switched to Advil and Aleve. It takes quite a while for all the pain to go away. Miserable surgery.
sorry, that first line should read AFTER a knee replacement. nm
x
how long, on average, average a knee replacement would one be on Oxycontin?(sm)
My DH recently had knee replacement surgery a month and a half ago. The doctor has been prescribing oxycontin 30 mg this entire time. Husband has been trying to wean off of it and is down to 10 mg. He asked the doctor if he could come off it completely and the doc said to "just keep taking it." His next visit is in two months. With all the discussion lately about pain medication addiction, is it normal to be on this medication for this long and for the doctor to say "just keep taking it?" How long should one be on this med?
Do most of you work with some noise on or do you like total quiet?
I go between working with just silence to working with a light radio in the background. Love the radio but wonder as far as being productive is that a good or bad thing. I know music can stimulate your brain and all that to be productive, but in MT I wonder about it since it's such a concentration-requiring job.
Sounds like where I used to work- PHNS- 5% of our total MONTHLY - sm
work was our limit to QA. You'd get your butt chewed off if you went over that....and this was 80% hard ESL too. Totally unrealistic. They did not penalize you though, but that was a while ago too, now, who knows, wouldn't put it past them.
Replacement
Since I pick up and deliver I need to find replacements locally and my accounts do not realy like to go with anyone else. If it is less than 3 days they ask that they hold it until I come back, when that is 4 docs it gets a little rushed when I return. Finally took 3 work days off this summer with a weekend and they said that they would rather wait a day or two for the dictation than get someone else they did not know. But I do have some back up if it is a week or so but that hasn't been in the past five years. If I get sick, again they are very considerate and wait for the work. Have had these 4 accounts for 5 to 15 years so we have a history and they are happy with my work. So usually if you have been doing their dictation for a while they will work with you for a few days or illness. I mean, they take vacations and time off and we don't get paid. Like I have said many times, my accounts are really pretty good to me and but I provide a very good service and some extras and so we treat each other pretty equal.
Patti
**replacement**
Don't know about knee
replacement but I broke my leg (tib/fib) and was able to work once I had the cast on.
The wonderful thing about our jobs is, no commuting!
I need a sample hip replacement...thanks nm
x
Star's replacement...
I like Gayle King (Oprah's BFF), so I hope this rumor's true. Rosie, Gayle, and Joy should make a nice combo. I may actually start watching The View again! 
I know sometimes my knee does cough...
right knee pain
I am not an older MT, but I have been doing this for over 13 years and I just started to notice this last year that my right knee started to hurt, so I change my foot pedal to my left foot, and it really helps, so I have become ambidextrous with my foot pedal.
Fractured knee cap
I fractured my knee cap and had to have surgery on it with several pins and wires in it and Vicodin did not work for me and so they put me on OxyContin and was on it on and off for about 2 to 3 months. But I did not take it religiously just when the pain got really bad and especially whe I started through PT and had to move that knee cap to break away the scar tissue. A knee replacement takes longer to heal and recover from than a hip replacement and when I was typing for an Ortho it took up to six months sometimes. But I just say, don't take the pain pills if he doesn't need them and usually the doc will say, take up to 30 mg a day -- meaning if you need it and a lot of people just think, well he said to take it and so I will. But I am not a doctor and also recommend that you contact the doctor or NP if they have one or just his assistant.
knee surgery
half days for a week. Should have stayed off the full time but did rest when I at home.
When comptemplating podiatry work the surgeon said no work for two weeks till off the pain meds due to thought processes possibly being affected.
knee-slappin' LOL (nm)
.
Had 2 knee scopes
On the same knee for a torn medial meniscus 11 mos. apart. I've been a fitness maniac forever, so it was all of that stuff. The day after the surgery I went to the gym on crutches and did cardio with the ergometer. My sports medicine doc knew it was pointless to even say anything, but his partner told me "it's abuse" when I had biceps tendinitis. Oh, well. The 2nd MR showed a recurrence of the tear, but my SMD told me that's commonly seen on MR but it's not actually torn. So I did conservative stuff for a month as I recall, and it still hurt. The second time it was basically debris.
I did my PT in the gym with my trainer, but even so, it was the worst surgery to recover from (& I was in good shape, I guess). This is comparing it to all the neck surgeries, too. The reason it was so bad was the wt-bearing.
