PKR My Drama Queen Patellofemoral Knee
- Thread starter Jockette
- Start date
United States
You know your knee better than anyone else. Listen to it and make your decision based on what it says!
OP
OP
@beachy
SusieShoes mentioned my issue with pants. I think it’s a rare issue as only one other member has mentioned she had something similar with her hip. (It was Pheebs, and she’s recovered and moved on with life, though she was a hoot, you’d have loved her!)
Anyway, my knee gets extremely upset the second I put pants on. And it’s the internal part of the knee, not the incision. (I do remember that incision sensitivity, and this isn’t it)
It feels like something big and hard swells up inside my knee, or, as I’ve said in previous posts, like a hunk of wood has been jammed into my knee from the lower lateral side.
It must be nerve damage. It’s just awful and last winter was so hard for me, because even in Delaware it gets too cold to wear shorts.
In December I tried on a pair of knee high stockings. Immediately it felt like big spikes were being driven into my knee, all around in a circle. I was shocked. I couldn’t get it off fast enough. And knee highs don’t even touch the knee! It must have been the elastic at the top and the snug fit.
My original surgeon was stumped.
My second opinion surgeon called it dysesthesia which he said was the opposite of anesthesia. With anesthesia you feel nothing, with dysesthesia, you feel everything.
I truly am unique. And it’s not fun. At 16 months my knee should be over itself by now. Sometimes I just want to scream. But it won’t help so it’s not worth the effort. But still, I’ve had a few melt downs over the months.
SusieShoes mentioned my issue with pants. I think it’s a rare issue as only one other member has mentioned she had something similar with her hip. (It was Pheebs, and she’s recovered and moved on with life, though she was a hoot, you’d have loved her!)
Anyway, my knee gets extremely upset the second I put pants on. And it’s the internal part of the knee, not the incision. (I do remember that incision sensitivity, and this isn’t it)
It feels like something big and hard swells up inside my knee, or, as I’ve said in previous posts, like a hunk of wood has been jammed into my knee from the lower lateral side.
It must be nerve damage. It’s just awful and last winter was so hard for me, because even in Delaware it gets too cold to wear shorts.
In December I tried on a pair of knee high stockings. Immediately it felt like big spikes were being driven into my knee, all around in a circle. I was shocked. I couldn’t get it off fast enough. And knee highs don’t even touch the knee! It must have been the elastic at the top and the snug fit.
My original surgeon was stumped.
My second opinion surgeon called it dysesthesia which he said was the opposite of anesthesia. With anesthesia you feel nothing, with dysesthesia, you feel everything.
I truly am unique. And it’s not fun. At 16 months my knee should be over itself by now. Sometimes I just want to scream. But it won’t help so it’s not worth the effort. But still, I’ve had a few melt downs over the months.
beachy
supremo
Well that’s just terrible! Have you always had that condition?
I had to chuckle when you said “even in Delaware it gets too cold to wear shorts”. Same here and we’re south of you! I was just thinking of wearing them inside but if baggy sweats work then so be it.
Really sorry that you have that condition.
I had to chuckle when you said “even in Delaware it gets too cold to wear shorts”. Same here and we’re south of you! I was just thinking of wearing them inside but if baggy sweats work then so be it.
Really sorry that you have that condition.
OP
OP
I definitely did not have it before surgery. I don’t really remember the spring of 2017. My surgery was March, and I did wear pants to go somewhere if I had to, but I think it was more the incision that was bothered then.
But it started this nonesense last fall when it got cold and I needed to wear pants. And cold air does a number on my knee, too. Oh yay!
If a revision is necessary, I assume it will fix some issues, but maybe not the nerve damage. I shudder to think the nerve damage could get worse with another surgery. It sounds reasonable that it could, if they are upset now and get moved around again. It’s one of my hesitations of getting another opinion.
I was hoping the gabapentin would help. But the side effects were unpleasant enough that after 3 weeks I was tired of waiting for it to help. I’m tired of side effects to fix things that only make things worse, which is how this partial has gone for me.
I didn’t know how good I had it when I only had some arthritis in my knee, and not enough arthritis to need a total. They told me I was not bone on bone. I innocently thought I was catching my arthritis early, and all I’d ever need was a partial, and everything I read said partials were less invasive and a quicker recovery than a total.
But it started this nonesense last fall when it got cold and I needed to wear pants. And cold air does a number on my knee, too. Oh yay!
If a revision is necessary, I assume it will fix some issues, but maybe not the nerve damage. I shudder to think the nerve damage could get worse with another surgery. It sounds reasonable that it could, if they are upset now and get moved around again. It’s one of my hesitations of getting another opinion.
I was hoping the gabapentin would help. But the side effects were unpleasant enough that after 3 weeks I was tired of waiting for it to help. I’m tired of side effects to fix things that only make things worse, which is how this partial has gone for me.
I didn’t know how good I had it when I only had some arthritis in my knee, and not enough arthritis to need a total. They told me I was not bone on bone. I innocently thought I was catching my arthritis early, and all I’d ever need was a partial, and everything I read said partials were less invasive and a quicker recovery than a total.
Is there a nerve doctor you could go see? Something needs to be done to help you.
OP
OP
I don’t know, I hadn’t thought of that. I was concentrating on the knee replacement itself. I guess a neurologist could be an option.
OP
OP
I had that test done about 5 years ago, when I lived in Ohio, for the nerve issue I have in the foot of my non operated leg. (My foot basically does the same thing my knee does with pants, when I put socks and shoes on. ) It showed “something” was going on, but there was never any conclusion as to what.
