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@jakeleg ~ do you mean your scar is purple, hopefully not your whole knee? i'm not sure i can describe the colour of my scar but it's very vibrant, maybe a burnt orange, almost red. it has been purplish at times. in any case, it really sticks out like a sore thumb. my swelling is finally starting to subside and now i can feel the "clicking" that everyone has talked about, which i am assured is a good thing, at least nothing to worry about. your swelling will subside eventually but you'll have to be patient as it might take longer than you wish. sounds like your doing just fine and you will continue to improve:flwrysmile:
 
Well, even at their best (in my twenties, maybe?) my knees never looked like much other than knees. Kind of bony, kind of bumpy and, for the last several years, kind of swollen. After surgery, they looked lots swollen at the beginning and went back to looking kind of swollen, but less so than before. I think this may be their "normal" appearance. They never changed color, apart from the scars. My scars are purple at this point and a darker shade than I'd like, but I expect them to pale.

If you mean your whole knee is purple... not sure what would cause that. :chinstroke:
 
@SusieShoes @liam2015
I could have been more clear about the color. It's not purple. It's probably more like a light wine color. My scar is just fine and barely pink. The PA used cement or glue. I'm not sure what they call it. He did a great job. I have no complaints.

I've just been concerned about the swelling and now I know time is the answer. Gee, how could I have forgotten that? I'm so vain I should be illegal! Thanks.
 
@sistersinhim I didn't make my question clear enough yesterday so I'll try again. My doctor eyeballed my flexion when I was in a chair in his office. He thought it was very good and for the extension as well. I just feel like I am stuck with the bend now because the skin on the top of my knee is so tight. Is that normal? I don't see him again until April. I don't want to waste his time by going in for this concern. Does anyone know what I'm talking about. I can walk and do stairs.Maybe I'm still too worried about making progress that I can see?
 
Tight skin across the knee? Got that. I mean, I had that and sometimes still have it when my knee is a little swollen after a long day. Up until about a month ago, though, my skin was always tight across the top of my knee. If I bent the knee more than about 90 degrees, the skin would feel tight, though I could still bend the knee past that point and the skin would be okay with it. I found that massaging with a skin cream helped by keeping the skin from being too dry. Also, I massaged the scar itself. It’s not necessary to do this or anything. I just thought it helped a bit.

In other words, I think what you’re feeling is not unusual.
 
@sistersinhim So are you saying it will stay this way? My bend is not equal to my right leg. Now I'm confused. Is it because my quad muscles are shortened? I didn't mention the tightness to my doctor because I took his word just by his eyeballing. It seems like as active as I am, the tightness should be decreasing. I will be beyond disappointed if it stays this way.
 
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i get that too and like Susie Shoes does, i moisturize my knee every day (and whole body) after showering. i don't know whether it's the dryness in the house this time of year or what it is, but the last couple years my skin has been very dry. i actually had a rash that lasted a year (pityriasis rosea ~ self limiting) and finally found a very expensive moisturizer that might have got rid of it (not sure as it will go away on it's own) and i've been using it again this winter as i've noticed some dry patches. the cortisone creams my family doctor and dermatologist gave me didn't work at all. it was the cosmetician at the drug store that recommended this.

as for that tight skin across the knee, i've never worried about it. with all the swelling (remember how hot your knee used to be after the surgery for several weeks?), it doesn't surprise me that the skin feels dry and tight. i'm just assuming that it will eventually feel normal in time; of course, i don't know that for sure. :unsure:
 
For me, the tight skin is mostly gone now. It only shows up, not in any way bad but just noticeable, when my knees swell. Because my knees hardly ever swell at all anymore, the tight skin is an infrequent visitor. But I remember being much more aware of tight skin earlier in recovery.

You're only 13 weeks out! That's still a toddler knee you have there. Now that you're back at work, and being so active, your knee might protest a bit. It's still healing, so it will be more subject to acting up. When it does, the best thing is to rest, ice, and elevate, and cut back on the activity that brings on the swelling.

One thing to keep in mind: whatever your knee is doing now at 3 months... it's not likely to stay that way. Time is the Great Healer. It really is. My knees are several times better now than they were at 3 months. :friends:
 
@jakeleg, I really don't know what you are talking about staying that way. Tightness across the top is just another sign of swelling. You are only 1/4 of the way of a year long recovery. There is no reason to think you are going to be the same way you are now in a year from now. Please be patient with your knee. It's doing the best it can do. You have to have that awful P word...patience!
 
@Jockette Thanks. Sometimes the only way for me to deal with my frustrations is with humor. This is a lifesaver for all of us. It's interesting how many people stay on for a long time. There's always something new to be learned.

I love all the cat people. Cats are essential for recovery. They stay on the bed with us and they demand that we get up and take care of their needs, too. Good for comfort and good for ADLs.
 
jakeleg said:
I love all the cat people. Cats are essential for recovery. They stay on the bed with us and they demand that we get up and take care of their needs, too. Good for comfort and good for ADLs.
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You are so right about their helping our recovery! Taking care of 13 at the time of my surgery got me plenty incentive to get up and take care of them. Then, they returned my love by cuddling with me.
 
I am 14 weeks today. Went to work on Monday for 5 hours. That was enough. My legs did get tired, but I was able to ice so the swelling was not too bad. I have not been sleeping well and still have a bit of bronchitis so it might be hard to sort out the causes of general fatigue.

