PKR Metal allergy

I have a weird nerve issue, also. I had a lateral release done when they did my Patellofemoral, and I’ve had major discomfort on the lower lateral area near my knee. The second I put pants on it feels like something big and hard swells up in the knee, like a golf ball, or sometimes a baseball, in there. It’s not a sharp pain, but it’s so uncomfortable and just the amount of bend you do when you walk really irritates it.

I’m so glad the weather is warm again and I can wear shorts for the next several months. I’ve mentioned it to both my second opinions and they don’t know what it is and don’t recommend much so I’m just living with it.
 
Jockette, I’m sorry that you’re having those issues. I don’t have those issues you describe but I have this dull aching pain from the quads muscle. Walking is a challenge as I can’t extend my leg and after a few steps it kind of just freezes up. My husband mentioned I walk like I’m feeling for mine fields. Haha. My appointment with the second neurosurgeon is next Tuesday. Would be interesting to see what he had to say.
 
I learned the hard way with my partial not to trust the first, and in my case, only, opinion. I was so innocent about joint replacement that it never even occurred to me to get a second opinion.

We are not making that mistake with my husband’s back, though he really is in a lot of pain.
Walking is a challenge as I can’t extend my leg and after a few steps it kind of just freezes up
I wouldn’t have thought a nerve issue would restrict movement. I thought nerve pain is just something you feel.
 
Hi Cadbury, I had RTKR 6/30/16 and R revision 7/17/18 because of loose implant. I was never without pain after both surgeries and was told it was nerve pain. I saw a neurologist after TKR who did EMG and same neurologist after the revision. I asked him about NERVE DECOMPRESSION as I saw an article online from BaltimorePeripheralNervePain.com (go to that website for more info). I asked him if he knew anyone in San Diego that did this procedure. He didn't however, he knows the neurologist that is doing this procedure and he QUESTIONS this procedure. I also just went to UCSD PAIN MANAGEMENT and asked about procedure and doctor was unaware of this procedure. So I too suggest get another opinion. Are you by any chance from Baltimore where that Peripherial NERVE PAIN clinic is?
 
It seems that I had a nerve that was compressed probably during the surgery which is rare.
Gosh, that seems like a shot in the dark!
He recommended a decompression surgery to relief the pinched nerve.
I would much rather visit a chiropractor before you go that far. Such surgery does not have a record of howling success and there are lots of alternative therapies that was worth trying, chiropractic being my dead cert favourite.
 
Hi Cadbury, I had RTKR 6/30/16 and R revision 7/17/18 because of loose implant. I was never without pain after both surgeries and was told it was nerve pain. I saw a neurologist after TKR who did EMG and same neurologist after the revision. I asked him about NERVE DECOMPRESSION as I saw an article online from BaltimorePeripheralNervePain.com (go to that website for more info). I asked him if he knew anyone in San Diego that did this procedure. He didn't however, he knows the neurologist that is doing this procedure and he QUESTIONS this procedure. I also just went to UCSD PAIN MANAGEMENT and asked about procedure and doctor was unaware of this procedure. So I too suggest get another opinion. Are you by any chance from Baltimore where that Peripherial NERVE PAIN clinic is?

Hi Calgirl, the link was very informative. Thank you very much for that. I’m not in the field of medical profession so it’s hard to process and retain information in medical terminology. I’ll know more when I go see the second neurosurgeon and I’ll be ready to go over whatever concerns I have. I’m also from California in the OC area.
 
It seems that I had a nerve that was compressed probably during the surgery which is rare.
Gosh, that seems like a shot in the dark!
He recommended a decompression surgery to relief the pinched nerve.
I would much rather visit a chiropractor before you go that far. Such surgery does not have a record of howling success and there are lots of alternative therapies that was worth trying, chiropractic being my dead cert favourite.

Thank you Josephine, I’m in the midst of checking some physiatrist as they specialize in pain management and rehabilitation and I believe acupuncture is one the methods.
 
It seems that I had a nerve that was compressed probably during the surgery which is rare.
Gosh, that seems like a shot in the dark!
He recommended a decompression surgery to relief the pinched nerve.
I would much rather visit a chiropractor before you go that far. Such surgery does not have a record of howling success and there are lots of alternative therapies that was worth trying, chiropractic being my dead cert favourite.
I learned the hard way with my partial not to trust the first, and in my case, only, opinion. I was so innocent about joint replacement that it never even occurred to me to get a second opinion.

We are not making that mistake with my husband’s back, though he really is in a lot of pain.
Walking is a challenge as I can’t extend my leg and after a few steps it kind of just freezes up
I wouldn’t have thought a nerve issue would restrict movement. I thought nerve pain is just something you feel.

