THR Round Two of as the Hip Turns

[seamoose]

Hi Guys I'm a good 8 weeks out now. Everything has been going great till this past week end. My PT has been limited to household chores some yard work and walking three times a a day up to a mile each last week. No complaints with the hip gets a little sore but nothing notable.

IT band is always sore and can get painful near knee. Was allowed to start strengthening exercises for the operated leg past week. No extension exercise for it. Go at my own pace kind of thing. So my goal is to attempt a return to work at end of June. My job is extremely physical so it's a long shot.

I need to be able to walk near 5 miles, a day climb ladders and steps and carry considerable weight. I made it back but after the left THR but suffered with knee pain for 1½ years. It was finally brought under control and now we have to deal with the right knee.

This past week I did hip exercises and used a stairmaster, 10 floors every other day.This past weekend walking at event I developed knee pain and the right knee gave out a few times. No swelling, just pain seems to be starting where IT band connects at knee.

I haven't done anything but walking since and it has settled down. I'm going to try to start doing IT band stretches (per doctor) that I did after last THR and then slowly try to return to doing steps and get back to the mile 3 times a day.

I have only 5 weeks to recover and return to work or loose my position.

The knee issue was something I was worried would happen as the left knee was a battle after that hip was corrected. Other than the knee acting up my recovery has been a breeze so far. Last time I used exercise/orthotics/various braces and pain creams and drugs to get knee right. No surgery just time.

Maybe someone will come up with a way to avoid knee trouble after fixing hips that collapsed from AVN . Seems others have knee trouble after THR surgery.

I'll write and pass it on if we find something that works this time .

 

[seamoose]

Hi guys. It's been awhile.

The hip is great at about 13wks out, no pain in hip. Went back to work last week. Of course my right knee started acting up at 8 weeks out. I'm off celebrex for first time in 20yrs with AVN.

But now I've been fighting with insurance company over having an arthogram on my knee due to pain that started at 8 weeks out. I finally got the approval and had it done yesterday. They shoot dye into the knee and then take a MRI of it. I'm going to write the summery to see if anyone can explain what it means and if there is a fix for this:

Full thickness cartilage fissuring observed along periphery of medial femoral condyle and full thickness chondral fissuring of the central femoral trochlea with mild associated bone marrow edema.

If anyone can translate what this means and if this is something that can be fixed or am I looking at a knee replacement to relieve the pain. Any comments are welcome as I don't have a appointment till October and my work is causing it to be very painful.

Shiny new hips and now bad knees??

 

[Jaycey]

@seamoose So sorry your knees are kicking off now. I'll tag @Josephine for comment on your MRI results.

 

[Mojo333]

One thing you might consider if you only have short time to recover is giving it a break as much as you can. We can't work ourselves into recovery... We have to give that trauma time to heal.
I'm 9 weeks out. . And if I do too much. . Just being up on my legs most of the day, I try to get off work at 4 and I've and elevate the rest of the day!!! And I only work 6 hours per day and have left all the strenuous tasks to others. I realize this may not be possible for your job, but we can only heal right the first time by healing right the first time.

 

[seamoose]

Thanks Guys. I'm not good at waiting for the Doc to respond. Next appt October! I thought I was finally out of pain and on my way to painless days. Now my knee keeps giving way.

Hope a quick scope can put this to rest. I haven't found the same statement anywhere on the interweb. I fear full thickness fissure of anything is a bad thing not much info on a trochlea. Spell check doesn't like it, so maybe I don't need one??? Extra leftover alien parts. Or maybe the radiologist spelling is as bad as mine. Trying to keep a sense of humor in life is getting hard !!

 

[Josephine]

Full thickness cartilage fissuring observed along periphery of medial femoral condyle and full thickness chondral fissuring of the central femoral trochlea with mild dissociated bone marrow edema.

Let me explain it for you. First the anatomy
The femoral condyles are the two bulging prominences at the end of the femur. The trochlea is the groove between them which also accommodates things like the cruciate ligaments and provides a secure pathway for the patella (knee cap).