I saw my Rolfer who has had 2 TKRs. Got a couple of suggestions from her. She has rolfed her OS. (Google Rolphing, if you don't know about it. It's too much for me to explain. I have been doing it since 1980). She worked on my quad muscles and my popliteal muscle and I believe my ROM has increased some. She believes in PT tough love and I told her I don't. She didn't try to change my mind.

Once again I was told "it takes a year" by anyone I saw at work who has had a TKR. Unanimous compliments on my scar and "that swelling will go away". I guess my point is we have to get used to hearing the same things over and over. Seems to me like not much changes for the next 3 months.

I'm not complaining. I do, however, wonder if all is well despite some discomfort, odd pains and the swelling. I will not lie to anyone and tell them this has been wonderful. I still can't believe that I made it through the awful first 6 weeks or so. It will be a while before I forget those days.

My rolfer did acupuncture before and after her TKRs so I got the name of a good acupuncturist and am going to see what that does. I am fortunate that I can afford all these adventurous treatments. We have have marvelous medical technology, but the Chinese have relied on acupuncture for centuries. Wonder what the TKR statistics are in China?

I wish the best to all on this website. What a gift it has been!
 
jakeleg said:
I just feel like I am stuck with the bend now because the skin on the top of my knee is so tight. Is that normal? I don't see him again until April. I don't want to waste his time by going in for this concern. Does anyone know what I'm talking about.
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Yes, it's normal. All you need is time. Stop stressing yourself and worrying about something that is going to fix itself, if you just give your body time to finish healing.

Complete recovery from a knee replacement takes a full year and you are only just over a quarter of the way through that year.
Your knee is still a work in progress, not the finished product.
[Bonesmart.org] Back with a question
"Patience, Grasshopper!"

jakeleg said:
@sistersinhim So are you saying it will stay this way? My bend is not equal to my right leg. Now I'm confused. Is it because my quad muscles are shortened? I didn't mention the tightness to my doctor because I took his worried just by his eyeballing. It seems like as active as I am, the tightness should be decreasing. I will be beyond disappointed if it stays this way.
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No one is saying your knee will stay that way. What we are saying is it will take a while longer. You don't expect a fully cooked meal when the chef is only part way through preparing it, so don't expect a completely healed and fully functioning knee when it's only a quarter of the way through its recovery.

There's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

All it takes is time and bucket-loads of patience.
jakeleg said:
My rolfer did acupuncture before and after her TKRs so I got the name of a good acupuncturist and am going to see what that does. I am fortunate that I can afford all these adventurous treatments.
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If you feel they help, do them by all means, although I would be reluctant to let anyone stick needles in me - even if they are sterile, there is still a risk of introducing germs from your skin.

However, these treatments won't speed up your healing one little bit. This recovery takes as long as it takes. Your knee knows what it's doing and you can't make it heal any faster.
 
As you start getting on with your daily activities you will find you think about the knee less and less. As others have said it's just a matter of time. I'd just leave it alone.
 
Celle said:
This recovery takes as long as it takes. Your knee knows what it's doing and you can't make it heal any faster.
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Thank you, there are times at 10 months I still need to hear this!
 
What a great bunch of people here. I am in a temper tantrum state. If one more person tells me about their Aunt Minnie who breezed through with no pain, I'm going to scream and make a real fool of myself.

I'm over my bronchitis and now I've got winter allergies with sneezing and not being able to breathe. Not being able to breathe takes my mind off my knee. What a fun few months this has been!

Ok. 8 months to go! Yikes!
 
Just remember that the vast majority of those miracle stories are just that, 'stories' with no truth to them. I just smiled and send say, "Wonderful, how nice to hear.", and then change the subject. If they didn't get the message, then they aren't real friends.
 
That bronchitis virus going around is nasty. I had it back in November... and December. It took forever to get over, about six weeks. Mr. Shoes got it too, and went to an Urgent Care because he has to be well enough to work. Just a horrid thing to have. I hope you feel better soon. On the plus side, babying yourself because of your lungs passes on good rest to your knee.

Never believe anyone who says a friend, relative, or person-they-heard-about breezed through with no pain. My brother says that about my mom. I, however, was the one who was helping care for her for weeks. She had pain, but because she's a stoic Midwesterner, she never --ever-- talks about it. People tend to downplay the painful parts of their surgery and recovery, and those they talk to end up remembering only how well they did.
 
Why is my tight knee not loosening up?

I can ride the bike at work, walk, do steps (not smooth consistently). I can do chair slides and move legs back evenly.

Popliteal is sore and seems to prevent further movement. Numbness on outer side of knee and down calf comes and goes.

I am still icing when I am home. I ice at work so swelling seems to be reasonable unless I do too much for too long.

I go back to PT for shoulder therapy which was interrupted by my knee surgery. I will ask for ROM when I'm there.

Help! What can I do to decrease the tightness? I'm stuck here.
Thank you to anyone who has an answer.
 
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Tightness across the front of the knee, which I think it what you mean, is something you’ll lose later on. I still have a bit of that and using a nice cocoa butter cream on it daily helps some. It’s less and less as time goes on.

If you mean tightness inside the knee joint, that too will go away later on... when your internal swelling goes away. That swelling, and the healing it accompanies, is still going on in your deeper soft tissues. For me that tightness, which is almost completely gone now, lasted more than six months. You are three, going on four, months out, so to still have it is very much within the norm. You’re not stuck! You’re still inside a year-long process that can seem interminably slow.

Hang in there! :flwrysmile:
 
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