MUA Oct 2017 TKR - Hematoma - MUA - Finally past 90!<

[funkymuse]

Hey @MyTest - were you able to do anything? I can barely do anything right now. Getting up to walk is a true labor and of course since I can't bend much there is nothing I can do except sit down with my leg up and wait for it to calm down!

 

[becticu]

@funkymuse, I am so sorry that I didn’t realize you had this done. I haven’t been on in a couple of weeks since I had the flu. I hate that you are in so much pain and so swollen. Keep icing and elevating and be really conservative in your activity. I pray you get the range you need and the swelling goes down soon.

I do have to disagree with the thought that some voice that if you didn’t have terrible pain and swelling after a MUA that you didn’t need it. I am an example of someone that had a hard stop at 90 and my knee just didn’t go any further. I was stuck at 90 for weeks with no progress. I was fortunate and I feel very blessed that I didn’t have terrible pain and swelling after my MUA. Yes it hurt and yes it swelled but not nearly as bad as bad as yours. My MUA gave me wonderful results and I so pray yours does for you as well. Just because someone didn’t have terrible pain doesn’t mean you didn’t need it!! I couldn’t handle the flexeril. It so knocked me out I didn’t care if I ever got up, lol!

I’m sending prayers and hugs to you and hope you see some encouragement soon!

 

[4quilts]

I am so sorry you are experiencing so much pain. I hope I did not give you the impression that my MUA was painless. It was far from it. The first week was pure misery and I had a really bad reaction to the pain medication they gave me. My MUA was on Thursday and I was back to my OS on Tuesday just about to go out of my mind. He prescribed a different medication and I was able to control the pain with it and Extra Strength Tylenol. My muscles, including the quads and IT Band, were very painful. I have a wonderful physical therapist who did, and still does, deep muscle and deep tissue massages above my knee which helped immensely. I did not do aggressive PT but did exercises that my knee could handle. The first 2 weeks after the MUA were difficult but, for me, were worth it as I am now at 125. I still have pain and discomfort but I am able to do more than I was able to 2 months ago.

Take care of yourself.

 

[golfgal56]

@funkymuse ~ Big soft squishy hugs to you! I've been following your progress, so very sorry you had to go through the MUA, I know it was a difficult decision for you to make. Trust in the BS process, rest/ice as much as possible, stay positive! Sending healing vibes to you!

 

[sistersinhim]

Are you feeling any better today? Remember to take it very, very easy. That knee of yours is very angry and needs lots of TLC so it will calm down.

 

[Hood1980]

Hoping you were able to get some rest last night @funkymuse and can start your recovery.


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[Polkadot]

I'm so sorry for your painful days and nights right now. I also hope you were not under the impression from my comments that I had an easy go of MUA after-effects. Pain is relative, and I was relieved that the MUA results didn't hurt any more than the original surgery did. However, I dealt with increased swelling and pain for several weeks after the MUA, particularly since my doctor also prescribed "Aggressive PT." That's what made me join BS! I was doing lots of exercising at home and aggressive PT daily per doc's instructions, and I was at the end of my rope.

I noticed that you have been trying to get your pain under control with medications. At the time of my MUA, I was still using opioids plus Tylenol on a regular schedule. To manage the pain, you may need to temporarily think of this period of your recovery as "going back to early days." Keep the medication constant and don't let it lapse. "Early days" means lots of rest, ice, and elevation, and not doing a whole lot until the swelling decreases. That was my downfall before finding this site. I was battling with too much activity and exercise and increasing the swelling while not improving my ROM much. Once I seriously decreased activity at home and increased icing and elevation, I started to see better results and my comfort level also increased. (I kept doing the PT.)

I know it's hard to think of yourself as going backward, and I fought that image on this site whenever someone suggested it. Truly, though, your MUA has sent you back several squares on this game board of TKR. I believe that you will eventually reap the benefits of your MUA, but for right now, treat yourself gently, rest a lot, and don't compare your progress to others who had their initial surgery around the time of yours. We understand that those who experience a DVT or other complication will need to do this babying, but we don't apply it to ourselves very well.

It's scary to come out of the MUA hearing that the doctor got a good "bend," and by the time you get home, your knee has stiffened up. What you are describing happened to me, too. For quite some time, while the swelling from the procedure was still present, I couldn't bend very well, was very stiff and dealing with pain, and very depressed that it hadn't seemed to work. I hate to admit this; it seems silly now, but I truly thought that I would walk out of the hospital after the procedure and my ROM would be great! In fact, I thought that maybe the 2-hour car ride and not getting right into PT the first day (as my doctor had wanted) might have caused me to undo the results the doctor got in the operating room! (I'm good at blaming myself.) It took me quite a while to gain acceptance and peace with the fact that the procedure caused swelling and set me back a bit, and that I wouldn't see good results until I got that swelling down.