I hope you do well with it, as many people do. The main thing I would advise you is to do everything possible to not limp. It doesn't take long to teach yourself to walk a new way after this surgery, and I found it annoying to have to go back and concentrate on the "heel-toe" walking. Even when my trainer wasn't beating me up (therapy-wise), I was constantly stretching my quads and hams. Another really good exercise at some point to strengthen is the sitting leg lift. Yes, you'll be in tears, but they're worth it.
Elevating it is still like breathing to me all these years later. The treadmill bothers me, but the StepMill (the moving stairs thingy) is okay.
My guess is that you'll get lots of varied answers. Just don't let yourself get stiff or allow yourself to limp. Those are my 2 main suggestions. I don't envy you one bit.
Training your replacement isn't your job. Period. nm
s
how do you use DA 127D c phone replacement?
I thought I was buying a regular old clunky c phone. I can't get the foot pedal to respond or find out how to play out loud. Help please.
Menopause and hormone replacement. sm
I am 3 years from my last period and have refrained from taking hormones because of a family history of breast and uterine cancer in my mother. I have not felt well for some time and have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. My GYN thinks that bio-identical hormones would make me feel more myself but I have been reluctant to take them. For those of you taking hormones..do they make you feel a lot better? Thanks for any advice.
hormone replacement therapy
I have been on Premarin 1.25 mg since my 20's (surgical induced menopause) and on 0.9 mg for the past few years, am 53 and have absolutely no menopausal symptoms and no side effects of any kind. It is worth it.
Not sure how you feel about hormone replacement, sm
but it might be something to consider. I went through menopause relatively early, and I had horrible hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, etc. I remember once I received an email from my boss asking me to spend the day working on my secondary account, and I sat here crying, knowing that what she really meant was that I wasn't good enough to work on my primary account. Looking back, it is funny, but it was not so funny then. I felt like I was going crazy. 
I finally broke down and saw an OB/GYN. She is an advocate of natural hormone replacement, but gave me a book to read about it and in the meantime gave me estrogen patches and progesterone pills, and it was a godsend. I got through the tough times, and now I take nothing.
It sounds like you have a lot going on, and if you could get rid of the menopausal symptoms, maybe you could see things a bit more clearly and address those issues as well. It is tough to uproot your life and move away from friends and family. My heart goes out to you.
Good luck to you. It will get better. 
replacement covers for earphones
Does anyone know where I can get replacement covers for my earphones? I am using a Pearlcorder microcassette machine and they are small?
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess ..
... that Jesus Christ is Lord!
No, manure has nothing to do with knee pain.
It had nothing to do with it whatsoever, and for all you know OPs patient could have been there for strep throat. Prayer wouldn't have anything to do with that either.
I am a very proud Christian, but the whole issue here is ridiculous. She didn't start a discussion, she just asked a question as to whether it should be in there. There's a simple answer...yes. It was dictated, so yes. It does not require the whole tolerance lecture or have anything to do with beliefs at all.
post knee surgery
i had arthroscopic knee surgery a week and a half ago. my MRI showed fluid and a medial meniscus tear, but when the doctor got into the knee he said it was very angry looking and inflamed and he couldn't really find anything to be causing that inflammation. he couldn't even find the tear, but did find some frayed cartilage that he shaved off. he said he did about 5 laps around my knee trying to find a source of my problem, but did not find it, except for the above mentioned. my knee still feels stiff and very, very tender around the kneecap. it hurts when the skin is pulled up or down, the entire kneecap area. the incisions are healing nicely, but i am still having swelling and pain and stiffness. it's better than pre-surgery, but it just seems to me that i should be "better" by now. my doctor told me i can go ahead and do whatever i want to do and let pain be my guide. it seems like my knee felt better a few days ago and now it seems to be getting stiff again, and it's not for lack of exercise or use. i do ROM exercises and go up and down steps, trying not to baby my knee. i keep hoping it's going to just get better but i'm getting just a little disheartened at this point. has anyone else had a similar experience? my doctor said he was going to be cautiously optimistic that he "fixed" the problem. i certainly am trying to be too but this morning when coming down my steps i was walking very awkwardly due to stiffness and pain. any thoughts are appreciated.
there was an old post - someone asking about a knee lever - sm
The foot pedal was getting to her (me to), i.e., swollen ankles, soreness, etc., and she wanted to know if there was such a thing as a knee lever/gadget to alleviate the problem. Or if anyone could rig something.
