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TKR On the other side!

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I called and they said it could be a cyst and that I could come in or we could take a wait and see approach. I rode my bike this morning very slowly and carefully with no pain. I did the leg lifts carefully as well and no weight no pain as well their. I will continue with this but if it starts up again will go see him. Thanks.
 
Look forward to that DC holiday! There are two trolley bus routes and you can hop on or off at your leisure. You can just stay on if you like or get off and do a little walking then rest and get back on. The mall from Capitol Hill is fairly flat - but a very long walk so the trolley bus is a godsend - the end by the tidal basin has lots of wonderful areas to explore with lots of resting places. There is rather a lot of walking in Arlington Cemetery if you decide to go there - some of it is steep and stepped. The Smithsonian museums all have seats dotted around to help us poorly knee people. The IMAX in the Natural History is great for a sitting down break - wonderful shows. The zoo is on a steep slope and the car parks are often a bit of a hike for weak knees but there are plenty of seating areas around the zoo. The cathedral has many seats of course! The Segway tours may be good if you can stand for a while by then.
Hopefully you might be dashing around the place by then! Look forward to it!
 
Hopper knows her way around DC. We lived nearby and my husband worked in the building opposite the Smithsonian castle building. Fireworks on the Fourth are fabulous, though sit near a Metro exit so you can make a quick getaway. There are bicycle taxis that run on tips, too.

I empathize with your what's up issues. It can be very frustrating not understanding what used to be familiar about your body. I've had issues in the back of my calf, buried deep. I wonder what's up, too. My PT says it is important to the overall process - suggesting that those pain issues are foundational to my overall leg's health. She has me doing abdominal, hip and ankle exercises that will help strengthen and align me properly - and the knee and calf will benefit, too.
 
Yes I get frustrated when everything goes so well and then something changes and you don't know what to think. My sharp pain was so much better after really resting it. I resumed but very slowly and carefully then last night it happened again. Plus I got a major tooth ache and now need a root canal. Ugh! You think by 3 1/2 months things would be great. It is a lot better as far as bending and being able to do just about everything. Pain has improved dramatically. Except for this excruciating sudden pain when I ride the bike. I am so fearful of having to have them go in again and flare everything up again. I do a lot of over all body strengthening and aquatics. But the bike seems to be the best exercise for loosening the tightness when it happens. But boy it for some reason my knee does not like it now.
 
My mother's TKR was the second week of January. She is doing quite well - as well as I am and mine was the end of July. So things can be great at 3.5 months, but things can still be going slowly, too.

I will forever be empathetic with anyone with inexplicable knee pains. Mine certainly hurt this week - two things - I literally tried to run to make flight connections due to a delayed departure from mechanical problems. There was only 10 minutes and I didn't make it. Then I probably overdid it swimming breaststroke laps. Now I'm doing much better after a day of taking it easy and raising it up with ice on it.

Hope you can come up with answers you need.
 
Isn't that crazy that she is much older and doing well. Just goes to show age has nothing to do with it. I don't even think weight has much to do with it. My doc said you are lean and young, you'll do great; Yeah, didn't work for me, lol. Now I am starting to put on weight because all I do is rest, ice and elevate. Want so badly to ride my bike. It is almost 70 degrees and beautiful out, but oh the pain. Not worth it but hopefully by summer. The thing is my bend is probably 125 but I can't make a rotation on my outdoor bike without a lot of pain. I can walk now though. But prior to TKR I rode my bike everywhere because walking was too painful. I am sure it will get better but worried I may have to have a arthroscopic clean out first.

I tried to run slightly one day to try to keep up with my dog. Boy that was a mistake. It sure makes you more aware of limitations. The sad thing is you actually start to forget about the knee which can get you into trouble because you move first and think "I shouldn't have done that" after the pain starts I hope your calf pain resolves..
 
I can identify with that - it doesn't hurt until the next day and then it's a bit late. I haven't tried an outside bike - we still have snow and ice here. I do all right on a stationary bike though and my bend is slightly less than yours.

I just got good news today - my bend is 116 without pushing and 120 with, so we are close. I'm curious - how are you at managing stairs? I can go up, depending on the day, I may tug on the handrail some. I really can't safely go down. One PT said you need 110 to go down, another 125. So now I'm asking you - how well do you do stairs? Any suggestions on what you may have done to help with this?
 
I have been able to go down for some time. I would say at about 115. But now when I go down I get that same pain when riding the recumbent bike, hurts like heck. Now I go down slightly at an angle and can go down without pain. Our stairs are a bit taller then most. I don't have as much problem at the gym where they are about 3 inches shorter so I think that might be why you read about a discrepancy.

Our snow finally melted. Boy was that scary when I first had my knee done. Next time I think I will get it done early spring.
 