Give yourself the gift of time; manage your pain; try to relax. The rest will come; I'm sure of it.

 

[Polkadot]

I agree with @SusieShoes. Be aware that Flexeril (generic name Cyclobenzoprine) can make you feel quite sleepy and a little "off." For me the sleepiness comes and goes and lasts quite far into the next day if I take it at night, but sometimes I don't feel the effects at all--so it's probably most dangerous then! Be careful driving or operating other heavy machinery , or even while cooking! Its relaxant effects are great for dealing with the muscle spasms you described--take advantage of its doze-inducing properties and do some extra snoozing with leg up! Just be careful when on it.

If you haven't been plagued by spasm in the past, this new development can really ratchet up your pain perception. So sorry that you have had to deal with spasming, because it's not fun! (I have them for other health reasons.) The spasms are probably your muscles protesting the brutality of the MUA. They WILL subside.

 

[Tanya76]

Hope the pain is easing of @funkymuse. You have been through so much. Wishing you speedy (restful recovery)

 

[kneeper]

I agree, Polkadot-- I had flexeril prescribed after whiplash and it knocked me right out. But it did help a lot.

 

[kmak81230]

Hang in there Funkymuse!!! Keep resting, icing and elevating. I'm not surprised that your muscles are rebelling. If you have not been bending for a long time, your quads are probably tight and by bending you to 135, your muscles had to stretch much more than they have been used to -- I hope with each day you will have a little less swelling and pain. We're all rooting for you!

 

[funkymuse]

Well today it's been rough. Leg is so swollen and stiff that I've lost almost all flexion. Extension is still good but flexion is down to like 20 in a heel slide. Once again, it's very discouraging after reading all about many who come out of an MUA with great bend and keep progressing. It must have been a brutal MUA because my muscles are extremely swollen all the way up my thigh and around the upper part of my knee. One muscle in particular has a big lump sticking out a big where it has contracted tightly. My muscles feel heavy, beaten and swollen. My knee cap is still very tight. I've been 2 gentle doing heel slides every hour and holding for a minute each time and also walking around but not too much... just to the bathroom and back to the bed. I also do some manual moving of my kneecap which still feels very tight. I've iced 4 times today and plan to again in a little while. I did get on the bike for a couple min but there is no way I could ever do a full rotation at this stage. I'm just thinking overall the swelling must be holding me back and that is confirmed by the posts on this thread. I'm off of the Diladid and Flexerile, (except if I need them badly), because they make me feel so awful.. so it's just tylenol and healing creams. The doctor desperately wanted me to take Iburprofen but it eats my tummy alive so I'm not sure what else I could take. I'm hoping each day will improve and I'm sure it will but right now this is so hard being confined to the bed again.

@4quilts - does my experience above sound like what you went through in the early days after your MUA? From your post above, it seems like it's very similar.

@Polkadot wow.. thank you for that story... it makes alot of sense and I've had plenty of warning before the MUA and after now NOT TO OVERDO and at this stage I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm wondering about this sentence in your thread: Once I seriously decreased activity at home and increased icing and elevation, I started to see better results and my comfort level also increased. (I kept doing the PT.)
When you say you kept doing the PT.. what did that mean? - Surely not the aggressive PT?
And yes the muscle spasms have subsided but the swelling as I described above is quite amazing... it's like my entire thigh has grown 1/3 in circular width.

So here's a question: Since the OS bent me back so far and now I can hardly bend at all.. will my thigh muscles tighten back up to where they were before surgery if I don't get them stretching soon? I mean I can't right now but as the swelling goes down, I hope they will begin to work with me!

@maryo52 Would love for you to chime in here as you've helped me so much in the past with my questions on an MUA. I'm following your advice on the 2 heel slides/holding for one min every hour and not to push it beyond that.

Thanks everyone.. I can't believe the wonderful kind support. Sending thankful love to all...

 

[becticu]

@funkymuse I’m so sorry this has been such a horrible experience. Please be careful with your activity. In my opinion I wouldn’t be trying to do anything on the bike. For the first full 7 days after my MUA my PT only did gentle stretching, but she did a lot of massage. I don’t think my muscles were as tight as yours and yours obviously took some Trauma. Your muscles can recover but not if they continue to be traumatized. I’m not sure about heel slides, you will have to decide that but I know you shouldn’t be pushing those slides like you can do later on. Have you tried Tylenol Arthritis? I am NOT giving medical advice but I think you still need some pain meds. I know one of the forum advisors has a Tramadol/Tylenol combination but that advice can only be given by an advisor.... there are also muscle relaxers that won’t knock you out like Flexeril but still could help with spasms. I’ll email you the name of the one I took. Please be careful and don’t overdo that knee. I know you think you can’t overdo as bad as you hurt but trying the bike might be overdoing it! Hugs and prayers!

