Well, there is your answer! And the solution is in your own hands.
What you are doing is causing pain - so stop doing it.
Revision TKR Bruising 3 years out
- Thread starter Xanaphia
- Start date
What you are doing is causing pain - so stop doing it.
referee54
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I agree---it is a bit much right now---at five weeks, your knee has just come out of the "Dark Days of Recovery" and it is letting you know that it has too much on its plate right now.
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Xanaphia
member
I relaxed all day in bed today. Didn't have much choice. I'm back to taking my pain meds on schedule and it's making me sleepy and a little off balance. I've also had chest pains for 2 days now. Most likely my COPD acting up. I did do a few heel slides when I woke up this morning to keep things from getting stiff and did a little bit of walking but nothing other than that.
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Xanaphia
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I feel like somehow Ive been set back an entire week. The other day I didnt think my PT would be here so I went ahead and did my exercise routine and then went to bed with ice. Then my PT showed up later that day and I ended up doing the routine a 2nd time (stupid, I know). Later that evening we went out to eat and as I was coming up the steps, Im not sure what happened but my knee kind of gave out on me and I dont know if I twisted it or just bent it really fast (I didnt actually fall all the way, my husband caught me) but Ive had horrible pain ever since. I feel just like I did at 3 weeks, knee throbbing, sharp pains, cant be up for long. Im now starting to understand why doctors dont like to do knee replacements on people as young as me. Im too stubborn and active to just stay in bed and now Im paying the price. I sincerely hope I didnt damage anything.Another thing Im curious about (have been for a couple weeks) is the replaced knee always going to be shaped different and bigger than the non-replaced knee??
Ive already tried talking to my doctors office, theyre of course out for the weekend so no luck there. Please tell me this is normal.... I plan on spending the ENTIRE weekend in bed.... I dont care who comes knocking on the door
I don't know how many times you've been advised not to overwork your knee, but you keep on doing it! 
I'm really sorry you had a fall and I hope you haven't done any damage, apart from bruising your soft tissues. It's probably because you had over-stressed your knee by doing two lots of exercises (say NO to the PT next time), and it just wasn't up for anything else.
You're doing the right thing now, in resting up for the weekend.
I hope you soon feel better.
I'm really sorry you had a fall and I hope you haven't done any damage, apart from bruising your soft tissues. It's probably because you had over-stressed your knee by doing two lots of exercises (say NO to the PT next time), and it just wasn't up for anything else.
You're doing the right thing now, in resting up for the weekend.
I hope you soon feel better.
Clipless
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I'm sorry about your tumble. You didn't say whether you had your walking aide (crutch or cane) in hand at the time, but you should still be using it. Keep on using it until your knee stops giving out like that. When you are climbing or descending steps hold the handrail as well.
Another thing Im curious about (have been for a couple weeks) is the replaced knee always going to be shaped different and bigger than the non-replaced knee??
You DON'T have to stay in bed all the time- who told you that? At this stage of your recovery you DO need to rest, ice, and elevate a goodly part of each day. Many of us accomplish this from sofa or recliner so we can watch TV and interact with family. Also, "not staying in bed" is not why surgeons are reluctant to perform TKRs on younger patients. You might have been joking, it's hard to tell. Anyway, that's not the reason.
Your new knee will eventually look pretty much like it did before surgery, except for the scar. Don't be surprised, however, if this takes a year or longer. It was 18-19 months before the last bit of swelling left my LTKR.
I hope you have a better weekend- don't fall!
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Xanaphia
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So far my weekend has been awful. I sincerely hope I didn't damage anything inside my knee when I twisted it. I still use a walker, and I had hand rails installed on my porch steps but somehow lost my grip and I didn't totally fall because my husband caught me but I did twist my leg. I'm still in quite a bit of pain, mostly on the lower part of my knee. It hurts to walk, and I wake up in alot of pain. I'm back to taking my stronger pain meds every 4 hours because of it and I'm still icing it every few hours or so. My husband said if it's still hurting like this Monday that I should call my doctors office but I already know what they will say because my doctors office doesn't care about their patients. I don't want to go to the er again. I'm not sure what to do. Am I the only one who's twisted their knee after surgery?
