TKR Can lost ROM be regained

[Majic]

@CATSMUM Good news this week, I have been signed off by Urologist, with another 8 weeks Nitrofurontoin after having been on one a day for 4 weeks already. He said after initial treatment of 50 mg 4xday then 100mg at night for 12 weeks should settle. My bladder. This takes me to New Year's Eve so I should start the new year without the tablet, and hopefully without the infection returning.
I was also signed off by my Physio and today I had an Echocardiogram to find out why I fainted. The man who did it said he could see nothing wrong with my heart and that the doctor who sent me was clutching at straws to find out what caused a one off event. Let's hope he was right. How are you getting on these days?

 

[CATSMUM]

@Majic Hi Jackie, good to hear you've been signed off by the urologist. I was on nitrofuratin for about the same amount of time and they certainly did the job. Fingers crossed that all will be well and you'll be cured.
Pleased to hear that you've also been signed off by the Physio. So pleased to hear that the ecg was negative - probably all the stress you've been through.
I'm slowly improving. I did another 5 knee classes and have just started to have Deep Tissue Massage - the IT band, hamstrings and quads are all rock hard and locked and need help! My Physio told me that they are really badly in spasm and knotted, said l must be in a lot of pain - which l was! Will need about 3-5 sessions of massage - until the knots etc have disappeared l won't be able to get full extension and Rom!
How is your knee?

 

[Majic]

Is it usual for a 9 month old TKR to start to hurt in same places and almost as much as 2nd TKR? I thought I would have one pain free knee while the second recovered. Instead they are painful in the same places and the first is almost as bad as the second. The second is three months old now and the first a year. Will they recover together? I find this depressing at times, and also a big worry.

 

[Pumpkin]

Most likely your LTKR has been over used while your RTKR is healing and is now protesting. Ask your OS next check up. Start Rest, Ice, Elevate, and Medicate as prescribed for both knees.

 

[Clipless]

Jackie, my LTKR is one year old and has also been hurting, swelling (just a little), and feeling a bit stiff as I recover from RTKR. Yesterday the old incision scar was STINGING, almost like it was new. This problem is intermittent for me; since a few other bonesmart members have mentioned similar issues with their first knee while recovering from the second, I'll assume this is par for the course.

 

[Majic]

Thanks @Clipless it is reassuring to know I am not the only one, although I expect like me you had assumed the first knee troubles were over. @Pumpkln I think you may be right, I just didn't expect this to happen. Nobody warns you about these problems.

 

[Clipless]

Let's hope we both feel better soon!

 

[Jamie]

Is it usual for a 9 month old TKR to start to hurt in same places and almost as much as 2nd TKR?

This is very normal. When you have the second TKR, your recovery is putting extra stress on the first knee and you're likely to get additional pain. Remember that we advise your knees can take up to a year or more to get "normal" again. The pain is a sign to slow things down a bit. See if resting, icing and elevating helps both your knees....I'll bet it does.

I thought I would have one pain free knee while the second recovered. Instead they are painful in the same places and the first is almost as bad as the second. The second is three months old now and the first a year.

It just doesn't work that way. Healing from a TKR takes a long time. Add in the fact that your second surgery made additional corrections to your body's alignment and your gait that can cause pain as you adjust to your new "normal" and it should be easier to see why your first knee has some discomfort. But this will pass. Be patient. Take care of yourself. Medicate when you need to for pain. Use ice as much as you can to keep swelling minimized. You'll get there.

Will they recover together? I find this depressing at times, and also a big worry.

Your knees quite likely will recover differently. This should not be cause for worry. They will each heal on their own time schedule and your job is to pay attention to how they feel and respond accordingly with your treatment and activity levels. This can be a long recovery. You have plenty of time to get where you want to be. The thing NOT to do is to try and push through pain. That is rarely successful and can actually slow your overall recovery.

You may notice that I've merged your latest thread in with your second knee recovery thread. We need to keep all your concerns and comments together to make it easier for folks to follow your recovery journey. It will be easier for you this way as well as you won't have two similar recovery threads to follow and post to.

 

[Majic]

@Jamie I thought you would merge my threads, I just wanted to ask another question and didn't know if anyone would reply if it wasn't a new thread.
Many thanks for your reply. I haven't stopped my painkillers, I am on paracetamol and naproxen. I have just stopped the codeine. Many people seem to be on nothing by my stage, and as one knee is a year old and the other coming up to 4 months I am very disappointed that they are both so painful. The pain is below the knee were you get the tight band feeling, which has virtually gone. The new knee is slightly swollen, the older one is not swollen at all, nor is it hot, yet it hurts just as much, and sometimes more than the new one. I just can't believe at the moment that either will stop hurting so much, and find it hard to remember that the first one was actually pain free last summer. I think it may have been my imagination.

 

[Celle]

@Majic
If you want to ask a question that needs a quick answer, just tag one of the moderators or forum advisers and someone will answer.

 

[kneeper]

I don't think it's unusual to need tylenol at 4 months. Gradually you should find you need it less often and then not at all. We're all different on that timeline, though.

 

[Majic]

@CATSMUM yesterday was a great landmark for me, last night we went to our first dancing class since my TKR. I managed the waltz, the foxtrot and even a reasonably respectable rhumba. .

My newest knee was fine, but last one complained a bit and was very stiff, yet. I could dance with no trouble on it before. This is really annoying.

@Clipless how are you getting on? Is your first knee still playing up like mine? I haven't tried my bike yet, partly through fear, but mostly because of the cold and windy weather here.

