TKR New left knee

[Suzette]

Ooooh no. Burn a nerve without even knowing where he was sticking the needle!!

Luckily all my nerve blocks were performed using ultrasound so the correct nerve was pinpointed with great accuracy and with extreme pain. The last 2 I had were the worse ever and I will never have that done again!

I was just reading your posts. I have magnesium tabs...I think I will start to take them again to see if they help with the back and also the knee zinging. I also have Tumeric caps, which are supposed to be anti inflammatory. I will do more research on those.

Here's being positive.

Ps..I was told to walk more to loosen my back up .... and thats when both my knees swelled massively...the left never recovered..hense the TKR !!

 

[Jockette]

Some of the shots I had in my back were done with an X-ray machine above me and a computer screen. I’m sure he knew where he was putting them, but I wasn’t about to let him burn anything!

I have to admit exercise has its place, but unfortunately sometimes it causes another issue. Especially if we do it wrong. Like me continuing to tighten the resistance on the bike. Shows how much I know!

 

[Josephine]

I wrote a long letter directly to the hip surgeon asking for an explanation on why I have to live with the hip pain.

Would love to know what his answer is!

I know they will say it's because steroids damage tissues.

But it's prednisone that does that. Depo doesn't. Read this Cortisone shots: are they safe and is there a limit to how many?

The spinal surgeon has said if the nerve blocks I had in l3/l4 wear off I will have to have a discectomy to widen the spaces where the nerves run.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

She has changed my medication to Tramadol 2 four times a day plus paracetamol

That's a good move too. I have a chart I worked out for my first knee replacement. You might find it useful

the cute little pea sized abscesses

"CUTE"??!!!

 

[mlwreader]

Hi, do you find them painful? I find they sting, itch and throb sometimes. Mine look like purple lumps !

@Suzette I did experience some discomfort with them, but mostly because the skin was still so sensitive from the surgery. And yes itch and throb, the itch about drove me nuts. Mine were such that my doctor had me apply antibiotic ointment and keep them covered with bandaids. I then developed an allergic reaction to the adhesive in the band aids, so I was a hot, itchy mess for a while. My doctor said that I had to keep them covered to avoid infection, as they were big, juicy things. Today there are dark, discolored lumps on the knees where the abscesses were, but I suspect they will fade eventually. I have always scarred up when having skin things removed, that eventually fade away. In the grand scheme of knee surgery recovery the abscesses were minor, but they did require quite a bit of time consuming care, as I had to cleanse and apply new ointment and bandaids twice a day. Most people, if they get this reaction, just experience it at one or two places on the knee, and they appear and fade pretty quickly, at least that seems to be the case from what I read on bonesmart. Mine did not go away that easily, and I will confess that I had quite a bit of anxiety around that whole episode. I can tell you that I am fine now, and my knees look almost like normal post-btkr knees now.

Since I am not a medical professional, I think you would get better medical information about this issue from Josephine. She helped me quite a bit during that period. I think there might be an article on bonesmart on the abscess issue available as well. I will do a search and see.

I hope you had a great day Suzette. Keep posting.

 

[SherrieT]

Drove and walked in store? Wow. I know joining the ODI club is bad. But the feeling of doing “normal” things must have been wonderful.

 

[Suzette]

Hi everyone.
I have been on a bit of a downer and feel sorry for my self for the last few days. Not helped by yet another cold.

@Josephine I will let you know what the hip surgeon says on Friday 9th feb. I will also read your info on depo meds.

I will also coordinate the meds to match your chart. I am going to have to get a dosette box as i have that many meds I am getting in a bit a of a mess..... sometimes.

@SherrieT it did feel great to be normal..then paid for it afterwards. Trouble is I haven't really been out the house since, other than a funeral, I need to push myself to get back out there and be normal again. This knee op seems to have knocked me about more than 'just' getting a new knee!! I wasn't expecting that at all.

@mlwreader yes mine itch too. The purple bits are not too raised more under the skin. I see the knee surgeon on the 12th Feb , so I will ask him to check them to make sure they are not infected etc.

@Jockette phew I am glad they were guided with x-ray, I thought he had just stuck the needles in!! I wouldn't have anything burnt either! I will not be having nerve block injections again. The last ones I had were the most most painful ones I had ever experienced. I can not explain how excruciating the pain was when he put the needle in my back and hit the nerve. It felt like he left the needle there for ages. I nearly passed out. Never ever again. Trouble is now after going through all that, the effects have worn off , causing the bad sciatica to rear it's head again right down my left leg, that pain now merges in with the knee throb. Today I have had to have oromorph to try and ease the pain.