Clipless
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Call your doctor on Monday whether they like it or not, and sooner if you develop excessive bruising or a large hematoma. Presumably you are still on blood thinners, therefore you need to be extra careful. You are not the first person to fall and twist their new knee and you won't be the last, but (seriously) this is an important time for healing, so please limit your risk.
My very first fall was last weekend as I tried to navigate down a loose, steep slope. I lost my footing despite trekking poles and slid down on my bottom. No harm done, but I got a lot of stickers in my pants and worried kisses from the dog!
My very first fall was last weekend as I tried to navigate down a loose, steep slope. I lost my footing despite trekking poles and slid down on my bottom. No harm done, but I got a lot of stickers in my pants and worried kisses from the dog!
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Xanaphia
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I was only on blood thinners for 11 days after I got out of the hospital. Haven't felt any warmth out of the ordinary around my knee, but I am getting sharp pains in the top of my knee, it will hurt and it's like sharp electric stabs of pain and then it will go away. Very odd.
Clipless
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Could be irritated nerves and/or muscle spasms. I had both off and on. See if it resolves over the weekend.
@Xanaphia
Your knee is going to keep hurting as long as you keep asking it to do too much. I thought you were going to spend the weekend resting, icing and elevating, after you nearly fell the other day? What happened to that? It certainly shouldn't have included negotiating the porch steps.
I know that you're young and that you were fit before your surgery, but 'm afraid that your knee can't heal any faster because of that. You had major surgery and you can't just bounce back from it. Your knee is wounded and it has received just as much trauma as the knee of an older person. It needs just as much time to recover. It's not lazy or unfit - it's wounded. It needs time and gentle treatment, so that it can recover properly.
At only just over a month from surgery, you should still be taking your pain meds on a regular schedule. It's too soon to be cutting them back.
The sharp pains (we call them zingers) are indeed little shocks. They are sent by your nerves - the ones cut during surgery are trying to re-connect:
Numb area after TKR: how long will it last?
Your knee is going to keep hurting as long as you keep asking it to do too much. I thought you were going to spend the weekend resting, icing and elevating, after you nearly fell the other day? What happened to that? It certainly shouldn't have included negotiating the porch steps.
I know that you're young and that you were fit before your surgery, but 'm afraid that your knee can't heal any faster because of that. You had major surgery and you can't just bounce back from it. Your knee is wounded and it has received just as much trauma as the knee of an older person. It needs just as much time to recover. It's not lazy or unfit - it's wounded. It needs time and gentle treatment, so that it can recover properly.
At only just over a month from surgery, you should still be taking your pain meds on a regular schedule. It's too soon to be cutting them back.
The sharp pains (we call them zingers) are indeed little shocks. They are sent by your nerves - the ones cut during surgery are trying to re-connect:
Numb area after TKR: how long will it last?
OP
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Xanaphia
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@Celle This was Wednesday or Thursday when I slipped on the stairs. I haven't done much of anything since except lay around in agony. My pain meds aren't working, and I even added ibuprofen to it, it really is starting to scare me. I have almost constant sharp pain in my knee and have had it for days, I'm really wondering if I should go to the er. Icing, elevating, sleeping, pain meds, nothing is relieving the pain at all :(
Have you let your Surgeon know what happened? He/she is the one to deal with this.
You need to make an appointment to see your surgeon. Don't be put off by the nurses - and if you have nay more trouble with them, make sure your surgeon knows how his patients are being treated. He is responsible for overseeing you progress.
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Xanaphia
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I'm going to go to the er tonight. This pain is different, sharper, and its in one spot and radiates down into my foot and up into my thigh. I'm having problems walking because my leg doesn't want to hold me up. I'm taking 2 percocet every 4 hours and it's not even touching the pain. This pain is different than how it's been feeling, it's not an ache like overworking it, it's more like being stabbed over and over again
Do let us know how you get on.
