TKR Feeling my new knee<

[Tina48]

@kneeper thank you for the suggestion but I do understand the posology for my meds, I just wanted to have opinions of others. And for your info, we do have a health care system that is very different from yours. Our doctors work in their office where there are no nurse only receptionnist and secretary. Some medical clinics where there are GP there are some nurses but that's whole other story. Our system is really not perfect and it'going down by the minute. I could write a book only by starting with my TKR.

 

[Celle]

I starded Lyrica yesterday, and have to increase by 25 mg/day for three weeks (starting at 25 mg). Does anyone know how many mg is enough and how long will I have to take them.

@Tina48
You asked about the dosage of Lyrica and how long you would have to keep taking it. That's not something that other Bonesmarties can advise you about, because they aren't qualified to do so. It's a question that should be answered by the person who prescribed the medication.

You could, however, have asked something like: "Have you ever taken Lyrica and what was your experience with it?" Then, people can answer from their own experience.

Nana Moon has already tagged Josephine for you and she may be able to advise you.

Meanwhile, I think that kneeper's suggestion was a good one..
Even if your doctor does not have a nurse, I think it would be wise to ask either your doctor or your pharmacist. Surely you weren't prescribed the Lyrica without being given proper instructions?
If you aren't sure at the time, there's nothing wrong with asking the professionals again.

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi Tina

I just read your thread from the start and wished I'd have found you sooner. I could have reassured you that although things may feel bleak at times, especially when you have a slow recovery compared to others, this happens in some cases. It happened to me with my first TKR.

My first TKR was ok at first and then things started to slide. Problem after problem. Some my own fault, tripping over an ottoman several times, overdoing it, pushing myself too hard, driving myself crazy with it. I didn't cope with the isolation either. This in turn affected my mental health because I felt such a failure and so very lonely.
I'd watched people older than myself have this op done and by 12 weeks max they were driving and having normal lives. I also had medication issues, nothing would relieve the all consuming pain I was feeling and the only thing that even touched the pain was narcotic medicine. I had a revision nine months after it was replaced. Eventually things very, very, slowly began to improve. By which time the left one needed replacing.

I can honestly say to you now 18 months after the first TKR it finally feels like a normal knee. I don't notice it's a replacement. Sure, I get aches and pains in it but that dreadful all consuming pain has now gone. It just took a long time. I've not driven since December 2013.

My left knee was done on May 31st (day before you) and I was nine days in hospital. It just wouldn't respond. I was even put on a machine that moved your leg, bending it and straightening it. IThe pain was excruciating, I kept getting horrific spasms that pulled the quad in and contorted my knee. It looked so weird but the pain was a full on 10 and made me cry. The OS was shocked when he witnessed this happen as were the others who were observing.

This has taken a while but nowhere near as bad time wise as the other one. I turned a corner a few weeks back and getting better and stronger. I was under threat of MUA but intensive gentle physio and hydrotherapy was my way forward. Yes, I still have the odd day where it can feel very uncomfortable. However, this recovery is a lot better than the first.

So please Tina, don't despair, it will come right in the end. My rom now is 90 deg. It was stuck at 40. Patience us key. The support I've had from the fellow Bonesmarties and the wonderful moderators has been brilliant and got me through some very dark days. I'm not on as much as I was because I'm doing more about the house.

I wish you an improved recovery and good luck with your journey. Honestly you will get there. It just takes time and oodles of patience!!!

Please stay in touch.

Love Nana moon 27 xxx

 

[Tina48]

@Celle I am sorry if I did not express myself properly but the way you put the question is really how I should have worded it. That was exactly the way I was thinking.

 

[Tina48]

@Nana moon 27 I finish reading your tread last night. Is seems to me that you went tru this TKR with a lot of courage. When I saw the picture of both knees I almost cried for you. At least, this time is easier than the first. I did not find you tread for the first TKR but just the way sometimes you refer to it I can see that it was very difficult and you had the courage to go tru a second one. You are a STRONG women and you always seem to see the good side of it. I salute you.

My rom is still at 90 and my extension is -5. And there is still a lot of pain when I do some exercice but now no one is pushing me to go further, I do it myself and for some other exercices my HB helps. He is the patient and optimist one. I will keep in touch and I will continue to read your tread.

