TKR 1 year anniversary, continued pain, seeking 2nd opinion

[partialfixFeb]

I did. My glue took forever and once incision fully healed (with no more scabs) I had to peel off the glue surrounding the scar.

 

[Jockette]

I had stitches, and I think I’m glad I did. They came out 2 weeks post op, to the day, and that was it.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Hey Kimbo,
Remember you are in control. yOu know what, my therapist took my measurements ONCE, at our first meeting and never again. I told him I did not want to fixate on getting my leg "straight". I guess I'm lucky in that he has listened to me.
we work on stretching, heel slides and other exercises.

hang in there

 

[Kimbo1]

Feeling anxious today. Some days seems like I go backwards with healing. It's so disheartening. I'm just over 5 weeks now and having a strange burning or prickly sensation on or under my kneecap when I try to straighten or lift my leg. I'm hoping this is normal and just nerves. Any input is greatly appreciated. I know I have to remain patient and give myself time. This is one of the hardest things about this surgery.

 

[sistersinhim]

We've always called this recovery a rollercoaster, one step up and two steps back, then 2 steps forward and one step back.

 

[Kimbo1]

Hey all. Most days, I search topics on here and read your stories and feel so much better. Today, I'm just feeling so depressed. My knee is stiff, I've gone backwards on my flexion, and I made the mistake of getting on the scale and I'm heavier than I have ever been. I keep getting calls from the PT folks to get visits going again, but there's no way I'm going back yet. I know patience is what I need, but sometimes you just have to say out loud how you are feeling. Only you all know how I feel. I wish I could see myself 10 months from now because I'm only at 7 weeks. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[Jaycey]

@Kimbo1 Don't be too hard on yourself. It is still early days for you in this recovery and on top of it all you are dealing with this pandemic. We are all a little less active than we should be. But remember it's all temporary.

In any case, recovery never happens in a straight line.

Feel free to vent anytime! We totally understand.

 

[sistersinhim]

We are here for you. Most of us have been through exactly what you are going through and felt the same as you. I remember when I had mine replaced on June 2, a close friend came over on the 4th of July and asked what we were going to do that day. I could barely walk, much less go hiking or biking or anything physical like that. I bursted out crying and cried for about an hour. She kept apologizing and said that she was kidding, but I knew she wasn't. Besides, the hurt was already there, whether she meant her statement or not.

So, we do understand. Just know that what you are going through is temporary. As time goes on your knee will improve. If you still had that arthritis it would be getting worse, not better. Look back and see how much you have already improved since your surgery. That always helped me during my down times.

 

[Sara61]

@Kimbo1 sending you a virtual hug, we all have days where we just feel downright depressed so feel free to vent anytime we all have done it at some stage in our recoveries. Don't worry too much about the scales, to be honest I've hidden mine away, with being in lockdown and living in the country I too make many trips to my kitchen once we are back to some form of normality we can worry about our weight then.
Staying safe and healthy is what's important now xxx

 

[Kimbo1]

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. I truly appreciate it. You are the only ones who know exactly what this feels like.

 

[KneeHelp]

I started pt in the hospital, like most of us do. Then I was scheduled for it again as an out patient the next morning. It was sooo difficult to get dressed and get in the car. The therapist had my dates and times assigned without consulting me and all were early morning. When I told her the time was difficult for me she told me she had meetings etc in the afternoons.

I had a therapist that liked to say, "do 5 of these and 10 of these" while she sat and read a magazine. My numbers were not to her approval so each visit she would tell me how her grandmother had a bi tkr and she was doing so much better than me. Then, each visit she told me how concerned she was about my rom, if I didn't work harder I may never walk correctly.

It was never about me only what was convenient for the therapist.

I was very stressed and I am certain it made my swelling and pain worse. I stopped going after 3 weeks and continued to do gentle exercises with stretching at home. They called and after telling them I had made other arrangements I just let the calls go to voice mail.

I have vowed to never put myself through that again! They are bullies, not all but mine was, and they have been trained that way.

You will heal, it simply takes time. If your surgeon says your MRI looks good that's all you need. With simple exercises at home, if course!

 

[5531stuart]

Kimbo1, im just ahead of you op wise Just over 8 weeks, i woke up on Monday in pain and it gradually got worse, pain now behind my knee, and feel i struggle to put weight on it. Like yourself, im totally dumped as i thought i was doing well but hopefully just overdid things. It s a great place to have a moan as everyone knows how you are feeling. Got a funny feeling i ll be on my thread having a ' greet' about this if i dont see improvement soon. Stay strong.

 

[Kimbo1]

There's something so comforting about not feeling alone. I really appreciate the comments. I feel much better today having shared and had my cry out.

KneeHelp, how are you doing now? And 5531 Stuart, I get the behind the knee pain too. I notice it's better when I elevate really well. You stay strong too!

 

[Kimbo1]

I hope you are all doing well and staying safe. I'm now a tad over 8 weeks and still feeling stiff and sore. I thought I would be changing my thread title by now. I guess I was hoping. Last night was my worst for sleeping. Couldn't get comfortable and I was so achy. Ended up in tears wondering why I have done this to myself. I am looking forward to the forum this Saturday hoping to get some insight from the panel and some hope. I got my op report and saw they used a Legion and Genesis II components including resurfacing the patella. He also mentions sacrifice of the ACL. Does this contribute to my situation? Any input is greatly appreciated. You feel sort of abandoned in this COVID world. Glad I have you all to talk to today. Take care.

 

[Golfer1]

Good morning! Thought I’d jump in with a few comments that might help you feel better...First of all, I had my TKR on February 18th, so I am just over 11 weeks post-op. I also have a Smith and Nephew Genesis II implant and had my patella resurfaced too. My OS told me that he had to sacrifice both the posterior and anterior cruciate ligaments in order to straighten my leg. I don’t believe the loss of the ACL contributes to your situation. You’re just really early in your recovery.

