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TKR PolarBear60's Stryker Triathalon Journey (Left)

Had a bout with sciatic pain yesterday and part of today. It was on the left, TKR side, but I find it hard to believe the two are related at this late date. I used some of the exercises from our library here last night to begin to get relief. I felt better for much of today, but it's still lurking. And I have a tingly numbness in my left foot, which I am not pleased about.

Have my semi-annual doctor appointment on Friday, so I'll check in with him about it then. Also up in the air about getting another steroid shot. The one from September has held surprisingly well with a couple of instances of intense pain about once a month. I'll discuss it with the doc, but I'm leaning to having him give me one to carry me through to as far into April as possible.

No noticeable change in the the left knee. I'm pleased with it. Looking forward to getting the right one done and moving forward with life.
 
Sorry to hear about the sciatica. I hope it stays away now. Since my bout of it, I'm always very careful with my back and hips.
 
God bless whoever invented steroid injections. Bought me a lot of time. Glad your left knee is doing well!
 
8 Month Update.

The sciatica mentioned a couple posts ago switched from pain to tingly numbness in the left foot and my calf and hamstrings feeling like they'd just stopped cramping. I saw my Internist last Friday for my routine semi-annual visit, and all went well. He checked strength and reflexes, which were fine, so he believes I have a run-of-the-mill sciatic event which should clear in 4-6 weeks. If it does not, I am to return for further evaluation. The pain is starting to let up in my legs. I feel as if the tingly numbness in my foot is thinking about abating. I got some core strength building exercises to begin doing.

None of this has anything to do with the left TKR knee, which is tired of doing all the work around here but holding up very well. I got an injection in my right knee, and it was the most painful of all knee injections I've received. Not sure what to make of that, but it is what it is. April is just around the corner, so I'll be preparing for the next replacement between now and then.
 
One year follow-up at just over 11 months.

I am very happy, and my OS is very happy with the status of my knee. Here's what it feels like. I have a small sore or achy area to the left of the kneecap area. He says that's entirely normal. I suspect it's nerve endings reconnecting and a little complaining on the part of the knee for the extra work it has to do to pick up the slack for my still bad right knee.

The plan was to get the right knee replaced on April 12, and my appointment today was originally a pre-op appointment for that; however, my husband has some more pressing medical concerns, and his doctor asked me to postpone the TKR for a couple of months. My OS understands completely, and we discussed what we can do if necessary to keep me comfortable until my husband's health will permit me to get the new knee. (I love this guy -- such a great doc and human being.)

Fortunately, my right knee has been very cooperative since it got a steroid shot in December. I'm shooting for a new right knee on or before June 14th, now, and he says if needed, I can get another shot up until May 1. If I can't get the knee done on June 14th, the next window of opportunity is November (my schedule, not his). He wants six weeks after any shots to reduce the risk of infection with the TKR.

We talked about the aftermath of my sciatica attack, and he agreed with me that it is very slow to heal, but he was not concerned with my status regarding that right now. I have some light tingling on my two little toes and along the fifth metatarsal back to my heel, and I also have periodic tightness down the outside of my leg from hip to heel. He says that will continue to reduce until it's eventually gone.

As an interesting aside, my left knee is now smaller than my right knee and has been for a month or two. This is encouraging, because I can expect my right knee will also get smaller after it is replaced and the inflammation is no longer there.

All-in-all, I am so thankful I had this done, and I am chomping at the bit to get the second knee done and recovered.
 
Jean, I will keep your husband close in prayer.

It is so good to hear how someone's recovery is like down the road! I am almost 5 months and wondering just what is "normal"! Thank you for sharing. I hope you can get your other knee done soon.
 
Thank you. My husband has been improving slowly. But he is improving.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
I do hope your husband's issues are sorted out and he's well again. It's great to hear how well you're knee is. With the infection my TKR is larger than the left, but I'm happy to be walking. Good for you, Jean.
 
After most of my recovery going smoothly, I'm encountering s bit of strangeness, which my OS indicated is normal. I'm not saying what I'm experiencing is not normal but a little surprising.

I'm experiencing some discomfort around the knee. Enough that I favor it in stairs ( a good trick since I also favor my non-op knee on stairs -- kind of a toss-up who gets to do the work).

The "dead zone" to the outside of the knee appears to be waking up. If this mild discomfort is still there a year later, I'm glad I couldn't feel it until now, because I'll bet it would have been really painful before.

Posting for me to keep track in case it gets worse and also as information for others.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
Jean, if it is nerves waking up, it can be painful---mostly that pain is like lightening shots up the leg. If it is nerve pain, they do have some drugs like Gabepentin which seem to help.