@Raffs how are you getting on, I haven't seen any posts from you lately, is that a good sign that you are just getting on with life? @Julie-Ann How are you, I have been concerned about you too, and @kate23 I can't find your posts on my iPad at all, it refuses to bring them up, so have you any news?

 

[Clipless]

Hi Jackie! I'm making slow but steady progress, thank you. I haven't tried the real bike yet though the weather here is stunningly perfect. I think (hope) I'll know when I'm ready- I prefer all of my reflxes intact when I ride, therefore I want to achieve a more natural & balanced walking gait first. My other knee is behaving.

 

[Majic]

@Clipless good to hear you are doing well. I feel a bit unbalanced as well at the moment. I still use a stick when walking to town or with the dog, two if the wind is very strong as it has been recently, 40/50 miles an hour!
My other knee is not bad it is the muscles in my leg I think they be taking the brunt of my poor balance.

 

[CATSMUM]

So pleased to hear that you're able to dance again, what an achievement. Raffs is fine, albeit a little frustrated at what she considers a lack of progress, she saw her OS the other day who was happy with her progress. Guess we all need to be more patient, lol

 

[Majic]

@Jamie , I am thoroughly depressed today, I could almost cry. I had cut down my meds to just paracetamol, and last week halved the dose of paracetamol. Today by lunchtime I was in agony. I have pain along under my knee, where the tight band feeling often is everywhere else is pain free.

I am 18 weeks out, and since lots of people are back at work by now, I have been trying to live my life as normal. That is the cooking, walking the dog, walking down the hill to see my Mother and back - about 35mins in total. We are having gales here so I am always using at least one stick outdoors. I walk most places I go as I don't drive.

I am finding however that after a busy morning,1/2 hour dog walk, 1 hour preparing lunch lots of time sitting to do paperwork etc in between. I have pain in the afternoons, and after preparing dinner I am often in agony pain level 8 I would say.

I have gone back to paracetamol 1,000 mg 4x day and naproxen 3 X day. Do you think this is the right thing to do? Am I healing much slower than most people, or is this not unusual?

The thing that depresses me most is that the other leg is as painful in exactly the same place still mimicking the newest. Please convince me that they will get better. At the moment I feel that I shall be in pain for ever. Are there people who never recover?

 

[Celle]

I'm sorry you're feeling so down today.

Yes, your knees are going to get better. I know how hard it is to be patient, but allowing yourself time to heal completely and not expecting too much of yourself are really important.

It's OK to still take the pain medications if you need them. There are no prizes for trying to be a hero and toughing it out.

I know you feel that, at 18 weeks, you should be able to live a normal life and do all sorts of activities, but do remember that complete recovery takes a full year, and sometimes even longer. I read just yesterday of one surgeon who tells his patients that full recovery takes 18 to 24 months.
You're expecting to be able to do everything now, and you're probably walking more than many people do, but some activities are still stressful for your knees.

Remember, too, that many people who are back at work at the same stage as you are complain of increased swelling, stiffness and pain. The strain of working makes their knees get upset all over again.

My right TKR is four years old now and I don't have to think about it at all. My left TKR however, is only 14 months old. While I do almost everything, it still hurts a bit now and then and reminds me, "Hey, I'm still a baby! Give me a break!" Judging by what I remember of my right knee's recovery, that's normal and the left knee will gradually become less niggly.

 

[Majic]

@Celle Many thanks for your comforting reply. I think I overdid it last Thursday, which was the funeral of a friend's husband. The weather was abysmal, according to the forecast the wind was 46 miles an hour. There is no parking at Church except for the hearse, relatives etc, so we had to walk down. Unfortunately the wind blows down the hill, so not too bad going, but a nightmare coming back, even with two sticks. Several times I blew backwards it was lucky there were four of us. The day afterwards I started to suffer, and haven't improved much until today, when I think the naproxen is starting to work. It is our dance club's Christmas Dinner Dance tomorrow night, so I hope I can at least do the slow dances. It will be nice to go somewhere in a dress, and I have bought some new fairly flat but sparkly dance shoes, as prescribed by OS - plenty of support!
One thing that is bothering me is that I am fairly wobbly without sticks around the house. My balance seems to have gone, and I think this could be what is making my left knee so painful, it is desperately trying to help me balance. Do you think this will just gradually improve? What can I do to help? Thanks again for your reply.

 

[Celle]

It does sound as if going to your friend's husband's funeral was the immediate trigger for your discomfort. Still, you had to support your friend, of course.

I've often thought that the best use of PTs would be to help with balance and gait, once the early stages of healing are over. Sometimes, your muscles seem to need to learn again about balance.

Yes, you do need to work on balance - and I'm still doing that. I have an inner-ear problem that makes me dizzy, so my balance isn't good.

I'm practicing standing on one leg for as long as can, first one leg and then the other (because I've had both knees done). I started by holding onto the back of a chair or the kitchen bench and bending up the other knee. Then I would do it without holding anything, but still near enough to my support, so that I could grab it, if necessary. I think it was @Jamie who said that the goal is to be able to stand on one leg all the time you're brushing your teeth. Progress so far: I can stand on one leg while I peel one carrot.
After Christmas, I plan to look for a Tai Chi class, because that's supposed to be very good for balance.

 

[Slainte]

Yep, it really grabs you when you tighten your knee to keep your balance. Not fair that you paid such a high price for supporting your friend at her husband's funeral, but definitely the right thing to do. Hope you are feeling much better.