The cartilage fissuring is a sign of arthritis - you can see this indicated on the image
Likewise the trochlear groove

 

[seamoose]

Thank You Again and Again . But is there a fix for this or will I be planning a knee replacement to fix

 

[Mojo333]

So sorry you are looking at knee issues now ... Must be ultra frustrating.
By the way, your dogs, I assume, are beautiful.
I always had Shepherd growing up, best dogs in the world.

 

[Gone again]

@seamoose sorry to here your pain. Ive always worked construction.bad knees for a decade then my hip went.
LTHR June 19th with the other side waiting. I feel your pain. I could return to work at some point.but there is no light duity. I'm on disability now but would much prefer to return.
I hope things work out for you my friend.
Bill

 

[seamoose]

i guess there had to be catch that my recovery went so easy from this hip. i had a whole month of walking without a limp .first time in 22 years two new hips and i can walk straight up for one month .im wearing a leg brace taking more drugs than ever and almost in tears from knee pain by the end of the day ,sucks I cant go back out on disability cause i used up my 90 days fmla for the hip recovery .If i do go out ill lose my insurance and wont be able to get knee fixed so i have to hang on till i can get some answers from the doctor .if they can fix th knee ill go out the day of surgery and then the major cost will be covered and i can pick up cobra till i become employable again .Ive rolled with the punches with avn for 20 years finally can walk right and i last a month .talk about losing your spirit .

 

[seamoose]

oh thanks for the regards Im just venting a bit out of frustration .i know there are a lot of people much worst off than me .This like all things will pass .
I think the dogs and i will go out back and drink a few beers throw the Frisbee and figure this out again Thanks

 

[Nivea]

Not sure of your situation but can't you go on NJ State Temporary Disability? I did that for my hip and it's not full pay but it's money. I used it for the full 3 months and if I were to need it again this year, I could. We pay for it each paycheck, so you are entitled to it.

Anyway, so sorry to hear you are going through this. During my recovery from my LTHR, all of a sudden my right knee started hurting more than it had. Then I couldn't put weight on it at all. Off to get it xrayed and was told I have a spot that is bone on bone but not at the point of surgery. I did have a cortisone shot and it seems to be fairly good again. He said that I could be like this forever, never needing replacement. Keeping fingers crossed.

Good luck to you.

 

[seamoose]

Yes I can go back out on temp for three more months as I just used 3 months out of the 6 available for my hip . Trouble is I used my 90 days fmla so I cant apply for leave again for 1 year from my return date 2 weeks ago . If i go out while waiting for surgery Ill lose my insurance so i have to tough it out till i can find a fix for the knee then the major cost will be handled and i can pay for pt if needed to recover then get another job .

 

[MyAussieGirl]

Sweetie you have a right to complain and feel bad who wouldn't after all you've been through ... Hugs

 

[Nivea]

Gotcha. I didn't need to use fmla. It's not fun at all. I had no clue the amount of pain that this could cause and can be unrelenting. Hang in there, my friend.

 

[seamoose]

OK Guys Looks like you will be hearing from me for a while now .. After burining up the doctors answering machine in these past few days I finally got him to call back . I will have to study Josephine s recovery log as she noted above .. The Doc said I could try shots but doubts they will help me for due to my active workplace and I can do a lot of damage doing what I do if I dont have the pain to slow me down . So options go on disability do shots see what happens look for other work and still need to replace knee somewhere down the road . So I asked if they can replace the knee at soonest and get it over with . im in good shape if i can hang on at work till surgery ill be insured for it and I can start another career after recovery . If i wait i may become unemployed and not insured or i may develop health problems that will make the risk higher . i know ill put on weight if I have to stop working I cant use arobics or a bike now to burn fat and laying home isnt going to help my moral .
Now The Plan since ive bulked up a bit while recovering from the hip hitting the weights for three months im 193 lbs at 5 8 thats a little heavy so as of today im going to do adkins to drop as much as possible may be it will help me with the knee . ill look up whatever is suggested exercise for knee prep and start that . I see the doc on tuesday to see if he can get my insurance on board if that can be done as soon as he can come up with a knee that matches my shinny new hips and a open day he can stick it in . lets see if they will approve the knee if so ill be crying to all u again soon
So that is my plan ! i refuse to crumble into a chair and stop being a productive person and wait again to walk without pain 22 yrs with flattened hips was enough . stick a new knee in and let me on my way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!