I won't try to comment on an arthroscopic clean up of scar tissue - I have no experience there. I will say that the arthroscopic procedure that I had 30 years ago caused minimal flare up. I was up and about in a couple of days and directed a sailing camp a month later. It is MUCH less invasive than the TKR you've endured. It probably takes longer than an MUA to perform, but I had a much faster rebound than I had even with the MUA - well maybe they were pretty close. It's hard to compare a recent MUA with a 30 year ago arthroscopic procedure when I was also 30 years more spry. :SUNsmile:
 
Where is the pain? Can you describe it?

The pain is in the back of my knee. When I go down stairs I feel a pop and then sudden pain, it goes away fairly quickly. When I ride my bike it is more excruciating but also goes away quickly. It is the kind of pain you can not work through. I get a bit of swelling after.

I am probably going to have to see OS. But my ROM is increasing so it is very frustrating. Plus if I have to have Arthroscopic clean out, it will cost me another $4000. Which will mean we can't go to DC which will really upset us all, my husbands brother is very ill and probably doesn't have a lot longer, that is on the way to DC. So we were going to see his family, see Niagra Falls and DC. I think if I had known I would have all these issues I would have waited till I was 65 for Medicare. Very frustrating. I saved my money for the surgery and was shocked when I needed an MUA and now possibly this. I am not use to having issues, lol. But then who is! I need to quit whining, it is what it is and could be so much worse. I need to get it checked out so I can just know and quit fretting. I am just mad because my pain after the MUA was finally after so many weeks subsiding and my ROM increasing and things were looking up!

My OS's nurse mentioned a cyst but I have a Bakers cyst on the back of my other knee and my understanding is they don't do anything to them. Plus this feels more like something is catching or getting pinched. My other knee the cyst can bother me at times but it has never been extremely painful and it is pretty large so I don't think that is what it is.
 
Might be your hamstring, not your knee per se. But I'm guessing. (Isn't that helpful?) I found my hamstrings needed more stretching/strengthening; still do. Sigh. It's always something... Hope you can do the D.C. trip.
 
When did your hamstrings start hurting you? This just started about 2 1/2 wks ago. You had yours done right after me. How are you doing over all. Other then this new pain I am feeling hopeful. But this has been really a trial, lol.
 
Mine started pretty quick. I think it was because I couldn't straighten my leg before surgery, and all of a sudden I was getting better extension but my hamstrings (that is, left leg) were so so tight. I'm trying to do more stretching on the right side now, too, as that knee will be done sooner or later.
Remember you had the MUA, so really, your "surgery date" is more like a month after mine. In other words, don't be hard on yourself. Also, please don't be eager to do another surgery. Try to give rehab more time. Honest. I know the BoneSmart mantra is rest rest rest, but muscles do need to work to get stronger. You'll get there! Just look at how much better your ROM is. And I sure hope you go to D.C. (and Niagara Falls, which is amazing).
 
I am no longer going to PT but I do my exercise routine most every day. I try to do it in water at least 3x a week. But, I also unfortunately have a history of developing scar tissue. I had to have abdominal lysis of adhesions and had never even had abdominal surgery prior to that. They discovered it when I had abdominal pain for several months and several men GYN doctors thought it was in my head. Finally a female doc said she would due laparoscopic surgery to try and figure out what the pain was about. I ended up with full surgery because I had so much scar tissue in my abdomen that had wrapped itself around things and got pulled every time I sat down. Come to think of it that pain was not unlike this pain (that thought is going to make me fret more). So I guess I am not totally surprised. Just frustrated. But I do want to take a bit of a wait and see approach even if OS decides I need to have some procedure done. I suppose if it was happening every time I moved, I would have already have had it done. It really doesn't feel muscular or like a tendon. It is more of a pinched your skin in a vise grip kind of pain. Sudden, extremely painful, and gone once you stop the movement. It also mostly happens if I move a bit to quickly which is why I am trying to be very careful with my movements now. This has not been an issue during my recovery until now. Not moving suddenly is getting harder to do because I actually forget because I don't have much pain anymore when doing anything except for when that pain happens. It always takes me by complete surprise.
 
Pdx is right in reminding you that your recovery really should start again from the MUA...something I COMPLETELY keep forgetting :sad: However, your new pain I suspect is nothing to do with that. I think knowing what it is is half the battle, the not knowing puts the mind into overdrive. Can you not go & get it checked out before your trip & if something needs to be done, get that done afterwards? At 4 months post op I keep saying, "But I SHOULD BE......" But in reality I haven't a clue when I Will be........ Really hope you get an answer to your worries very soon :flwrysmile:
 
Thanks! I am going to call today. Can't really put off at least finding out what could be happening. I have been taking no news is good news mentality but that doesn't help with the worrying of what might be happening, lol. Just postponing the inevitable.
 
Hi there,

I would go see the OS and try to get a better handle on what you're dealing with. My imagination always gets going into overdrive until I have something concrete for an answer. Until then, go easy and try to be patient. I know that's easy to write and tough to do.

Please let us know what you find out. If I can help, I will!

hhilltop, you sound like things are going well!! Keep up the good work!

Be well,

Dawn
 
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