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TKR Post op LTKR pain, instability, dislocation?

Hello,

I am in my 4.5 week and decided to go Tylenol only and so far it seems to be okay.
I do have kneecap tracking issues and felt like I was going pop my kneecap. I spoke to my PT and doctor and the PT started to work on my inner thigh muscles and quads. This seems to be helping but I have only been doing the exercises for 2 weeks.
Doctor actually prescribed a knee brace which has helped stabilized the kneecap as well as provide compression. I wear this most of the time when I am walking and this has really helped me quite a bit as I feel a lot more confident when I am walking. I will wear this until my muscles are stronger again.

I am still getting pains but am trying to manage it as best as possible. The best thing for me has been the exercise work twice a day and the knee brace.

Keep at it!!
 
I don't think I could stand the heat of a brace, though I've got a good one here.

What's funny is my other TKR pops a LOT but it doesn't hurt. Still I don't like it.

The more I move around the more hurt. The spouse keeps saying so-and-so had TKR and didn't have any problem but I think it's because they didn't bother with PT. I usually work out every day anyway so i can't get used to doing nothing but I'll have to try.
 
I’m sorry your husband doesn’t realize that all recoveries vary. Your knee is doing the best it can and that’s all it can do. At one month post op you really should consider cutting back on your activity, if you want to have less pain.
 
I have been actively cutting back on my oxy for the past week or so. I'm at 4 weeks post-op. My PA gave me a schedule. I was taking a 5mg pill every 4 hours then I cut back to one every 6 hours for 2 days, then every 8 hours for 2 days, then one in the morning and one at night, which is where I'm at now. Still taking Tylenol and Advil alternating every 3 hours around the clock (not as much at night if I'm sleeping but I'll take a dose if I wake up).

I remember hearing/feeling popping in my right knee after my first TKR, was told it was normal. I haven't felt anything yet in my left knee but that could still happen.
 
montanagal, EVERY knee has its own recovery. You need to try and explain that to family and friends. Even folks who have had bilateral surgery attest that one knee is very different from the other. Try to relax. One month isn’t very far into a 12-month recovery. Be gentle, be patient. There are many success stories here on BoneSmart that can encourage you.
 
I'm six weeks out now and struggling with oxycodone. I am trying to reduce usage but my leg just aches, and now I have pains all over. I'm supposed to take every 4-6 hours and sometimes I can go 6 but by that time I'm really hurting. I read the article here and I guess that's not the way to do it but at what point after the surgery? I feel like this could go on forever now.

Does it seem reasonable to be taking less than 20mg/day at this point? I am so paranoid that the prescriber will cut me off but maybe I
 
Seven weeks out, still struggling, still hard to get comfortable in bed esp with my sciatica. I crave sleeping on my side, but still can't do it for more than a few minutes. I use all different combinations of pillows but eventually the knee bottoms out and the pillow feels hard and unforgiving.

I had LTKR and don't need to sleep on that side, right side is fine.

I wonder how long it's taken others to where they can actually sleep on their side comfortably?
 
I am 12 weeks out and can sleep on my side only for about an hour. I have the same sensation as you. I hope that you find relief soon.
 
i am 5 weeks Out and cannot begin to sleep on my side and my back is complaining. Also sleep is still a struggle even as pain is more tolerable. I am beginning to worry my muscles are turning to mush!
 
I have found that I sleep better if i can start off on my side with the operated leg on top and a big, soft, bolster pillow keeping the top leg cushioned from the bottom leg. When I wake up I have usually moved half on to my back, but at least I can sleep in 4 to 5 hour time periods instead of only 2 hours.
 
Nine weeks post op and I was feeling pretty good yesterday, took the day off from PT, but now my left hip is going whack. I was doing some hip abduction things for it and as I finished if felt like it was dislocated and the pain was terrible.

It has been a problem on and off but not lately. It seems like everything I'm doing is just bringing it out again. Plus it's been painful sitting for very long, and even lying down.

I suppose I'll have to call and make an appt tomorrow but I really don't want any more med problems this year!
 
Ten weeks out and feeling better so of course I overdid it today. I worked out some, did my laundry requiring five trips on the stairs and went on a short walk because the sun was out. Elevating now.

I felt good enough Friday night to watch an hour video of a TKR using the Stryker knee that I got.

I couldn't have stomached that a month ago.
 
