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TKR My Journey as of 12/16/13 - Over 1 Year and Still Trying

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Hi @DogLoverx3
Happy New Year! I'm so glad you had a good trip, it sounds great fun. I'm so pleased that Dick behaved himself.
How did it go at the PT this morning?
xx
 
Thanks for sharing your airport experience. I have a trip coming up in March so it's interesting to read of your relatively painless experience. It is all of about 10 degrees here today with a wind chill of -2 and we were out in it. I don't find cold bothers my knees but the ever changing barometric pressure sure does. Glad you had a good trip!
 
@DogLoverx3 ,

I am so glad they let you leave your boots on. When I tell them I have 2 knee replacements, every airport that I have been to except for a small one. Has changed to the scanners. I like that because it means no more pat downs!

I'm so glad you had a nice time with your friend.

Happy New Year!:)
 
I did not put two and two together that my extension is bad because of my hamstrings. That makes sense! Thank you for your kind words of encouragement @DogLoverx3
 
Hi @Ellejay . PT is going well. She's helping me with a lot of things and my knee is not feeling like it's about explode every minute of the day anymore, so that's nice! I was laying on the couch tonight and had my legs bent up, in the air, and guess what? My flexion has increased! It was always (well, after the 1st 4 months, that is) good, but was always behind my left leg. Tonight I noticed that they were even and there wasn't that hard stop feeling. My PTs massages paired with the ultrasound machine must be working!!

I'm so pleased that all is going well in this recovery for you and that your hubby is still being an angel!

I was thrilled to discover the 'can't take my shoes off' trick @gr82cu2 and @RestAssured . If it were summer and i was wearing slip on shoes or sandals, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but boots are a whole other story. I was surprised about the cold not bothering my knee. Fully expected that it would, so that was a nice surprise!

Yes, @kvhundley - hamstrings have a lot to do with flexion and mine took forever to start loosening up. I got very discouraged and didn't think they ever would, but they did. You're doing great for not even being a full month out, so try to keep your eye on the prize and know that things will get better!

Just wanted to post a quick update about my ROM as that was a very nice added bonus that I didn't expect! Hope everyone is well! xoxox
 
@DogLoverx3 ,

I have some news that will come as a shock to everyone but you. Yesterday, at the place where I work out, I had a new massage therapist work on me. My old one couldn't be fit into my schedule this week.

Anyway, this MT, is schooled in breaking up adhesions, and working on arthritic joints. I always ask for deep pressure,:heehee: but this time was like no other! She broke up scar tissue left over from when I broke my foot, some in the left knee and started working on the right! Stephanie said that she will be able to correct my gait, and I will be moving like a champ!

It's ok that I have to eat my words; I still believe this should ONLY be done after a year. Stephanie asked me how long it had been, because if it was less than a year she said, "The healing process is still taking place." My revision was May 2012, and it was doing pretty good until all I focused on was the marathon. Then it weakened. From now on, strength training and massages will remain in my life. I will move back to Marcie who does therapeutic massages in the future, but right now I want to get this problem fixed!

I completely understand where you are coming from now! Thank you for a different perspective. Maybe some people will be helped by your post!:loveshwr:
 
@DogLoverx3, a year + and still making progress! that is such good news for you! and encouraging news for everyone else. I'm very happy for you.
@RestAssured - once agin, great news that things can change a year out and that different therapies can help, I'm pleased that the massage helped you.
 
Hi All. As it's been a month since my last update, thought I'd fill you in what's going on with Dick. I'm still seeing my PT twice a week. Although I saw some marked improvement towards the beginning, things have seemingly settled back into the old routine of me waking up, cursing my knee and then getting on with my day. My PT is just plain stumped. She thinks she feels some sort of a cyst floating around on the outer side of my knee. She has no clue what it is, but knows it shouldn't be there. As my pain doesn't seem to originate from there, we've kinda just let it live out it's life in there since nothing she tries seems to minimize it.

