Hi and Welcome!
Please tell us the dates of your surgeries and and which date goes with which knee, and we’ll make a signature for you.
Almost always when a member has a second knee done they find out that each one has its own unique recovery, even members who have them done the same day.
As you know, this is a long recovery, an average of a full year. 14 weeks is just a little over 25% recovered, so pain and swelling is not unusual at this point. Your first knee recovered exceptionally well, so I’m sure you expect the same for this one.
It sounds like you started doing more than this knee was ready for and it is rebelling, with pain and swelling. You have to respect each knee for itself and treat it accordingly.
What kinds of things are you doing in PT? You may have to take a step back and give your knee time to recover, and then gradually add things back in.
Your surgeon is correct that it does take time. Because it takes time, I doubt you will be able to get a second opinion because over the course of the year many issues do resolve themselves. Many surgeons will not see someone else‘s patient until the year is up.
I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1.
Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2.
Control discomfort:
3.
Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4.
PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5.
At week 4 and after you should follow this
6.
Access to these pages on the website
The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.
While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.