If it is a muscle or tendon then it could just need a stretch or some exercises. I find that aspercream takes care of those minor aches around my knees---it comes in an unscented form and seems to really work.
 
Good suggestions. I think it's a combination of the two. Nerves waking up (minor periodic lightning shots) but not bad enough to warrant medication. The other does seem to be muscle or tendon.

Somehow, I dropped two acetaminophen from my daily pill/vitamin box for a couple of weeks, so I was only taking 1000mg per day. Since I've added my evening 1000mg back in, and that's helping. I was hoping to be able to drop the daily Tylenol after my second knee surgery, but I noticed it more on the TKR knee when it was low, so it may be a while yet.

I'm also adding a topical when I think of it.
 
PolarBear60 said:
Nerves waking up (minor periodic lightning shots) but not bad enough to warrant medication.
Click to expand...
I remember those "zingers" quite well. My two kids could tell when I had one as I would suddenly jerk and mutter something that would definitely not be allowed on this forum.
 
16 1/2 month update. I haven't updated this thread in quite some time, but the knee is still improving. Here's the Left Side Story.

Now that the right knee has been done and is doing its share of the work, the two knees are starting to work together. My inner quad muscle was not pulling its weight, so when I started physical therapy for the right knee, I got exercises to help with that. Interestingly enough, when I mentioned it to my OS, he said, "That's normal. That's the last muscle to come back." Okay.

The other thing I've noticed, since I'm working on sit-to-stand issues, has been that my hamstrings, while they seem fine, have been growing lazy for probably many years now, and they have forgotten how to work with the rest of my leg and core to help me stand from a sitting position without the use of my hands. Again, this is all understandably normal looking back, but it wasn't something I had anticipated.

Again, I have exercises to help with this (I do need to actually do them, ahem), and I can tell they help when I do them. I'm also training myself to pay attention when I'm getting up from a taller chair with arms to try to not use the arms. This will teach the hammys to do their jobs and should improve muscle memory.

Stairs are coming along nicely. When I have my hands free and have a railing to hold onto, my form is good. If my hands are full (carrying that full laundry basket or trash or litter box scoopings), I tend to turn sideways as a safety measure. I'm several months from bounding up or down stairs, but I can imagine I'll be able to do them "normally" with greater ease in a few months. Same for the sit to stand. These were both priorities for my PT sessions this time around, and I'm very pleased with my progress.
 
Jean, it sounds like you are doing well. Do you mind if I ask you - do you still have swelling?
 
I don't mind at all. The swelling disappeared around the one year mark. One day I looked down and noticed my knee had definition and thought, "Wow. It's been a long time since I've seen that!"

It's consistently two inches smaller than my right knee.


Jean

RTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 June 2016
LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
20 1/2 month update.

With both knees done, they are equalizing. I can walk without discomfort for any needed period of time. I'm not happy with stair climbing and descent, but with attention, I can do stairs normally. I do one leg at a time when carrying laundry downstairs, and I tend to "walk the basket" up the steps when taking laundry back upstairs. (I have a better understanding why someone may choose to put the laundry room on the second floor.) At this point, I would say my left knee is the troublesome knee even though it's had the longest time to recover. I think I waited too long to get the second knee done, but with my husband's health issues at the time (he's doing great by the way -- thank you for your prayers), it couldn't be helped.

Even though the left knee is over a year older than my right knee, they seem to be in about the same spot recovery wise. The left knee is a little more flexible for bending side to side, and the right knee feels a little less stable side to side sometimes.

A couple of weeks ago, my cat put his paws upon on my left knee in the "dead zone" area, and it was such a strange sensation that I jumped. I have feeling back in that area, but it's not 100%, and his paws in that particular time and place felt really strange. The right knee is regaining sensation at about the same rate at the left knee, even though it's the newer knee.

The sciatic pain has not returned on the left side, but neither has normal sensation in my foot. This is probably not related to the knee replacement. About half my left foot (outer half) is numb to tingly all of the time. I can get momentary relief if I happen to stretch just right. I haven't figured out the magic technique yet. Doc just says sensation can be a long time returning.

Something I still experience and I don't hear many people mentioning is leg cramps. I know I'm not alone because I mentioned it while talking with my aunt after her hip replacement, and my Dad nodded knowingly. Again, more on the left side than the right, and it's gotten worse recently. I've resumed taking potassium gluconate, and it seems to help. I take nothing for pain except an essential oil blend capsule a couple of times a month.

(I'll duplicate this post on my right knee thread.)
 
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