I just wandered onto your thread and saw that you have gone through several revisions. I just found out today that I need to have a revision on my TKR from July. I have one question. How were you able to go through it all again after it wasn't right the first time? I'm just totally panicked about the thought of having it becoming even worse than it is now.
I'm glad you found me
@newlybionic
I was able to go through it a 2nd time and a 3rd time because I knew I could not continue to live my life with what I had. Pain, swelling, ROM 50, walking with a limp. That is just not me. I am active and athletic. I would not just "Settle" (as in my thread title).
My 1st TKR was nothing short of horrid, was a bad, bad, bad, horrible painful experience. When I found out I needed a revision I cried but at the same time I knew I had to do it. I was pleasantly surprised that the revision was not as painful as the original TKR, and I recovered fast and very well. But...I started going backwards again with pain, swelling, loss of ROM due to aggressive growing scar tissue.. So two months short of two years I had a second revision because I finally got a new doctor who listened to me and took both my previous knees into account. He wanted to know if I had ever been metal allergy tested. I told him I had not, no doctor had ever even brought up the subject before.
Long story short, I paid $600 out of my pocket to have metal allergy/TKR cement testing done, a blood test which is way more accurate than a skin patch test. My blood was overnighted to a special lab in Chicago, and each sample was tested with about 8 different metals and a couple of cements. Turned out I was allergic to nickel and chromium. My Stryker knee was made of nickel. So another revision to take out the Stryker knee. There was no deciding, it just had to be done.
The most painful parts of revision for me are the tibia. Chiseling out the implant in the tibia that leaves that shin bone sore to weight bearing even now at 8 weeks. I remember with my first revision it took 12 weeks to stop hurting. But the overall recovery from both revisions have been soooo much better than the original TKR. They were able to now pick the right knee for me that I would not be allergic to. I think that the 1st TKR is the worst because that is when your bones are originally sawed, drilled and hammered.
I know it's a scary thought, but if it will give you a better quality of life then you've got to do it. Think of it as a finish line!! You want to cross it!! Never give up, keep trying, don't settle for what you've got!