Hi Jockett, I didn’t go for a second opinion for my partial. I was in debilitating pain that I just want to get it done with. My OS was very assuring as he thought that since I don’t have any underlying illness and in excellent health, no complications whatsoever, he expected me to be up and about in a few weeks and that I’ll be doing whatever exercises I was doing presurgery and I was anticipating that because of his expectations of me. NOT. On my 1st follow up visit he was surprised to learn that I was struggling to walk as my ROM was excellent so he recommended PT. After few months of pt, though only slight improvement in March. On my 3 month appointment seeing that my quad muscles have atrophied,he did some research in post surgery quads weakness and prescribed NMES to fire the quads with no success. On my 6 month visit, seeing that my quads are still weak, he indicated a nerve issue. I believe my OS cares for my well being as he really took his time to do research work with my present issues and try to diagnose what’s going on with me and so that’s where I am, visiting the neurologist and then the neurosurgeons.

Yes, I’m looking into other non invasive options like a physiatrist who specializes in pain management and rehabilitation and I think acupuncture is one of the method and hopefully it will be a good outcome.
 
My OS offered me nothing at my one year check up, even after reading my my list of concerns. He did seem to do a lot of pondering, but he didn’t offer any further tests, like a bone scan, to see if my implant is loose.

Even though my outcome has been poor, I’m managing, and no longer interested in more opinions. I’m not sure what I would believe at this point anyway.
 
Im sorry for your woes and I know it’s hard to deal with an outcome your not happy with. I don’t think I’ll be able to manage like you have for such a long time. For me, I’ll keep exploring my options and not caved in. I hope you’ll too
 
It’s been awhile that I have posted (I’ll be 10 months post op on 8/29) and wasn’t sure if anyone has the same issue like I have.

@Jockette I wanted to reach out to you if you still have pain in your kneecap and if you did, can you walk with the pain. You had a partial patellar replacement and I had the same surgery like yours. Is your gait messed up as mine are. I find it really hard to extend and flex and my ankle feels the strain too and my operated leg keeps pulling my leg inward and my leg is really wobbly although I could do lunges (5 reps), squats (20 reps) and single knee bend (10 reps) not every day but as and when I feel like it. My ROM is good and I could go down stairs foot over foot with some ease although some pain but tolerable. I have no issue going up.

For exercises I work out sometimes 3-4 times a week. 30-40 mins on elliptical, I alternate with the recumbent 35 mins when I’m not working on the elliptical, treadmill 30 mins pace 1-1 1/2 mile pace, really slow, after working on either the elliptical or recumbent, strength training about 20 mins and I do water fitness about 1 hour and tread water an hour once a week. Am I doing a lot even I’m 10 months out?

I’m still in a lot of pain when I walk and when I stand too long like about 2 hours (I help with breakfast every other Saturday for our apartment complex) my knee will act up. I don’t have any pain sitting or resting.

I have been to 4 different OS and they have different opinions about their diagnosis and I’m totally confused as they have conflicting diagnosis. They did X-rays 4 views and all showed no maltracking and the implant is well positioned. Although one of the OS Dr 3 thinks there’s tracking problem, he does not do knee replacement so not sure I can trust his diagnosis. Dr 4 thought it’s a nerve issue as my EMG test shows there’s an isolated finding of a partial femoral motor dysfunction. Dr 2 thinks it’s just tightness of the quads and he reminded me I had a robotic-assisted patellofemoral joint replacement. He suggested deep tissue active release of the quads. I did go to a physical therapist and he worked on the quads but not much relief in terms of pain. I also went to a chiropractor but not much help.

I went to a acupuncturist last Wednesday and got her to work on my gluteus medias as I felt a lot of stiffness around the glutes and on the upper side of the hip. She sticked a couple needles in my right middle finger and several on my right arm somewhat different from the previous acupuncturist that I had done pre surgery. I had some relief and will continue with the treatments with her. I’m also scheduled to see a physiatrist on Thursday and I’m hoping he is able to get to the source of my pain. No doubt X-rays can detect abnormalities, then why am I still in pain, that’s a question I’m going to ask him.

Dr 5 a revision specialist that I saw last Wednesday went through some of the doctors notes and told me I don’t need a revision at this time as the X-ray shows no loosening and there’s nothing there that shows any gross abnormality. He got from his office a heel lift for me to try as he says I have a leg length discrepancy. He also mentioned that the success rate for partials are low. I’ll see him again on 8/21 and he may give me a shot to numb the knee area to see if it’s excessive scar tissue.

I’m also scheduled to see the same neurologist that did my 1st EMG test in May and wanted to do a second test to rule out it’s not some motor nerve disorder.

There’s just so much to process and I’m really depressed. I just wanted some assurance that recovery does take a long time but given the issues I have I really don’t know what I should be expecting.

It’s a lengthy note and thank you very much for taking your time to read.
 
