TKR Swelling two years post op

@FitGal- oh gosh back to work so soon? I have not had follow up appt with Dr. yet so I’m not even driving - I guess you are? Well Pumpkin replied that in my case and I assume yours too, we are still inflamed. My Pt said I’m about 95 rom and is not very concerned. He has me on exercises and maybe the bike this week. It sounds like your therapy is a little more demanding and or you are a powerhouse anyway!
The pain I feel in my knee is like a searing, stabbing pain. I have had excruciating pain in shoulders and back and I guess that is inflammation for me from my Psoriatric Arthritis.
After my last therapy I could feel a lot of pain in other leg where muscles have not been worked for ages.
Can’t sleep at night as I am taking prednisone to take away some inflammation.
Felt pretty decent today. Went for Sunday drive and and got sun - now home and sleepy!
You had your surgery around July 23rd correct? I really think our ROM has to do with all the swelling and until that goes down we just cannot force it. Our poor bodies have taken a beating from surgery.
Are you feeling that sharp pain all the time and at night when you try to sleep? I still sleep with a pillow propping up my leg, and the ice machine running. Maybe you are overdoing during the day?
I know I thought I would be better too but it looks like it’s a slow process.
I hope you get some rest tonight - keep me posted!
 
Well it has been almost 5 weeks now, and although I’m doing fine in Physical Therapy, I have been in pain in back, shoulders and upper arms as well as my other bad knee that also needs to be replaced.
I went to a chiropractor who said my shoulder and arm pain was a pinched nerve which is what I suspected. He did adjustment on Monday and I felt much better but I feel the pain again today.
He said he could not believe how tight and bunched up my muscles were in my mid back. He zeroed in on one area in particular that had been killing me and prodded around and did an adjustment there to try to relieve it. I felt in much less pain when I left. Prior to going I felt my back would break at the slightest touch .
Because of Psoriatric Arthritis, my inflammation went thru the roof after surgery and I had to go back to the hospital for two additional days. I became dehydrated, and my oxygen level was very low.
Now it appears my inflammation is in control, but there is still pain in my body everywhere.
I applied for an additional week off from work as I have little stamina and due to the pain and aches that wake me up at night.

I am weaning off the pain medication to make it last. I have had two refills already. I was taking them 3 x a day initially so they lasted 10 days a script.
I only take two before Physical Therapy 3x a week.
Because the pain is more in my body, I am afraid my Dr. will not want to refill at this point in my recovery.
I can enjoy 4 hours of pain relief the days I have my therapy, but the rest of the time I am in agony.
It’s like I had a really hard workout and am sore all over, only it never goes away.
I am afraid to even go to a quick run to the market as I struggle to even get dressed. It ranges from achy to excruciating. As I write this my shoulders are starting to hurt more and more. I would love to go back to thr chiropractor but do not have anyone to drive me.

Any suggestions, advise appreciated. Sorry this is so long!
 
I'm so sorry to hear you are in this kind of pain.

If the chiropractor was helpful, could you arrange for an Uber or taxi ride to and from the clinic?

I also suggest you talk with your surgeon about your level of pain and why. Don't second guess that he won't refill your prescription until you hear it directly from him. I'm assuming you're on something like hydrocodone, so you can ask if he would agree to prescribe something a little less strong such as Tramadol until you can get your body pain under control. He may not want to do this since the pain is more than just what is associated with your surgery.

If that's the case, contact your GP or your rheumatologist to see if they can help you with some type of pain medication short term until the inflammation calms down in your body. Hopefully one or the other would agree to help you.

But if that fails as well, I suggest you get on a schedule of taking 1000mg of Extra Strength Tylenol every 6 hours. If you do this be sure you are not taking any other medications with acetaminophen in them as that would take you over the maximum 24-hour dose of 4,000mg. Acetaminophen is in a lot of medications these days, especially those used for colds, flu and allergies.

What do you normally do when you have a pain flare like this? Have you taken other medications that help?

Please tag me when you respond to my questions so I can see your comments quickly and get back to you.
 
@Jamie thank you for your quick reply.

My rheumatologist gives me a script for hydrocodone. I stretch it out for four months taking a half a day if needed.in order to get a refill, I would have to do another office visit. I time it so I get a refill when I am due back for a follow up every four months.

Before my knee replacement I started having to take one a day more and more as both knees were in such terrible shape, my lower back arthritis started getting worse, and I could hardly function.

After surgery, I took 10 mg of oxycodine 3 times a day, I was supposed to take it every four hours but supplemented it with ibuprofen in between. Now I am taking it just once, before therapy, or I save it for when I need it most to get a bit of relief.

