Knee sensitivity at 4 months

[hollyhobble]

Hi -

I had a Bilateral on May 13th and am doing well. My range of motion is coming along pretty well, walk without assistance though I have trouble sitting down on low things such as our couch, the toilet seat, etc. without having some support from grabbing the arm or the corner of the vanity, etc. I am working on getting up from sitting without assistance and that's working well but I think I have a slight fear of falling or slamming down too quickly that holds me back from sitting faster.

What I wonder about and would like to hear how other's experiences are is that my knees though not painful, can be VERY sensitive. My grandson dropped a toy on my knee and it broke the skin and bled which of course hurt, but even dropping something like a magazine on my lap sends a jolt through it. They are occasionally tight feeling, sometimes tingly feeling, and occasionally painful if it's a stormy day, etc.

At four months, is it to be expected to be experiencing more discomfort rather than pain. Is it that the nerves are still healing and can I expect this to continue to improve. I am tempted to borrow some of the little one's diapers and fasten them around my knees when I babysit just to protect them from flying projectiles (he's 18 months and full of zip!)

Does anyone put anything topical on their knee wounds to soothe them. I use ice occasionally but wonder if anything designed for arthritis pain would be beneficial or would it only serve to irritate more?

I am SOOOO much better than when I had the two arthritic knees that I really don't mind this healing journey at all.

Anyone's opinions will be appreciated.

Holly

 

[Doug]

Holly, I'm at 8 months post op. I just got most of the feeling back on the outside of the incision a few weeks ago. Prior to that, I got all kinds of tingly feelings. I still get tight across the top of the knee especially after a hard workout.
Last month when my O.S. released me, he told me that he used to say to give it a year to heal. He is modifying that to give it 1 1/2 years. Granted our recover is all different and dictated by the condition we were in prior to the surgery, and how much we work the new joint(s) post surgery.
In other words......hang in there, it gets better with time.

 

[Josephine]

Though we are not aware of it, our knee joints are rich in sensory nerves that all work towards out keeping our balance and having spacial awareness, negotiating steps and uneven ground. Now this area has been removed and your body is lacking a large part of its balancing mechanism. This is why you feel uncertain and anxious about falling. You'll get your confidence back in time.

As for the pain, tingles and sensitivity, that's all a normal part of the healing process and will gradually dissipate with time.

 

[hollyhobble]

Thank you both for making me feel more comfortable with where I am in the healing process. Today when I walked from my car to my house, one leg felt totally normal - no tingle, no stiffness. It was wonderful. Of course it didn't last long. I will hang in there and every day I thank goodness that modern technology was available to me!!

 

[Reconstructed_Linda]

Hi Holly:

I had a my right knee replaced on June 9. The skin on skin on the outside half of my knee is still numb. My surgeon said in about a year I won't notice it any longer. Apparently the nerves to the skin are cut when they make the incision. My PT recommended that I regularly massage the incision to loosen it up, and to gently manipulate the knee cap back and forth. She suggested using any any lotion/cream I prefer (sometimes I just use Vaseline). I would avoid using any ointment that would burn/heat up. Using ice is great if you have pain. If you don't have a reuseable ice pack, a designated bag of frozen peas works well - I reuse (freeze again) but I don't plan on eating them.

Take care!
Linda

 

[Rowdy66]

Hi, Holly, just was reading your post about the sensitivity in your knees. We both had bilateral TKR on May 13 and I am about the same place you are at. Don't know if I will ever give up the potty riser but my husband says who cares if you never do you can do what you want without pain. I don't have pain but they can be sensitive. I have good ROM and extention is right on, but when it comes to squating down I am very careful as my knees tend to feel tight then, but I can sit in a chair like a grasshopper, my favorite position, always has been. Walk with no discomfort. Was laughing at my two sons today. Took me shopping for my birthday and out to eat. Went to my fav-o-rite store, Wal-Mart and they couldn't keep up with me. My oldest son is going to be 50 tomorrow and he said I was the fastest walking person in the store. Was out and about for most of the day and came home with no swelling but a little tenderness. I have kept up with your posts as we have the same surgery day and I have sort of used you as my barometer and we seem to be doing about the same. I don't think I will ever not be protective of my knees, let's face it, we probably hurt too much for too long to ever not have some fears. I am just grateful for what I have and what I can do. This forum has been such a Godsend. Anyway I hope this helps, your post certainly helped me. Rowdy

 

[Josephine]

Guys - you wait. 12 months down the line someone will say 'how are you new knees' and you'll have to stop and think ...