Love and big hugs from Canada and me.
Tina xoxoxox

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi Tina

You are doing just fine. Slow and steady wins the race! I was told that a long time ago. So I'm passing on that advice. Rom increases naturally. I will say though that if the pain is severe and makes you gasp don't do it. If you read Josephine's recovery she did very little exercise with this last knee and she's done brilliantly.

I got the courage for the LTKR by learning from the first and having a slightly different attitude this time. Also things went bad straight away this time and then got better, whereas the last one was okay at first then suddenly went downhill.

I was pleased as punch when I got 90 degrees. No it's not as much as some have achieved at this stage but I'm doing so much more.

Like you I also get pain from certain exercises. I don't do them or reduce them to a more manageable level. It's all about listening to your body and doing what is right for you...not trying to keep up with others and doing more harm than good. Once you start to believe in what you can do, the improvement definitely starts. I found this time that I'd set myself a tiny goal and if I achieved the goal that was a can do moment. These soon mount up.

The best way forward for me has been hydrotherapy and walking against the natural resistance of the water. I have done gentle aquacise too. I modify it to suit me and it works out just great. It might help you too. Would you be able to get hydrotherapy where you live?

Sending you love and big hugs from sunny England xox

 

[Celle]

@Celle I am sorry if I did not express myself properly but the way you put the question is really how I should have worded it. That was exactly the way I was thinking.

That's OK, Tina. no harm done. We don't expect you to know everything all at once.

Did you see that Josephine answered you question, on Nana Moon's thread?

 

[Tina48]

@Celle Thank you, and yes I did see Josephine's answer.

 

[Tina48]

@Nana moon 27 How are you doing today after you almost saw the ground from to close? Yesterday was not a good day for me but your last tread took me out of my pity party.

What is keeping me down sometimes is my Rom, it was at 117 and came back at 90 after Pt from the Pt from H.....you should have seen my OS face when he saw that, especially after I have gone tru MUA.

I think that we are almost twins in that process. After TKR I stayed 6 days instead of 2 in hospital for all sort of complications. And at the end of August I stayed 3 days instead of 1 day in the hospital for the MUA.

So today is a better day, I did some exercises and will do more this afternoon, I go easy on myself, or I try to.

We do not have hydrotherapy, but I'am going down to Florida by mid December for a couple of months (we are snowbirds, as they call us in Florida) and there is a pool right at my door. So I will make the most of it.

Thank you for your words of encouragement, they are very appreciated.

Tina
xoxoxoxo

 

[Tina48]

4½ after TKR.

So I have stop pt since Sept 30 and I do some exercises at home almost every day. I am up to 20 min. on my stationary bike and I still hurt, can't be up on my feet long enough to cook a small meal. I can walk up the stairs and have a bit of problem walking downstairs. I still take pain pills plus lyrica. My moral is going down the drain.
I still have this pain below the knee cap every day starting at the end of the afternoon.

How do I tell if something is wrong with my prosthesis or it's a muscle problem. My knee is still very swollen and my extension is still the same -5. So naturally that makes walking pretty difficult and it hurts.

Wow, I just reread myself and it's very depressing but that's my reality. Right now I am doing less than before the operation. So, it's difficult to see the bright side.

 

[Celle]

Hi @Tina48
You say 4½ months since TKR, but really it's only 7 weeks since you had an MUA, which will have done some soft tissue damage. Maybe it's better to count from that date?

I'm sorry you're feeling down and I do understand how slow progress can make you feel that way.
However, don't despair. Time is still on your side.

My knee is still very swollen and my extension is still the same -5. So naturally that makes walking pretty difficult and it hurts.

It sounds as if you need to do some serious work on trying to get that swelling down, before you start worrying about whether something is wrong with the prosthesis.
So, spend as much time as you can doing this: rest, elevate, and ice - and don't worry too much about exercise. The exercise bike is OK, as long as you have the resistance set to zero.

For extension, you could try these: Extension: exercises for improvement
Find one or two that you like and just do them gently. Start doing them for just a few seconds dn gradually increase the time. Stop if they hurt.

 

[Nana moon 27]

Hi Tina

I had a revision with my first TKR but like you kept taking the recovery date from the TKR, not the revision. I'm sure it's because it seems so long. I kept overlooking the fact that my recovery had started over again.

