@elliott52 I had my RTKR 3 days before you. LTKR was December 10, 2018. For about the first week, I thought, “wow, this is going much better than the first one did”. About then, the nerve block and whatever all else they gave me completely wore off, and the Mack Truck showed up. That same pain, originating in the hip, down the outside of my leg to the knee. But it didn’t stop there, it went right on down to my foot. The sole of my foot felt cold, even though it wasn’t, and I had a “footache”, that drove me crazy, and nothing seemed to touch any of it. That whole scenario lasted for about a week, and finally has begun to let up a bit.
The knee is the most complex and nerve-rich joint in the body. When you consider the catastrophic damage done to it during replacement, it is truly amazing that it ever heals. But it does. During the process however, there are a wide variety of aches, pains, ouches and zings that can show up, and some of them tend to hang around for awhile. When you were released from the hospital, you were most likely given a list of danger signals to watch out for. If none of those show up, you are probably OK, and going through one the many possible “rough spots” so native to this journey. It will get better, slowly at first, but steadily improving.
It is a strongly encouraging thing for me to now be able to walk on my strong and pain-free Left leg, which 6 months ago was just like my Right one is now. This too shall pass. Take it a day at a time, and hang in there.