 

[funkymuse]

Thank you @becticu - no I won't be getting on the bike anymore. It was only a couple minutes of very light half rotations.. but I don't want to mess anything up.. so I'm just going to do the gentle slides where I feel just a tinge of stretch and that's it. I only have extra strength tylenol and have started with that. I will look into the Arthritis Tylenol. Never heard of that one. I ask my doctor for Robaxin but he prescribed the Flexeril. sigh. Tonight I hope for a good nights sleep. Thank you for your post and prayers and hugs!

 

[sistersinhim]

Tylenol PM might help with your sleeping. I take one every night to help me. But, you can take 2, as long as you don't go over 4000mg in 24 hours. Be sure and count everything that has it in it.

 

[becticu]

The Tylenol Arthritis has 650mg instead of 500mg. You have to be careful if any of your other pain meds have Tylenol to not take more than the recommended amount per day. I did a lot of Utube meditation and relaxation music when I couldn’t sleep. It actually helped with the pain. I didn’t think I would ever sleep again but I do. It’s coming for you too! Night, night!

 

[mlwreader]

@funkymuse I wanted to chime in that I listen to books on Audible, and very often will do that during the night if I can't sleep. You can set the timer on the audible app to shut down after a certain number of minutes, and I very often can fall asleep listening to a book. I also like becticu's idea of Youtube meditations and relaxation music. I hope you rest well tonight.

 

[Polkadot]

Unfortunately, yes, at first the PT was quite aggressive, per the doctor's prescription. Aggressiveness was more in the assisted bending and stretching that the physical therapist did on the table (and let me tell you! It was very ouchy at first!), rather than the exercises they had me doing at each one-hour session. Over several weeks, and as I became more convinced that continuing to do things that exacerbated swelling was NOT working for me, the therapist also gentled her techniques somewhat. When I cut down from daily PT to 3 times a week, she gave me "permission" to just do some stretches and ride my little exer-cycle on the off days. So she and I learned together what seemed to work best for me. I never became assertive and asked her not to do certain things, as others have had to do.
The swelling will decrease. Hang in there! You'll have beautiful thighs again soon!

 

[funkymuse]

Well starting last night aching pain under kneecap and now continuing. Any suggestions - Ice works but I'm not icing 24/7. I'm not taking the opiods and don't want to. I have only a week before I go back to work and don't want to have to try and come off of them later this week. I'm thinking of trying the Tramadol/Tylenol routine but can one work on Tramadol and also will I have trouble coming off of that drug when I need to? Thanks so much for any feedback and suggestions on this.

 

[Polkadot]

Hi, FM. I'm really not pushing drugs, but my concern is that you will have a hard time functioning at work without something that helps you. I know others will respond about the Tramadol/Tylenol--but I wanted to say about the strong stuff that I took Norco successfully just for parts of days when I needed it and didn't suffer major side effects or trouble stopping it. For example, for a fairly long period of time after I stopped the 24-hour dosing routine, I still took it before I went to bed and sometimes refreshed it 4 hours later when I got up to use the bathroom. (I was on a moderate dose, BTW. Some others reporting here about dosage were given fully twice what I had, so I know there's a range you can work with.) It definitely helped me handle the discomfort and get some sleep but didn't affect me (that I know of ) during the day. Someone else recently mentioned using Gabapentin for nerve pain during the day but not taking it until arriving at work. That sounds responsible to me. I hope others can help you sort this out, because working in pain can be a nightmare.

One thing I learned about icing after a prolonged bout with plantar fasciitis is how useful frozen bottled water can be. I get you about not icing 24/7, but maybe you could freeze some bottled water (I liked the baby size) to hold on your knee while doing whatever, and then drink it! Two for the price of one! For some reason, this type of moderate icing was not as big a deal to me as was strapping the ice pack on.

I also wonder if "they" make a knee wrap of some kind that has a smallish icing pad in it. I think so. My daughter played basketball for many years, and I vaguely remember something like that for when she had discomfort but had to move around and be active. Well, I just googled it, and...You might read comments about these kinds of products here, if you are interested. https://www.amazon.com/slp/gel-pack-knee-brace/3vbeb9e9f2ej8sn

I also found that gently moving my kneecap around with my fingertips and rubbing the tendons and muscles on both sides of the kneecap seemed to help.