It appears surgery triggered some type of flair in my body so basically aside with a new knee that feels much better than the other that will eventually be replaced, I have muscle aches and pains all over my body. The physical therapy is super, but it is definitely using muscles that have not been used in ages.

I also took prednisone 20-30 mg after my surgery as the inflammation put me back in the hospital.
My blood tests this week did not show anything significant however so I taped off it.
Thank you again, without you all I never would have found my Dr. after rejecting several. I feel he is outstanding and of course very busy so my first follow up appt is not until Sept 8!
 
Because of the flare, have you considered a visit to your rheumatologist now? It might be worth a consultation.
 
You're only a little over a month from your surgery. I was taking pain meds about every 6 hours at that point. If you're rationing them you're chasing the pain. I agree with Jamie that you don't know the surgeon will deny you a refill. Sometimes they just don't want to write long prescriptions--they just want to monitor but will write refills.

I had more aching everywhere for a bit after my tkr but probably not to the point of a full blown flare like you had.

Talk to your surgeon or rheumy about your pain situation.
 
@Jamie
Thank you so much. I have appt with surgeon and rheumy this week.
Do not know what I would do without you!
 
That's great. We'll look forward to hearing how your appointments go.
 
:sos::scare:Stuck in tub. Any suggestions? I knew I should have waited till my husband got home!
 
:sos::scare:Stuck in tub. Any suggestions? I knew I should have waited till my husband got home!
Can you call him? You must have a phone there, or you couldn't post, right? Hope he got home and helped you out of the tub already.
 
I'm curious as to whether you had instability in your knee before surgery and have you gotten your stability back again? My knees are both bone on bone and always try to give out. I'm waiting to find out in November if they are going to replace my hip or a knee. Hope you continue to heal with as little problem as possible.
:) :-) (:
 
Stuck in tub. Any suggestions?
Can you turn over on your tummy and walk up with your hands safely? When I'm on the floor that's the only way I can get up. Maybe it will work in the tub.
 
Sistersinhim thank you I made it out. I had to dunk a large bath towel folded up so my other knee which has not been fixed yet, had more of a cushion to kneel on. I had to heave up and out. It was so worth it. I had been longing for a bath with lovel Epsom salts!
 
Oh good! You figured it out. Maybe you should wait until your husband is home for your next few baths, just in case!
 
@kymamaw oh gosh yes. I had my right knee done first and hope to get my other done next year.
I had torn my ACL playing with my dogs and the little one just pushed me over one day. I fell over in slow motion with my legs up in the air outside. What a sight. The right one would give out once or twice a day. I chose that one first. I found my surgeon on this site and was so happy as I had been two 3 surgeons in the last couple of years and did not feel good about any of them.
I felt very unstable and really could not walk much at all. I also fell forward on my way into work one day but caught myself landing on the grass.
My Dr. told me that my knees were in very, very bad shape. I had him take a picture of it when he opened it up during surgery,lol!
I also have Psoriatric Arthritis and take weekly injections of Enebral because my immune system attacks joints.
I had to stop taking it before and after surgery so my immune system could get to work healing.
Unfortunately it caused me to become so inflamed that I ended up back in the ER with dehydration and respiratory issues.
My husband was so surprised when I said I can’t wait to get the other one done.
It was just an amazing experience and therapy afterward has been great.
I heard so many horror stories about the pain caused by therapists forcing the knee to bend.
Bonesmart is all about not allowing that to happen. Your knee is swollen and it cannot bend properly until the swelling goes down. You do not need to overdo it. I got lucky in the place I chose to go as they believe this as well.
Please feel free to ask me anything. I’m going back to work next week, but cannot express enough how great this site is, and how lovely it is to have the support of these knowledgeable ladies!
 
@Carole4815 I had my iPad but not my phone. I do so love a long bath. I usually have to turn and kneel on one leg to hoist myself up. I could not use my new knee, and my other is in such bad shape i could not do it this time. I finally had to take a large bath towel and dunk it in and knelt on it. It worked! I am out! Thank you for asking.
 
Bonesmart is all about not allowing that to happen. Your knee is swollen and it cannot bend properly until the swelling goes down. You do not need to overdo it. I got lucky in the place I chose to go as they believe this as well.
I wish all therapists were like this, yes you got a good facility! :happydance:
 
Gosh, I'm happy for you that everything is turning out positive for you. Getting your stability back is a life changer for sure. I wish you continued healing and strength.:loveshwr:
 

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