No one had a solution but many said they started working in a recliner and posted pictures of their set up.
was intersting. I myself have built a box with an angle to both raise the pedal and take the angle off my ankle.
Learned at my mother's knee.
Literally. 37 years ago she was the transcriber (that's what we were called then) for a 10-man (yes, they were all men) multispecialty group here in town. She needed extra help, I knew how to type and spell, and I had passed high school biology, so she dragged me in, kicking and screaming. I was not given a choice. A couple of years after that, I was hired part time at the OB-GYN office down the street. In 1976 I had my first full-time job, in an orthopedic office. In 1981 I went to work part time at another multispecialty clinic, and part time in an oncology office. That segued into nearly 28 years in oncology, and some more part time orthopedics on the side. Last fall my boss closed his practice, and I went to work for one of the big nationals. I still type for one orthopedist on the side.
With 36 years of clinical experience, TRS took a chance on me, and now they are up-training me into acute care. Actually, the only thing "new" to me, besides the actual dictators, is the op reports. I've done literally hundreds of consults and H & Ps over the years, and a discharge summary is just kind of a truncated H & P, if you ask me; so I'm not sure I "get" what the huge deal is about "acute care."
C-phone foot pedal replacement
Thanks...I had made a crude connection myself with electrical tape years ago for a higher volume without the headset, but it didn't work too well. The one from Radio Shack may work much better. I'm sure the sound recorder would have shortcut keys for fast-forward and rewind, but I'm not sure where to find sound recorder on Windows Professional. I'll try to find it now and make a shortcut on the desktop. Thanks again!
I got a replacement spring at my hardware store .... sm
take your remaining spring as a sample for the gauge ... i had to buy one a foot long, irrc, and cut it with scissors but I think it cost under $2. you might call around to save time ... I used an "old time" amazing local hardware store but I suspect my local Ace hardware would have something too .. (but doubt home depot or Lowes would) ...
There are several reasons I have half a dozen "dead" keyboards in my shed ... and this is one ... I think later models weren't made with this "feature" (the spring under tension poppping out and impossible to find feature, that is) ;-)
Prince looked good for having a hip replacement...LOL...nm
nm
Any knee/back pain sufferers out there? sm
What are your favorite shoes to wear that don't make your knees hurt? My back doesn't hurt if I wear Birkenstocks but my knees hurt if I do. I've tried countless types of arch supports and the ones that help my knees don't help my back. I have arthritis in both areas and the cartilage in my knees are shot due to degeneration. Yesterday I wore my Birkenstock inserts I recently got in my sneakers while I ran around Wal-Mart and boy am I ever paying for that today - my knees are killing me! Any advice would be appreciated.
Had knee MRI - "erosion of meniscus" results (sm)
as I was told by the nurse who phoned in the results. I will be referred to an orthopedist for further new. Anyone had this or any info on it?
Knee-hi support stockings, get up at least once an hour,
s
I had bilateral arthroscopic knee surgery for sm
internal derangement, synovitis, chondromalacia, etc. The doc told me I would have "healing pain" that would be worse than the original pain as my patellae learned to track in the proper groove. It took several months before I stopped having pain. I had all kinds of fluid--big bags of fluid flopping under my knees,stiffness, swelling, and heat. For lunch break I'd walk the length of the mall next door and at home would do plies (sp?) (ballet) while holding and cuddling my 10-pound cat. It was a long, long haul, but it eventually ended. Wish I hadn't waited so long for that surgery!
You'll get better. It takes a while.
Not sure when Abby & Luca reunited, but I think Carrie had a hip replacement.
Only one knee hurts, have trouble with full extension
so I learned how to work the foot pedal with the other leg. The more I keep my post surgical knee bent, the tighter the muscles coming into the back of the joint get. I have to stand and toe and heel stretch to work out the stiffness. Summer will be here soon and swimming does wonders for the knees...it always makes my flares go away.
Luka is a poor replacement for my main man George Clooney.
Maybe it's the scripts he is given. He just doesn't have the star quality and charm that George had but who could follow George Clooney? Not Luka. Of course I gave up watching ER awhile ago when it became Bizaarro World with B actors so maybe Luka has changed?
As dictated, we may start urine replacement at 0.5 cc/mL for output greater than.....
x
These knee jerk bleeding heart liberals could not take responsibility for their
actions if it hit them in the face as it did with Mrs. Twitty. The Arubans are sick and tired of her and frankly so am I. Wash the makeup off your face, take off the false eyelashes and go grieve for your daughter.
