TKR I’m baffled by this

[Wilsomasan]

Went to see my surgeon today at ten weeks post-op. He says I should not be having pain or balance issues. He says I can continue to take Tramadol but he’s putting me on Gabapentin and says it may make me sleepy but I’m safe to drive now.

 

[Celle]

@Wilsomasan
You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread.
This is the third time we have had to merge threads for you.
Please don't keep starting new threads.
For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:

• That way, we have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
• If you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
• Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.

So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here.
Don't worry that we won't see your question because, between us, the staff read all new posts every day.
If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.
How to tag another member; how to answer when someone tags you

If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.

Here are the instructions on finding your thread, How can I find my threads and posts? . Many members bookmark their thread, so they can find it when they log on.

 

[Celle]

Went to see my surgeon today at ten weeks post-op. He says I should not be having pain or balance issues. He says I can continue to take Tramadol but he’s putting me on Gabapentin and says it may make me sleepy but I’m safe to drive now.

Your surgeon probably has expectations for the average person, but they don't take individual recoveries into account.

I would say, from what I've read on BoneSmart, that most people still have some degree of pain at ten weeks post-op.

Are you taking Tylenol with the Tramadol? That makes if more effective and sometimes you can then start to wean from Tramadol to Tylenol alone. You should never come off Tramadol suddenly.

Here are a couple of charts that Josephine devised, for taking Tramadol and Tylenol together. The first is for 4-hourly doses and the second is for 6-hourly.

The safe daily total for Tylenol is 4,000 mg in each 24 hour period.
Check any other medications you're taking, to make sure that they don't have any Tylenol (Acetaminophen) in them. If they do, add that to your calculations and reduce one or two of your other Tylenol doses, so that you keep within that safe daily limit of 4,000 mg

Do you have nerve pain? That's usually what Gabapentin is prescribed for.
Try taking a couple of doses to see if they make you sleepy - before you start driving.

 

[Wilsomasan]

Thanks @Celle I don’t know if I have nerve pain or not. I have neen taking Naproxin with Tramadol as the Tylenol didn’t seem to do anything. He also ran labs on me to make sure I don’t have an infection. I will try the Gabapentin this weekend before I think about driving.

 

[Wilsomasan]

So far the Gabapentin isn’t making me too sleepy. Yesterday I had to crawl across my bed to loosen one of the sheet corners and my right knee started screaming at me. It throbbed in the knee cap and all down the back of my leg. It is my non-surgical side that is also bone on bone. I will lose my job for sure if I have to have another surgery. How long did you guys give in and get surgery on the opposite knee from the one you had surgery on?

 

[Dzina]

I waited a year - wanted the second one done at at 10 months but couldn’t get it scheduled so it was a year. It was bone on bone and I was able to keep the pain under control with acupuncture, biomedical magnets, elastic knee braces when active followed by icing & EX strength Tylenol, and a cortisone injection thrown in for good measure.

 

[Dzina]

Also I think it can depend on the OS practice. Mine rarely will do both at once and then they like at least 3 months between knee #1 and knee #2.

 

[DebCoz]

“he’s putting me on Gabapentin and says it may make me sleepy but I’m safe to drive now.”.
I would be VERY careful with Gabapentin, both my son and niece take it and if not taken exactly on time you experience withdrawal symptoms. Frankly, from my personal experience Tramadol doesn’t do squat, I had stopped taking prescription pain meds after week two and took extra strength Tylenol, then Alleve. I hope they figure it out for you.

 

[Wilsomasan]

Well ladies I have found a cure! I’m week 11. As of last Saturday, having pain daily at a level of 5-7. I had given up hope. I was also struggling with plantar fascitis on my surgical side. I was just plain miserable! The pain was so bad some days I had to take a Hydrocodone. But Sunday I had a massage. Full body deep massage. She rubbed the pain out of my foot and my leg. I came home and for the first time in 12 weeks, I was pain free. The pain is there if I hold it too long in one position like sitting too long but it’s much less intense. When I went to pt today, my balance had improved and my extension was better. It’s like a miracle! I wish I could get a massage every week but she’s only available every two weeks. Work was easier today, I didn’t use my cane and I could function! I can’t believe one massage could make so much difference!

 

[sistersinhim]

I have heard many good things about massages! How wonderful the pain reduction one gave you!

 

[SusieShoes]

Massage is wonderful! Mr. Shoes would massage my legs and (gently) around my knees, particularly on Lefty’s “sore spot.” It really helped, I think. A pro would do even better, I’m sure, and it sounds like this woman did wonders for your leg!

If this lady is only available every two weeks, might there be someone else you could go to for in-between? A loved one who would just do very basic (non-aggressive) massage? Another massage pro? You are getting so much benefit it would be a shame to not keep it up.

 

[Wilsomasan]

Thanks ladies. I appreciate your feedback. @DebCoz I took your advice and decided to stop the Gabapentin cause it didn’t help and I agree that Tramadol is basically worthless. I am sticking to Aleve.

Here’s a question for you people who’ve been through the TKR surgery. I’m two months out and have noticed that my memory is really worse since the surgery. At first I thought it was the meds but I’m not taking them now. My memory wasn’t great before but it really bad now. My co-worker said to me, “You’re losing it man!” I’m 62 and strokes run rampant in my family so this scares me!

 

[Celle]

I don't think your memory loss is anything to do with strokes. More likely, it's still an after-effect of the anaesthetics, plus the stress of the surgery.

 

[SusieShoes]

Memory issues were part of my recovery until about the third month. It was never anything major. Just minor forgetting like putting items on the grocery list or forgetting to make sure there was extra toilet paper in the bathroom. It was part of the post-op brain fog. It’s all good now!

 

[sistersinhim]

I was with you in the memory loss, too. The brain fog is a big part of this recovery. In my 5th week, I tried to prepare to teach Sunday School and I could hardly remember what I had studied. I had to get my backup to do it. When your brain fog clears up your memory will improve.

 

[mom2fencers]

Brain fog is common. I’m an English teacher and I love to read. I’m at 4 weeks post-op and reading anything with some focus has been non-existent so I set aside some books I’ve been hoping to read.

I read my emails and texts, along with this forum, and that’s it. Focusing while driving to the gym is my only focus time. Today I went to church again with my hubby and propped up my knee and closed my eyes while listening to the sermon. I knew most of the hymns so I sang without the hymnal and had eyes closed too.

On Saturday morning I got dressed and was worried we’d be late for church so I woke up hubby. He asked, “Isn’t breakfast with your cousins at 7:45?” I stared at him and couldn’t believe I’d totally forgotten and was on the wrong day!