Virginia123 said:
i am 5 weeks Out and cannot begin to sleep on my side and my back is complaining. Also sleep is still a struggle even as pain is more tolerable. I am beginning to worry my muscles are turning to mush!
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Hi,
I am going into my 5th week and I am also a side sleeper. For the first 2 weeks sleep in any position was hard to come by!! What I do is go to bed with the icepack on your knee and a big soft pillow in between your knees. Sometimes even this won’t give you the relief you need to sleep, keep trying.
 
It's been over 11 weeks now and I thought I was doing well, felt great yesterday but took a day off from PT.

But late in the day I developed a pain at the top of the fibula area, to the lower outside of the knee, and it got worse overnight and now my whole leg and left buttocks hurt. I don't understand what I did but it has that feeling like the whole knee is splitting apart and it hurts to flex it more than 20 deg or so.

I know that's not happening. Ibuprofin + tylenol are not helping. Strange!

Edit to add: Ugh this is terrible. It feels like the knee cap is not tracking or something. The most ordinary movement makes the whole leg hurt terribly and seem to lock up. Pain regardless of both tylenol and ibuprofin.

I was down to one oxycodone on some nights and have few left but now I'm afraid I need to start it again.
 
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Well today is better, no sudden pain attacks at all.

I don't know why but it seems like every week it's a new freaky pain type in a different area. Just when I think I'm getting back to normal.

I meant to ask, I have a course of Prednisone here for my sciatica, but it has multiple warnings in it, like it could keep me awake at night (great!) and make me more vulnerable to infection! I waited a day to start it but then got a call that the PA I'd just seen who prescribed it came down with covid and I decided to not take it at all.

Would it be good for something like these harsh pain attacks next time?
 
Hi @montanagal , I'm sorry you are having so much pain in your knee. You are only a few days ahead of me so it's still early days in your recovery. I can't answer about what meds are ok to take, that would need to be taken up with your doctor. Hopefully one of our moderators can come in and give some good advice.
 
I have a course of Prednisone here for my sciatica, but it has multiple warnings in it, like it could keep me awake at night (great!) and make me more vulnerable to infection!
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Have you ever taken prednisone before? It can do wonders for any pain associated with inflammation. You feel great, wide awake but great. I know it doesn't affect everyone the same way but I have a solid 48 hours of wide awakeness on it. Full of energy too. It even happened to me when I got a Kenelog injection in my knee. Took a full day for effects to become systemic but then, there I was again.
 
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Have you ever taken prednisone before? It can do wonders for any pain associated with inflammation. You feel great, wide awake but great. I know it doesn't affect everyone the same way but I have a solid 48 hours of wide awakeness on it. Full of energy too. It even happened to me when I got a Kenelog injection in my knee. Took a full day for effects to become systemic but then, there I was again.
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No, never have. You were up 48 hours?? Yikes. These are 4mg pills, 6 day course, and you take 6 the first day, 5 the next, etc.

I hate to waste it on a sporadic pain like this. Like it got once at dinner, when I moved my calf laterally to get up from the table and WOW it hurt! It does not like to be moved sideways like that.

It happened with the other knee on occasion too so I'm not terribly worried.
 
Your description of the sudden pain you're having sounds like it could be your IT band. Take a look at this thread from our BoneSmart Library and see if it accurately describes what you are feeling when the pain hits.

ITB (ilio-tibial band) issues and treatments

You're only a few months out from your surgery and you are still very early in the healing process. It's easy to overdo things when you start feeling better and that will set you back a bit. Make sure you're not trying to get back to completely normal activity too soon. It's usually a good 6 months before people really begin to feel normal again.

I would not suggest that you take Prednisone for this type of pain. It might help, but frankly it is a very strong medication that should only be used when needed for a specific problem. It has many potential side effects. Try some of the stretches in the article I linked plus 1000mg of Tylenol every 6 hours for a few days and see if that helps.
 
Hi Montanagal. You are not alone in this. If it is any help, I had IT tendinitis, where it joins the tibia just under the knee, and it took four months to clear up, which meant that I was unable to use walking as exercise. I have no idea what caused it, probably something I overdid.
The other knee also has had sudden, violent but short lived pains at eight months out. There is a post from Saturday, by Jennyd, with a title starting “one year out…” where she and I discussed this.
Hope it stops soon.
 
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