TKR Kneeling after TKR<

[fishy]

Hello, I'm new here. I've been reading many posts without being a member and find the support here very helpful. I had my first knee replacement done on August 20th, 2018 and had my second knee done on December 26, 2018. Tomorrow will be 8 weeks since the second one.

I have 'graduated' from my physical therapy with flexion of 127. With my first knee, I got it to 137. This knee has been more painful than the first one. The last few days I have done some housework, cleaning, organizing, etc. that has had me on my feet a lot more than normal. Now I am experiencing more pain and sleeplessness.

Because of my pain, I've cut back on my exercises. Also, at the same time, we have been having a lot of bad weather (snow) in our area. I'm not sure if I've just overdone it or if its the weather causing the pain but I am feeling very discouraged and so tired of hurting and not sleeping well! It's really been 6 long months since my first surgery and the recovery has all really run together like one endless process!

Any support or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I feel like a big baby complaining all of the time!

 

[Jockette]

Hi and Welcome to Bonesmart!

You are not a baby. This is a very tough recovery and you are courageous for going for the second one, knowing full well what the recovery is like.

As you’ve found, more activity than your knee is ready for will increase your pain. Try to cut back a bit and give your knees more healing time.

Hang out with us here, we all know what you’re going through.

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:

rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
the BoneSmart view on exercise
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for TKRs
6. Access to these pages on the website
Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Closure

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?

Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key

Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly

Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only
ONE Recovery Thread.
This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.

 

[fishy]

Thank you so very much for your reply and encouragement. I have read some of the articles that you posted previously and found them very helpful and reassuring. I haven't read them all though, so I will start at the top and work my way down. Sometimes I just feel like the pain is never going to end... I'm prayerful that it will. It has given me a whole new appreciation for people who suffer from chronic pain for many years. I don't know how they do it!!

 

[Kenello]

I hope you can give yourself credit for working so hard at recovery, and consider that maybe you overdid it!
Are you able to get out of pain for any part of the day/night? With less activity?

 

[sistersinhim]

It sounds like to me that you are doing too much for that new baby knee of yours and now it's letting you know. If you cut way back on your activities and rest, elevate and ice for the next couple of weeks or more, you should see much improvement in your ROM and your pain.

 

[Jamie]

Hi and welcome to BoneSmart! I live in Kansas and we're having yet another bout of cold and snow tonight. It's making ME crazy and I'm not trying to recover from two knee replacements in a short period of time!

Your feelings are very normal for this huge challenge you're engaged in. We sometimes say that TKRs are not for sissies.

One thing that's important is to try not to compare one of your knees with the other. Sometimes even people who have both done at the same time by the same surgeon will still have different recovery experiences with one over the other. It's just the way knees are as they let you know they are in charge of recovery and you're just along for the ride.....

But seriously, your latest knee is still in the early stages of recovery. Things are healing deep inside and soft tissues are all trying to adjust to their new life as part of a perfectly aligned knee. It takes time but you'll get there. Most surgeons, if they are honest, will tell you "full" recovery can take a year or more. Of course, you're active during this time and gradually doing more and more. But it does take time to feel more normal and not think about your knees all the time. You'll get there and what a great day that will be!

 

[fishy]

Thank you everyone for your support and replies. It really helps to feel like I’m not alone in this. I can’t figure out how to reply to each response individually so this will have to do for all of you.

To answer the question if I can ever get any relief from the pain... yes if I’m resting with my legs elevated and sometimes with ice or heat, I’m not in pain. One thing that is causing me to not get much sleep is that I will fall asleep for maybe an hour and then wake up with my knees aching from being still in one position so long (at least that’s what I think causes the pain) if I get up and move around, use a massager or apply ice or heat, the pain eases up enough that I can usually get back to sleep for another hour or so, then I have to do it all again! I’m just so tired!

 

[Lindylee]

I'm really interested in your story, as I had my first knee done 4 weeks ago and my surgeon offered to do the second 4 months later, which I felt, for me, was a little early. I can feel your pain and frustration at the lack of sleep. My one knee gets stiff in one position for long and wakes me up. It's always quite painful first thing until I've done a few simple exercises and got up and moved around. Cutting back on the exercises seems sensible. I hope the pain soon subsides and you can catch up on some much needed sleep.

 

[Jockette]

I can’t figure out how to reply to each response individually so this will have to do for all of you.

Replying in one post and just mentioning people is how you do it, so you did great!

 

[Denny39]

Your story is very familiar to many of us. So is your concern that there may be something wrong with you because you don’t think you’re handling it well. Welcome to the club. That’s what Bonesmart is for. I doubt that ANY of us really knew what we were really getting into before our first TKR. I am 10 weeks yesterday, and this has definitely been the toughest 10 weeks of my life. Don’t get me wrong . . . I am actually finally beginning to think just maybe this was a good thing after all. Which is what I was told over and over would eventually happen.

Surprised by the weather affecting your knee? So was I. I NEVER had a “weather knee” in my life before TKR. It
Really bothered me when all of a sudden when I thought I was a doing really good my knee suddenly became painful. It was my wife who noticed that it coincided with changes in barometric pressure. That will probably diminish over time. Waking up with a painful knee because it has been in an awkward position is still a nightly occurrence for me as well, as was a problem sleeping. At 10 weeks, I am finally getting back to something of a “kind of” normal sleep pattern.

The point is, all of these thing are most likely completely normal, and while a decidedly unpleasant part of the recovery process, nothing to be unduly concerned over. DEFINITELY nothing to indicate there is anything wrong with you (other than a knee which has been severely traumatized and needing lot of time and TLC to recover and begin serving you again). When you were discharged, you were probably given a specific list of things to watch for that may indicate problems; sudden extreme pain, excess swelling, high fever, red streaks. As long as none of those danger signs show up, you probably are just going through the grinder. After I got home, and the drugs began to wear off, my comment was, “Now I know what a tree feels like after it’s been through a chipper”.