I am now getting worried about work. I need to return very soon. I actually feel mentally unable to focus on anything other than this pain. I also know it would be beneficial to try and get back to normal.

What a rollercoaster ride this has been !!

 

[Suzette]

Hi Everyone

I went to see the hip consultant on Friday. This appointment was arranged after I wrote to him directly about the gluteal tendonopathy and having to live with it.....he had booked a day off so now I have to go back again. I was not impressed.

But...my knee flexion has increased dramatically to 135 /140. This occurred after my meds were changed to Tramadol and indomethacin (anti inflammatory). Indomethacin was not something i wanted to take due to potential stomach issues and that it increases my BP.

My knee is not as swollen and the pain is a very occasional throb. I walked for about a mile yesterday and waited to the pain to start but it didnt! That's when I also noticed the flexion. I keep looking at my bendy knee.

What has also occurred since my knee bends more, is that my knee cap keeps tapping my new metal bits. Infact my knee cap now feels loose and wobbly. I believe a lot of knee people have experienced this. Its as if the swelling was holding everything tight but now when it's straight, my knee cap and what ever holds it in place has been stretched.

It's a little worrying that my kneecap may ping off my knee! Assume I need to get my quads stronger to hold things in place?

Also I will have to stop taking the anti inflammatory as my BP has gone sky high again.

I see the knee surgeon Monday so will be asking some questions about the pingy knee cap

Hope you are all well.

 

[Jockette]

Wow, that’s quite an improvement! And so early, too!

 

[Suzette]

I know its a bit if a shock really. From having loads of pain and throbbing to little pain and little swelling. I hope it lasts too.

Fingers crossed.

I hope your knee is ok. X

 

[Jockette]

Don’t get too confident yet, take it easy so you keep it!

 

[Suzette]

I promise I will not get overly confident and will continue to rest and look after my knee. I too am worried that this might just be a short term improvement which I could easily mess up.

Xx

 

[Suzette]

Mmm woke up this morning with knee throb. Although I can't tell if it's the knee throbbibg and aching or the muscles or possibly both.

I am also getting what seems to be a tendon/ligament pinging off something on the lateral side of my knee.

Possibly normal?? I will find out tomorrow when at the hospital.

X

 

[Jockette]

I’m sorry you woke up in pain. It could be that mile walk catching up with you. Pain doesn’t always hit at the time we do something.

 

[kneeper]

Probably part of the healing process. I had what felt like a ligament or something feeling weird--or a was very aware of it--for quite a few weeks. But whatever it was went away. Probably adjusting to the adjustments that go with tkr.

 

[sistersinhim]

My pain was usually worse the second day after I did something extra. Then it settled down after that. These knees are sneaky. You think you got away with something then all of a sudden, the knee lets you know you didn't get away with a thing!

 

[Suzette]

Hi everyone

Yes @sistersinhim, I totally agree I got caught out ...again....@jockette reminded me last night, but I had already overdone it walking up and down hospital corridors on Friday. I was so excited too, but now I know I have the 48hrs later pain to look forward to if I am not careful. I don't want to do that again.

@kneeper I am hoping the pinging is all part of the healing too. It sure is a funny feeling and is quite a painful ping too.

Thank you all for replying. It is really appreciated. X

 

[sistersinhim]

I think your pinging is what we describe as zingers. It is your nerves that were cut reattaching or rerouting themselves. It's quite normal. Even now I still have minor ones is my numb spots.

 

[KarriB]

It’s very easy to overdo things when you’re feeling good and then pay for it the next day. Remember your knee just 2 months old and still need time. When I began walking I set the timer on my phone for half of the time I wanted to walk (so I could turn around and get home!) and as long as there was no pain the next day I kept that up for a week before adding 5 minutes to my overal walk. It was the best thing I did to build the muscle around my TKR. I began slowly, just 10 minutes overall walking the first week.

 

[Suzette]

Hi @KarriB

Thanks for the hints about the walking. I know I need to start moving a bit more now, especially as I need to return to work very soon.

I am also going to get myself a new fitbit so I can monitor my progress. I used one when I had my hips replaced and it helped.

Thank you again x

 

[KarriB]

You’re welcome, just don’t be too ambitious and don’t worry about hurrying along your progress. This takes time and anything that hurts isn’t great for your new knee. @SusieShoes also found slowly building up walking beneficial. Listen to your knee and remember less pain is best.