TKR beth1954's Recovery Thread

[new knee in June]

@beth1954
I just went back & read your whole thread. You have been through so much.
I hope you can get a CT scan & a 2nd opinion. When my husband sees me cry, he
Tells me "Take an Ativan" some times I do, but some times a good cry is the order of
The day.
Thinking of you
Diana

 

[Josephine]

1) pain levels, upon rising in the a.m. sometimes 7-8 on my first trip to the bathroom. Throughout the day it varies from 2-8. Always worse when I first get up after sitting or sleeping.

Gosh that's high.

2) I do still have some Vicodin (10-325) but not from my OS.I normally take 1 Vicodin and 4 ibuprofen in the a.m. and then the same towards evening.
I had asked for a refill on the Vicodin from my OS but never got it. I have some Meloxicam from my OS and I took it religiously for awhile. It works for me about the same as Celebrex--which is it DOESN'T do much of anything for me. I also have some Tramadol which doesn't help much either.

Okay - how much Tramadol do you take at a time? Sounds like you need to take 100mg plus 1,000mg Tylenol for an effective dose. We generally find it to be an effective dose for most patients (UK-side)

3) icing has not seemed to help this knee at all. I'm serious. On my other knee I could see and feel results but not on this knee. Since my manipulation one week ago today I have iced a couple of times a day with no results.
Elevating has not given me any good results either. I cannot elevate in bed because sleeping on my back hurts my back.

Icing a couple of times a day is not going to produce any noticeable results. It needs to be an hour or even two at a time, 3-4 times a day. Any less won't do anything. As for the elevating, as long as your foot isn't on the floor, it should be enough to help. I understand it difficult if you have back problems.

I haven't been measured but I would say my flexion is somewhere between 80-85. I did have zero extension but I believe I would be around 5 now.

Even after 2 MUAs?

I have done very little in the way of exercises for awhile now, they seem futile. I get on the bike every day which is what doc has told me to do. I cannot make a full rotation, I'm not even close. When I push too hard (I try to be very careful not to) I only end up with more pain and swelling.

Yes, I can understand that.

There is something not allowing my knee to bend and no amount of anything makes a difference. It just frustrates me and hurts me. My knee is still swollen with HARD FAT!

This would appear to be the crux of your problem. I've always joked with my surgeon that I could get better ROM if my legs weren't so fat and he just laughs at me but it's the kind of laugh that's saying "You said it!". But in your situation, the fat is immoveable (as in dieting) and as you say, very hard. That's swelling or excess fluid. When you get a lot of fluid in your legs, it accumulates in the fat because the fat is less dense and provides a place for it to pool. This fluid is partially lymph or plasma which is the base fluid of blood. And just like blood, it can become gelatinous and hard. This is a form of lymphoedema which is a posh term for chronic swelling. I'd say you might well benefit from some lymphatic drainage massage in order to get it moving.

 

[beth1954]

Yes the pain is bad sometimes...usually with a movement that makes a sharp pain. So it's not constant pain. Sharp jabs here and there with certain movements. I can't right now tell you where those pains are. I will concentrate the next time I feel a bad pain to see exactly where it is.
I can take 3 Vicodin a day but I will be running out...... And I can add tramadol, but I hate to add Tylenol.
I have a CT scan on Tuesday of next week so we'll see if I have anything else going on other than my hardened fat!

 

[Josephine]

And I can add tramadol, but I hate to add Tylenol.

But Tylenol is a perfect companion to Tramadol. It enhances the drug nicely.

 

[beth1954]

I have to keep track of the Tylenol that I take in my Vicodin also though.

 

[Josephine]

Try ditching the Vicodin and just taking Tramadol and Tylenol!

 

[beth1954]

My body responds much better to ibuprofen than Tylenol. I get at least some relief when I take the Vicodin/ibuprofen combo. But I will add tramadol.

 

[Josephine]

Well, it's worth a try. Wish there was something more I could suggest.

 

[kneeper]

 

[beth1954]

Gosh....just got word that my doc wants me to get lymphedema treatments. I wish he would have thought of that maybe about FIVE months ago!!!! It falls under the guise of Physical Therapy though so since I have used all my 30 visits plus went over by 6 visits, I have to wait til I can get more approved. This is all moving at the pace if a very ill snail.

 

[bottomshollow]

@beth1954, hope the treatment gets approved soon and does the trick for you.

 

[beth1954]

@Josephine -- could you post that pic of a leg that you have? The one that shows front and back with the grid over it?? I want to show you where I notice a lot of my pain is.

 

[madinana]

@beth1954 I wish I could give you words of comfort or say the right things just try to take one day at a time think positive you will get threw this

 

[beth1954]

@Josephine: I found the pic of the knee.....it's on page 9 of my discussion pages and my pain is in the same place now as it was back then. I don't know why but I thought it was in a different place. You had said then it might be patellar tendonitis. Hmmmm.........

 

[Pumpkin]

It falls under the guise of Physical Therapy

OT's also do lymphedema treatments, and would not be billed under PT, that way you can use your OT visits.
Hope the lymphedema treatment help your Knee.

 

[beth1954]

I'll have to check into that! Thanks for the pointer!

 

[beth1954]

OK, I never got the lymphedema treatments because more PT visits were not approved yet! I'm really getting tired of that same old song and dance!!
I got my CT scan done. Doc said there is nothing wrong that he can see. But he has decided I have arthrofibrosis. From some other people that I have read about, they had to have scar tissue removed when they had that and it was found in all different parts of their knee.
He is going to order the JAS device for me. It looks like some sort of medieval device to me. I do not honestly feel like that is the answer for me. I think he should go in, take out the scar tissue and then do something like that. Anyone have any ideas for me?
I feel like I am back at Square One right now. Still so discouraged about all of this. Ready to just amputate!!!!!!

 

[Pumpkin]

Sorry to hear you are still having problems.
Having your OS go in and do either an arthroscopic, or open surgery to remove scar tissue may be an option.
Have you sought a second opinion from an OS who specializes in revisions, they are best for figuring out what is going on with problem knees? You will have a better idea of what is causing your decreased ROM and pain.
The JAS splint has mixed reviews. Here is some information about the JAS splint fromt he library.
JAS splint -Joint Activity System