I have learned from these fine people on this fabulous website who have ”walked the walk“ several things that have helped me tremendously-
1) Aggressive PT is NOT helpful, as it just aggravates the knee which increases swelling and decreases mobility. (Initially I was very aggressive with my PT but I am not anymore.)
2) Full recovery from this major surgery will most likely take from six months to a year. (I had no idea initially that this was going to be the case, but it is VERY helpful to know. So...this slow recovery no longer messes with my head!)
3) A good night’s sleep will be elusive for a good long while. (I am still very restless at night. I can’t find a comfortable position for any length of time).
4) Your new knee itself will dictate the pace of your recovery. There’s nothing you can do to change this. If you overdo it, your knee will protest. I find this extremely frustrating, but I have finally learned to accept it. (Besides the new implant, your OS installed a little “knee brain”)

I am still stiff and sore and battle swelling. I still have down days, but realize from all the posts I’ve read here that my knee WILL heal, just not on MY schedule. It is also encouraging to look back a couple of weeks or so and realize that I actually am making progress. Don’t look at yesterday, because that won’t help.

I hope you have found this useful. This website truly is a godsend. Hang in there!

 

[Kimbo1]

Golfer1, thank you. The "knee brain" comment really hits home. Being patient is so very hard and losing sleep, having pain, and being isolated really starts to get me down. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I agree that this forum ROCKS and I'm so thankful for it. I was also aggressive with PT up to March 29th. It probably didn't help. I am taking it easy now and will just have to wait.

 

[Celle]

He also mentions sacrifice of the ACL. Does this contribute to my situation? Any input is greatly appreciated.

No, that shouldn't make any difference at all. The ACL is one of the cruciate ligaments inside your knee joint.

You see, there are two different types of knee replacement hardware, one for when the internal knee ligaments are in good condition and one for when they have to be sacrificed.

Here they are:
1. Cruciate Sparing

These have a notch to accommodate the cruciate ligaments.

2. Cruciate Sacrificing.

When the cruciates are in poor condition or even ruptured, a prosthesis is used which has a peg on the plastic insert and a notch on the femoral component to take over their functions of keeping the joint stable.

So, either way, your knee is being kept stable and your recovery shouldn't be affected.

it's really common to seem to be going forwards and then take a couple of steps back, or even to seem to make no progress at all for a while. Recovery isn't a straight linear progression. It's much more like this:

 

[Kimbo1]

Greetings all. Well, I am 10 weeks out today. First the good stuff. I am sleeping pretty well getting about 6-7 hours per night. Using ice machine, hydrocodone 5mg, Melatonin 5mg, magnesium 500mg, and elevating. I am doing all of my ADLs (except for cooking) sometimes with a cane and sometimes my walker. The not so good is that I'm still stiff, swollen, and achy. I've stayed away from formal PT since my last home visit on 3/29/20 where I was pushed to the point of pain. I had gotten myself to 95/0 with gentle exercises and short walks. Now, I am still at 0 extension, but I've gone back to 80-85 on my flexion. I am not driving yet either. Thank goodness for my husband who is working from home and has become a pretty good cook. I am getting calls from PT asking about restarting, but I am afraid of both pain and the virus. I really hoped to hear more about knee recovery issues on the webinar yesterday. I was a person who waited years to get this done. I had a medial meniscus tear with arthroscopic repair in 2014. I did orthovisc injections every 6 months for 5 years until I got no relief. I actually had bone marrow edema develop in the last 3 months before surgery. I wonder if that contributes. I am sure it doesn't help. Any advice is appreciated. Sorry to be so long winded.

 

[Tykey]

Everything seems hunkydory(which is British for good)
You've really got no cause for worrying, it's as it should be. Your ROM has gone down a bit due to your activity, but it's purely down to a bit more swelling, it'll come back as the swelling goes away. There is too much emphasis on ROM in the early stages, it'll just come back steadily over the next few months.
Relax, stop overthinking things, just let your recovery happen. Your knee knows what to do.

 

[Jamie]

I'm sorry that we weren't able to cover quite as much about post op issues as I would have liked in our JRAD program. We'll continue to improve that, I promise! I know that is what a majority of our BoneSmarties want to hear about.

We can still talk about it here, though....as much as you want or need!

That stiffness is a very common complaint and it's something that can be present for months after surgery in some cases. (Remember how we tell people it takes a full year for full recovery and patience is needed?) It comes from swelling that's sometimes so light that you cannot see it. The knee compartment is very small and it doesn't take much swelling to create a "tight band" feeling.

There are a couple of things you can do to help. Be sure that you are not overdoing your time on your feet or sitting upright in a chair. Also, take time to do maybe 5 minutes of gentle bends and stretches 3-4 times a day. This would be something like putting your foot up on a stair and slowly bending forward just until there is mild tightness or discomfort.

The stretching would be any exercises that is good for hamstring stretch.

Hamstring stretches

Just to add to this medley of suggestions, I found these particularly helpful though my ultimate resolution was a visit to the CHIROPRACTOR!!! And because tight hamstrings can also cause or even secondarily cause calf pain, this will be helpful too Courtesy of alexthecat Here are a...

bonesmart.org

If you have access to an exercise bicycle, it is great for that stiff feeling. The slow rotation of pedaling does wonders. If you don't have a bike, maybe you could rent one. Or you can purchase a "pedaler" from Amazon. Just be sure if you buy anything on Amazon that you sign up for their smile.amazon.com program. When you designate our parent organization of The Foundation for the Advancement in Research in Medicine, Inc., Amazone donates a portion of ANY purchase you make to BoneSmart.