TKR _Annie_‘s Recovery Thread

Has anyone had painful Arthritis under the knee cap? I have that diagnosis in my right knee, along with a cyst on the femur. I plan to discuss this knee with my surgeon in a few weeks when I have my 6 week post op appointment for my LTKR. I was just curious about any treatment options for this, if any of you have had this corrected. TIA
 
You'll notice that I have merged your two threads together as we prefer that members in recovery only have one thread.

This is for three reasons:
1. if you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts others have left you in the old threads
2. it often ends up that information is unnecessarily repeated
3. it's best if we can keep all your recovery story in one place so it's easily accessed if we need to advise you.

Please keep all your questions and updates on this thread. If you would like a new thread title just post what you would like it to be and we'll change it for you
 
Sorry about that. I wasn’t getting any responses on my question about Arthritis under the knee cap and figured it was because it was on my recovery thread. This is a problem with my other knee, not the one that had surgery on Jan 28. I was hoping to get some help from others that may have gone through this and resolved this problem.
 
Yes, you can get arthritis under the kneecap among the other places on the knee joint.
 
When I had my surgery, I was prepared mentally for tough going for weeks possibly months. I elevated and iced with the Breg Ice Machine ALL the time (24/7) - except for bathroom trips and gentle exercises for the first 2 months. My husband did the cooking and shopping. I was pleasantly surprised by how well my recovery went. I’m pretty much doing what I want at this point, but if I do start with pain, I plan to immediately go back to the elevating and icing. I am the type of person that makes lists and has a plan - it keeps me grounded. So give yourself time to heal - ice and elevate! Take care of yourself and stay safe in these days of COVID19.
 
@_Annie_, I moved your thread from MickieMac's thread. Your post pertains to your recovery and should be in your thread so you can have a record of it.

Your gentle recovery has worked very well for you! I was addicted to my ice machine. I couldn't wait to get back to it after being up!
 
I don’t like taking pain meds, but I am taking 7.5 mg of Meloxicam morning and evening. I take them with food and so far haven’t noticed anything unusual. I am scheduled for right TKR in August. And after that surgery, I am hoping to totally get off pain meds. I am not willing to endure pain and limping around until August. After I had the left TKR in January, I was given a prescription for a months of Meloxicam. I noticed after I ran out of them, how painful my right knee was. Getting my TKR in January was one of the best decisions I have made and am looking forward to getting the right one done too.

I had submitted a question about taking anti- inflammatory pills long term to the Joint Replacement Awareness Seminar last Saturday, but ended up having to cancel. So I missed it, if they covered that. I noticed on another thread that one of the moderators said it could cause stomach bleeding or could cause heart problems. Will last Saturday’s sessions be posted sometime? I did watch the 2019 sessions. They were awesome!
 
When I broke my foot and ankle, my OS told me to go off of the NSAIDs because they also slow down bone healing. I don't know if this is true or not, research is not 100% either way, but I went off of them. Now, when I can't stand the pain anymore, I'll take one maybe twice a week. Be sure you never take one without food on your stomach. Something with protein would be best because protein takes longer to digest.
 
Hi, I just got home from having my RTKR yesterday. Things went well & now I’m in recovery mode #2.
 
Welcome to recovery again. Here’s a refresher course for you:


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:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

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.
 
Welcome home and back to Bonesmart for #2. We're here to share your second journey.
 
Thank you sistersinhmi, This knee is a lot different then my LTKR. I have a lot more swelling and a lot more pain. Not looking forward to PT tomorrow.
 
Annie; welcome back for round 2. Sorry to hear you are having a rough time so far. It's amazing how much different the 2nd recovery can be ; even on the same body. Like you I also just had my 2nd tkr. I had my left tkr in Feb and everything went really well. Now like you my right knee is a lot more swelling and painful. I had my right knee done on the 30th July. Prayers to you for a quick and less than painful recovery. Doodlebug
 
Thank you Doodlebug60. Maybe we can compare notes. I couldn’t even lift my right leg off the couch, so am working on some exercises that I hope will help me with that. It’s like my quads aren’t responding. Praying for you too.
 
I couldn’t even lift my right leg off the couch, so am working on some exercises that I hope will help me with that. It’s like my quads aren’t responding.

It is not unusual for the quads to take a while to wake up. One day it's unresponsive and the next it's awake. It does no good to try and force it to wake up. It can't be. When it's ready it will lift right up. Just have patience. Time is on your side.
 
Ok, that’s good to know. I was searching online for exercises that would help me. Thanks for clearing that up!
 
Thank you Doodlebug60. Maybe we can compare notes. I couldn’t even lift my right leg off the couch, so am working on some exercises that I hope will help me with that. It’s like my quads aren’t responding. Praying for you too.
I had same problem. It probably took me 3 weeks before I could.lift my leg at all and I really grunted and tried to make it happen. One time I tried and it lifted. Wasn't easy but working on it every day it got better. It is still heavy but way easier now. Hardest part for me was lifting my leg onto my bed...which to be fair is quite high...by myself without having my other leg help it. You will get there!
 
I have a lot more swelling and a lot more pain. Not looking forward to PT tomorrow.
Take charge of the PT session and don’t allow them to do anything that hurts. You don’t need exercises just days out of surgery, all you need are gentle movements.


Regaining our ROM is more about Time than repetitions of a list of exercises.

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Normal activity is the key to success.
 
Hi Annie, dang but those quads are not easily controlled or fired up early. Just about all the Medical people think you should be able to do it if your quads look strong. I think back to the three pages of impossible exercises the home health company gave me on week one. Wish I had found all these Bonesmarties back then. I will be following your recovery thread. Ideas for entertainment that worked for me during this time; PBS Passport $5/month I can watch all archived shows on Great Performances and Ken burns stuff.
Also app called Libby for reading on my iPad free books.
 
Jockette
Quote-
Take charge of the PT session and don’t allow them to do anything that hurts. You don’t need exercises just days out of surgery, all you need are gentle movements.
Quote

I’m happy to say that the therapy was very gentle today, but I will definitely not let PT hurt my knee. My daughter is a PT and she wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t do any PT.
 

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