Your surgeries were separated by 6 months. That’s what mine is scheduled for, and I’m debating whether or not I really want to do that. As you said, that makes it a seemingly endless process. I’m having a rather hard time with that. Do I want to overlap them and get it over with; or wait until this one is completely healed and start all over again. I think you showed both wisdom and courage to overlap them as you did, and I’m leaning that way; but it’s still not an easy choice.

It sounds like you’re on a good track. Hang in there and stay focused. This will pass, and the day will come when you will reap the benefits of it.

 

[Josephine]

Any support or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I feel like a big baby complaining all of the time!

Pleasedon't think that. This is a big, big operation and it's not at all uncommon for people to feel overwhelmed by it.

TKR December 26, 2018, TKR August 20, 2018 - can you tell me which side is which?


I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?

 

[fishy]

I'm really interested in your story, as I had my first knee done 4 weeks ago and my surgeon offered to do the second 4 months later, which I felt, for me, was a little early. I can feel your pain and frustration at the lack of sleep. My one knee gets stiff in one position for long and wakes me up. It's always quite painful first thing until I've done a few simple exercises and got up and moved around. Cutting back on the exercises seems sensible. I hope the pain soon subsides and you can catch up on some much needed sleep.

Lindylee, I'm sorry to hear that you are not getting good sleep either but I'm glad to know I'm not alone! The only reason I had my second knee done so close to the first one is because we had met our out of pocket maximum for the year so the second knee was essentially going to be free if I did it before the new year. If it hadn't been for that, I would have waited longer, I think. Although, I am so glad they are both done... it's just surviving the recovery at this point!

 

[fishy]

Replying in one post and just mentioning people is how you do it, so you did great!

Thank you! I will certainly read your story. I have a question... am I allowed to start another thread regarding a different issue I am having with my foot on my first surgical leg? It seems like I saw somewhere on the site when I joined that each member is only allowed one thread? The title of this one though won't reflect what my next question is about.

 

[fishy]

Your surgeries were separated by 6 months.

Thank you for your reply and support Denny39. It's been six months since my first surgery now, but I had my second one two months ago, so they were actually only separated by 4 months. Not sure how much of a difference that extra two months would make. In another reply, I mentioned the only reason I did them so close together was that we had reached our out of pocket maximum with our insurance, so the second surgery was going to end up costing us nearly nothing if I did it before the end of the year. If not for that, I would have probably waited longer, but I am grateful that both surgeries are behind me now. I had never had any weather-related pain before my surgery either! It seems strange to me now that the arthritis is gone I'd have pain with artificial knees, but I do believe that's what's happening. I sure hope it doesn't go on forever! I'm hoping Spring arrives soon!!

 

[Jockette]

I have a question... am I allowed to start another thread regarding a different issue I am having with my foot on my first surgical leg?

You can ask your question about your foot here, and then if a moderator feels the question should be in another area, they’ll move it for you to the right place and let you know.

 

[fishy]

It sounds like to me that you are doing too much for that new baby knee of yours and now it's letting you know. If you cut way back on your activities and rest, elevate and ice for the next couple of weeks or more, you should see much improvement in your ROM and your pain.

Thank you so much. I hope you are right. I'll try it.

 

[fishy]

Ok friends... next issue is with my foot on my right leg (the first surgery done 6 months ago). When I woke up from surgery my foot was numb and tingling. Just like it feels when your foot is 'asleep'.

I still could move my foot normally but the tingling was driving me crazy! I kept thinking it would get better. After discussing it with my surgeon, PT folks and a chiropractor I go see, everyone felt like it was likely due to positioning during surgery, a pinched nerve or something I guess.

I had had a problem with my piriformis muscle a few weeks before surgery so I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not. Over time, the numbness and tingling did seem to improve somewhat. At first, it was the whole bottom of my foot and all of my toes and gradually it came to be just a strip up the center of the bottom of my foot and my middle toes.

Well, it's 6 months later and I still have it. Fortunately, it didn't happen with the surgery on my other knee. I was very concerned that it might. My surgeon told me it is EXTREMELY rare that anything like this happens. Anyone else had problems with this?

Is there hope that it might go away eventually? None of the professionals seem to have any answers other than, wait and see. UGH!

I forgot to mention also, that after my first surgery, I had almost no knee pain at all, except when the PT folks would bend it to measure my flexion... OUCH! But I did have A LOT of low back and hip pain that finally got better just before my second surgery. Now I have it some on the other side since this surgery but not as bad but a LOT more knee pain than the first one.

 

[Lindylee]

@fishy Having the second done with no cost to you makes perfect sense. As you say, at least they're both done and out the way. Sorry to hear about your foot problem. I can't make up my mind if it's a good trade off for no knee pain or not

 

[Denny39]

The “weather knee” problem that shows up post-surgery may be at least partially explained by all of the damage done to the surrounding soft tissue, and the length of time that needs to fully heal. At my 5-week check-up, my surgeon told me that there are 3 layers of stitching under the staples at the surface. Those will take up to 6 months to fully dissolve. In the meantime, they will cause various and probably more often than not, undesirable side effects.

I have also heard there are more than 3 layers, but that may depend on various factors. In any case many who have also experienced this have told me that it eventually either completely went away, or at least diminished considerably. Just another thing to look forward to.

 

[fishy]

I guess I’ll have to decide if it was a good trade off when I no longer have painful knees! Lol! Hopefully by then the foot is back to normal. I’m just hoping someone else here has some experience with this and can offer some hope.