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For exercises I work out sometimes 3-4 times a week. 30-40 mins on elliptical, I alternate with the recumbent 35 mins when I’m not working on the elliptical, treadmill 30 mins pace 1-1 1/2 mile pace, really slow, after working on either the elliptical or recumbent, strength training about 20 mins and I do water fitness about 1 hour and tread water an hour once a week.

Am I doing a lot even I’m 10 months out?
I’m still in a lot of pain when I walk and when I stand too long like about 2 hours (I help with breakfast every other Saturday for our apartment complex) my knee will act up. I don’t have any pain sitting or resting.
I think maybe you are doing a lot with the amount of pain you have.

When I was 10 months out I was nowhere near where I am today, even with my negative issues. For me, I was closer to 2 years before my leg seemed to really relax more and my ROM still continues to improve. (I just posted about my ROM on my thread the other day.) (I realize you don’t have a ROM issue, I’m just using that as one example of continued improvement.)

At this point you really have nothing to lose by cutting back the exercise routine and giving your leg a rest.

I realize that might be very hard for you, it sounds like you enjoy doing those exercises. But in the grand scheme of things, what’s a couple of months of rest, if it might help your leg relax. It may not, but I think it’s worth a try. You’ll still get plenty of movement doing your normal regular activities.
There’s just so much to process and I’m really depressed. I just wanted some assurance that recovery does take a long time but given the issues I have I really don’t know what I should be expecting.
I know what it’s like to try to process all the possibilities of what our problem could be. I’ve been there. However, time really has made a difference in my less than optimal outcome and made some things better. I hope it will for you, also. :console2:
 
Jockett, thank you so much for your comforting thoughts. Granted, the arthritis pain is gone but now I can’t even describe the pain I’m experiencing. Is it joint pain, soreness, tendinitis, nerve pain (although I don’t have any of those symptoms), stiffness or swelling pain. It’s like I have all these concoction of pain and can’t figure out exactly the pain I’m experiencing.

I’m hoping the physiatrist I’m seeing tomorrow will be able to diagnose the source of my pain.

Perhaps in the meantime I should just wait out for this long recovery and try not to dwell on it and stay positive.
 
Granted, the arthritis pain is gone but now I can’t even describe the pain I’m experiencing.
Same for me!

I don’t spend much time trying to figure mine out these days. I’ve researched patella mal tracking, patella Baja, loose implant, I’ve googled complications from lateral release, all to no avail.

All I know is that some things do continue to get better, even 2.5 years after surgery.
 
I've heard many say that this pain is worse than having a baby. I agree! No one understands how bad it is unless they have actually gone through it. It does get better, but it's not overnight. The best thing to remember is you can not force the recovery to be any faster than it wants to be. But, you can slow it down by doing too much. This causes inflammation, swelling, pain and a deterrent to healing. Slow and easy gets this healing and recovery done!
 
@sistershim and @jockett. Thank you very much for messages. The thing is my gait is so messed up that I’m thinking it’s a motor nerve issue. I have to keep adjusting the way I walk. My kneecap is also very sore. So I really don’t know whats going on with the knee. I have an appointment with the neurologist today and I’m hoping it’s not the case of motor nerve dysfunction
 
Since my last posting I’m still having relentless pain and have consulted with so many orthopedic doctors that I lost count. Sometime in June this year I went to see another orthopedic surgeon and he referred me to an allergist who’s an associate professor in UCI, Irvine who did a patch test. Turns out that I’m highly sensitive to nickel and cobalt. I should have went with the doctor that referred me to the allergist but I was not comfortable with him so I consulted with another doctor and he said it’s controversial since I don’t have any rashes or swelling around the surgical site. I had a bone scan done after the allergy test and it’s showing moderate intense activity in the left knee due to osteoarthritis. He says he wouldn’t do a revision based on the metal allergy and says I should live with the pain. I was totally numbed and floored by his remarks. @lovetocookandsew, I like to know since you have a metal allergy, did you have rashes and swelling around your surgical area. I’ll be consulting with a spine specialist to see if it’s a referred pain as I do have moderate spinal stenosis. I’m just so depressed that all these doctors kept saying my X-rays are good, implant looks good and no loosening.

Because I’ve been compensating my pain all this time my gait is so off that one of the doctors commented that I might have a nerve disorder because of my unusual gait pattern.

I would really appreciate any advice from members who have similar issues like mine.

Could one of the moderator please change my title to metal allergy. Thank you.
 
Your title has been changed. I would seek out another revisionist. You do not have to live with that pain. Make sure your next specialist has no connection with any of your current doctors. You want him/her to have a fresh set of eyes on your case.
 
@sistersinhim, thank you for changing the title. I’m scheduled to see another revision doctor mid August. Appreciate your input.
 

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