Look out for that day!

 

[Doug]

Rowdy, whenever it was, HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

 

[hollyhobble]

Yesterday I had one of those eureka moments when my knees felt REALLY good. I had slept decently back in the master bedroom and not disturbed my husband's sleep at all. I am done with the tossing and turning but still when I have to turn from my back to my side, I actually sit up and move rather than just turning. I find that if I turn too quickly or not carefully enough I tend to irritate the knees a bit. I'm drug free at night and think I am beginning to see that light at the end of the tunnel. I probably need to work on my ROM for ages yet as it's a little bit lacking but am doing well on my own. I had the "potty booster" for quite a while at home but realized that if I were ever to use a toilet outside of my home, I should learn to get down there! At first, it's been tough but now if I have something close by, even the wall, for a little support, I have no problem. I have been practicing getting up without holding on to anything and do believe it's more a fear of falling rather than actually that I cannot do it physically. I am often victim to my fears and need to try harder to overcome them.

One side benefit which I am thankful for is that I have lost over 30 pounds since my surgery and feel wonderful about that. I'm sure that's better for my knees and having to go new jeans because my old ones looked like they would fall off is great!! Of course being a yo-yo dieter, I didn't discard the bigger ones but hope that I can give them to Goodwill this time next year!

Rowdy, thanks for your comments since we have our surgery date in common. Ain't it amazing!! I am so thrilled that I had it done and only regret is that I didn't do it a long time ago so that I could have enjoyed many of our travels a lot more without knee pain! But I guess everyone needs to have the surgery in their own time.

Right now though, I am feeling wonderful, walking pretty decently and happy as can be!

Holly

 

[ttlncsc]

Hello Holly,

I will be 3 months post op on the 18th of September. My knee has slowly decreased in sensitivity but sometimes a fairly soft blanket will bug the fool out of me when it touches the inside of my rt. knee. I think part of this is the nerves are gaining some sensitivity and our bodies are still adjusting. Hang in there. Best of luck....Tom

 

[RickB]

Holly,

Thank you so very much for your up lifting message. I will be in my third week with my RTKR and 10 days with my LTKR, since the second surgery on it. It is nice to know that someday this will be only a memory. The left one is still giving me a though time.

Rick

 

[carolinagirl]

I am in absolute awe of you guys who had bilateral TKR!
Ya'll are TOUGH! I could not imagine dealing with both knees at the same time. One has been enough for me. I have noticed that within the last few days some of the feeling has started to come back on the outside of my knee.
My scar has calmed down considerably. It used to hurt like crazy when the PT would massage it. I don't even really notice it now.
Hope all have a good Sunday evening!
Tammy

 

[efoltyn]

Hi Holly,

I had BTKR on Feb 20 of this year (almost 7 months ago). For me things are going very well. The numbness on the outside of the knees is getting less noticeable but if our cat gets on my lap and hits my knee incision area just right it still hurts but not too bad. For me, the time between 5 and 6 months post-op is when everything started to feel almost normal. My doctor says that it takes between 6 months and a year to get to this point, so I feel that I am right on track.

As a recommendation, keep exercising (biking, walking, and swimming are some of the best). My family and I went camping about a month ago and it was nice to be able to go on a couple of hikes (my first in several years) without pain. Also remember to ice down if you overdo it.

Take care...it does get better for most of us.

Ed

 

[Turtlelady53]

Hi there. I haven't been posting for a while, but have definitely lurked from time to time. I just hit 3 months for BTKR and started back to work. I still have lots of scar sensitivity and am numb on left side of left knee. I don't even like the feel of long pants rubbing against the scars. What has helped, like in a previous post, is to message daily and manipulate the kneecap to breek loose scare tissue. I message scars with Bio Oil I found in CVS. I am still having lots of problems with ROM (or lack of), and knees are still tight as a drum. Just waiting for time to finish this healing process!
Sharon

 

[Josephine]

Great to hear from you, Sharon. Keep up the good fight!