You will get better Tina, it's just that some of us are slower recoveries than others. You will get there. Once you begin to relax and accept it may be a tad slow, I'm sure you will continue to improve, please be careful xx

Love Nana moon 27 xx

 

[bottomshollow]

@Tina48, your recovery thread has been unlocked and you may now post in it. Threads are locked after there is no activity for some period of time. This is to keep others from posting and then never hearing back.

 

[Tina48]

Thank you very much

 

[Tina48]

Hi to you all Bonesmart people,

It's been a long time that I did not post anything. My life was kind of hard for a while there and I did not have the heart or time to keep on sharing because it was kind of depressing. My father died within 24 hours, the next day my mother was hospitalized for 3 weeks. I had to clean out the apartment and move her to another room in the same building. My father was the one who took care of her. Meanwhile there was the funeral to organize and the estate to settle. We are two girls and I am the oldest, my sister is still working but I had the good luck to have my husband by my side each step of the way.

So,we went to Florida as scheduled, and needless to say I was exhausted and I had to mourning my dad, and it was hard. It still is. So my RTKR took second and last thing to take care of.

I had good intention of execising in the pool but it was not heated and not cleaned every day and I didn't go into the ocean because I didn't feel stable enough on my feet. I exercise to help my rom and extention and was very disapointed when I went back to my OS. After sending me for an xray he just told me all was good and that was it. I told him about the pain in my knee around the patella, the tendinentis of the goose foot, the fact that when walking down stairs it hurts a lot and finally the swollen kind of bubble alongside of the shinbone
I even told him when I walk it feels like everything is mooving inside. He smiled and said that it might all go away someday.

So, yesterday, I saw my GP and he gave me two shots of cortisone on the inside of my knee. It helped but below and on the right side of the kneecap I still have the same problem. I still ice and Elevate, my rom is 120 and extension is the same at 5, I have done the exercises from BoneSmart, I have put weights on my knee (10/15 pds) which irrates me a lot, my husband was told to push on my knee with both hands and still no amelioration.

I still can't sit at a table for a long diner, and when I stand up well, me knee is stiff and it hurts for a while.

Since I have pass the one year anniversary, Am I stuck with these problems? Tomorrow, I will try to put up some photo because I am not sure that I am clear about my problems.

Thank you for reading me

 

[newlybionic]

I has my orIginal TKR in July 2015. Even though my OS took x-rays and told me everything was OK I knew that my knee was not right. I had to go back to work and I was in pain every day. I decided I needed another OS to look at my knee. I saw my current OS in Dec 2015. After exams and x-rays I was told I needed a revision which I had this past March. It was the best thing I ever did. While I'm still experiencing some swelling and stiffness it no longer hurts and is now my strong knee. I find myself putting my full weight on that leg. You might wasn't to go to a different OS who has no connection with your OS and who also specializes in revisions.

 

[Tina48]

I'm so sorry you have to go through that again but glad that it worked for you. When I saw my GP I asked him for a referral (I need this paper to see any kind of specialist) he wants to try the cortisone before anything else.

 

[mamazipp]

Tina, you have certainly had a very difficult year, what with your knee, and then your parents. I'm sorry to hear about all of your issues, and then your continuing issues with your knee. I wish I had some comforting words, or suggestions, for you. They say it is a yearlong journey....and sometimes more.

I, too, have had a somewhat difficult recovery. No MUA thankfully, but at 6 months I Have pain just above my kneecap and find stairs painful, still, both up and down. My OS says all looks good on the X-ray and tells me to work on strengthening my quads. But how to do it when it's painful? I'm thinking that I'm one of those people who will take a year, too. It's frustrating, to say the least, when you see other people just pick up after a month or two, and get on with their lives and recover. My OS says everyone is different, but he doesn't say why!

I have to believe that you will continue to progress, as I have seen others on this forum who have improved past the one year mark. I think one year is just an arbitrary time frame, to assure people that recovery isn't quick and easy. I would be interested in seeing your photos.
You aren't alone.

 

[Tina48]

Thank you for your kind words and I hope you will keep progressing with no pain asap

 

[mamazipp]

Thanks Tina