Does hormone replacement (specifically low dose Prempro) cause you to gain weight? nm
nm
TOTAL RIP OFF
This is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard - VERY BAD SITUATION!!
I have 4 total - not 5.
nm
Total BS.
What company do you work for? Give me a name!
Total gym, etc. - sm
 I am being very careful. The videos online are very instructional and I am going slow and easy at first. I also have a Tony Little "gazelle" and do 1/2 hour at a time and at a good pace now that I have used it for more than 1 year. Hope to do Pilates once a day and the "gazelle" later in the day, but will pace myself.
Thank you for your concern. I did also consider the Total Gym, but went to our local Play It Again Sports store and found this Pilates for $59 so thought I would start here. If I really, really use it and like it I will possibly invest in a better one, but for now this is where I am.
p.s. Most any exercise equipment is available "used" so you might shop around before investing too much money, see how it works for you, and then think about perhaps spending your money on something either better or new.
Total Burn Out
Well, I've tried everything to change my attitude & outlook & always feel I've succeeded until I log on every morning & encounter the worst of the worst ESL or American Doc on a cell phone dictating 50 feet away from the mouthpiece with every extraneous background noise imaginable! I can handle a few of those in a row, but that seems to be the majority of what I now get, with dictation times varying from 3-4 hrs or more apart to minutes - depending on who the doctor is.
I'm seriously questioning why I'm doing this to myself on a daily basis as I, too, have only seen my income decline, my hours increase, & am mentally wiped out at the end of the day. I'm doing good to fix something for dinner, let alone anything else that needs to be done! I just seem to sit here in a daze and/or stupor every evening - telling myself tomorrow will be better!
And, Whining Wendy, you're not alone. I thought the days of crying out of total frustration & despair ended in the 60s when I was a "Newbie". Wrong!! During the last 2-3 yrs, this has & is being encountered by me almost on a daily basis - & I'm an "Oldie". In years past, once you mastered deciphering an accent, doc, etc., your days of frustration were over. Now, working for a National, I have found that every day is filled with different, new doc's, new accents, etc. Problem arises when after you finally master an "impossible" dictator, you find that in 6 months or more, since you were so "good" - you get all of his horrible, undecipherable dictation again - none of which is consistent nor repetitive of prior dictations. Back to frustration level 1.
I hate to say it, but my love for this profession has totally been annhilated. Really wish I could offer words of encouragement or suggestions but, at the moment, I have none. I'm just really saddened to see how many of us feel this way & what has happened to a once highly regarded, elite, "profession."
Never in my life have I ever pictured myself working at "Bob Evans" (Geez - could just picture it all now - dumping trays of food, etc.); however, went to dinner there the other evening & they had an Ad posted in their window for help wanted. Jokingly, told hubby I thought I'd apply for the job. Sad thing is, his reply was that I'd probably make more money & be less stressed!
I don't know where we're all headed & wish I had answers & a magic wand - but I regretfully don't. I do know I'm seriously looking into what other options are available to me.
Sorry all - just venting after a very, very bad week, on top of my normal very bad weeks, only now with a Bonus offered until the end of the pay period. Just another stark realization that with the dictators in my pool, that is an impossible, unattainable bonus to achieve unless I want to work 24/7 trying to decipher such. My price to pay for being an experienced, good, at-home, Oldie?
total agreement with you - sm
I myself am in favor of trying to find out which hospitals outsource the work to India and then writing letters to the local newspapers as "letter to the editor" kind of thing to let the residents of the area know that their medical records are being sent out to India. But that's just my opinion.
That would be a total ripoff - s/m
Works out to 5,500 characters per $5 - or $0.0009 cpl.
Just say NO.
I have a total of 9 accounts.
x
We had maybe four kids total.
When we used to live in the "suburbia" neighborhood by the schools, we went through hundreds of pieces of candy.
I use Total Assistant Pro
and it works great for me. You can download the trial version and then purchase after 30 days if you like. It does all the work for you. I love it.
total cost
Total cost of $60 for two phone lines, which includes taxes, etc. It also includes call waiting and voice mail. But my C-phone line has nothing on it, no call waiting, etc. by my choice. First month on my residential phone is free because they are just starting up in my area.
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