To be honest, I don’t think I could take all those needle sticks in this current operated leg.
At my second opinion appointment the dr put a shot of lidocaine in my knee and my knee went crazy (confirmation of a nerve issue?) and stayed upset for about 24 hours.
OP
OP
So I was just talking to my daughter, who lives in Ohio (I am in Delaware 
) and I asked about her garden. She has a big one for the first time. They went away for 2 weeks and they were really worried about how the garden would fare without them to take care of it.
Well, they were pleasantly surprised when they got home that it thrived without them and is doing very well. She said, it did better without us!
It made me think of our knees (unfortunately I’m always thinking about my knee) and how they do better if we leave them alone to recover, as compared to “doing things” with them!
) and I asked about her garden. She has a big one for the first time. They went away for 2 weeks and they were really worried about how the garden would fare without them to take care of it. Well, they were pleasantly surprised when they got home that it thrived without them and is doing very well. She said, it did better without us!
It made me think of our knees (unfortunately I’m always thinking about my knee) and how they do better if we leave them alone to recover, as compared to “doing things” with them!
nuttybrunette
senior
I like the neurologist idea. Couldn’t hurt. Well, if they do the nerve test it might, but you’d maybe get an opinion about what is going on.
OP
OP
It’s tempting. My husband sees a neurologist and I like him. And he’s local!
OP
OP
@Josephine
My husband is in the process of having Radio Frequency Ablation done on his lower back. He had the first part done the other day, we have to wait for these results before moving on to the second part.
It got me wondering if it could be done for a knee issue and I found this article. What do you think?
https://louisianapain.com/new-treatment-chronic-knee-pain/
The article says it’s new, but it was written in 2014.
My husband is in the process of having Radio Frequency Ablation done on his lower back. He had the first part done the other day, we have to wait for these results before moving on to the second part.
It got me wondering if it could be done for a knee issue and I found this article. What do you think?
https://louisianapain.com/new-treatment-chronic-knee-pain/
The article says it’s new, but it was written in 2014.
NavyGunns
Former BoneSmart staff member
@Jockette,
If I’m reading the article correctly, it appears they are simply deadening the nerves in your knee, essentially making it numb? That might address your chronic pain issue, but does it also mask the potential of determining if something else is wrong? If you knee is numb, how will you know if you’ve done something that really injures your knee? Pain is the body’s way of saying “Something is not right”.
It might be worth looking into, but make sure you think of and write down ALL your questions and get answers first! Might even want to ask the basis for the answers. How might you go about verifying them independently.
If I’m reading the article correctly, it appears they are simply deadening the nerves in your knee, essentially making it numb? That might address your chronic pain issue, but does it also mask the potential of determining if something else is wrong? If you knee is numb, how will you know if you’ve done something that really injures your knee? Pain is the body’s way of saying “Something is not right”.
It might be worth looking into, but make sure you think of and write down ALL your questions and get answers first! Might even want to ask the basis for the answers. How might you go about verifying them independently.
OP
OP
And we know how well that can go!
I’m only wondering about this. I’ll see if they proceed with my husband. He’s been in a huge amount of back pain for about a year now. It’s hurts him to stand or walk even just a little bit.
I’m not rushing into any procedure. Been there, done that, with this partial.
To be honest, at this point, a numb knee would be awesome.
I don’t think this would numb the entire knee so that I would be unaware of an injury. But who knows.
I have read the accounts of other members who have problems after replacement, X-rays look fine, several more opinions and more surgeries and no fix, the issue is still there. I am on my way to becoming one of those people.
I feel my issue is so rare that no one is going to be able to help. My second opinion surgeon was highly respected, and he said not everyone gets a good outcome and sometimes doing it over can make it worse. Well, I am worse now than before my surgery and I don’t want to be any worse than I am now. I don’t want a revision that doesn’t work, which leads to another revision which could create more issues.
Right now, I’m very uncomfortable at times, but as a friend of mine told me a few months ago, my knee is attached and I can walk. ( she has really bad knees, has had many knee surgeries and is planning on replacement)
At this point I honestly doubt that there is a fix for what I believe is nerve damage from the surgery. My personal feeling is that it’s in relation to the lateral release he did. My discomfort is no where near where my implant is.
I don’t believe this nerve issue is the only problem. My knee often feels out of joint. Maybe it’s the patella mal tracking, maybe the implant is loose, I have symptoms of both. If either of these things is true, something will “snap” eventually. Then a surgeon will take me seriously.
I was ready this week to make an appointment for another opinion but I have changed my mind. I am not ready to start down a path of surgery after surgery with their awful recoveries and have no better conclusion and maybe a worse one.
When in doubt, don’t.
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NavyGunns
Former BoneSmart staff member
@Jockette,
I understand and fully respect your reasoning. You know what’s best for your situation. I especially like the idea of waiting to see how things go with your husband. Depending on the outcome, that may give you a chance to have a discussion with his doctor to see if the procedure may provide you some relief.
Good luck.
I understand and fully respect your reasoning. You know what’s best for your situation. I especially like the idea of waiting to see how things go with your husband. Depending on the outcome, that may give you a chance to have a discussion with his doctor to see if the procedure may provide you some relief.
Good luck.
Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
It looks okay but NG is right. However, a lot of similar remedial treatments deaden the nerves and it's often preferable to the alternative to pain meds that don't work and have nasty side effects.
OP
OP
Today one of my friends commented that I was walking well and looked more relaxed doing it. I mentally rolled my eyes and agreed with her (yes, I basically lied) and she was happy. End of conversation. 