Interesting thing though from Tuesday's session. She usually concentrates on the outside of my knee and my IT band. I explained about the catching that I have behind my knee when going from bent to straight on weight bearing and showed her the exact spot. She thinks that's IT band too so she spent some time working that area more than normal and also had the tech do the ultrasound on the back outside of my knee instead of the normal front outside. Very consistently all of my internal swelling and pressure comes from about midway below and around the outside of my knee, with little swelling on the inside. After she worked on the outside of my knee and did the ultrasound on the different area, the internal swelling/pressure switched sides! Instead of feeling it mostly on the bottom outside, it 'moved' to the upper inside. So weird. I actually had a hard time figuring out how to walk properly as that specific area has not plagued me with the internal pressure.

It's pretty much back to where it was, but found it strange that all the fluid/swelling/whatever is going on in there moved to a completely different part of my knee! It's been eons since I didn't feel that horrible pressure on the outside of my knee, but for a short while, it wasn't there. I see her again tomorrow and will tell her what happened.

Oh, and she's going to have her assistant work on me tomorrow. She does something called scraping (Graston Technique?). I can't tell you how excited I am. *insert sarcasm here* ;-)

We've also decided (okay, I've decided) that anything with resistance bands or weight bearing and 'squatty' is out for me. I had been doing them and it would take me days to 'recover', so they're out. For good. For now....... until I can find an OS who is remotely interested in getting to the bottom of my issues.

Oh, whoops, also forgot to mention that when I asked what my ROM was, she said 'normal'. Basically, it's as good as my non TKR knee is, so that's at least 155+. If only I could take advantage of that awesome bend while weight bearing.....

Hope everyone is well!
 
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155!!!!! That is amazing Ellen. I was told I was being greedy when I wasn't happy yesterday with my 110, she said that was good - I don't think so!
I'm sorry your pain issues still aren't sorted though, I wonder if this new assistant might shed any light on the problem, wouldn't it be wonderful if they could? Fingers crossed.
Take care Ellen xxx
 
Thanks @Ellejay . The 155 ROM comes with a trade off though remember. I can't actually DO much of anything weight bearing and the cause of the great ROM might also be the same thing that's causing all my issues. I think 110 is wonderful for being 8 weeks out! I've gained more ROM in the past few months, so all those 'window of opportunity' people are wrong. You can keep gaining.

Thanks for your good thoughts. I'm a bit worn out on running from OS to OS to try to figure things out, so I'm just kinda biding my time at the moment. Keep up the great work, my friend! xoxo
 
Wow 155 is awesome @DogLoverx3. Well done. I'm really pleased you found a PT that cares and most importantly doesn't hurt you! She's a lucky find.

I'm sure that one day you will find out the cause and get it sorted once and for all. I was very happy to see that you had a bit of time without that pressure feeling in your knee.

Good luck Ellen, you really have struck gold there. I'm genuinely happy for you.

Love Nana moon 27 x
 
:) - Good luck with the scraping tomorrow. Fascinating .......... Hope you see some improvement.
Looks as though this PT is using everything she can think of to try and help, which is great. As I have said before, I am always impressed with good PT's as they know what feels right/ odd/ unusual/ wrong etc.
Got everything crossed for you Ellen, that one of these therapies will be the key to unlock Dick's mysteries.
XXX
 
@DogLoverx3 Just checking in on you . You must be busy with work as we are here as well. The economy seems to be thriving. Weekends at my work (Costco ) have been crazy busy and its only early march. These used to be our slow time of the year especially for the meat department. Heck, it feels like summer. I re read some of your recent thread and got caught up . I hope things get sorted out. For a minute it sounded like adhesions may be the culprit. What happens if its determined to be scar tissue ? Would you have surgery to remove or snip them? That may give you some relief .!! I read you found a great message therapist but have you located a sympathetic and caring OS ????? . Ironically i go to my annual with my OS today ,nearly 1 month after my actual annual date. I have given up jogging . I just walk treadmill at a high elevation ,ride stationary bike and climb on a stair climber at the gym often . However jogging is out of the question , my knee will hurt for 2-3 day afterwards. Ellen , best of luck to you , Iceman
 
Thanks for the nice messages. @icep707 , I never get alerts and haven't been around much, but happened to log on yesterday to see that @mcirish had friend requested me on FB (accepted, by the way Tom. Enjoy all my inane pictures of dogs and happy hours!) and that you and Ann had left me messages.

I bet you're swamped with Costco! I think of you every time I'm there (which is about 3 times a week) ;-). You've done so well with your knee! Yey. Uhm, jogging? Are you insane? Glad you gave it up. Not worth it.

I really have nothing new to report. The relief that PT and the massage was originally providing is no more. Boo. I have an appointment with yet another (yes, for those of you keeping track at home, makes 4) revision surgeon in town at the end of the month in the hopes of getting some answers. While the last surgeon told me 'something' wasn't right and offered to do a revision, I'm certainly not having one without knowing what it is he's fixing! 'Something' doesn't provide me with a lot of confidence.

I would be thrilled if my issues were determined to be scar tissue and could be solved/fixed with a scope or simple surgery. I did see where @RunA42K is going in for this procedure and I'm so happy for her and absolutely hope it helps with her challenges! I'll absolutely be following her recovery for this and hope that all goes well!

As no one, aside from my PT, has ever even mentioned the words 'scar tissue' to me though, I don't know. I don't think it shows on x-rays or scans. My PT says my knee cap doesn't track properly when weight bearing due to the continued swelling. Oddly, it tracks fine when I'm sitting she says. She is going to write up a progress report for me before I go in to see this next surgeon. That's more than I've gotten since and hopefully will help him realize that this isn't all in my head. :) Today I had the pleasure (read: displeasure) of having that awesome (read: cruddy) tight band feeling return. I have a lot of bone pain in my Tibia right where I assume the cut line is, left of center so who knows, maybe the stupid thing is loose after all. Bleck.

Well darn, I guess I'm incapable of writing a concise (or upbeat) post. Thank you, though, for checking in. I keep in contact with several people 'behind the scenes', but it doesn't seem to make much sense for me to post 'same poop, different day' over and over again. I will update after my next appointment. Let's all hope with more than a 'I got nothin'' :)

Oh, whoopsie. @dogwheels , the scraping thing was interesting. Wasn't nearly as painful as I'd expected, but really didn't help either...
 
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Hi @DogLoverx3

Ellen, I'm so sorry you're still having problems. I think that you are being very sensible not letting them open your knee up until they have some semblance of an idea of what they're doing. Frankly, I don't blame you one bit.

I'm glad you got a decent PT who seems to listen to you and accept what you are saying, alongside telling you there is a problem. That must reassure you. I'm glad she's writing a proper report to your OS.

I'm sorry to read about the scraping procedure not working. What a pain!

Good luck with the next stage. I do wish you all the best when you see the surgeon next.

I'm glad that you've not given up trying to get your knee sorted. This time frame now must be doing your head in.

Take care Ellen
Love Ann x
 
Hi there, Ellen - sorry you still have no real answers yet - but I'd be thinking exactly as you are about not going through with a revision until someone can tell you what the issue is. That was entirely too brutal to go through again without knowing what they would actually fix, and have some assurance that it wouldn't happen again. Much too fresh in my mind to even think about right now!

I can't believe you are still getting that tightness on your knee - I will likely break into song and dance the first day I wake up and it doesn't feel so tight and heavy!
 
hi @DogLoverx3 - I'm so sorry things still haven't worked out for you, you must have the patience of a saint to keep so cheerful all the time. Wishing you well, xxx Lyn
 
Hi Ellen, thanks for tagging me. I can say that no one ever mentions scar tissue to me, not last time (2012/2013) not this time (2015). It's always me bringing it up. My biggest pain is in the area of the joint space medial side. Like you it feels like where they cut and hurts where the metal platforms are. Most pain comes from weight bearing on that leg, it does not bother me sitting. But...when I do sit for a while, I start out with a limp to get going again. I also have that tight clamp feeling around my joint like it us just getting squeezed and is very stiff. Today I became motivated to do it sooner rather than later. Pre op check up is March 16, so maybe April's Fools day or April 2 I can get it done. I want to be riding my bike and swimming in May!

Never give up looking for answers, they are out there, we just need to find them!

Btw, I am friends with Sonja on FB...I'd love to find you too.
 
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